Firstly, Starman

I was looking for inspiration for my first post, and every single time I tried to write something, I couldn’t get the words quite right.

So, I poured myself a drink, crawled under a duvet, and put one of my favourite films on – Labyrinth.You know the 1986 one with David Bowie as Jareth The Goblin King.

I have adored this film since first watching it at my step-grandparents house, before I was 10 – it captured my imagination, I loved the songs, the characters and I loved David Bowie. I’m not even ashamed to admit that David Bowie became my first celebrity crush – because of this film.

There was something about his mysterious character, with all these weird funny creatures, having power over a kingdom and his musical ability (it had nothing to do with the thought he could rid me of my three brothers at all).

This was my first experience of David Bowie, and over the years, I just grew to love him more and more. He was an inspiration to me – and one of the main things I learnt from him was to never be afraid to be who you are and never be afraid to express it.

Bowie died on January 10th 2016, just days after his 69th birthday. He succumbed to liver cancer. I remember being woken up to the news of his passing by my now ex-boyfriend. I was devastated. The man I had spent over 15 years adoring had bravely fought a losing battle with cancer and his death sent shock-waves across the world.

I felt numb all day. I had the news on all day, just hoping that they had made a mistake. I played his music. I cried A LOT. And ultimately raised a drink to him whilst listening to his music. His death was hard on me, as I had lost my grandad a little over a month before Bowie’s death.

The death of two icons in my life was hard to take. I didn’t know it would soon be three (but more on that another time).
So what could I really write about other than my first inspiration?

So this is for you, David. Thank you for being my hero. Thank you for teaching me that it is ok to be different, to believe in myself, and to express my creativity. Thank you for capturing my heart at such a young age.

Thank you for being my first celebrity crush. Thank you for sharing your talent and for bringing smiles to the faces of millions of people. Thank you for being you, Ziggy. The stars have looked very different since you joined them.

The following is a piece I wrote about David Bowie and his impact on me, featuring some lyrics from the man himself.

In Brixton, under this moonlight, this serious moonlight
The crowd sways to an empty place.
Singing the sounds you gave us
As our love for you broke our hearts in two.

Oh, please don’t say it’s true.
We were the children once spat on as they tried to change their worlds
A world that was better because of you.

It started with a God awful small affair with the goblin king
And finished with a black star.
Now we turn and face the strange
That you aren’t here anymore.
I know that you are free like a bluebird
But you are so far away, you little wonder.

We look to you, Starman, waiting in the sky.
I would love to meet him,
He’s outrageous, he screams and he brawls.
Our rebel.
Our Ziggy Stardust.
Our hero.

As the pain sweeps through, the sun has gone down
And we look to you in Heaven.
Oh, how you turned our world upside down today.
You moved the stars for no one
But the stars are out tonight.

Oh, how the stars looked very different from that day.