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sudsybear · 6 years

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Ross came home for winter break and I saw him at Anna’s house, catching up with friends. He was in a mood to shock people, craving the attention. In our preppy world of Izods and coordinated t-shirts and vests, he too was caught up in the trendy fashion of the 1980s. Away from Wyoming he chose the “alternative” look. He bleached his brush-cut a platinum blonde and wore eyeliner and eyeshadow over his changeable blue/hazel eyes. His jeans were new – maybe a Christmas present - baggy in just the right places, and he wore a comfortable natural cotton sweater over a black concert t-shirt. Navy blue clogs with wood heels added an inch to his six-foot frame and a collection of silver and black bracelets dangled on his narrow, almost feminine, wrists. I was smitten with all of it and felt giddy when he walked into the room. For a sixteen-year-old girl he was an easy fantasy; exotic, yet familiar; experienced, exciting and worldly, but vulnerable. As giddy as I felt, and despite my letters to him, he was untouchable. Older, wiser, away at college, Ross was out of my league. Besides, David was my attachment - he and I were having our own fun together.

After his break, Ross went back up to Wooster for his second semester away from home. He dreaded going back…but trooper that he was, he went. What choices did he think he had?

Ross finally picked up pen and paper, and replied to one of my letters.

Postmarked 17 Jan 1984, from Canton, Ohio.

“Dear Susan,

I hope you can’t read this. Maybe you can with some effort. Well, your last letter was very interesting to say the least. Not many people write to me in crayon.

I’ll be nice and not make you read that anymore. Maybe it’ll save your eyes. School is cool. I’m out of work, partys parties are farty. Life is tough. You’ve got to lose 3 before you win 1. Apples are cooler than IBM’s. Moogs are more conscious than Yamahas. Technology sucks – especially pocket laser-disk players. The Who still rocks. This letter is more abstract than my usual style of writing. Maybe you’ll find an interesting part in all of this mess. My roommates’ new clock-radio doesn’t click like the old one. I wear my glasses a lot. Culture Club is excellent. M-U-S-I-C Is really neat-o, spiffy, swell, keen, etc. I really am having a difficult time writing this. AHG! FRUSTRATED

Well, that was fun. Nice envelope, Huh? I ran out of nice stationary (or –ery) but I still had envelopes left over. I just looked it up and writing paper is stationery and standing still is stationary. O.K.? Well. If I come up with anything interesting to write about, I’ll let you know. Until then I will have to be trite and boring and just write in circles and hope that you are smart enough to turn the paper around and not put the paper on the table and turn around the table so you can read this. Well, I must sign off. See you soon. (Like the 27th at Corral)

Ross

Not only did he write back, he actually addressed, stamped, and put the envelope in a mailbox. Was that really so hard to do?

“See you on the 27th”, I don’t know why Ross would have come home for such an event. Maybe he knew the band that was playing and wanted to show his support. Whatever the reason, it’s likely I did see Ross then. Maybe I showed up with David and met Ross at the Civic Center. Or, maybe it was girls’ night – Valli, Julie, Erin perhaps, Anna maybe. Standing in the lobby, laughing with friends, I easily imagine seeing Ross stand in line to pay his $2 to get in the door. Arriving alone, brave and confident to attend by himself. If not actually brave and confident, at least filled with enough desire to see the band that he was willing to risk loneliness and ridicule. We likely danced, and stole a few private moments outside cooling off in the winter air.

Ross and I were both survivors of Mrs. Potts’ Dance class. Fifth and sixth graders forced to dress up in our Sunday best on Wednesday evenings and taught the fine but fading art of proper etiquette. Mrs. Potts must have been in her late sixties when we attended her class at the Civic Center in the late 70s. Her assistant worked the record player and “led” when Mrs. Potts demonstrated a dance step. We speculated whether Mrs. Potts was really a Mrs. or not, and whether she and her assistant “got it on” on the weekends. To stay with the times, Disco Donna taught us the latest groovin’ dance moves.

Girls wore long dresses or skirts (no higher than mid-calf), stockings, and dress flats (no heels higher than one inch.) I wore penny loafers. We learned how to sit with our knees together and our ankles crossed (ours was the first year white gloves were not required). Boys wore suits, ties (NOT clip-on) and dress shoes (sneakers were not allowed) and learned to sit with knees together and back straight.

While the assistant ran the record player, we stood in two circles – boys in the center facing out, girls in the outer circle facing in. After every mini-lesson, the boys took one step to their right, and introduced themselves to their new partner. We learned the four hand hold, the box step, the waltz, and later, the proper way to lead and be led. Left hand on his right shoulder, right thumb on the palm of your partner’s hand. After a brief snack, where we learned how to eat properly – small bites, how to use a napkin, how to dispose of an uneaten hors d’oeuvre, how to hold a cup and napkin at the same time, etc., then Disco Donna took her turn for instruction.

Disco Donna wore her waist-length bottle-blonde straight hair with thigh high dresses and form-fitting shirts that flattered her not-so-ample cleavage. We sniggered through her lessons, following her clear Lucite platform shoes with battery-operated colored flashing lights in the soles. All this to learn the dance crazes in the discos at the time, the 7-up and the Hustle. We dubbed her partner, who visited class only once or twice, Ken, after Barbie’s sexless boyfriend.

So, when Ross and I danced together in the same Civic Center five, six, seven years later, did we do the Hustle? Only in jest, mostly we jumped around on the dance floor, bouncing to the beat of the base. By then, The Clash and the Ramones had put their mark on popular music. Not quite a mosh pit yet, but it was close. If we had to do it in gym class, we’d have balked, but put speakers up, add a band or a DJ, and we jumped around for a couple of hours or more! We got hot and sweaty, and then cooled off outside and cleared our heads from the noise. Chatting about the music and how long Ross would be in town - gossiping about mutual friends. Then we might have returned inside to catch the last set, and after the event was over, he joined us on the ride to Skyline. Who can remember?

* * *

Later that winter, Cincinnati enjoyed a rare snow. A steady storm dumped several inches of perfectly packable and delightfully sleddable snow on the ground. (The Inuit probably have a word for the type of snow it was.) And glorious for us, the temperatures stayed cold enough to keep the blanket of white on the ground for a few days. The town’s only golf course was the place to sled, and one night a group of us rounded up all the sleds we could (including my parent’s toboggan) and headed over to the slope. Dark already when we got there, the skies were clear, the stars were bright, and the moon must have been near full, because there was plenty of light to see.

Young and healthy, we truly enjoyed each other’s company; David, Christopher, Victor, Moj, Julie, Erin, Igor, Beth and Boyd, there were at least ten of us. I know I’ve forgotten someone. We only got one or two runs with all of us on the toboggan – we didn’t get the hang of steering it, and slid smack into the one tree on the hill. We cracked the toboggan, and rendered it unrideable. (I discovered later that it was unrepairable. It became expensive firewood.) Instead we took turns on the few sleds we had with us. Two to a sled, guys on the bottom, girls on top. Julie and Christopher careened into the ravine at the side of the fairway. Those of us at the top watched them go over the side and disappear. We had a small panic – were they all right? Soon they reappeared dragging the sled back up the hill. Christopher had the wind knocked out of him and they were scratched from all the bare shrubbery, embarrassed, but basically sound.

David wore his hair cropped short – not quite a crew cut, but pretty close. He made a run with me, then again with someone else. Between the sweat from exertion and water from the melting snow, the cold outside air turned his hair into icicles. His hair was crunchy! We were fascinated with the phenomenon and took turns “un-crunching” his hair – some of us more gentle than others.

While Christopher and Julie crashed in the gully, Moj and I had a great run. He knew how to steer, and we flew further and further down the hill. I’ll never forget the shared warmth of our bodies on the sled, the thrill of sliding at great speed so close to the ground, the cold air on our faces, blowing in our eyes making them tear. I didn’t want it to end. At the bottom of the hill, we finally slowed and rolled off the sled. I lay on the snow for a few minutes, still drunk with the feeling of flying. We got up and retrieved the sled a few yards away, and quietly trudged back up the hill together to catch up with the rest of the gang. That was the most intimate experience I ever shared with Moj, and he never said a word about it.

Finally time to head home, we ended up in somebody’s kitchen with hot cocoa, and drifted off to our own homes as curfews drew close. It was a fun evening, a magical night that we remember and talk about years later.

* * *

And yet for all the fun and camaraderie, I still longed for something more, something different, something more intimate and private than what I felt with my friends. In desperation for a reply from Ross (I was making an effort, why couldn’t he?) I made up a Mad-Lib, and sent him a SASE. All he had to do was fill it out, and drop it in the mailbox. This is what he did to my rather benign Mad-Lib.

To name of a student at Wyoming High School ;

_Eat Me_!_Eat Me ! Eat Me! How’ve ya been? I’ve been Wankful. It’s so gerund up here, that I hardly ever know (phrase). I (verb) your letters. They’re (adjective)!

My roommates name is (name) he has (adjective) hair. I (verb) him very much. He and I (verb) a lot together.

I’m taking (subject) this semester. The teacher is a/an (noun). I (verb) her/him very much. I am (verb) a lot about (subject).

Last night I went to (name of a local hangout). I spent (a number) hours there. I went with (a friends name). We had (adverb or adverbial phrase)

I have to (verb) a lot up here. It is necessary to, because if I didn’t I might (verb), and then my (noun) would be wasting their (noun). And then I’d have to (verb).

I did (adverbial phrase) over winter vacation. I had a lot of (adjective). I’m sorry that I didn’t get to (verb) you.

I’ll (verb) you soon.

You don’t have to be so condescending,

(adverb)

(name)

Well, things are going O.K., I guess. See ya the 27th or so.

--Ross

While I laugh at his efforts, I was disappointed in his response. What could be so terrible that he couldn’t share his roommate’s name? When still in middle school, I visited my brothers at Wake Forest and Willamette and so had some vague idea of what went on – drinking, stale beer and old cigarettes, studying avoidance, loud music and dirty laundry. Did he not trust me?

There’s that “see you on the 27th” again. Obviously a significant event in his life – unhappy at school, it was an opportunity for feeling safe and familiar, something he wasn’t getting at college. After that not-remembered night of dancing, Ross returned to Wooster and my life returned to its own rhythm - David, Corral, Choir, homework, and writing letters to Ross when the spirit moved me.

* * *

David’s birthday and Valentine’s Day approached. He and his buddies got it into their heads that they wanted a romantic evening with their girlfriends. Taking us to a fancy restaurant was beyond their budget, so the boys arranged to get David’s mother out of the house for the evening.

Not a fancy house, the ranch floor plan was simple and practical. The front door opened into the main hallway, kitchen on the left. Beyond that was the dining room with a sliding glass door that opened onto the back patio. David’s bedroom was off the hallway to the right, and the master bedroom was down the hall, also opening to the patio. Beyond the dining room, they cleaned the family room, and set out candles to complete the romantic mood. Soft music echoed from the stereo. Three sixteen-year-old boys transformed the house – they cleaned and scrubbed, and using fine linens and good china they set the table with the romance of flowers and candles.

