I’ll try to get some thoughts down about David Bowie. As far as the songs, I’ll let them speak for themselves, as the quality of the work is a universal given and doesn’t need to be stated (which is a strong statement in itself). I’ll just mention a little about how Bowie’s related to my everyday work as a DJ. It’s well known that my favorite musical artist is Morrissey, but I can honestly say that my most “go-to” artist to play for the public was David Bowie. Why was this? I think most pop musicians operate in some kind of niche to one degree or another… be that alternative, mainstream, dance music, cult music, hard rock music, any number of categories that a DJ may use for any number of different situations. Bowie was one of the very, very small number of musicians that managed to have wide cultural awareness and popularity, could make you lose yourself on a dance floor, and did it without compromising the ideals of a true artist, a term which I define as a creative with a relentless obsession with trying new things, and a distaste for repeating past work.

I play a lot of different situations, from my artist-themed parties, to my all-UK party, to my guest appearances at a variety of venues all around NYC. I also do a lot of private wedding work too, playing for alternative-minded audiences, in addition to audiences with more broad taste. I can honestly say, I think the artist that I most consistently reached for in those hundreds of different sets, and played in the most wide variety of situations was Bowie. I drop “Under Pressure” or “Let’s Dance” at Beauty Bar on Saturday nights, “Queen Bitch” or “Sound And Vision” at Oscillate Wildly (my Morrissey-themed party), “Heroes” during dinner service at a wedding, the BBC radio session version of “Starman” during cocktail hours, because the production is killer and could cut through the muddy din of 150 people talking at the same time. I could go on and on. The point is, Bowie’s music in my crates was my go-to for cool. An artist that as a DJ I was proud to have in my set, that could also kill the dance floor. Thank you for what you put down, Bowie. Although you’re gone now, your songs and the unmatched style that you gave them are timeless.