...on his music, David Bowie, passed away on Monday after a protracted battle with cancer. Leading musicians spoke to us about his influence on their work, his many avatars and his legacy.
...on his music, David Bowie, passed away on Monday after a protracted battle with cancer. Leading musicians spoke to us about his influence on their work, his many avatars and his legacy.
Space Oddity. Starman. Fame. Let’s Dance. Under Pressure. The Man Who Sold The World. Many were the hits that David Bowie (real name David Robert Jones) was known for, in his over four-decade career. It was during the ’70s and ’80s that Bowie was credited with changing the landscape of the music world; but even as the androgynous rocker avatar that he crafted for his landmark album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was making waves, the musician and consummate performer had already moved on to his next reinvention.
As Bowie passed away after an 18-month battle with cancer on Monday, music lovers seemed stunned. After all, the British rocker had just released his latest album (Blackstar) on his 69th birthday last week.
Vishal Dadlani called the news “a kick in the back”. Tirthankar Poddar — better known as 2Blue — said Bowie’s passing marked “the end of an era”. For all the musicians that we spoke to, the news of Bowie’s death also meant a revisiting of the first time they heard his music, the first time they experienced the magic of his persona, and everything that entailed. They talk about how Bowie had influenced them, and what they felt his greatest legacy was
Vishal Dadlani: When I heard the news this morning, it was like being kicked in the back. Because David Bowie was one of the most remarkable artists ever — not just in his music, but his song-writing, the visual element Everything he did was pioneering. Take the example of Ziggy Stardust — his style was all-pervasive and he first took theatrics to a whole new level and that is what gave rock and roll its identity. For people my age, the impact songs like The Man Who Sold The World had, is unimaginable. I got into David Bowie very late. In my formative years, songs like Let’s Dance were the pop anthems, but they didn’t influence me much.
Then I heard Under Pressure, which he did with Freddie Mercury, and then I went back and I wanted to listen to everything that this guy had ever created. His iconic trait was, he had no limitations. The sad thing is you’ll never see them again: There can only be one MJ, one David Bowie or Freddie Mercury. There will be a number of great artists that will come, but there can only be one David Bowie.
Ehsaan Noorani: David Bowie was a trendsetter, a chameleon. With every album, he came up with new sounds, new records, which is a stark change from how the music industry works today. I have heard great reviews even for his latest album, Blackstar, and that again is said to introduce new sounds. I’ll remember Bowie most for his songwriting. He was known for introducing various styles in music but songwriting was something he excelled at. One album that stands out for me is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I heard him back during the ’80s, at a time where there were no television sets, and you only heard him through albums and cassettes that one may have acquired I have liked each and every avatar Bowie inhabited, more so because they were so shocking! By the time you had settled to one avatar, he was out with something else to surprise you! To me, he was an entertainer in every sense of the word.
Uday Benegal, Indus Creed: David Bowie’s influence on music has been unquestionable. He constantly battled conventions and emerged victorious. He dabbled with many genres, be it pop or rock, and even abstract, but he made these mainstream. He was peculiar in his music, and yet he appealed to everyone — right from the musical to audiences.
I wasn’t a huge fan of David Bowie, but I did listen to a few songs here and there. For instance, his pop song Let’s Dance, isn’t something I heard as a rocker, but it has grown on me and I do listen to it at times. My interest in him has been far more recent than during my growing up days.
Ash Chandler: We have lost many great musicians in the last year David Bowie was the first person to incorporate so many genres of music. I grew up in the ’80s and he was a path-breaker. Friends who loved pop, loved him; friends who loved rock, loved him too! There would be no Lady Gaga today if there wasn’t a David Bowie! He was as interesting as his music and he wasn’t just a singer but also a performer. I would say he was the pioneer in performance arts. He expressed his personality so beautifully with his music. He used to be on Radio’s TOP 14 when I was growing up and Let’s Dance is one of my favourites.
2Blue (aka Tirthankar Poddar): It’s the end of an era. David Bowie has left behind a body of work that will be remembered for a long time, like his song Under Pressure, which was a massive hit. In his career spanning 40 years, Bowie mixed everything beautifully. He brought to the audience, the best of two worlds — theatrics and singing. His fans across the world have been praying for him ever since they heard of his cancer diagnosis, and it’s unfortunate that we remember an icon the most after his death.
Devraj Sanyal, Universal Music: I heard my first Bowie song, Space Oddity, in the early ’80s when I was 9 or 10, from my dad’s LPs. I had no idea who he was but his image as a different artist with his androgyny left a lasting impression. I have been listening to his music for the last 30 years — every song he recorded. I still have every song painstakingly ripped from my Bowie CDs when I gave away from my CD collection. He is one of those artists I go back to every month and listen to a few albums that I really liked. Space Oddity and The Man Who Sold The World continue to be my favourite songs though I have been listening to Lazarus — a single from his latest album Blackstar — for the past few days, so the news of his death is an absolute shock. To me, David Bowie was a legend and a star. I love that he challenged popular culture and end up being a cult. He had that power.
