Photo Courtesy of Les Zg- Wikimedia Commons
David Bowie was the voice of a generation, or at least a genre, in the form of glam rock. No matter what he appeared as on stage, he was always a star.
When you think of the 70s and 80s, you may think of hippie fashion, peace and love, bright colors, and big hair. Those features just scratch the surface of all that encompasses the 70s and the 80s. A prominent figure who influenced much of the media and iconic music of those eras was David Bowie.
David Bowie, given the name David Robert Jones at birth, was born on Jan. 8, 1947. A prominent figure for over four decades, Bowie was an innovator with a unique voice and style unlike any other, according to The Current. Singing and acting, Bowie made his way around the media. He was a recognizable star from early on in his career and was known for never conforming to anything specific.
A stand-out feature from Bowie’s career is the amount of personas he assumed. Memorable personas of his, as listed by Metal Oda and Fandom, include Aladdin Sane, Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, Thin White Duke, Major Tom, and Jareth the Goblin King.
Aladdin Sane (1973), like ‘A Lad Insane’, is the name of Bowie’s 1973 album where he is depicted with a red and white lightning bolt painted on his face. The album expresses the dark side of fame alongside a “consumerist world and his personal struggles with stardom,” according to Metal Oda. This persona he used for the album formed a year earlier in The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). Ziggy, as he was called, is an “androgynous alien rockstar” who represented rebellion. The loud outfits and glittery makeup of Ziggy “captivated audiences and challenged gender norms,” as Metal Oda states. Ziggy was an incredible addition to glam rock as it was developing. According to Mind Smoke Records, glam rock is a subgenre of rock & roll music which preceded the punk music movement of the 70s. Flamboyance, androgynous fashion and sexual identity encompasses what glam rock is all about. Artists such as Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Queen, and New York Dolls were prominent in this glam rock movement.
Halloween Jack, according to Fandom, was created for his Diamond Dogs (1974) album and tour. Ziggy Stardust was abandoned by this time and instead, Bowie was portraying a character of the streets—“a scavenger, a hustler, a survivor in a world where [civilization] had collapsed,” according to Bowie.Wiki. Prior to Halloween Jack, Thin White Duke was “an emotionless aristocrat who moved through the world with reptilian detachment,” as stated on the Bowie.Wiki. Instead of elaborate makeup and outfits, Thin White Duke instead wore clothes replicating 1930s Berlin with a white shirt, black pants, and slicked back hair.
Major Tom was Bowie’s first persona in 1969, based on the song from an album of the same name, “Space Oddity.” American Songwriter clarifies that the song, inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), is about a spacecraft malfunctioning. When he does not hear Ground Control telling him something is wrong, he floats to his death in his “tin can,” as the song explains. Psychology Today accounts for the song’s release soon before the Moon Landing and the launch of Apollo 11, saying “it might be particularly important in launching Bowie’s career; it was his first UK Top 5 hit.” The song allows the listener to be put in Major Tom’s shoes: a state of psychological decline as he recognizes he is helpless. A study from Psychology Today entitled, “Coping strategies during and after spaceflight: Data from retired cosmonauts” argues that “negative psychological reactions in space are less publicized than catastrophic mechanical failures.” This could be another reason for the song’s popularity, as topics such as these are rarely talked about.
His final persona, Jareth the Goblin King, comes from a character Bowie played in the film Labyrinth (1986). Fans on IMDb summarize the film, directed by Jim Henson, as “a timeless fantasy classic that captivates audiences across generations with its imaginative world, exceptional Jim Henson puppetry, and David Bowie’s charismatic performance as the Goblin King.” The character, recognizable by his distinct 1980s rock-star look and magical powers, is infamous in the Bowie fandom. Bowie both starred in the movie and recorded songs for the soundtrack of the movie.
Whether you are a fan of David Bowie’s work or not, you have to admit he played an important role in music, specifically glam rock, during his time. From his unique outlook driven through music to his various personas, Bowie put on a show for anyone willing to watch. Even years later, music and movies still reference the strides he made for the betterment of the media.