David Bowie 1947 - 2016
David Knight - 11th Jan 2016
David Bowie, giant of popular music, has died in New York at the age of 69. The wholly unexpected news has come just days after the release of his critically acclaimed latest album Blackstar - and music video for Lazarus - that confirmed that Bowie's appetite for musical innovation and self-reinvention was as strong as ever.
Bowie was a creative powerhouse whose profound contribution to music was only part of the story - his experimentation in sound was matched by his visual experimentation, primarily with his own image, and his style. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he was also a pioneering force behind the development of music videos.
Arguably Bowie's most famous video, for Ashes To Ashes, co-directed by David Mallet and Bowie himself, was the culmination of a series in the 70s where Bowie explored the possibilities of the new medium - including the Mallet-directed videos for Boys Keep Swinging and DJ.
Ashes To Ashes was followed three years later by the video for Let's Dance and China Girl - also co-directed by Bowie and David Mallet - which heralded his Eighties pop-star phase. Â
Bowie's ability to make videos that matched the direction of his music spanned his career - right up until his collaboration with Johan Renck on the videos for Blackstar and Lazarus (above) - the latter released last Thursday (January 7th), three days before his death.Â
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David Knight - 11th Jan 2016
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