David Bowie was born on January 8th and died on January 10th, so today, the in-between day, is a good time to start a thread on him. So far he has been mentioned only in the Pigs and Blue & Orange threads.
His death in January 2016 generated many posts on the old CC Forum. There is a problem in that my old posts contain cross-references to people and topics of interest that are not on here.
There are some original connections that it would be a pity to waste, so I will see what I can do.
First, some pictures I took when I visited the temporary, impromptu shrine in Brixton on January 25th 2016:
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
The announcement generated a lot of posts from different people on the CC Forum. I can’t find the thread on the Wayback Machine, which is a pity.
I remember that when the news broke, some people said that it was a hoax; they just couldn’t accept that their idol had died.
Others came up with the same old allegation that he had not really died, he had just staged his death because he wanted to lead a quiet, private life. I did not agree with this, and need to locate the posts in which I gave my reasons, but remember that the main one was that most people with loads of money can just slip away if they want to disappear; there is no need to stage a fake death.
He was 69 years old and had been living a fairly quiet life anyway.
Some people thought that his funeral was suspiciously low-key; I have found my answer to this one.
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
J. K. Rowling, Jessica Mitford and David Bowie’s cheap funeral
J.K. Rowling tweeted a tribute to David Bowie. It is interesting that they were both against independence for Scotland.
J.K. Rowling is a great admirer of Jessica Mitford, even calling her daughter Jessica in tribute.
From WiKi:
"Jessica Mitford wrote The American Way of Death, an exposé of abuses in the funeral home industry in the United States. Feeling that death had become much too sentimentalized, highly commercialized, and, above all, excessively expensive, Mitford published her research, which, she argues, documents the ways in which funeral directors take advantage of the shock and grief of friends and relatives of loved ones to convince them to pay far more than necessary for the funeral and other services, such as availability of so-called 'grief counselors,' a title she claims is unmerited.
In keeping with her wishes, Mitford herself had an inexpensive funeral, which cost $533.31 – she was cremated without a ceremony, and the ashes scattered at sea; the cremation itself cost $475.
In 2013 the singer David Bowie named The American Way of Death as one of his favorite books."
Perhaps the funeral was low-key because Bowie just wanted a cheap cremation!
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
“David Bowie is not sick, says his close friend Tony Visconti. ‘People thought he was dying. He’s not dying any time soon, let me tell you,’ says Bowie’s long-time collaborator, who produced the comeback single that shocked the world on Tuesday.”
“David Bowie made a secret final trip to London to show his wife and daughter the sights and pay an emotional farewell to his home city after being diagnosed with cancer, it has emerged.
The iconic rock star, whose death this week shook the world, lived out his final years in New York, with his wife Iman and daughter Lexi, 15, where he lived the life of a family man.
But shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, he took his family to see the city that made him a star, visiting the Tower of London, the London Eye, and the house where he was born in Brixton.
It is thought that he overcame his fear of flying to say his final farewell to the city, where they stayed in the five-star Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge..
Iman said: 'We went this summer. And no one knew we were there. We flew in on the jet to Luton and every day we went and did different things and the press never knew.'”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
More evidence that Bowie was already leading a low-key life and could go around anonymously in his own neighbourhood so had no need to stage his death:
“David Bowie had a mystifying stage presence during his storied career. But according to locals, he was just 'a normal guy' who managed to live a low-key life for years in Soho, New York. Several community members and business owners have spoken out about the late singer and how he successfully managed to go under the radar.
The legendary rocker, who passed away after an 18-month cancer battle on Sunday, frequently visited local cafe Bottega Falai.”
“’We would take walks around the East Village,’ Mr. Guare said. ‘And I was always praying somebody would run into us so I could say, “Do you know my friend David Bowie?”’
It never happened.
Mr. Guare was at first puzzled and then amazed at how Mr. Bowie — the stage creature, the persona, the guy he saw command an audience at Radio City Music Hall in 1973 with his spiky orange hair and snow-white tan — could walk the city streets unrecognized.
‘He traveled with this cloak of invisibility — nobody saw him,’ Mr. Guare said. ‘He just eradicated himself.’”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
The Daily Mail has given us a lot of amusement over the years in the form of photo-shopped pictures. There was a huge car and some giant spectators in pictures of the royals at Sandringham for example. Some of these pictures can be found in the Something Isn’t Right thread.
