Ziggy Left Stardust In My Soul

I cried early yesterday morning because I lost a friend. Tears again in the MTO this morning as Ziggy Stardust played on the radio…..I knew I had to write my first Blog post in quite some time. I needed to share…why was I so upset?

David Bowie never knew me, but oh how I knew him. He was my first love, my inspiration and he told me through his art that I can be and do anything.

Did David Jones know how we loved him, needed him, saw ourselves in reflected in him?

Back to when I was 10 years old When Elvis died. I will never forget where I was , the reason, my mother sobbed liked a child. I was confused to say the least,  not knowing the connection music and an artist of Elvis’s magnitude, could have on a young woman’s heart. My mother saw Elvis in concert and he was a dream to her.

Fast forward to my pre teen years….my brand new Ziggy Stardust album was my prized possession…purchased with my own money from my ice cream scooping job. I asked my mom for the album and promptly told she did not approve and if wanted it I needed my own money. Valuable lesson there, I can have whatever I want, just don’t expect it to be given to you…thanks mom, thanks David Bowie!

David Bowie inspired a right of passage for me, I had left behind the candy pop of Shaun Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers. With my first “ice cream scooping” pay I ventured into the big city of Hamilton returning home with my coveted Ziggy Stardust Album, a Levis jean jacket, and a mirrored David Bowie pin. My life was complete! My collection only beginning.

I would sing my heart out in the car to the radio, thinking my mother would get how cool this music was, hoping she would feel even a fraction of what I did. She did not react well to “well hung and a snow white tan” coming out of daughter’s mouth to say the least! I did not know what it really meant, just that I loved how I felt.

beautiful vinyl how I miss you!

I listened to the album over and over…actually wore it out! I close my eyes and can see the tattered cardboard edges of the sleeve as I sat staring at the cover listening to every track over and over. In those moments I was, Freddie Burrett, designer of Ziggy’s costumes…Rock and Roll Suicide soothed my teen aged broken heart telling me I was not alone. His velvety voice, sweet crooked teeth and eyes…oh those mismatched eyes, I knew my world was changing.

He taught me I could wear anything, there are really no boundaries and being different and standing out is beautiful. Those whispers in the halls didn’t matter Ziggy was on my side…I could wear knickers and bow ties shave my head, whatever my heart desired….I was an artist, a fashion designer, a rock and roll star. I became a risk taker.

genderbending clothing

He stretched boundaries and made the world a better place for me. For the teenage me, the fashion student me, the adult me Ziggy Stardust is part of my DNA. He bridged the fashion and music industries and an incredibly elegant way.

Listening to his music over the last two days with a raw heart it is amazing the memories that are surfacing. The man, the icon, the musician that helped to shape the artist in me is gone. I am grateful for the years of music fashion and art you have given me. You were a beautiful man that blurred the lines, was always elegant, beautiful and in appeared control.

I thank you David Jones for giving me the characters from your soul that comforted, shaped and inspired and encouraged me to risk and create. I will remember the moment I found out you left this world…you are my Elvis, my first love. I will never forget what you taught me.

Do you have David Bowie memories or stories…what is your favorite song or album?Concerts? How did David Bowie touch your soul?