[time.com]

I say: Let the Stones skip the Republic of Dominica and Cuba, so Keith can have that 10 day resting period and have ALL the Stones do Jean Genie at the Bowie memorial concert at Carnegie Hall. It would of course be great to see Jagger there, but Ronnie has had ties with him too. So it should be all of them.

JumpingKentFlash

I know David lived in New York, but I'm pretty sure that something big will happen in London within the next 6 months.

His home town and he never forgot that.

So very sad, I was just shocked and couldnt believe it. Heard it during Goden globe award show. I am happy at least I saw him once in the 80's in Toronto. Good bye Starman, I won't ever forget you and thanks for the memories.

Quite a good interview with David Bowie.
Didn't know he as well (like Clapton) had become non-alcoholic

[40.media.tumblr.com]

I was very fortunate to meet Bowie in the Singapore after his Reality show there. I had backstage passes, as did a group of Singaporeans who won a Sony contest. I was bit bummed because I imagined meeting him on my own! But man it was amazing. When I got up to him I introduced myself and he knew who I was! I had met a school friend of his in Sri Lanka, Geoff MaCormick (he co-wrote Rock n' Roll With Me) and I helped him out there with some stuff, and he arranged the backstage pass for me. I will never forget his smile and how he shook my hand and said, "oh you are Matthew from Sri Lanka, Geoff's friend!" I was flabberghasted! We chatted a bit and he signed a few things for me. He was so friendly, gracious, and intersting. He said some apologies as he had to leave for a flight to Tokyo that night! I was then able to go out through the stage exit and met Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsy and Earl Slick and they all signed my Reality CD for me. I will never forget that moment meeting Bowie, my idol and hero. Time to remember the good things and celebrate his music, films, and art!

Not sure if this piece from the New York Times has been posted, Iggy Pop reminiscing about Bowie: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/arts/music/david-bowie-iggy-pop.html?_r=0&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com

Here's part of it.

Mr. Bowie “saw me sometimes, when he wanted to voice it that way, as a modern Beat or a modern Dostoyevsky character or a modern van Gogh,” Mr. Pop said. “But he also knew I’m a hick from the sticks at heart.”

By contrast, Mr. Bowie was “worldly,” Mr. Pop said. “I learned things that I still use today. I met the Beatles and the Stones, and this one and that one, and this actress and this actor and all these powerful people through him. And I watched. And every once in a while, now at least, I’m a little less rustic when I have to deal with those people.”

Mr. Bowie made a point of visiting Mr. Pop’s parents in Detroit, where they were living in a trailer. “He came to my parents’ trailer, and the neighbors were so frightened of the car and the bodyguard they called the police,” Mr. Pop said. “My father’s a very wonderful man, and he said, ‘Thank you for what you’re doing for my son.’ I thought: Shut up, Dad. You’re making me look uncool.”

RIP Starman

Life's just a cocktail party on the street

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whitem8
I was very fortunate to meet Bowie in the Singapore after his Reality show there. I had backstage passes, as did a group of Singaporeans who won a Sony contest. I was bit bummed because I imagined meeting him on my own! But man it was amazing. When I got up to him I introduced myself and he knew who I was! I had met a school friend of his in Sri Lanka, Geoff MaCormick (he co-wrote Rock n' Roll With Me) and I helped him out there with some stuff, and he arranged the backstage pass for me. I will never forget his smile and how he shook my hand and said, "oh you are Matthew from Sri Lanka, Geoff's friend!" I was flabberghasted! We chatted a bit and he signed a few things for me. He was so friendly, gracious, and intersting. He said some apologies as he had to leave for a flight to Tokyo that night! I was then able to go out through the stage exit and met Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsy and Earl Slick and they all signed my Reality CD for me. I will never forget that moment meeting Bowie, my idol and hero. Time to remember the good things and celebrate his music, films, and art!

He does come over as a very cool guy, as he was I guess and I've found if you just treat a celebrity or whatever they are as just another guy or gal, yer gonna be O.K.

A great story told in Tweets.


The elderly trombone player was Rico who we sadly lost last year.


