David Bowie was a star who flourished behind pseudonyms and personas. It was Ziggy Stardust who launched him from one-hit-wonder status to household name in the summer of 1972. A performance of Starman on Top of the Pops was for many the moment Britain transitioned from black and white into Technicolor.
There was the Thin White Duke in 1976 and then came the mainstream pop star courting worldwide fame with 1983's Let's Dance, though it was a disposition that soon made Bowie deeply unhappy.
He became more comfortable in his own skin during the 1990s, though he still enjoyed some role play, often signing off interactions with his fans online as "Sailor". And perhaps his most surprising adopted persona was that of the fierce football fan. During a short-lived but genuine fascination with England's national side, he even referred to himself as a player from the 1966 World Cup-winning team in emails with his PR, Alan Edwards.
"I remember he started referring to himself as ***** by, as in ***** by Stiles, which gives you an idea of where he'd picked it up, although he wasn't a big football fan," recalls Edwards. "I think his local team was Crystal Palace because they were around the corner from Beckenham. His best friend Geoff [MacCormack] is a big ***** nal fan like myself."
Edwards is an avid watcher of the beautiful game, and took in the 1982 World Cup final in a Turin bar with Mick Jagger and a few other stray Stones. He was used to fellow ***** nal fan Roger Daltrey on the other end of the line for a post-match chat: "I have a 15, 20-minute debrief after every single game with Roger."
There was the Thin White Duke in 1976 and then came the mainstream pop star courting worldwide fame with 1983's Let's Dance, though it was a disposition that soon made Bowie deeply unhappy.
He became more comfortable in his own skin during the 1990s, though he still enjoyed some role play, often signing off interactions with his fans online as "Sailor". And perhaps his most surprising adopted persona was that of the fierce football fan. During a short-lived but genuine fascination with England's national side, he even referred to himself as a player from the 1966 World Cup-winning team in emails with his PR, Alan Edwards.
"I remember he started referring to himself as ***** by, as in ***** by Stiles, which gives you an idea of where he'd picked it up, although he wasn't a big football fan," recalls Edwards. "I think his local team was Crystal Palace because they were around the corner from Beckenham. His best friend Geoff [MacCormack] is a big ***** nal fan like myself."
Edwards is an avid watcher of the beautiful game, and took in the 1982 World Cup final in a Turin bar with Mick Jagger and a few other stray Stones. He was used to fellow ***** nal fan Roger Daltrey on the other end of the line for a post-match chat: "I have a 15, 20-minute debrief after every single game with Roger."
3 months ago