They also did it with the mural and shrine to David Bowie. I was there in person, so can see how ridiculous one of their pictures is.
Here is their picture and caption, with one I took myself for comparison; look at the relative sizes of the spectators and the mural:
“Gathering: Crowds in Brixton, South London, read and place floral tributes beneath a mural of David Bowie yesterday following his death”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
One year after his death was reported, people were still saying that he wasn’t really dead. I posted about this conspiracy theory on the old CC forum:
“David Bowie's death one year on
David Bowie is reported to have died - from terminal cancer - on January 10th 2016. There was a lot of speculation at the time about whether or not he was really dead, and if he was whether it was entirely down to natural causes.
Can David Bowie’s death be taken at face value? One of the many conspiracy theories is that he faked his death and is living quietly somewhere. I am not so sure about this one; there are points to be made both for and against it.
On the one hand:
The days of men are threescore and ten. It is surprising that he lasted as long as he did, what with all the drugs and heavy smoking etc.
When Angie Bowie said that he staged his passing rather well, I understood her to mean that he handled it well and behaved with restraint. He didn’t tell many people, nor did he publish a stream of tweets and selfies.
As previously mentioned, he was a great admirer of someone who wrote a book about rip-off American funerals, so probably wanted a quick and quiet private cremation. He didn’t plan to turn up in disguise at an elaborate funeral, just to see who really cared!
He is not known to have owed lots of money, nor to have police or hit-men after him, so no need to fake death to avoid his creditors, justice and assassins.
I have seen a few reports of people who pretended to have died just to get insurance money. No need for David Bowie to do that.
He wouldn’t need to pretend to be dead just because a major financial collapse might be coming: he could just prepare a refuge and stock it with supplies.
He was able to go anywhere he wanted without attracting attention, not only recently in the UK but also in New York, so he wouldn’t need to pretend to die just to get some privacy.
Staying alive, hanging on long enough to finish an album and maybe seeing just one more Christmas and one more birthday was a likely goal. Once that was done, he could let go and move on.
Some people want to believe that their idols are immortal, so find it difficult to accept the fact that they get ill and die just like the rest of us. They want to believe that Bowie is still alive.
On the other hand:
Presumably Big Brother celebrities are chosen well in advance, so it is a big coincidence that Angie Bowie just happened to be in public view at the time of his death.
A key death can bring in huge amounts of money – and power - in a short time: Big money was made from sales of Bowie's music immediately after his death – although he might have brought in even more with new albums if he had lived longer.
A lot of power was raised from all the emotion felt and the attention given to Bowie's life, albums and interests. Just as in the case of Peaches Geldof’s death, people were reminded of the works of Aleister Crowley and gave energy to the occult in general.
The Lazarus clue…”
‘Lazarus’ refers to a song from Bowie’s final album; Lazarus rose from the grave in the Bible.
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
Some people who know that they haven’t got much time left may put everything they’ve got into seeing one final Christmas or New Year, or reaching some other milestone such as a birthday or finishing a task.
I remember reading that Dennis Wheatley (author of The Devil Rides Out etc.) was determined to remain alive until his memoirs were finished – and he just managed it. If he had stayed alive for two months more, he would have seen his 81st birthday.
David Bowie lived to see his final album released.
By coincidence both David Bowie and Dennis Wheatley were born on January 8th.
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
Alan Rickman played Severus Snape the Potions Master; David Bowie played Mr Rice the potion drinker:
“A terminally-ill boy's life is saved when his deceased 400-year-old friend, ‘Mr. Rice’, leads him on a treasure hunt to find a magical ‘Potion of Life’.
Twelve-year-old Owen (Bill Switzer) has been struck down by a mystery illness and, to make matters worse, his best friend Mr Rice (David Bowie) has recently passed away. However, when Owen discovers that Mr Rice has left him a treasure map and a coded letter, he begins to follow the clues, hoping that at the end of it all he will find out the true identity of the mysterious Mr Rice.”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
David Bowie as Voldemort – something amusing from 2009
“If JK Rowling had written the Harry Potter books in the 1980s, they would have been ripe for a sitcom adaptation. And Hogwarts High could have given us broomstick drag racing, a magical Christopher Lloyd, and David Bowie as Voldemort.