They planned a basic menu – the appetizer was most exotic – fresh artichoke with béarnaise sauce. This would be followed by steak, baked potato, tossed salad, and chocolate mousse for dessert. They made all the preparations and even managed to clean the kitchen before we arrived (I suspect Mom helped a bit). David told me later that the first batch of mousse didn’t go right, something Christopher did ruined it, and they had to prepare a second batch. They paused their preparations to clean themselves up, and left to retrieve the girls for dinner. Christopher with Erin, Boyd with Beth, and David picked me up at home. Each brought us back to the house, parked their cars in the driveway, and escorted us to the door. Anticipation and expectations were high. This was going to be a romantic evening of seduction!

The girls sat and visited at the table, admiring and appreciating all the work they had done. The boys did the last minute preparations (salt and pepper on the table? Salad dressings? Drinks served?) and served the artichoke appetizer. We started eating, while on the patio David monitored the steaks on the grill. We passed the potatoes and sour cream, when the steaks were cooked, David served them, and joined the rest of us. The evening was going as planned.

But somewhere between the artichoke and the mousse, I got the giggles. With Erin, we ruined the boys’ romance. Laughter and good-natured camaraderie had not been part of the boys’ plans. They wanted to stare into our eyes and feel connected. They wanted us to be seduced while they waxed poetic and anticipated getting to second base or further if they could. Maybe sour cream dribbled down my front, maybe I got a chunk of gristle in my steak, maybe I snorted and had a nose full of gunk – I don’t remember the particulars. I do recall laughing hysterically, nervous at the boys’ outpouring of generosity, and scared of the expectations. I wasn’t interested in their style of romance.

Boyd and Beth left quickly after dinner. A year younger than the rest of us, Beth had to get home for her earlier curfew, and they wanted their privacy before Beth had to be home. When they left, Erin and Christopher played peacemaker between David and me. David was incensed. All his planning, all his forethought, and I didn’t behave as he anticipated. Sigh. David still hasn’t forgiven me for that, and I still don’t respond well to planned romantic events. Feed me well, spend time with me and make me laugh. But don’t plan and scheme to impress me. I much prefer the spontaneous, the whimsical, and the genuine inspirations of the moment. All these years later, I’m sorry David, I really am. Will you ever forgive me?

* * *

A few weeks later, on a late March Saturday morning, once again I found myself in the school lecture hall. That particular morning just crawled…the hands on the clock moved painfully slow. Noon finally arrived and we were freed from our windowless lecture hall prison. Spring is really HERE; temps in the 70s, the trees in full still-bright-green leaf, the blue sky cloudless, and the sun warm on your face. Bees were out in force pollinating the fruit trees in full bloom, and the red, yellow and white tulips brightened all the professionally designed suburban landscapes. After a cool morning, it was shorts weather. I walked the half-mile home stopping briefly at the mailbox to drop in a letter to Ross.

I left my backpack on the kitchen counter, ran upstairs and changed clothes, galloped back down to grab the keys to the car I was allowed to drive and left a note for my parents. “Took the car – off to Julie’s. Back later – Susan.” I put the top down in the driveway and drove to my friends’ houses and picked them up. We ate lunch at Burger King and then drove to the park to play Frisbee Golf. Oh to be sweet sixteen again!

* * *

Later in the spring, David’s dad dragged him on a “bonding” trip to West Virginia. For whatever reason David took his computer with him. He and Christopher arranged a time for David to dial in and they “talked” via modem. A technological achievement prior to local dial-up ISPs and the now crowded world-wide-web with IM-ing. I happened to be at Christopher’s when the call came through. Christopher hooked up his computer (He called it Flounder, an IBM with 32 meg RAM – incredible power at the time, 1984) and started typing. I watched, only mildly interested. But then decided to pull one over on David. I asked Christopher if I could have a go at the keyboard. “Sure.” He typed something in, letting David know there was another person in the room, and I started typing. We messed with David’s head for a few minutes – keeping him guessing as to who was in the room. I finally let the cat out of the bag with a private phrase David and I shared, and the joke was over.

The whole exchange was an interesting introduction to the potential of the computer - where the technology was going, and who was going to be a part of it. By the time AOL was marketing itself, I was an old hand at e-mail and telnet. There was usenet and UUnet and signing up for e-mail discussion groups. Then WAIS servers, Gopher services, Mosaic and finally, World Wide Web with HTML pulled ahead in the Internet war. Oh, I didn’t understand the mechanics or programming involved, but I embraced the technology as a user. I don’t have to talk to anybody, I can slow my thoughts down, have time to find the right words, and let my fingers do the talking!

When I asked David about it later – how they managed to do this without going broke with long distance charges, I was reminded they acquired long distance calling card numbers from newly formed, post-AT&T break-up, MCI. Computer security was lax or non-existent, and even though David and his friends were not hardened criminals, the information was there to be taken, so take it they did. These were kids playing with a new technology. And David wasn’t hardcore – he was a dabbler. Later, I’d hook up with the hard-core programmers; the ones with pasty complexions, a penchant for cycling and a tendency to notice obscure details of daily life.

* * *

Ross was still away at school – but had been home for his Spring Break and we saw each other one night at a gathering of friends. Despite the lack of correspondence on his part, I continued to write to him. Writing was my therapy, and he was my project. A friendly voice from home might cheer him up. It certainly couldn’t hurt, right?

Postmarked 9 Apr 1984, Canton, OH

4-8-84

Dear Susan,

Sorry I haven’t written in so long. I’ve been mega-busy! (Isn’t this great stationery?) Well, right now I’m listening to U2 and writing you a letter and avoiding a philosophy paper which is due Thursday.

By the way, thanx for the St. Pat’s Day card. Pretty Spiffy! Actually, I’m not even sure when St. Patrick’s Day was. You get to be really “out of it” in college. Ya know? Of course you don’t! But you’ll find out soon enough.

So how’s the social scene in Old Wyoming? I think I have someone back home extremely pissed at me because I wrote her a nasty letter. That’s right, it’s your friend and mine, Heather! Oh well, who cares?

Do you ever talk to my little brother (who is a lot taller than I am)? Well, if you don’t, you should because he’s a cool dude and he’s not socially accepted and he doesn’t talk to girls much and he’d probably be really happy if you did and this is a really long sentence and I don’t really care!

I am so frigging lonely up here. No one to talk to! Poor me. Oh well, I won’t bore you with sob stories! And I’ll also stop feeling sorry for myself.

The U2 tape just ended, so I put on Squeeze. Next: Psychedelic Furs, XTC, and RUSH.

I found a T.V. set on Tuesday. Thrilling huh?

Oh well, I’m getting stale. See ya in May (I get out the 3rd.) Till then, stay sweet and innocent and stuff. OK?

Ross

“Sweet’n’innocent” that’s what I called myself. Whew! Who was I kidding? I was a bundle of teenage hormones raging to be set loose. I was dangerous. But indeed I was naïve in many ways. Our close-knit community sheltered us from so much of life. That innocence was an unfortunate side effect of growing up in our suburb. We both suffered for it, learning life’s painful lessons on our own, without loving support from our families.

Ross tried to drown his loneliness with baselines and drum rhythms. His solace was music. I know his loneliness now. It’s terrible. When I left home and Ross, I was also terribly lonely. I had very little music with me, so I sought out those with music and made friends. And yet, I reached out to my familiars through letters. Later still, when I was in San Francisco and Berkeley, I was yet again lonely. I listened to more music, and wrote even more letters. I wrote to any and all friends or family I could think of. Like Ross, I had a hard time finding much to say, but I wrote anyway. I still write letters, though not the same way I used to. E-mail provides a lifesaving opportunity. Sitting in front of my monitor and keyboard, I pour my heart out. Then, because temporary glowing images on a monitor don’t share the sanctity of words on the printed or written page, it’s easy to cut and paste and move words around. I work though my thoughts and find the obvious, sharing then with family and friends. Time and technology helped tremendously toward tempering loneliness.

The next year I graduated from high school without ever writing the required and dreaded ten-page term paper. Our AP English teacher was pregnant, and left to have her baby midway through the year. We coasted through several weeks of short-term substitutes before a suitable long-term sub was hired. When our original teacher returned at the end of the year, the exchange resulted in lost papers, and crossed gradebooks. Since I didn’t want to put forth the required effort, I played the confusion to my advantage, and avoided writing the paper. Even later, I too got very good at avoiding philosophy papers and bombed other writing courses in college – I couldn’t keep the logic going. I’d skip a key piece of the argument figuring it was obvious, when it wasn’t. Rule number one – state the obvious. It’s harder than you think.

q��

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celticnoise · 7 years

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JAMES FORREST tonight launched an attack on Tony Watt after the former Celtic striker’s latest interview in which he talked down the Scottish game and stated that he wouldn’t want to play football north of the border again.

Of course I am referring to James Forrest, over at The Celtic Blog, rather than the Celtic player.

James calls Watt “an arrogant little sod,” and you can see why if you read his comments in the MSM.

I like James Forrest, well actually I like them both. Both are wonderful talents, both I think could probably achieve more, given the special talent that each one possesses.

But let’s deal with the writer rather than the winger.

James is a fine blogger and today’s comments from Watt provided him with an open goal to pile in and have a go at the player who scored the most celebrated Celtic goal, probably since Lisbon itself. That goal was super, super special and became a global news story. It came as Celtic celebrated our 125th Birthday, another fairytale. Remember the Centenary Season fairytale? Here it was happening again.

A few weeks earlier I remember watching a happy go lucky young forward enjoying life in the first team as we thumped St Mirren at their place. Efe played that day too, it was before his own confidence was smashed.

Watt signed from Airdrie for £100,000. He was a teenager. He had a decent career ahead of him and he was enjoying his new life at Celtic. It certainly looked that way that day at Paisley as the Celtic players tried, and succeeded in getting the Bhoy a goal.

To the support it was obvious that Watt had talent, maybe, just maybe we could have another young Nicholas on our hands?

That goal against Barcelona changed his life and maybe not for the best. The weight of expectation after that was something he simply could never deal with. A young boy from Coatbridge, full of swagger, had scored what turned out to be the winner against the best team in the world. Against Barcelona.

If he could do it against Messi & Co he could do it against anyone. Right?

Wrong. Instead of another Nicholas we ended up with a big-time Charlie. Poor Tony. That goal stole his career because he just could never handle it.

I’ve had the pleasure to meet and get to know some of the greatest players in Celtic’s history. Tommy Gemmell, Willie Wallace, John Hughes, Charlie Gallagher and others. They all retain a tremendous sadness about having to leave Celtic when their time came. Willie, incidentally will be at Parkhead on Saturday and will deserve the he applause when he comes onto the park.

