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David Bowie Fans Pay Homage To The Musician In NYC, Worldwide
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 11, 2016
Modified Jan 11, 2016
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 11, 2016
Modified Jan 11, 2016
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David Bowie's death was announced in the early morning hours of January 11th, and since then a memorial has been steadily growing outside of his home on Lafayette Street, and worldwide, including in his hometown of Brixton, England, and over in Los Angeles.
In New York City, fans have been leaving flowers and candles outside of the residence, which he shared with wife Iman. The couple was originally planning to settle in Los Angeles, but moved here in 1992 instead, and NYC has remained their primary home ever since.
Nikki Sinclair, a 47-year-old Bowie fan from England, came to her respects at the SoHo memorial. "I woke up this morning and I saw my Facebook feed and I just couldn't believe it," Sinclair said. "His music played a significant part in my adolescence."
Sinclair explained her particular fondness for Bowie's hit single Changes. "I think that album [Hunky Dory] and the whole Ziggy thing as well gave—I mean I grew up gay and transgender at a time of less tolerant attitudes. And so what Bowie did, he just said, 'Here I am. This is different. I'm different. So what?' And that was groundbreaking. Without him there's no George Michael, no Boy George. There's no Steve Strange. And without that we wouldn't have moved forward to make it okay for someone like me, today. So I just think we owe a huge gratitude to Bowie, who for all his life pushed the boundaries. I mean, he released an album just a few days ago; he even made his death an art."
Fans have also been gathering at the New York Theatre Workshop, where Bowie's musical Lazarus is playing—according to NBC, "Michael C. Hall, the show's star, said that he sought the role out because of Bowie's influence."
Bowie's death (he was being treated for cancer for the past 18 months) was confirmed by his publicist at Nasty Little Man, Steve Martin. Though few other details were provided, this statement was released via Facebook: "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief."
A celebration of Bowie, which was already scheduled before the 69-year-old legend passed, will be held at Carnegie Hall on March 31st.
Reporting by Roxie Pell.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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