A Short History of David Bowie

David Bowie is not a rocker. He played the part of a rocker, a rock star. He played a big part in the creation of modern pop celebrity, or modern celebrity image and the partnership the "artist" has with the media, the marketplace, and subsequently the consumer. He helped define the popstar, and thus celebrity, as "actor", as "fake", as "pretense". But he's not a rocker.

His greatest creation was the cod-rock star Ziggy Stardust. A stage persona. Ziggy fronted a "cool" band, played "cool" hey-kids look at this pop rock, he bitched about his fans, included the rock'n'roll suicide myth, made bisexuality "cool" for the uninitiated. Big shoes, glitzy glam, make-up, big hair: it was a show, a stage show, like Broadway, like Andrew Lloyd Webber but with better music. Ziggy was all about the ego, just like Marc Bolan was for real. Ziggy was like a dress-up doll with a spin off TV series and movie. But in this case the merchandise came before the character. Ziggy paved the way for Johnny Rotten, yet understood the game from the start. Rotten exclaimed "ever had the feeling you've been cheated" at the Pistols final show as though he'd just realized he was living a sham. Bowie said the same, but said it before Ziggy began, said it in the wings before he went on stage. And the people loved it. But not at first. They weren't ready for a cross-dressing space freak with a unisex hair-do, guitar blow-jobs, and sparkly jumpsuits.

The music from the band was rock. Mick Ronson's guitar was fundamental. It was sleazy and heavy, yet left room for the strings, keyboards and acoustic instruments. It was the glue. The fly-paper. Ronson was also responsible for the musical arrangements. It was his influence and purpose that led to the next generation of bands. The likes of Johnny Thunders, Mick Jones and Steve Jones. Ronson's music was uplifting. Ziggy was full of destruction, apocalypse and nihilism. It was all about the glamour of squalor.

The album "Young Americans" has been called plastic soul. Bowie returned to his R&B roots. Backing vocals come from Luther Vandross, a bit part for John Lennon. Then Bowie announced his retirement claiming he'd run his course and was fed up with being a famous musician. This was at the same time he was slated in the press for giving a Nazi salute as he walked off a plane. However, it led to a shift from the stage to the studio and a long year of partying in Berlin with the likes of Iggy Pop, where they collaberated to great effect. There were drug problems and arrests. A little of Ziggy had rubbed off. As punk raged (or blurted) Bowie stayed in Berlin.

In 1976 he recorded "Station To Station". An artistic album influenced by Kraftwerk and full of R&B mixed with electronic instruments. It was critically acclaimed and led to a three album, two year, partnership with Brian Eno. The album "Low" is full of Eno soundscapes which Bowie constructed the songs around and could be his finest moment.

His last great album was "Scary Monsters" which kick started the 1980s. It bought him many followers, the New Romantics for example, and was inflected with the new club-based culture as well."Fashion" and "Ashes To Ashes" were both hits and both great timeless songs. He summed up his career and achievements in 1993 by saying "For me a chameleon is something that disguises itself to look as much like its environment as possible. I always thought I did the exact opposite of that".