For these players, who achieved so much, leaving Celtic was the hardest thing they had to go through in the game. For Watt, it was one goal and it was taken from him. Try living with that!

Last year, just as he was beginning his latest loan move, this time at Hearts, we asked Celtic writer Paul Dykes to prepare a feature on Tony Watt. It is reproduced below and is well worth a read.

Hopefully James Forrest will read it too. Both of them!…

TONY WATT: THE BASH STREET KID

The girl behind the bar was wearing a black skinny-fit t-shirt emblazoned with the unambiguous and slightly disconcerting slogan, ‘I Love Violence’, as my Celtic travelling troupe entered The Jolly Roger bar in the belly of Hamburg’s anarchistic pirate quarter, Sankt Pauli.

Despite the barmaid’s attraction to a good old-fashioned brawl, my travel companions and I had arrived in peace. We would have much preferred to learn of vintage and hard-to-find Adi Dasslers, The Beatles’ visit to the nearby Dom funfair and, of course, the squatters’ iconic Totenkopf during our weekend visit to the home of Hamburg’s Braun Weiss.

Somewhere between the Star Wars and Korova Milk Bars, The Jolly Roger’s tables and walls are adorned with posters, stickers, pennants, scarves and curio from all over the football world. It is the greatest anti-fascist, anti-establishment graffiti gallery you could ever imagine and we were mightily heartened to discover flashes of Glasgow’s Green and White amongst the KiezKicker collage. There’s a gun-toting Walter Sobcheck, warning us that “These Colours Don’t Run”, courtesy of the Sankt Pauli Skinheads; fan protest art to prevent a police station from being situated in the back straight of the Millerntor; various proclamations of “Gegen Nazis”; and the red-and-black skull and crossbone ‘Jolly Rouge’ as a statement to “Bring Back St Pauli”.

We were well and truly steeped in St Pauli sozial romanticism as the Astra beers and Fritz-Kolas were ordered and we settled down in the corner of this intriguing bierhaus. Energie Cottbus were hosting this fan-cultural phenomenon on the big screens, and the barmaid with a penchant for ultra-violence informed us that no other football match would be shown as long as St Pauli were in action. Despite the house rules, the barmaid brought over a laptop from behind the bar so that we could simultaneously enjoy Celtic’s visit to the Highlands on league duty against Inverness Caley.

Two hours later and, partly drunk on comradeship, new friendships and the St Pauli mythos, I was convinced that Celtic had unearthed their finest home-grown striker since Charlie Nicholas. We had just witnessed Neil Lennon’s shadow side record an impressive 4-2 victory at a historically hazardous Highland haunt and 18-year-old Tony Watt had scored a double in his first start.

As a group of Teddy Boys at the bar began to grab each other’s throats after a minor disagreement, we decided to move on to The Shebeen. A rendition of 1980s disco anthem, ‘Give It Up’, by KC & The Sunshine Band was transformed in homage to the Coatbridge youngster, and it unashamedly became the soundtrack of our weekend.

Tony Watt’s formative football years had been unremarkable and largely unconventional. He spent five years with Dunbeth Boys Club, where he played from the age of eight, and around three seasons with amateurs, Whifflet Athletic. It was while with the latter that his prolific goalscoring prompted trials with Saint Mirren and Queen’s Park.

Both clubs rejected the striker, with the Buddies’ head of youth brandishing him “too lazy”. Unperturbed, a 15-year-old Watt responded to an advert in his local paper, which invited youngsters along to Airdrie United for a trial.

Airdrie’s youth team coach, Jimmy Boyle, identified a raw talent in Tony, whose strength, instinctive finishing, and immense self-belief elevated him way beyond any of the other 30 applicants on show. Watt scored twice during the bounce match and was immediately called up to Airdrie’s under-17 side. Three months later, the free-scoring Watt was promoted to the under-19 squad and, when Boyle replaced Kenny Black as Airdrie’s first team manager, he made young Tony his second signing during the pre-season of 2010-11.

Schoolteachers at Saint Andrews High in Coatbridge had laughed when Tony Watt rhapsodised about his aspirations to follow in the footsteps of idols Didier Drogba and Henrik Larsson but, by the age of 16, he was making his first-team debut for Airdrie United against Cove Rangers in a pre-season friendly. He scored twice.

His competitive debut came soon after and Watt’s bonafide scoring account was opened just 10 minutes after coming on as a sub against East Fife in Airdrie’s opening league match of the season at Bayview. Before Tony scored his second league goal at Glebe Park he was already being tracked by English giants Liverpool.

This rough diamond was invited to Melwood by Anfield youth bosses for a trial in September 2010 and Jimmy Boyle pushed the arrangement through for the good of his prodigious talent. Watt was combining his two days training at Airdrie with an apprenticeship in a North Lanarkshire council office and had to seek permission from bosses to attend the three-day trial. Faced with the dilemma of chasing his dreams over a pen-pushing career, Tony made the journey south and was involved in a youth match against Wolves before returning to his parent club.

With at least three top flight English sides circling New Broomfield‘s pen, Celtic and Rangers declared an interest in Tony Watt. He was invited to Lennoxtown, where he showed up well in an under-17s game against one of his other suitors, Liverpool. A training stint at Murray Park followed before Tony scored his final goal in an Airdrie shirt against Alloa at Recreation Park.

Just six months after his Airdrie United debut, 17-year-old Watt signed a three-year deal with Celtic worth a potential £100,000 and went straight into Chris McCart‘s development side. Airdrie were able to strengthen their own squad with some of the funds by bringing in another young Scottish prospect in Gary Mackay-Steven.

Just two months after signing, Watt and fellow £100,000 signing, Greig Spence, were handed all-lime first team jerseys in a Friendly match against Athletic Bilbao at their old San Mames Stadium. True to form, Tony Watt almost scored with his first touch of the ball in the scoreless draw.

Although bubbling under the radar, there was no doubt that Watt’s rise had been nothing short of spectacular. He followed this up in September with a wonder goal for Celtic under-19s against Barcelona in the NextGen Series game. The audacious Watt picked the ball up just inside Barca’s half, before dribbling past three defenders and finishing with all the aplomb of a seasoned professional.

Tony Watt described signing for Celtic as “a dream come true” but even his wildest fantasies could not have prepared him for what was to come next. Hundreds of youngsters go through the revolving door of every top football club in Britain, and very few are able to craft out a meaningful career at the very highest level. By the time the 18-year-old had made the step up to make his competitive debut against Motherwell in April 2012, Watt had added a physicality to his game that full-time training had bestowed him.

Only in the squad due to being suspended for the following night’s Youth Cup Final due to a semi-final sending off, Watt came off the bench after an hour to replace the ineffective Pawel Brozek. With Stuart McCall’s men holding Celtic to a scoreless draw, Watt pounced on a Victor Wanyama cross at the back post and guided a right-footed shot into Darren Randolph’s net from a tight angle. The youngster with the number 32 jersey had opened the scoring for the team he had always supported and sent the Celtic fans behind the Fir Park goal into bedlam. Watt saluted them with a grin from ear to ear and portrayed a genuine innocence so vividly lacking in the box office world of top class football. Three minutes later, Watt rifled in a second from the edge of the box and his introduction to the Celtic faithful was complete.

Fortune, Rasmussen, Murphy, Kapo, Bangura, Brozek, Miku, Lassad: A litany of substandard strikers to have desecrated the hallowed Celtic striker’s jersey from 2009 to 2012. Millions wasted and only Gary Hooper to speak of during that era in terms of true quality in front of goal. So when Tony Watt emerged from Lennoxtown and scored his second double in his first start against Inverness Caley, he offered a glimmer of hope to Celtic fans who had long since grown tired of being let down by overpaid, unknown mercenaries.

Used sparingly, Watt added another couple of league goals to his tally against Saint Mirren (5-0) and Dundee United (2-2) before experiencing the apex of his young life.

“This is the stuff of legend. At the age of just 18, Tony Watt takes his place in Celtic folklore. This is mind-blowing. This is Celtic two Barcelona nil. He has no fear…”

Those words will live forever in the minds of Celtic fans around the world and it is without doubt the finest result in my Celtic-supporting life. Another fairytale chapter was written in the glorious history of this unique football club on 7th November 2012, when the unfancied champions of Scotland defeated the greatest club side in the world to celebrate the Glasgow underdog’s 125th birthday.

As the fan choreo turned Celtic Park into a green-and-white fortress to the backdrop of ‘Zadok The Priest‘, no one gave the home side a modicum of hope against a plethora of world-renowned modern-day icons, assembled for hundreds of millions, who hadn‘t lost an away match in the Champions League for six years.

Tony Watt made his entrance on 72 minutes for Mikael Lustig with Celtic a goal up virtue of a rampaging Victor Wanyama header. Just eleven minutes later and a penetrative Fraser Forster clearance was completely misjudged by Xavi ten yards inside his own half. Watt’s movement and pace was electric as he timed his run to perfection, took one touch and bulleted his shot beyond the oncoming Victor Valdes.

The Spanish press christened goalkeeper Forster ‘La Gran Muralla’ after this encounter and the match-winning Watt demanded more worldwide column inches than Ballon d’Or, World Player, European Golden Boot-winning forward, Lionel Messi, who pulled back a late consolation for Barcelona.

Although not a product of Celtic’s youth system per se, Watt offered legions of fans a glimpse of days gone by, when Barrowfield’s conveyor belt of talent produced a seemingly never-ending supply of goalscoring superstars in the sixties, seventies and into the eighties, but the aforementioned Nicholas was the last of his ilk to truly shine. The nineties proved far less fertile and offered us Gerry Creaney and Mark Burchill. Although much-derided, fellow Coatbridge graduate, Creaney was a prolific marksman in a woeful Celtic side. Burchill had been dubbed “Scotland’s Michael Owen” and had a lethal turn of pace, but both players were eventually sold to Portsmouth for under a million each and faced football obscurity for most of their careers. So would Tony Watt’s footballing journey continue to be meteoric or would it go the same way as so many other Scottish talents and be catastrophic?

Following up the Barcelona performance with another goal against Saint Johnstone four days later, Watt promptly signed an improved four-year deal with Celtic amidst interest from West Brom, but the rest of his season was mediocre at best as he failed to score another goal and was in and out of the side that went on to secure a League and Scottish Cup double.

Concerns began to surface that Watt did not possess the maturity or mentality to make a lasting contribution at Celtic Park and, during the pre-season of 2013-14, Neil Lennon brought in another striker in 22-year-old Amido Balde from the Portuguese league. Despite interest from Saint Mirren and Aberdeen, Watt was sent to Belgian Pro League side, Lierse, on a season-long loan deal on the same day that Celtic shelled out even more millions on yet another striker, as Teemu Pukki joined from Schalke.

