Renowned singer, actor, and pop culture idol David Bowie passed away Jan. 10 following an 18-month struggle with cancer. An official statement was released saying the star died peacefully while surrounded by family.
Millions of fans across the globe share in mourning a man who helped blaze a trail in music and culture. Bowie, born David Jones, first rose to fame for his singular voice. “Space Oddity,” the haunting and eerie song about an astronaut stuck in space, was Bowie’s first song to reach the Top 5 in U.K. charts. After this initial success, Bowie reinvented himself in the glam rock era, coming out with what is probably his most well-known alter-ego: Ziggy Stardust.
It was during this time that Bowie first began to change the face of British culture as well. If the ethereal outfits and androgynous appeal Bowie was already flaunting at the time weren’t enough, the conservative air of Britain was rocked once more when, in a daring step, Bowie came out as gay (later bisexual). During his stint as Ziggy Stardust, Bowie not only transformed himself but the entire conversation on gender and sexuality in Britain. LGBT youths found an idol in Ziggy in a time where being queer was still taboo.
Ziggy was just the beginning. Bowie reinvented himself several times over the course of his career
, changing with trends as often as he made them. Over the course of his career, Bowie put out albums spanning genres from New Wave pop to funk to German ambient music, and even something Bowie himself called “plastic soul,” which helped him rise to fame in America with the album “Young Americans.”
Bowie also rocked the charts with some memorable collaborations with artists like Iggy Pop, John Lennon, and, most notably, Queen for the song “Under Pressure.” Bowie also started a band called The Hype with Mike Ronson, which laid the groundwork for an album and a series of future collaborations.
Bowie’s successful stage personas actually started before his music career. He began in the 60s studying avant-garde theatre before landing his first stage role in “Pierrot in Turquoise.” Bowie hit the screen two years later in a short called “The Image.” It wasn’t until he was cast in Nicolas Roeg’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth” that Bowie’s acting career took off.
The most iconic role came from the cult classic “The Labyrinth,” in which Bowie played the goblin king Jareth. Bowie even wrote several of the songs on the soundtrack. He also portrayed Pontius Pilate in the Martin Scorsese film “The Last Temptation of Christ.”
Aside from fan accolades, Bowie has earned a score of professional awards, including nine platinum albums from the Recording Industry Association of America. He was also inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in June 2013. Bowie was even offered a knighthood in 2003 but turned it down because he believed it “wasn’t what [he] spent [his] life working for.”
The last testament to Bowie’s work ethic is his final studio album, “Blackstar,” released two days before his death. The album has received acclaim as a parting gift from Bowie to his fan base, especially following the release of the song “Lazarus.” Fans have found comfort in the opening line “Look up here, I’m in heaven.” The music video, which now has 18 million views on YouTube depicts Bowie in a hospital bed and ends with him walking into a dark closet.
Bowie has even found a way to make his death a form of art. An enormous outpouring from fans have hit the Internet, posting their own tributes to the king of reinvention. Even in the grief we can find comfort: Ziggy Stardust has finally returned home.
