Topical Tuesday 10.01.17

It's been a year since we said a sudden goodbye to the slim white duke and these songs still bring back all the same emotions...

As you may already know, yesterday was all about the Golden Globes. It was all about who wore what, who was snubbed, who said what about Trump in their speech, but cast your mind back one year. Ricky Gervais took to the stage and announced that British music legend, David Bowie, had passed away.

Music, fashion and individuality would not be what it is today, without the Brixton singer. On the anniversary of his death, this week's playlist explores his biggest hits throughout his music transformations.

Life on Mars

In 2015 Neil McCormick, chief rock music critic of The Daily Telegraph, ranked it as number one in his "100 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. While it would be a safe bet to say this is one of Bowie's glamorous fantasies about space travel, that's only part of it. While on tour in 1990, Bowie introduced the song by saying "You fall in love, you write a love song. This is a love song."

Heroes

A product of Bowie's "Berlin" period, the track was not a huge hit in the UK or US at the time, but has gone on to become one of Bowie's signature songs. In January 2016, following Bowie's death, the song reached a new peak of number 12 in the UK Singles Chart.

Ziggy Stardust

"What I did with my Ziggy Stardust was package a totally credible, plastic rock & roll singer – much better than the Monkees could ever fabricate," David Bowie later said of his definitive alter ego. "I mean, my plastic rock & roller was much more plastic than anybody's. And that was what was needed at the time."

Starman

July 5, 1972 was the day everything changed. The day David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey went on Top Of The Pops dressed like glamorous aliens to perform Starman. To introduce Great Britain to Ziggy Stardust And The Spider From Mars with three-and-a-half minutes of perfect pop.

I Can't Give Everything Away

Just two days before his death, the artist released his final album. Bowie succumbed to an 18-month battle with cancer and passed away peacefully, surrounded by family. His 25th studio album broods on life, death, and what comes after. It’s self-aware and existential. Bowie did virtually no promotion behind Blackstar, but he did play a bandaged, hospitalized man with buttons for eyes in the video for its song Lazarus.

It has been suggested the final track off the album is his goodbye to his fans.

Dance Magic Dance

What a sight this must have been. Dozens of puppets dancing around a set surrounding the singer in his blonde mullet and THOSE tights. The catchy earworm was written by David for the livemotion movie.

Rebel Rebel

The most covered David Bowie song, ever. it has been described as being effectively Bowie's farewell to the glam rock movement that he had helped pioneer as well as being a proto- punk jam.