This comes from the wonderful mind of cartoonist Lucy Knisley, who imagines what Harry Potter might have looked like when she was younger:”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
J.K. Rowling Tweeted a heartbreaking tribute to the late rock legend David Bowie:
“I wish he could have stayed on earth longer. RIP” Rowling wrote.
She also included a snapshot of the song Lazarus’s sad, but ultimately uplifting conclusion:
“Oh, I’ll be free Just like that bluebird Oh, I’ll be free Ain’t that just like me?”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
The bluebird mentioned in the extract from the song Lazarus has been discussed in many places:
“Before his death, contributors on lyrics website Genius connected the bluebird on Lazarus to that of the Twitter logo, but it now seems to have a deeper symbolism. Bluebirds, which are not native in Europe, have long been celebrated by Native American tribes and the ancient Egyptians. Both the Cochiti and Navajo tribes associate the bluebird with the sun and its rising.
More recently, bluebirds have been associated with joy and happiness, in everything from The White Cliffs of Dover to the Beatles film Yellow Submarine. They can also signify a spiritual transition or awakening.
However, a dead bluebird has connotations of lost innocence and a transformation from naivety to wisdom. In 1512, the Dutch Master Albrecht Dürer's Dead Bluebird was among his studies of mortality, death and nature.
Others have connected Bowie's lyric to Charles Bukowski's poem, Bluebird, in which Bukowski wrestles with an inner torment.“
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
Some people have are a few similar elements in Labyrinth and Harry Potter. Perhaps the film inspired J.K. Rowling.
This artwork shows two of the main characters as angels:
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
David Bowie, Alan Rickman and the rejected honours
Declining honours and decorations is something else that these two men have in common.
Both men rejected CBEs, and David Bowie declined to be knighted.
David Bowie turned down the offer of a CBE in 2000 and a knighthood in 2003.
When Bowie refused the CBE, he explained, “I seriously don’t know what it’s for.”
When he declined the knighthood he said, “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”
Alan Rickman rejected the offer of a CBE without making his reasons public.
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
There are pictures of Queen Alexandra, Meghan Markle and Mia Tindall with five stars across their necklines in the Monarchy board. The significance - if any - is unknown.
David Bowie wore five black stars in the same position:
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
An episode of The Simpsons from 2013 in which Rickman as Snape and Bowie appear attracted a lot of retrospective attention when they both died.
This article is full of references to people and topics of interest:
“Does a writer on "The Simpsons" own a DeLorean?
On February 10, 2013, "The Simpsons" aired a Valentine’s Day-themed episode that included a bit featuring David Bowie and Alan Rickman in it, unknowingly creating a tribute to the two British icons -- who died within four days of each other -- three years ahead of schedule.
The bit features Rickman as his ‘Harry Potter’ character, Severus Snape, and the David Bowie-penned song, ‘All the Young Dudes.’
The episode’s description, according to a 2013 article in Entertainment Weekly, involved Bart trying to impress a lady (voiced by Zooey Deschanel) and Homer getting thrown out of the house by Marge when he didn’t accompany her to an event. Yearning to win over the objects of their affections, Bart, Homer and a few other men living in a single-dude complex called Brokewood Apartments, decide to watch a movie called “Love, Indubitably” (a wink at "Love Actually," which oddly enough Rickman was also in). In the parody, the Hugh Grant-version of the Prime Minister, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, proclaims his love for a lower class lady by the name of Eliza Commonbottom, they kiss, and a Pandora’s box of silly British pop cultural references is opened, which includes Snape (who Cumberbatch also voiced), the Bowie song, and a fun ‘Doctor Who’ reference.
The oddly timed tribute might have gone completely unnoticed, but on Thursday, after news of Rickman’s death surfaced, ‘The Simpsons’ tweeted out the clip.”
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
"Beneath it all, desire of oblivion runs." – Wants by Philip Larkin.
"The governments of the Western nations, whether monarchical or republican, have passed into the invisible hands of a plutocracy, international in power and grasp." – Major-General J. F. C. Fuller
I have read some of Bulwer-Lytton's and Ravenscroft's work, but had not heard about the Torquay connections. That is very unexpected.
I have visited the place, and can't see that it would have much appeal for someone who likes London and New York the way Bowie did!
"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay!" - Sherlock Holmes in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” - Sir Edward Leithen in "The Power House" by John Buchan