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

Quote
whitem8
I was very fortunate to meet Bowie in the Singapore after his Reality show there. I had backstage passes, as did a group of Singaporeans who won a Sony contest. I was bit bummed because I imagined meeting him on my own! But man it was amazing. When I got up to him I introduced myself and he knew who I was! I had met a school friend of his in Sri Lanka, Geoff MaCormick (he co-wrote Rock n' Roll With Me) and I helped him out there with some stuff, and he arranged the backstage pass for me. I will never forget his smile and how he shook my hand and said, "oh you are Matthew from Sri Lanka, Geoff's friend!" I was flabberghasted! We chatted a bit and he signed a few things for me. He was so friendly, gracious, and intersting. He said some apologies as he had to leave for a flight to Tokyo that night! I was then able to go out through the stage exit and met Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsy and Earl Slick and they all signed my Reality CD for me. I will never forget that moment meeting Bowie, my idol and hero. Time to remember the good things and celebrate his music, films, and art!

Great story whitem8....thanks

__________________________

Nice story, whitem8!

David has apparently been cremated already, without fuss:

[www.dailymail.co.uk]

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Beast
Nice story, whitem8!

David has apparently been cremated already, without fuss:

[www.dailymail.co.uk]

Wow, a full round off to the story of his life.


Do you remember a guy that's been
In such an early song
I've heard a rumour from Ground Control
Oh no, don't say it's true

They got a message from the Action Man
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too
I've loved all I've needed to love
Sordid details following

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky

Quote
whitem8
I was very fortunate to meet Bowie in the Singapore after his Reality show there. I had backstage passes, as did a group of Singaporeans who won a Sony contest. I was bit bummed because I imagined meeting him on my own! But man it was amazing. When I got up to him I introduced myself and he knew who I was! I had met a school friend of his in Sri Lanka, Geoff MaCormick (he co-wrote Rock n' Roll With Me) and I helped him out there with some stuff, and he arranged the backstage pass for me. I will never forget his smile and how he shook my hand and said, "oh you are Matthew from Sri Lanka, Geoff's friend!" I was flabberghasted! We chatted a bit and he signed a few things for me. He was so friendly, gracious, and intersting. He said some apologies as he had to leave for a flight to Tokyo that night! I was then able to go out through the stage exit and met Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsy and Earl Slick and they all signed my Reality CD for me. I will never forget that moment meeting Bowie, my idol and hero. Time to remember the good things and celebrate his music, films, and art!

Very nice story, whitem8!

Rolling Stone has a very interesting article with Tony Visconti that answers a lot of questions:

[www.rollingstone.com]


David Bowie Planned Post-'Blackstar' Album, 'Thought He Had Few More Months'

"His energy was still incredible for a man who had cancer," longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti says. "He never showed any fear"

By Brian Hiatt January 13, 2016

About a week before his death, with Blackstar nearing release, David Bowie called his longtime friend and producer Tony Visconti via FaceTime, and told him he wanted to make one more album. In what turned out to have been the final weeks of his life, Bowie wrote and demo-ed five fresh songs, and was anxious to return to the studio one last time. Bowie had known since November that his cancer was terminal, according to Visconti, but if their final conversation was any indication, he had no idea he had so little time left. "At that late stage, he was planning the follow-up to Blackstar," says Visconti, that album's producer, in an interview conducted Wednesday for a Bowie memorial package in the next issue of Rolling Stone.
"And I was thrilled," Visconti continues, "and I thought, and he thought, that he'd have a few months, at least. Obviously, if he's excited about doing his next album, he must've thought he had a few more months. So the end must've been very rapid. I'm not privy to it. I don't know exactly, but he must've taken ill very quickly after that phone call." Visconti has been working with Bowie on and off since 1969's Space Oddity, producing numerous key albums, among them 1970's The Man Who Sold the World, 1977's Low, 1980's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and 2013's surprise comeback The Next Day.

Visconti first learned of Bowie's illness a year ago, when he showed up for Blackstar recording sessions in New York. "He just came fresh from a chemo session, and he had no eyebrows, and he had no hair on his head," says Visconti, "and there was no way he could keep it a secret from the band. But he told me privately, and I really got choked up when we sat face to face talking about it."

Around the middle of 2015, however, Bowie's prognosis seemed to improve. "He was optimistic because he was doing the chemo and it was working," says Visconti, "and at one point in the middle of last year, he was in remission. I was thrilled. And he was a bit apprehensive. He said, 'Well, don't celebrate too quickly. For now I'm in remission, and we'll see how it goes.' And he continued the chemotherapy. So I thought he was going to make it. And in November, it just suddenly came back. It had spread all over his body, so there's no recovering from that."

Bowie had already finished Blackstar by November. But even before then, Visconti noticed the tone of some of the lyrics and told him, "You canny bastard. You're writing a farewell album." Bowie simply laughed in response. "He was so brave and courageous," says Visconti. "And his energy was still incredible for a man who had cancer. He never showed any fear. He was just all business about making the album."