It became clear that Tony Watt had failed to deal with his overnight promotion from Bhoy Racer to King of Coatbridge and the loan deal was viewed by many as a concerted attempt by Neil Lennon to help develop the player in an environment devoid of the destructive baggage which has seriously hindered the football careers of many fine Scottish prospects: from Andy Ritchie to Derek Riordan and dozens inbetween. Lennon was no stranger to setbacks himself as a youngster and the foot soldier that saved the Empire may well have seen this loan opportunity as Watt’s last throw of the dice. In just nine months Tony Watt had gone from being the slayer of Barcelona to fifth-choice striker at Celtic Park and, while his team-mates looked forward to Champions League encounters with AC Milan, Barcelona and Ajax, Watt was rooted in the backwater of the Belgian league.

In the Jupiler Last Chance Saloon, Watt took just 90 seconds and two touches of the ball to score his first goal for Lierse against Kortrijk. He was immediately criticized by his new manager, former Ajax and Netherlands goalkeeper Stanley Menzo, for being lazy and unfit, and a pattern began to emerge.

Scoring goals did not seem to be a problem for Watt, but his discipline certainly appeared to be. Watt believed that tearing his shirt off, after finding the net a few days later against Lommel United, was an ample way of proving his condition to Menzo (a Dutch veteran of the 1990 World Cup Finals).

By October 2013, Scotland under-21 boss, Billy Stark, had axed the Anglo-Scot from the European Championship double-header against Slovakia and Georgia claiming, “Tony has to work on his fitness”. Dundee United’s Andy Robertson and Celtic’s Callum McGregor, then on loan to Notts County, were called up as debutants as Tony Watt’s career began to stall in dramatic fashion. One year earlier, Stark had described the striker as “unstoppable”.

November spawned a monster in Belgium, as a month later Watt was sent home from training on two occasions and sent off after 30 seconds against Charleroi. Menzo threatened to end the loan deal early and Neil Lennon proffered that “Tony can be a difficult boy sometimes”.

A redemption of sorts occurred on Boxing Day as Watt came off the bench to score two against Mechelen, to which Menzo explained, “today I am glad we have him but tomorrow I might want to murder him”.

By February, Lierse wanted to make the move permanent but a month later and Menzo was reported to have slapped Watt in the face and demoted him to the reserves after the young striker publicly criticised his gaffer. Tony Watt never played another first-team match for the Belgian side and returned home for pre-season having notched 9 goals in just 10 starts.

Despite maintaining a decent return of goals, Tony Watt’s career had been in freefall since that unforgettable European night against Barcelona. Neil Lennon had commented after that vintage result that “it will take some doing to top what he’s done tonight” but the teenager had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on the obvious talent he had and it would appear that he failed to do so.

His Twitter parody account, which regularly spoke of “Burds” and “Playstations” astonishingly turned out to be genuine and his summer holiday with friends was played out to a disbelieving public when he should have been priming his body for a return to Celtic’s first team.

To the surprise of many, Neil Lennon departed Celtic Football Club in May 2014 and was replaced by Ronny Deila, a young Norwegian with a fantastic reputation for developing players in his homeland. Deila and his assistant John Collins instantly mapped out a vision of their Celtic side and placed a huge onus on conditioning, performance analysis and sports science.

Celtic’s first competitive match under the new managerial team came in the shape of KR Reykjavik in the Champions League Second Qualifying Round. As Callum McGregor scored the only goal of the game in Iceland, Tony Watt was lining up for the reserves against Stenhousemuir.

Regardless of his well-documented problems in Belgium, Watt had still done enough to impress Zulte-Waregem, KV Oostende and Standard Liege and all three clubs were said to be preparing a bid for the 20-year-old.

New manager, Deila, revealed that he had tried to sign Tony whilst in charge of Stromsgodset and it appeared that there may yet be a glimmer of hope for him at Celtic Park. Tony, meanwhile, uploaded images of his new leg tattoo on to Twitter.

Celtic travelled to St Pauli in July 2014 as I had done two years previously and it was in the quarter infamous for the sinful mile that Tony Watt had truly come to my attention. It would also be here, in the Millerntor, that his Celtic career would come crashing to an end.

Ronny Deila picked Watt to start for the first time and played him wide left. As AC/DC‘s ‘Hells Bells‘ rang around the incredible home of St Pauli it occurred to me that a more fitting soundtrack could have been The Specials‘ ‘Too Much Too Young‘. Tony Watt walked onto the pitch sporting a hairstyle aggressively shaved around the back and sides and I wondered if he was perhaps made for a cult club like St Pauli.

Watt played well enough and almost scored but when Celtic won a late penalty, and an opportunity to equalize a first half opener from Christopher Nothe, there was a scene more fitting of a public park on a Sunday morning. Watt instinctively snatched the ball to take the penalty despite Bahrudin Atajic being an apparently pre-determined choice for the spot kick and he was berated from the touchline by an incensed Ronny Deila. Watt was forced to hand the ball over to the Bosnian, who proceeded to loft it high over the bar.

A procession of managers have criticized Tony Watt for his fitness and attitude but he was an exciting young prospect with a composure in front of goal that belied his tender years. There was a sense of sadness and disappointment, if not surprise, when Celtic accepted an offer of around £1.2 million from Standard Liege and Watt signed a lucrative five-year deal with the Belgian side. Like the many expensive foreign imports before them meanwhile, Balde and Pukki monumentally flopped at Celtic Park and the club struggled to recoup the vast amount of their outlay on the pair.

At just 22, Watt recently signed a year-long loan deal with eighth club Hearts and there may still be an opportunity for him to develop into the player he promised to be just four short years ago.

Sadly, it seems more likely that future generations of Celtic fans will watch reruns of Celtic’s historical victory against the best club side in the world only to ask, “Whatever happened to Tony Watt?” Written by Paul Dykes for CQN. Paul has written some fine Celtic books including The Quality Street Gang and his latest Hoops Stars and Stripes – The Andy Lynch Story. If you order this now from CQNBookstore.com you will receive a copy signed by the former Celtic skipper and a free signed copy of Charlie Gallagher? What a Player!

http://ift.tt/2k4gpX1

#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #CelticQuickNews

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whenthatchermeetsbowie-blog · 7 years

Photo

Background

Timeline

1947 David Robert Hayward-Jones was born. 1953 Familie moved to ‘Bromley’. 1959 David received his first saxophone for Christmas. 1962 First band ‘The Konrads’. Beaten on his eye that creates color difference in his eye. 1966 Changed his name to David Bowie. 1967 First album: David Bowie. 1969 Album ‘Space Oddity’ inspired by the movie ‘A Space Odyssey’. He met Angie Barnett. 1970 3th album ‘The Man Who Sold The World’. David Bowie takes an androgyne look. 1971 Album ‘Hunky Dory’. Married Angie, son Zowie was born. 1972 Rock/alien alter ego ‘Ziggy Stardust’ was born. Explained he’s bisexual in magazine Melody Maker'. Album ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’. 1973 David Bowie stops with Ziggy Stardust. Album ‘Aladdinsane’ & ‘Pin Ups’. 1974 Album ‘Diamond Dogs’. 1975 Glamrock alter ego has gone, new way to soul and R&B. Album ‘Young Americans’. 1976 Film ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth (David Bowie leads). Saturn award for best actor. New Identity/alter ego ‘Thin White Duke’. Album ‘Station to station’. 1977 Collaboration with John Lennon. Album ‘Heroe’s’. 1979 Album ‘Lodger’. 1980 Album ‘Scary Monsters And Super Creeps’. David Bowie and Angie divorced. 1983 David Bowie reached the ‘mainstream’ public. Top hits: Modern love & China girl. Post-Disco album ‘Let’s Dance’. 1984 Album ‘Tonight’. Hit ‘Blue Jean’, David Bowie is known for his combinations in music/film/theater. Film ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’. 1986 Film ‘Absolute Beginners’. Film ‘Labyrinth’. 1987 Album ‘Never Let Me Down’. 1989 Album & collaboration ‘Tin Machine’. 1990 Sound and vision tour. 1992 Married model/man Abdulmajid. 1993 Album ‘Black Tie White Noise’. 1995 Album ‘Outside’. 1997 David Bowie turned 50. Album ‘Earthling’. David Bowie gets a star on the ‘Walk Of Fame’. 1999 Album ‘Hours’. 2000 Birth of his daughter Alexandra 2003 Top albums ‘Reality’ & ‘Heathen’. 2013 Song ‘Stars Are Out Tonight’. Onverwacht album ‘The Next Day’. 2014 Wint Brit award for ‘best male’. 2016 Album ‘Blackstar’. On 10 January died.

Source: stylebook research Marileen Bouman

General information

Born in Brixton (London) on januari 8 in 1947. His family moved to Bromley when he was six years old. He is an English musician, artist and actor. He changed his name to David Bowie in 1966 because he didn't want people to compare him with Davy Jones from the band 'The Monkies'. When David was in the mand 'The King-Bees' he named himself David Jones.

In 1972 he broke through for the first time with the album 'The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the spiders from Mars'. He created an alter ego named Ziggy Stardust. A androgynous, colorful and unusual appearance. Ziggy Stardust was the beginning of the glam-rock scene.

When Ziggy Stardust stopped Bowie created a new alterego as countermovement. Thin White Duke; skinny, smooth, stylish and more casual. This look went along with the album 'Station to Station' in 1976.

David Bowie is famous for continue changing his style. He also adds several disciplines such as music, fashion, theater and film toghether which always creates something unique. He can analyse trends and dictate them. This has resulted in many top albums, movies, art and theaterplays. He was a big influence in the 70s till now, even after his dead.

Relationships

After different short relationships David met Angie (Angela Barnett) in 1969. They had an open relationship. After a year they got married and in 1971 they had a son named Zowie. Later he changed his name to Jones. The marriage was still 'open' and had a lot of ups and downs. Angie was very depressed and once tried to commit suicide. This let to a divorce in 1980 and David got the custody of Zowie. David had after Angie different short relationships. He met a model in 1990 (Iman Abdulmajid) who he married two years later. In august 2000 they had a daughter named Alexandria.

Family

David Bowie was the son of John and Peggy. His father died in 1969 days after he won the award for best produced record for 'When i live my dream'. David his breakthroguh still had to come but his parents were really proud of him.

David had a half-brother; Terry Burns. They were really close. Terry joined the army in 1956. When he came back he inspired David with different kinds of music and let David see the life outside Bromley (jazz and r&b). At the age of 29 Terry had symptomps of the disease schizophrenia, a disease very common in the family. He was admitted to an institution and tried to commit suicide several times. He succeeded in januari 1985. David was broken about it and later on he wrote a song about it; 'Jump they sey'.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-20944291

PERSONALITY

For the personality research we looked at the different characters he has made through the years. After that we will make a conclusion of his personality also in mind that he changes himself all the time.

