Ziggy at 60

[Ramona_A_Stone]

From Ziggy to Changes: David Bowie turns 60
(Monday January 08, 2007)

LONDON (AFP) - David Bowie, the ever-changing chameleon of pop, has turned 60, the iconic rock star now in the guise of a contented sexagenarian.

Bowie, who has shocked and stunned with some of his numerous personas, such as Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and Halloween Jack, is now an elder statesman of rock, part of a growing band of 60-somethings who found fame in the 1960s and 1970s.

But though the British-born singer still remains muscially on the innovative edge, long gone are the wild days of sex-and-cocaine orgies and megalomania.

The Daily Mirror newspaper said Monday Bowie was to spend his birthday at his main home, a high-rise loft apartment in downtown New York.

Iman, his Somali model wife of almost 15 years, plans to cook him his favourite dish, shepherd's pie, before he curls up on the sofa with six-year-old daughter Lexi to watch cartoons.

"David is going to be 60 but he's not freaking out about it," said Iman, 51. "I guess that's because he's happy. We just lead a very simple family life."

But Bowie is not done with life as one of the most innovative musicians in rock.

He is to re-release 17 albums and hit the stage again in May in New York, in what will be his first major concert in three years. There are also rumours of a new album and tour later this year.

And a source close to Bowie told The Independent newspaper: "The archives are bursting at the seams, things that no one has ever heard. He's never done anything like The Beatles' 'Anthology', so there is scope for a boxed set and a DVD of his life."

Tony Visconti, who has produced several Bowie albums, said the evergreen singer's music was more complicated nowadays.

Bowie has thrown himself into a whole host of musical styles down the decades, including glam rock, New Romantic, Krautrock, dance music, alternative rock, jungle, soul and hard rock.

Visconti said Bowie was the most flexible of rock stars, had never got stuck in a rut and had launched several pop movements.

"I'm sure some of his fans would still love to see him in his Ziggy regalia, but David is still around these days, and still very vital, because he killed off his older 'personas'," he told the BBC.

"He is an innovator who's proved time and again that the only way to make music a vital part of our culture is to continue to break the rules."

Bowie is cited by many artists as a major influence on their careers.

And his hits are still popular, such as "Space Oddity" (1969), "Changes", "Starman", "The Jean Genie" (1972), "Rebel Rebel" (1974), "Heroes" (1977) "Ashes to Ashes" (1980) and "Under Pressure" (with Queen, 1981).

Born David Robert Jones in Brixton, inner south London on January 8, 1947, Bowie's family moved out to the leafy suburb of Bromley when he was six.

He first found fame with "Space Oddity", but it was only in 1972 with his first re-invention as Ziggy Stardust that his success kicked in.

Bowie is thought to have sold around 140 million albums, his biggest-seller being "Let's Dance" (1983).

He declined a knighthood in 2003 and suffered a minor heart attack in 2004 which cut short his "A Reality Tour" concert schedule.

Alongside his music career, Bowie has taken on regular film roles. He stars alongside Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson as world-renowned Nikola Tesla in the period film "The Prestige", released in October.

My god I feel old.

I always have felt that Bowie was an extremely important voice, if not the greatest 'pop star' ever. At the very least a formidable talent and one hell of a businessman. For decades his new albums have been coming out and seemingly, subtly or overtly, articulating exactly what was going on with me at the time--in a way I could never seem to articulate for myself until much later. As my tastes have grown and changed over the years it's always seemed like he was right there--or two steps ahead--never failing to produce something I could really sink my psyche into.

Here's wishing him a long(er) and productive life.

we passed upon the stair
we spoke of was and when
although I wasn't there
he said I was his friend
which came as some surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone,
a long long time ago

oh no
not me
I never lost control
you're face to face
with the man who sold the world

I laughed and shook his hand
and made my way back home
I searched for form and land
for years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazely stare
at all the millions here
we must have died a long
a long long time ago

who knows
not me
we never lost control
you're face to face
with the man who sold the world