As far as Visconti knows, rumors of additional health problems between Bowie’s 2004 heart attack and his cancer diagnosis 18 months ago are false. "When I met up with him in 2008 or 2009," he says, "he actually had some weight on him. He was robust. His cheeks were rosy red. He wasn't sick. He was on medicine for his heart. But it was normal, like a lot of people in their 50s or 60s are on heart medication, and live very long lives. So he was coping with it very, very well." In the time between the heart attack and the 2013 release of The Next Day, Bowie even took boxing lessons.

When Visconti learned of Bowie's death, the producer was on the road with Holy Holy, a Bowie tribute project that includes former Spiders from Mars drummer Mick "Woody" Woodmansey. "We deliberated whether we should continue the tour because we were all knocked sideways," Visconti says. "Monday was the worst day of my life. I gotta say. But we talked about it and said, 'We’re musicians, this is what we do. David would like it.' We played for the first time since his death last night to a very, very enthusiastic Toronto audience. There were people crying, but there were people smiling and clapping and jumping around. Listen, it was a wonderful experience to be able to acknowledge him, to celebrate his life."

Visconti and many other Bowie friends and collaborators reminisce about the musician in the next issue of Rolling Stone.

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Deltics
The last pictures taken of David Bowie published on his birthday, January 8th 2016.
Two days before his death.
Photos by Jimmy King.

Wow that is unbelievable. He does not look ill at all from these pictures. I would expect that he would have been bedridden two days before passing. Has anyone said what type of cancer he was stricken with?

Most reports say liver cancer. Although I saw one that said it may have been pancreatic.
On a cheerier note - rumors seem to be heating up that Mick and Sir Paul may join in on a Bowie tribute concert scheduled at Carnegie Hall in NY in late March.

It's interesting...I've always thought he looked taller than 1.78 m (or 5'10). I mean, that's my height. I guess it's just that he was so skinny. Plus his tall hairstyles would've given him a bit of extra height



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-01-14 06:39 by stones2000.

I've enjoyed read many of stories from all of you about the effect David Bowie had on you. That being the case I'm moved to share what I posted for all my friends on Facebook on Monday after getting the news that he had died:



I'm finding it hard to grip the fact that David Bowie passed. If it had happened a few years ago I think I had prepared myself considering the fact that he had had a heart attack onstage during the Reality tour and hadn't been heard much of until recently. But with the work he did with the off-Broadway play Lazarus and the release of his new album Blackstar there was hope that he was back in good health and ready to perform again in some capacity. Today it feels like I've lost a friend. Someone who's path crossed with mine with a knowing nod of respect before I entered high school. Someone I became totally connected to during my high school years and was there with my friends and I, if only in the background. Can't tell you how many times we drove around with Bowie playing on an 8-track or on a turntable at someone's party. Ziggy haircuts were big and some of us started dressing "glam" instead of wearing bluejeans. Friends influence you that way too. And then of course after high school, as friends do, you move on as individuals and drift apart while remaining connected by the time you shared together. Like that old friend, Bowie would show up every year or so and surprise you with what he had been up to. Sometimes you are amazed and sometimes you just had to wonder what the hell they are thinking and hope that it's just a faze they are going through. And Bowie went through more fazes that any of my friends ever did. But I always enjoyed his company, listening to his music and feeling the joy of his creativeness, his individuality, and his strength to not care what anyone else thought of his work. I'm so glad that I got to see him perform more than a dozen times. First show 1974, we were those impressionable high school kids who went to see Ziggy and were given a new layer of the man as he had transformed into a soul singer as can he heard on Young Americans or the David Live album (played that until the grooves wore out). He was one of the few performers that I would travel to see, going to Chicago a few times as well as California in 1983. And I caught three shows of what is now David Bowie's final tour behind his Reality album. As with many of our older music performers you get the feeling that this might be your last chance although you hope not. The last Bowie show I saw was on my birthday, May 19,2004 at the Milwaukee Theatre. Having drinks at a nearby bar I ran into old friends from high school and two of my cousins and their wives. We reminisced about Bowie's earlier concerts and met after the show to discuss what we had witnessed, all agreeing it was a great show. Earlier that day I had hung around the back of the building with an envelope containing a photo I had taken of Bowie in '83, hoping to get it signed. Never saw anyone that looked connected to Bowie and ended up handing to some security guy and asked if he could pass it on. His reaction made me feel that as soon as he was back inside it was going in the trash. Before the show started I checked with the ticket booth to see if it had hopefully found it's way and was signed. Nope, nothing. So I checked again after the show. No luck, but didn't hurt trying. Seems Mr. Bowie didn't care as much about me as I did him. A few days later I got a letter from a hotel in Chicago. Opening it I found the prize I had hoped for, my photo of David Bowie with his signature on it. He did care. I think unlike many rock stars he did indeed care what his fans thought and always tried to make them happy, like friends do.