Man Who Sold The World

Much of The Man Who Sold the World had a distinct heavy metal edge that distinguishes it from Bowie's other releases, and has been compared to contemporary acts such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Source: http://ziggy.mybluemix.net/static/personality.html?persona=Man%20Who%20Sold%20The%20World

Lyrics song ‘Man Who Sold The World’.

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 alone, 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

Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/davidbowie/themanwhosoldtheworld.html

It was his third album "The Man Who Sold The World" that characterised a wholly different sound for him. The heavy rock sound was a marked departure from his folksy overtones and saw him promote the album extensively. It was during these promotions that Bowie’s androgynous appearance was first capitalised upon. The original British cover saw Bowie in a dress, one that he often sported during promotional interviews. His androgynous avatar was hugely popularised and Bowie went on to tease his fans about his perceived bisexuality. Reams have been written back in the day of his sexual preferences, quotes that he himself has later debunked. I never could quite get my head around why he’d do that but it set the notion that if anyone could promote androgyny with such sass, it had to be Bowie. Source: http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/remembering-remembering-david-bowie-the-man-who-sold-the-world-the-finest-saddest-strangest-and-most-beautiful-freak-show-itll-ever-see-bowie-a-man-whose-music-was-as-metaphorically-schizophrenic-2578976.html

The third studio album by Bowie (in England only in 1971 appeared to meet an alternative hoes, Taking full use is made of the androgynous appearance of the singer - see above) is regarded as an early example of glam rock. The Man Who Sold The World was a Pretty dark plate, which alone was evident in the lyrics. So All The Madmen treats a theme that's coming back more often in his songs: insanity. Bowie GAF later than ook toe HE THAT song was written more than are tragic half-brother Terry Burns, die suffered from schizophrenia and himself 25 years later in life deprived door himself door to let a train run over. Source: http://classicrockmag.nl/classicrockfacts/45-jaar-tmwstw/

1971: Bowie's Three Musketeers Phase

David Bowie is noted for being one of the most sexually open and promiscuous stars ever on-stage. Bowie sampled everyone: his managers, assistants, groupies, other musicians, stars, models, you name it. He and his first wife Angie Bowie had an open relationship and a penchant for throwing orgies at their house on Oakley Street in London that still shocks the neighborhood decades later. Source: http://allday.com/post/909-the-many-faces-of-david-bowie/

The world stood still when David Bowie died on January 10th. Bowie is considered a musical genius, especially since he reinvented himself time and again. He switched regularly by genre, by immersing themselves in it thoroughly and give a complete twist. Creative as he was, he stretched himself in every new musical period a totally new alter ego. Include name, clothing, way of talking and moving. Anyone else would be of acute schizophrenic, but David Bowie was a way to express how versatile he was. Are anything but mainstream characters fell in and worked very refreshing among all the other artists. The best known is probably Ziggy Stardust from the early 70s, a man / alien with bright red hair. Thereafter, among others followed the androgynous Aladdin Sane, the timeless dandy The Thin Duke and Bowie in tight suit "Lets dance" a megahit sang in the eighties. All of these transformations had a large influence. On the fashion world and on society. Were his alter egos and are inspiring for major designers. Miu Miu, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Paul Smith; all of them came in the last few years with a collection that was inspired by one of his characters. He has his androgynous characters as early as the seventies opened doors for transgenders. Without David Bowie no Caitlyn Jenner, we want to say. Source: Viva 26 January 2016

Androgen (no gender)

Long flowing locks, high cheekbones and soft lines; These were the elements that David Bowie his androgynous look was complete for the release of his third album, The Man Who Sold The World. For the British album cover he put on a dress, which he later did wear during interviews and in public. It earned him mixed reactions. His early glam rock and gender-bending style during his Hunky Dory album (think bell-bottom jeans and fur) underlying his alter ego Ziggy Stardust in 1972.

Source: https://fashionunited.nl/nieuws/mensen/david-bowie-de-dood-van-een-mode-icoon/2016011125349

Conclusion: This period relates to his album ‘Man Who Sold The World’. With every new music album he switched style, name, way of talking and moving. He creates a new personality with every new album. Long hair, high cheekbones and soft lines, these were elements for his androgynous look for this album.

What do people think about him? It was new, something they didn’t seen before. What inspired him? Miu Miu, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior and Paul Smith.

What are the characteristics of this personality? Long hair, high cheekbones and soft lines.

Ziggy Stardust (1972)

The most famous and complete concept that David Bowie created. With this look he was one of the founders of the glam-rock scene. The album is a story about an alien (Ziggy) who in human form the message of hope brings. Ziggy stands for the definition rockstar, sexual promiscuous and wildly on drugs but with a message of peace and love.

'They were different, they were weird' – someone talking about David Bowie and his band.

The idea for the 'look' came from an fascination and an interest in music and theater. The songs came from Bowie's brain, obsessed with space, Japanese culture and fame. He wasn't shy to talk about his inspiration.

'I'm a collector and I collect personalities and ideas'. – David Bowie

He wanted to change the music industry because he thought it was boring.

It took months to develop each members image. People really thought Bowie and his band came from Mars. It was fantasy.

Bowie was going trough a spiritual awakening but was acting it out through the medium of Ziggy. People didn't want to interview Bowie but Ziggy. He was an actor.

'He created a monster and had to kill it, he couldn't be Ziggy Stardust for the rest of his life' – someone talking about Bowie killing Ziggy.

What are the characteristics of his personality? Androgyne – Weird – Open – Imaginative

What inspired him? Fascination and interest in music and theatre, obsessed with space, Japanese culture and fame.

What do people think about him? A weird rockstar

What is his vision here? Be weird, the music industry is boring.

Aladdin sane

Rest in peace, Ziggy Stardust – long live Aladdin Sane. Just a year after seducing the world with the saga of Ziggy, Bowie killed him off to invent a new glam character – a much darker one, with a new hairstyle and a lightning bolt painted over his face. "There was a point in '73 where I knew it was all over," Bowie said. "I didn't want to be trapped in this Ziggy character all my life. And I guess what I was doing on Aladdin Sane, I was trying to move into the next area – but using a rather pale imitation of Ziggy as a secondary device. In my mind, it was Ziggy Goes to Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America.”

Aladdin Sane is a harder, nastier, gaudier album than Ziggy Stardust, written on the road and immersed in the decadence and sleaze of American culture. Each song on the LP is listed with the place that supposedly inspired it: "Watch That Man" in New York, "Drive-In Saturday" in Seattle and Phoenix, "Cracked Actor" in L.A., "Lady Grinning Soul" back in London. But everywhere he goes, he sees cheap sex and cheaper drugs. Now that he'd hustled his way into the American limelight, he wasn't sure he liked it.

Aladdin Sane is the sixth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records on 13 April 1973. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album he wrote and released from a position of stardom.

What inspired him? After his Ziggy Stardust character he inspired himself to invent a new darker glam character. He was also inspired by the dirty American culture

What are the characteristics of this personality? Gloomy, Uncertain

BRON 1: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-america-inspired-david-bowie-to-kill-ziggy-stardust-with-aladdin-sane-20160413

BRON 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_Sane

Thin White Duke

Wiki https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_White_Duke

The Thin White Duke was David Bowie's persona and character, primarily identified with his album Station to Station and mentioned by name in the title track, although Bowie had begun to adopt the 'Duke' persona during the preceding Young Americans tour and promotion. The persona's look and character are somewhat based on Thomas Jerome Newton, the titular humanoid alien played by Bowie in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth.

At first glance, the Thin White Duke appeared more "normal" than Bowie's previously flamboyant glam incarnations. Wearing a simple and impeccably stylish, cabaret-style wardrobe consisting of a white shirt, black trousers, and a waistcoat, the Duke was a hollow man who sang songs of romance with an agonised intensity while feeling nothing, "ice masquerading as fire".[1] The persona has been described as "a mad aristocrat",[2]”an amoral zombie",[3] and "an emotionless Aryan superman". Bowie himself described the character as "A very Aryan, fascist type; a would-be romantic with absolutely no emotion at all but who spouted a lot of neo-romance."

The Thin White Duke was a controversial figure. While being interviewed in the persona in 1975 and 1976, Bowie made statements about Adolf Hitler and fascism that some interpreted as being positive or even pro-fascist. The controversy deepened in May 1976 when, while acknowledging a group of fans outside of London Victoria station, he was photographed making what some alleged to be a Nazi salute. Bowie denied this, saying that he was simply waving and the photographer captured his image mid-wave. As early as 1976, Bowie began disavowing his allegedly pro-Fascist comments and said that he was misunderstood. In an interview that year in the Daily Express, he explained that while performing in his various characters, "I'm Pierrot. I'm Everyman. What I'm doing is theatre, and only theatre... What you see on stage isn't sinister. It's pure clown. I'm using myself as a canvas and trying to paint the truth of our time on it. The white face, the baggy pants - they're Pierrot, the eternal clown putting over the great sadness."In 1977 (after retiring the persona), Bowie stated that "I have made my two or three glib, theatrical observations on English society and the only thing I can now counter with is to state that I am NOT a Fascist".

In later years, Bowie called the period from late 1974 until early 1977 which culminated in his Thin White Duke persona "the darkest days of my life" due to his "astronomical" cocaine usage. He blamed his erratic behaviour and fascination with Nazi and occult symbols during that time on his precarious drug-addled mental state, and he claimed that he did not even remember recording Station to Station in 1976."I was out of my mind, totally crazed."As his drug habit ate away at his physical and mental health, Bowie attempted to reduce his cocaine intake and phase out the Thin White Duke persona, whom he had come to see as "a nasty character indeed", and later, "an ogre". He left Los Angeles and settled in West Berlin in late 1976. He would live there for almost two years, moving on from the Thin White Duke era both musically and personally with his "Berlin Trilogy" albums (Low, "Heroes", and Lodger) in collaboration with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. >

Book: David Bowie Style

> Chapter 4: Diamond Dog to Thin White Duke

If Ziggy was about the blaze of a new star and Aladdin Sane his fall from the heights, the Thin White Duke represented the emptied shell of the man left in the aftermath.

Still this was a period where he became very famous hanging with people like John Lennon and Elizabeth Taylor.

The Duke was a man struggling to experience his own emotions, existing in an amoral zone of numbed feeling. Once more, the boundary between the artist and his creation became unstable, with Bowie's drug consumption and minimal food intake a recipe likely to send any individual into fraught mental state. His Restricted diet also meant that Bowie appeared skeletal – spectral almost – with translucent skin stretched over razor-sharp cheekbones and deep-set eyes.

Like a torch singer lit by a dying candle, the Duke was, in Bowie's own words very 'Berlin-esque', conjuring up elements of the underground nightclubs that had existed in the city during the 20s and 30s. Like Berlin at that time, the Duke was a character on the edge of catastrophe. Bowie's dark aesthetic during this incarnation reflected both that previous era and the 70s, when economic stagnation in the west was rife and civil unrest seemed to be inevitable. The colorful blaze of Ziggy's rise was now brought fully back to earth and the Thin White Duke embodied the dark trauma of a burnt-out star.

