When I was sixteen I told a group of friends, one warm evening in the South of France, that I thought Ziggy Stardust was better than Led Zeppelin. They were horrified that I could say such a thing but I stuck to my guns. I knew I was right. Ziggy Stardust, to me, is better than almost everything.
When I was at university I had a framed poster of Aladdin Sane on my bedroom wall, all three years. It was the first thing I bought for going to uni, months and months before I left, and it stayed rolled up in its tube until I finally moved and had the space for it, next to my new wardrobe, in a clip frame that was far too big. It's in its tube again now and the clip frame is somewhere else, waiting until I have the space again.
When I was twenty-two I bought a pair of boots that made me feel like David Bowie. That's how I described them when I first put them on. That's why I bought them. If a pair of shoes makes me feel like David Bowie then of course I'm going to buy them. That applies to everything. Any clothing in the world - if it makes me feel like David Bowie then it's right.
I cried when I heard the news. I cried for most of the day. I'll still be sad for a long while yet, but the last two days I've listened to all of my favourite songs on near-constant rotation. I've danced and sung (terribly on both counts but with plenty of enthusiasm) and I've smiled and I've been happy too. That's what his music does; it's why I knew at sixteen that Ziggy Stardust was better than Led Zeppelin: because it always makes me happy.
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