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The Sicilian
Has anyone said what type of cancer he was stricken with?

According to reports in the British press, he was battling liver cancer.

One of my favorite Bowie songs ever.

Strangers When We Meet
[www.youtube.com]

Its so heart warming to read the stories on here.

I never knew he turned down a knight hood and he has now gone way up in my estimation even more.

Its nice to read of celebraties being so down to earth.

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Boognish
Interesting observation from Reddit:
Bowie's "Lazarus" video was released FOUR DAYS before his death. If you Google Lazarus, you get "Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days" https://www.reddit.com/r/DavidBowie/comments/40n35m/bowies_lazarus_video_was_released_four_days/

It makes me wonder, did Bowie end his own life?

But they're wrong. Lazarus video was released on Thursday 7th January and Bowie died on Sunday 10th January so it was released three days earlier. Also Tony Visconti has said he had plans to work on more songs as he thought he had a few months left.

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rebelrebel

Quote
Boognish
Interesting observation from Reddit:
Bowie's "Lazarus" video was released FOUR DAYS before his death. If you Google Lazarus, you get "Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days" https://www.reddit.com/r/DavidBowie/comments/40n35m/bowies_lazarus_video_was_released_four_days/

It makes me wonder, did Bowie end his own life?

But they're wrong. Lazarus video was released on Thursday 7th January and Bowie died on Sunday 10th January so it was released three days earlier. Also Tony Visconti has said he had plans to work on more songs as he thought he had a few months left.

Lol another conspiracy theory foiled!

But yeah, after reading what Tony said, it seems this wasn't planned. Obviously he was going, but he didn't know at what date or when. Especially if he's taking pictures on his birthday. If Visconti is to be believed, stuff like his final email to Brian Eno and stuff like that are just eerie coincidences than actual planned goodbyes to people.

Guess he's wearing the hat in those pictures cause of chemo, although I could have sworn I saw a photo from December where he had a full head of hair.

EDIT: Here it is

[assets.nydailynews.com]

Looking at that you think "obviously he's sick and weak", but I never would have wanted to accept that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-01-14 12:36 by RollingFreak.

Quote
The Sicilian

Quote
Deltics
The last pictures taken of David Bowie published on his birthday, January 8th 2016.
Two days before his death.
Photos by Jimmy King.

Wow that is unbelievable. He does not look ill at all from these pictures. I would expect that he would have been bedridden two days before passing. Has anyone said what type of cancer he was stricken with?

To be honest, when I saw these pictures before the announcement was made I had a strange feeling about them. He looks great but his skin looks a bit like wax so he's obviously heavily made up. In the Lazarus video he is not, of course. Now what these pictures symbolise to me is that he was laughing in the face of death.

You have to be a very brave man to have a big smile on your face when you know the end is very near.

David always seemed to have a smile in the company of friends, when he could relax, and in interviews he always seemed to be such a cool dude.

I'm still reeling from David's passing. My heart goes out to his family. I went through my dad's battle with cancer last year (dad was 10 years older than Bowie). There are lingering after effects in my life. It does make me happy though that David was able to get a last, great album out & his musical staged. I'm sure it gave him some comfort. I've been on a serious Bowie binge all week although Bowie has never been off my play list. Played "David Live" last night. Although much derided in some circles, I think that is a great record. He was taking the r & b serious & his vocals were really good, not to mention a crack band. It's going to take awhile to recover from this for me. A huge fan for 40 years, starting at about age 12. I'm glad I saw a few shows on the last tour. The last one was 3rd row in a cool old theater. I've got a boot of that show & it was a special one. I've been looking for some comments from Trent Reznor. Nothing so far but I'm sure he's pretty broken up. The Outside tour with NIN was 1 of the best I've seen. Look up David doing "Hurt" with NIN. It's amazing!

Those pictures - does it say anywhere that they were actually taken on his birthday? It could be that they were taken earlier and then released on his birthday.

Quote
Beast
Those pictures - does it say anywhere that they were actually taken on his birthday? It could be that they were taken earlier and then released on his birthday.

The article I read stated the pictures were taken 'a couple of days before his birthday'. So, last week some time. No way of actually verifying.