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What do people think about him?

David Bowie was very populair and tried to make it in America. With friends like John Lennon and interesting music he became very populair. But because he made pro-fascist statements linked with persons like Hitler people became very critical on him. Later he explained that he was mentally ill and this was actually the worst time of his life because of drug problems. This period was a very dark period in his life and this character is kind of the translation of this. The opposite of the colorful Ziggy Stardust. “Thin White Duke embodied the dark trauma of a bunt-out star”.

What inspired him?

Thomas Jerome Newton, a character that he played in the movie: The man who fell to earth. This movie was also an inspiration for him because he always had a link with the unknown and alien things.

He also was using a lot of drugs and later even claimed that he did not know anything of the recordings anymore.

What was his vision here?

I don't think he really had a vision in this period of his life. He made different statements that people called 'Fascistic' but he said later that he is not and that he was using so much drugs that he didn't think clearly. But because it was a very dark period I am sure he had dark thoughts about life but there are no facts about that.

What are the characteristics of this personality?

Fascist/ Controversial/ Numbed emotions/ Emotionless/ Unstable/ Empty/ Lonely/ Depressed

Top 3: Emotionless/ Depressed/ Unstable

Berlin Bowie moved to Switzerland in 1976, purchasing a chalet in the hills to the north of Lake Geneva. In the new environment, his cocaine use decreased and he found time for other pursuits outside his musical career. He devoted more time to his painting, and produced a number of post-modernist pieces. When on tour, he took to sketching in a notebook, and photographing scenes for later reference. Visiting galleries in Geneva and the Brücke Museum in Berlin, Bowie became, in the words of biographer Christopher Sandford, "a prolific producer and collector of contemporary art. Not only did he become a well-known patron of expressionist art: locked in Clos des Mésanges he began an intensive self-improvement course in classical music and literature, and started work on an autobiography.”

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie#1976.E2.80.931979:_Berlin_era

When Bowie moved from Los Angeles to Berlin in late 1976, he’d been on the edge of physical and mental collapse. At first, he fell back on old habits, cruising around the divided city with flatmate Iggy Pop, drinking KöPi at Joe’s Beer House, stumbling into gutters and transvestite bars, clubbing at the Dschungel and the Unlimited. One night, Iggy sat in the passenger seat as Bowie rammed their dealer’s car again and again, for five crazed minutes. He then drove around their hotel’s underground car park, pushing 70mph, screaming above the screech of the tyres that he wanted to end it all by driving into a concrete wall. Until his car ran out of fuel and the two friends collapsed in hysterics. He realised his goal was not simply to find a new way of making music, but rather to reinvent – or to come back to – himself. He no longer needed to adopt characters to sing his songs. He found the courage to throw away the props, costumes and stage sets. By the summer of 1977, Bowie was on a creative high. With producer Tony Visconti and friend Brian Eno, he began to make a new album. Over long sessions in the studio, he ate almost nothing, sailing home to Hauptstraße with Eno at dawn, breaking a raw egg into his mouth, and sleeping a few hours before returning to the studio. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/13/david-bowie-berlin-years-heroes-just-a-gigolo

Interview with David Bowie about his time in Berlin.

Many reasons have been suggested for moving to Berlin: the local art and music scene, to escape superstardom, for spiritual and physical detox - plus the creative stimulation of being in an isolated, edgy, divided city. Are these theories accurate? Can you remember why the city appealed?

db: Life in LA had left me with an overwhelming sense of foreboding. I had approached the brink of drug induced calamity one too many times and it was essential to take some kind of positive action. For many years Berlin had appealed to me as a sort of sanctuary like situation. It was one of the few cities where I could move around in virtual anonymity. I was going broke; it was cheap to live. For some reason, Berliners just didn't care. Well, not about an English rock singer anyway.

Since my teenage years I had obsessed on the angst ridden, emotional work of the expressionists, both artists and film makers, and Berlin had been their spiritual home. This was the nub of Die Brucke movement, Max Rheinhardt, Brecht and where Metropolis and Caligari had originated. It was an art form that mirrored life not by event but by mood. This was where I felt my work was going. My attention had been swung back to Europe with the release of Kraftwerk's Autobahn in 1974. The preponderance of electronic instruments convinced me that this was an area that I had to investigate a little further.

Source: http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/features/dbuncut.html

David Bowie: The Berlin Briefings is a collection of resurfaced interviews, featuring guest appearances from friends, producers, and his then-roommate, Iggy Pop. Bowie talks candidly about living with Pop in Berlin in the late ’70s, and what ended up being an incredibly refreshing, productive era for both of them. Their time in Germany was a mental and creative vacation, the chance for them to get away from a heavy drug scene and the weight of being famous in America. This is when Bowie created what is referred to as his “Berlin Trilogy”: Low (1977), “Heroes” (1977), and Lodger (1979). Meanwhile, Pop churned out two iconic albums of his own in 1977: Lust for Life and The Idiot. “I knew I had to get to an environment that was totally different to Los Angeles, so I thought of the most arduous city that I could think of,” Bowie said in his 1977 interview with the CBC. “And it was West Berlin.” Source: http://www.spin.com/2016/06/daily-deal-rare-collection-of-interviews-with-david-bowie-and-iggy-pop/

Conclusion: In Berlin David Bowie learned a lot about himself. He moved to Berlin because of different reasons but the main reason was to kick off from drugs (cocaine). He said Berlin was a creative vacation, the change for him to get away from a heavy drug scene and the weight of being famous in America. He realised his goal was not simply to find a new way of making music, but rather to reinvent himself. He no longer needed to adopt characters to sing his songs. He lived in Berlin for 3 years and beside music he started painting.Wa

Pierrot (1980)

Also known as the Blue Clown (cover of the Scary Monsters album). David wanted to be the most beautiful clown of the circus.

'I'm Pierrot, I'm everyman, what I'm doing is theatre, it's pure clown. I'm using myself as a canvas and trying to paint the truth of our time'. – David Bowie.

Bowie studied theatre and mime and played a role in a theatre production Pierrot in Turquise. He turned into Pierrot in his music video Ashes to Ashes.

The song is about his past with drugs. In the song he says that if you want to accomplish something you have to say away from drugs. The struggle with his past, dark side, lonely and lost.

What are the characteristics of his personality?

Realistic – strong

What inspired him?

His past with druguse, things his mother once said to him.

What do people think about him?

Fairytalelike

What is his vision here?

Be realistic, tell the truth, no more hiding.

Modern Love

"Modern Love" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. It was the opening track to his fifteenth studio album Let's Dance. It was issued as the third single from the album in 1983.

Bowie claimed the song was inspired by Little Richard, and it maintains the album's theme of a struggle between God and man. The line "Get me to the church on time" from the lyrics is the title of the same-named tune from My Fair Lady. By the time "Modern Love" was issued and edited as a single, Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour was underway. The single reached No. 2 in the UK, and No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

As a video, “Modern Love” is as straightforward as it gets, especially compared to the others Bowie did that year, “China Girl” and “Let’s Dance.” That could be because Yukich, even though he was Capitol/EMI’s in-house director at the time, was still a newcomer to directing music videos, but it more likely reflects the sudden success of “Modern Love.”

It has less to do with the video and more to do with the song: As art-damaged as Bowie liked to be, he could sling straight-forward rave-ups with the best of ’em, and “Modern Love” is basically one long hook, which perhaps obscures the anxiety about faith—in both the almighty and relationships—at the song’s core. Few pop songs can pull off sing-alongs to the lyrics “God and man, no religion.”

What inspired him?

The song was inspired by Little Richard and the head theme of the whole album was the struggle between God and man.

What are the characteristics of this personality?

Enchanting,

BRON 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Love_(song)

BRON 2: http://www.avclub.com/article/modern-love-david-bowie-mixed-modern-timeless-230645

Earthling (1992)

Is the name of the album strongly affected by electronic music and inspired by the industrial- drum and bass culture of the 90s. Intensity of agression. The album was an attempt to producte some really dynamic aggressive soundings. A texture diary of the earlier years.

'balance, mental, with the way I live and my downfall' – David Bowie

Embrace his outsider-status. The music matters the most.

The real Bowie came forward in the 90s

What are the characteristics of his personality?

Calm – Creative – Spiritual

What inspired him?

The electronic music and drum and bass culture of the 90s

What do people think about him?

Reborn, the real Bowie is coming foward.

What is his vision here?

Music matters the most. BRON ziggy stardust http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/star-man-the-story-of-bowies-ziggy-stardust-763290

BRON ziggy stardust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Ziggy_Stardust_and_the_Spiders_from_Mars

BRON pierrot http://dangerousminds.net/comments/pierrot_in_turquoise_david_bowies_little-known_first_theatrical_appearance_

BRON pierrot http://culturedarm.com/pierrot/

Lazarus

Lazarus is a character and single of David Bowie's last album 'Blackstar'. In the clip of the single you can see him with a mask in a hospital bed. The single opens with the lyrics: 'Look up here, I am in heaven'. A lot of discussion started when he died, did he organize the album around his death? The answer is probably yes.

Research

Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_(David_Bowie_song)

"Lazarus" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie. It was released on 17 December 2015 as a digital download, making it the second single from his twenty-fifth studio album, Blackstar (2016), as well as Bowie's last single released before his death on 10 January 2016. The single received its world premiere on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq on the day of its release as a single. In addition to its release on Blackstar, the track is used in Bowie's off-Broadway musical of the same name. The official music video, directed by Johan Renck, was released on 7 January 2016, three days before Bowie's death.

The video was directed by Johan Renck (who also directed the music video for Bowie's previous single, "Blackstar") in November 2015; during the week of shooting, doctors reportedly informed Bowie the cancer was terminal and that they were ending treatment. The filming location was a studio in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The video is shown in a 1:1 aspect ratio and prominently features Bowie, appearing with a bandage and buttons sewn over his eyes as in the "Blackstar" video, lying on a deathbed.

Telegraph UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/16/david-bowies-last-release-lazarus-was-parting-gift-for-fans-in-c/

“David Bowie's final record was a carefully-orchestrated farewell to his fans, his producer has confirmed.”

“Tony Visconti, the producer who worked with Bowie to complete his final album, has released a statement saying it was deliberately created and timed as a "parting gift" for his fans.”

"His death was no different from his life - a work of Art.”

Wiki 2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_David_Bowie

Bowie's final album, Blackstar—styled as ★ on the cover—was heavily analysed following his death, and numerous supposed clues about Bowie's fate were discussed. The album's second single "Lazarus" includes the lyrics "Look up here, I'm in heaven/I've got scars that can't be seen", which appeared in numerous news publications after his death. The album's title was also believed to have symbolised death; it is the name given to a cancerous lesion, as well as the term for the transitional state between a collapsed star and a singularity. It is also reminiscent of the name of a little-known song about death by one of Bowie's musical idols, Elvis Presley, which features the lyrics "When a man sees his flaming star, he knows his time has come". A tumblr account which seemingly included images replicated in the yet-to-be-released video for "Lazarus" was speculated to have been created by Bowie, and these images—Bowie retreating into a wooden cupboard, and writing with a skull on his desk—seemed to many to symbolise Bowie's imminent death.

Other lyrics were also scrutinised; the track "Dollar Days", for example, featured the line, "Don't believe for just one second I'm forgetting you/I'm trying to/I'm dying to". The title and refrain of the album's final track, "I Can’t Give Everything Away", was believed by some commentators to refer to Bowie keeping his imminent fate private whilst hinting at it throughout the album, while its use of the harmonica solo from "A New Career In A New Town"—an instrumental track on Bowie’s 1977 album Low which refers to his move to Berlin—was considered a reference to Bowie beginning another new phase of his life. The track "Girl Loves Me", another example, features the line, "Where the fuck did Monday go?", which some listeners believe eerily predicted the death of Bowie on Sunday, therefore missing Monday.

Lyrics Lazarus

Look up here, I'm in heaven

I've got scars that can't be seen

I've got drama, can't be stolen

Everybody knows me now

Look up here, man, I'm in danger

I've got nothing left to lose

I'm so high it makes my brain whirl

Dropped my cell phone down below

Ain't that just like me?

By the time I got to New York

I was living like a king

There I'd used up all my money

I was looking for your ass

This way or no way

You know, I'll be free

Just like that bluebird

Now, ain't that just like me?

Oh, I'll be free

Just like that bluebird

Oh, I'll be free

Ain't that just like me?

> The lyrics shows a lot of this last period of his life. He is talking about his death, what he accomplished and a dark time in his life. He also makes clear that this was his way of ending his life, with a last album, he is free!

Billboard

http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6836029/david-bowie-blackstar-album-review

Blackstar is its own strange, perverse thing, the latest move in a boundlessly unpredictable career. Bowie turns 69 on its release date, Jan. 8, yet he remains as committed to novelty as anyone in pop. He also remains a powerful and effective singer, displaying the full range of his tricks on Blackstar -- whispering, warbling, shrieking and dropping into his most romantic baritone-Bowie croon to deliver lyrics like "I want eagles in my daydreams and diamonds in my eyes." That line is one of the more hopeful on a discomfiting record, an album that keeps you riveted even when -- especially when -- it creeps you out

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What do people think about him?

After this album and his death Bowie became a real legend. People had a lot of respect for his way of handling his death and said that he was a real artist that kept singing and working until the end. He also became more famous then he already was, who didn't know him yet know him now because social media exploded after he died. He has so many skills. Singing/ acting etc., he uses it all to express himself.

What inspired him?

Because this was the last period of his life I think he was mainly inspired by death, everything he did and was always inspired of, like space and the alien. I think he also wanted to make a last statement, that he is a blackstar, scared but in peace.

What was his vision here?

I think that his vision also links with death. He has peace with it and believes he is in heaven.

What are the characteristics of this personality?

Peacefull/ Satisfied/ Strong

> Important is that he really wanted to show that he was a star. He made a statement with his death, he surprised everyone, again.

Conclusion personality

What we particularly noticed that he actually is a kind of all-rounder, which changed constantly. Adjusts how he feels at certain moments, which were created different characters. Who are seen as characters but David Bowie sees itself as part of what he is. He pushes the boundaries, he is always looking for innovation. He has known a lot of emotion swings during his characters.

VALUES + BELIEVE

Quotes Bowie:

“I don’t know where I’m going but I promise it won’t be boring”

“I always had the repulsive need to be something more than human”

Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zri74q3HDDY

David Bowie: “I was just always looking for expending.. I didn't really know what, but experience new things”.

“Being characterized is like being trapped for me .. Nothing in this world is a real reality, it's not something you can hold on to”.

Values:

Individualistic

Innovative

Experimental

MUSIC

What genre is David Bowies music?

While many late rock stars are rightly saluted for their influence and impact, Bowie

occupies a higher historical tier entirely. He's not just an influential rocker. He's not merely one of the most influential rockers. Among rock stars, Bowie influenced more musical genres than anyone else, living or dead. He is, in that respect, the most influential rock star.

Let's run through this. Obviously, no one is going to question how essential he was to glam rock. While The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars and Aladdin Sane ensured his long-term career and infamy, glam rock as a genre owes him just as much. If Bowie hadn't gone glam, history would remember it as a goofy, cute curiosity -- a sub-genre full of wacky fashion and frothy pop songs, but producing no serious content (apart from one or two T. Rex albums, depending on your taste). Most glam rockers are remembered as that -- glam rockers. Bowie, however, produced two albums squarely within the style while simultaneously transcending it. The aforementioned titles aren't simply glam classics -- they're rock classics. They're singer-songwriter classics. They are, simply put, works of art.

In the industrial rock realm, Bowie's impact can't be underplayed: It's impossible to imagine Trent Reznor or Marilyn Manson having substantial careers without Bowie paving the way for them. And when grunge replaced pop-metal as the go-to genre for rebellious teenagers, Bowie was once again a touchstone.

Bowie's various personas have had an impossible-to-overstate influence on teenage minds since the early '70s -- and he will probably continue to inspire personal artistry and nonconformity until long after all of us are dead. Even the idea that one person can have multiple personas and creative identities --- and still remain authentic with all of them -- is something Bowie pioneered. So in that way, Bowie truly is and will remain a peerless rock star -- someone whose music, style and outlook impacted the world in ways no one else did.

Most important genres:

- Glam rock

- Art rock

- Pop rock

Most important features:

- Musical cameleon

- Big influence on multiple genres

When did Bowies music became iconic?

Bowies first attempt at being a solo artist failed miserably. A big amount of singles, including his debut album, became a flop. However, with the single Space Oddity he broke through. This song about walking in space was right in time, since in the same year (1969) mankind set foot on the moon for the first time.

After that Bowie made the alter ego Ziggi Stardust, in which he played with an androgynous appearance. He looked like an alien that could have been either man or woman. He and Marc Bolan were the inventors of Glam Rock.

Is his work a representation of the zeitgeist?

When more and more artist got a look like he did, Bowie decided to let his persona die. He moved to the VS to record a soule number (Young Americans). Bowie has always been a true musical cameleon. He never kept only one music genre and went on with the time spirit. He also did a lot of collaborations with different artist which already were famous or became famous because of him. Rather than as a musician, it’s in Bowie wholly embodying the idea that creativity is an art that must be done with an unwavering devotion to an ultra-aware introspection, and that your spiritual essence is the canvas upon which your best work deserves to be shown is what makes him impressive. Even further, I’d venture to say that this is what allows him to stand as one of the most dominant and zeitgeist controlling creative masters across all mediums of art, ever.

What were his inspirations? Terry Burns, his half-brother, introduced him to modern jazz, his enthusiasm for players like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane led his mother to give him a plastic alto saxophone in 1961; he was soon receiving lessons from a local musician. If you look at the early songs from Bowie's hands, you will see "Song for Bob Dylan" from Hunky Dory (this song is a play on words – Dylan wrote a song to his source of inspiration: "Song for Woody Guthrie"!). Also note the reference to John Lennon in "Life On Mars" from the same album. Later, on the Young Americans album, Bowie duetted with Lennon on "Fame".

David Bowie also liked Bruce Springsteen's work – and this dates back to before Springsteen became a superstar. He covered "Growin' Up" and "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City" – both songs are from Springsteen's debut album Greetings From Asbury Park. See the article Bowie meets Springsteen for the story of how the two singers eventually met. Roy Bittan from the E Street Band ended up playng piano on several of Bowie's albums.

David Bowie was also openly inspired by Iggy & The Stooges and by The Velvet Underground. Not surprisingly, David Bowie and Iggy Pop became friends – and Bowie produced Lou Reed's Transformer.

CONCLUSIE

- Most important genres:

- Glam rock

- Art rock

- Pop rock

- Musical cameleon

- Big influence on multiple (rock and pop) genres

- He smartly combined the lyrics of his songs with social events (For example the song Space Oddity. First men on the moon in that same year).

- He was one of the most dominant and zeitgeist controlling creative masters across all mediums of art(music), ever. - Inspired by people more than materials

- All of his albums tell a different story(concepts, new identity) - Experimental - Lyrics were personal

Art

David Bowie had studied art and started collecting paintings very early on. Art was the only thing he ever wanted to own. He had to wait till the mid 90’s to get recognition for his own paintings. This because of his fear for failure and thus postponing the public outing of his paintings. 1. What art movement dit David Bowie belong to?

Neo-Expressionism

from 1970

subjects in an almost raw and brutish manner

with the aim to shock people

highly textural

expressive brushwork

intense colors

strong emotions

eclecticism

large canvases

autobiographical elements

political statements

subcultures (graffiti, ethnic art) as an influence

truth > beauty

2. What are the subjects of his paintings?

(self) portraits

scenes from everyday life

personal experiences from traveling

his style:

expressive

emotional

raw

dark

experimental

3. Is his work a representation of the zeitgeist?

The 70’s and 80’s were dominated by artistic forms derived from postmodernism. These movements could be described as an ironic and playful treatment of a fragmented subject, the breakdown of high and low culture hierarchies, the undermining of concepts of authenticity and originality, and an emphasis on image and spectacle. In the eyes of neo-expressionist painters, such as David Bowie, these art forms were very superficial. David Bowie went against postmodernism and created stories through expressive art in which he portrayed his personal feelings and thoughts.

4. What were his inspirations?

David Bowie was a collector of art. He mostly collected paintings from expressionist and surrealist painters such as Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, Francis Bacon, Francis Picabia, Erich Heckel and Damien Hirst. These painters were also the inspirations for his own work. Their paintings were emotional, subjective and showed dark emotions such as fear and anger.

album covers:

Many of Bowie’s album covers were inspired by different artists such as Erich Heckel and Gilbert & George. The latter being an artist duo creating brightly colored and bold conceptual art.

Conclusion:

Art as an emotional outlet

Not afraid to show emotion and political engagement

Lets himself be carried away by emotion

Has a dark side

Very open minded (especially about inspiration from other artists)

Strong, expressive creativity

Chooses authenticity and truth over perfection and shallowness

Contrast: insecure (inside) - daring (outside)

Sources:

http://www.vogue.com/13458171/homes-david-bowie-art-collection-sothebys-auction/

http://www.theartstory.org/definition-postmodernism.htm

http://bigthink.com/laurie-vazquez/what-made-david-bowie-so-creative-his-obsession-with-art

http://www.kunstkennis.nl/kunstgeschiedenis/moderne%20kunst/neo-expressionisme.htm

http://kunstvannu.blogspot.nl/p/neo-expressionisme.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37845306

https://www.yahoo.com/news/david-bowie-striking-legacy-painter-003551444/photo-ancestor-ii-1995-1998-1452561082366.html

https://sl4artglobal.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/bowie-in-berlin-between-expressionism-and-nightlife/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5X5G3tWTJzk9fQbp1x65zXY/pop-art-why-david-bowie-loved-these-five-paintings

Film & Theater

In welk filmgenre speelde David Bowie en wat zijn hier de kenmerken van?

Voor welke filmgenres produceerde hij zelf?

Wat zijn de onderwerpen van zijn films? (als acteur en filmmaker)

Sluit zijn werk aan op de zeitgeist of gaat hij hier juist tegenin?

Wat zijn zijn inspiraties? Bowies love for acting started at a very young age. In the years between his first few singles and the fame that came with Space Oddity, Bowie studied dance and mime under Lindsay Kemp.

THEATER

The Elephant Man

The acting debut on the American stage of rock singer David Bowie was greeted by a standing ovation in Denver when the singer, noted for his flamboyant musical style, took on the role of physically misshapen John Merrick, the human monster with a liking for culture.

Bowie claims his interest for this performance was based on the outrageous and distorted elements that his character was based on. (Could have something to do with the schizophrenia in his family.)

FILMS

Along the way, he only had a handful of leading roles; most of the time, he was part of the supporting cast or had a cameo. Sometimes he even played himself, putting a twist on his public image. A David Bowie appearance might not have always guaranteed critical acclaim, but – as you’ll see in our comprehensive look back – it was usually a sign that the work would be creative and imaginative.

Labyrinth (1986) Musical, Adventure, Fantasy

Where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems.

Bowie playing an evil goblin king as an oddly maternal, glam rocker. We don’t imagine the part required much real acting, but it surely showed us a goofier, more playful side of Bowie.

The man who fell of the earth (1976) Sci-Fi, Drama

You have to believe it to see it.

Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth finds the man who was, only a few years earlier, Ziggy Stardust playing an alien who has come to Earth to find water to his drought-stricken home. At the height of his mid-’70s drug excess, Bowie appears pale, painfully thin, and often nervous — making him the perfect extraterrestrial.

The Hunger (1983) Horror

Nothing Human Loves Forever

Growing old and dying have always been preoccupations for Bowie, and we imagine that’s what makes his turn as a rapidly aging vampire so memorable.

Bowie always excelled at playing the magic freak: the world-weary, otherworldly outsider who is both adored and condemned for his destabilizing mojo. And because Bowie's insuperable Bowie-ness glitters too brightly for him to vanish into any one part, a close look at his film and theater roles is a case study in the merits of stunt casting.

He chose his roles so selectively and with such idiosyncratic, yet strangely consistent taste, that almost incidentally to the main narrative of his extraordinary life, he amassed an enviable onscreen filmography.

VIDEOCLIPS

A year before MTV went on the air, Bowie released the video Ashes to Ashes. (1980) Which Bowie directed together with David Mallet. It cost £250,000 to produce, making it the most expensive music video ever made at the time.

Ashes to Ashes

The music video for "Ashes to Ashes" features Bowie dressed as Pierrot in a variety of bizarre situations. Steve Strange of the New Wave band, Visage, cameos. Bowie has said the shot of himself and other characters marching towards the camera in front of a bulldozer symbolizes "oncoming violence." During this scene, the characters behind Bowie are not bowing, but simply trying to pull their gowns away from the bulldozer so they don't get stuck! This, and many other images in the video suggest that Bowie may be trying to bury the various personas he developed.

The clip was shot during the New Romantics Culture. The fantasy & Escapism of the clip suit to this period of time.

David used his alter ego’s during his performances as an actor as well as the other way around.

SPIRIT OF THE TIME

New Romantics Culture New Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to punk,[3] and was heavily influenced by former glam rock stars of the 1970s such as David Bowie and Roxy Music.[4] In terms of style it rejected the austerity and anti-fashion stance of punk.[5] Both sexes often dressed in counter-sexual or androgynous clothing and wore cosmetics such as eyeliner and lipstick, partly derived from earlier punk fashions.[6] This "gender bending" was particularly evident in figures such as Boy George of Culture Club and Marilyn (Peter Robinson).[3]

INSPIRATION

Since he has had such a long and varied career, David Bowie is very much an artist influenced by his peers. As Hans Hyttel points out he wrote songs about Bob Dylan and John Lennon (also Andy Warhol) and you can see the influence of them in his music and art. He also hung around with Lou Reed and Iggy Pop for a time and they three had great influence on each other. He also collaborates a lot with Brian Eno and you could say Eno crafted much of the sound that we identify as "Bowie" as he produced many of Bowie's most famous albums.

The later phases of his career he delved heavily into German synth and electro pop, even re-recording a few of his songs in German and releasing whole albums of very German inspired music.

As to what inspired him initially to produce music. well his wiki article states "Terry Burns, his half-brother, introduced him to modern jazz, his enthusiasm for players like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane led his mother to give him a plastic alto saxophone in 1961; he was soon receiving lessons from a local musician." - (Read more: David Bowie)

CONCLUSIONS

· Bowie studied dance and mime under Lindsay Kemp.

· Acting debut: The Elephant Man

· Handful of leading roles; most of the time, he was part of the supporting cast or had a cameo.

Labyrinth (Fantasy)

The man who fell of the earth (Sci-Fi)

The hunger (Surreal Horror)

· Bowie always excelled at playing the magic freak: the world-weary, otherworldly outsider who is both adored and condemned for his destabilizing mojo

· The music video Ashes to Ashes. (1980) It cost £250,000 to produce, making it the most expensive music video ever made at the time.

· The clip was shot during the New Romantics Culture. The fantasy & Escapism of the clip suit to this period of time.

· New Romantics: In terms of style it rejected the austerity and anti-fashion stance of punk.[5] Both sexes often dressed in counter-sexual or androgynous clothing and wore cosmetics such as eyeliner and lipstick, partly derived from earlier punk fashions

· Inspirations: He was inspired by Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Andy Warhol which influence you can recognize in his music and art.

During a later phase of his career he was inspired by German synth and electro pop.

His half-brother Terry Burns and musicians Charles Mingus and John Coltrane introduced him to modern-jazz music when he was younger.

Sources:

https://www.quora.com/Who-inspired-David-Bowie

http://soul-psychics.com/blog/the-spirit-of-david-bowie/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000309/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm http://www.davidbowie.com/bio

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6836438/david-bowie-music-videos-best

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6836438/david-bowie-music-videos-best http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-david-bowie-music-videos-20160120 http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2010/10/cracked_actor.html

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/01/the-8-essential-movie-performances-of-david-bowie-91853/

http://www.bowiegoldenyears.com/1979.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/david-bowie-11-surprising-facts-about-the-king-of-glam-rock/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/01/09/twin_peaks_will_return_on_may_21_with_a_two_hour_premiere.html

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/david-bowie-movies-that-define-his-film-career

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085701/?ref_=nm_knf_i3

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115632/?ref_=nm_knf_i2

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074851/?ref_=nm_knf_i4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPithDmHrd0

Other

CAREER SWITCH

In 1998 David told the New York Times that by creating visual art it him helped to create better music. He said that if he had a creative obstacle in the music that he was working on, it would often revert to painting or drawing it out. In the painting or in the drawing arised a structure of the music what he was working on and this would produce a breakthrough.

SUPPORTED CHARITIES

In 1984 David participated in the English charity band Band Aid. The band was aimed to raise money to fight the famine in Ethiopia. Together with other famous English singers they recorded the song Do They Know It’s Christmas. It was a number one hit in multiple countries and raised a lot of money.

In 1985 Bob Geldof (co-founder of the band) organized the charity concert Live Aid. It was a 16 hour during concert and there were contemporaneous performances in various countries such as the US, the UK and The Hague. David Bowie performed in the Wembley Stadium in London. The event was broadcasted live in many countries and became one of the world’s biggest media spectacles ever watched. It was so successful that 245,4 million dollars was raised that evening also for the famine in Ethiopia.

David has also supported a lot of charities. The charities support the causes of abuse, AIDS & HIV, At-Risk/Disadvantaged Youths, children, disaster relief, economic/business support, education, family/parent support, health, human rights, hunger, miscellaneous, peace, poverty, weapons reduction, women rights.

The charities that he supported were:

21st Century Leaders

Every Mother Counts

Food Bank For New York City

Keep A Child Alive

Mines Advisory Group

Save The Children

The Lunchbox Fund

War Child

Whatever It Takes

WhyHunger

Witness

Sources

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie

http://bigthink.com/laurie-vazquez/what-made-david-bowie-so-creative-his-obsession-with-art

http://liveaid.free.fr

https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/david-bowie#charities

CONCLUSION

David cares for the world and the people living on it. By creating visual art it him helped to create better music

He blurred gender lines with ultra-glam, over-the-top androgynous looks in his “Ziggy Stardust” days and later adopted a sharp, buttoned-up persona that was anything but stuffy. The ‘80s were filled with vibrant coloured suits, printed overcoats, and flashy accessories. And let’s not forget his ever-changing hair. One word: magical. Even with the release of his most recent album “Blackstar,” just four days ago, the legend was still serving style supremacy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/david-bowie-fashion-icon-photos_us_5693c3d6e4b0a2b6fb70ce1b

Why Did You Call The Exhibition David Bowie Is?

“The title is both a statement and an unfinished sentence, and poses the question David Bowie is – what? Our approach was to leave that question open, and to highlight the fact that there is no single answer.”

https://www.mrporter.com/daily/why-mr-david-bowie-is-still-a-cultural-icon/1107

Bowie’s sartorial legacy has inspired generations of designers, from tailoring don Giorgio Armani to Belgium’s more avant garde Dries Van Noten. For his spring/summer collection this year Jean Paul Gaultier sent Bowie lookalikes down the runway, telling reporters he found the V&A show “absolutely incredible… You see how clever he is in all his projects, and how he connected to art.”

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131004-ch-ch-anges-bowies-many-looks

‘’ I’m a collector, I collect personalities and ideas.’’ - Bowie

‘’A tiger that is captured is wilder than a tiger in the wild.’’ - Bowie?

The inimitable, genre-defying musician produced a staggering 26 studio albums in his lifetime, resulting in scores of hits across half a century — from 1969’s “Space Oddity” to 1973’s “Life On Mars” to 1974’s “Rebel Rebel” to 1975’s “Fame” to 1977’s “Heroes” to 1983’s “Let’s Dance” to 1987’s “Dancing In The Street” with Mick Jagger — all the way up to 2016’s Blackstar, his latest studio album, which was released just a few days ago on January 8.

http://popcrush.com/david-bowie-dead-obit/?trackback=tsmclip

#research

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