5. David BowieThe Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

When Bowie died, I cried from the moment I heard the news. At breakfast with my children, I fought back tears. I cried on the school run after I dropped them off. Other parents looked at me, bewildered. It was my Princess Diana moment. I don’t know what came over me, but I was overwhelmed with profound sadness to hear of his passing. I was so moved that I wrote the song ‘Planet Of Dreams’ for my album Night Walks the day after he died. What an incredible artist he was, and a legacy of work most people can only dream of creating. I think Ziggy Stardust is possibly my favourite album, but it’s hard to say. I don’t know when I first heard it, as it seems as if Bowie’s songs have always been the soundtrack of my life. I wanted to cover one of his songs, and ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide’ seemed fitting for Black Box Recorder. I hope I’ve given it a sufficiently different interpretation to be appreciated. 

Standing in front of David Bowie, in real life, was strange and mind-blowing. I was hanging out with Page Hamilton from Helmet during the late 90s, who was fortuitously Bowie’s guitarist during the Hours tour, and we all had the same music manager. So, Page invited me to a few TV shows, concerts, and after-show parties. I came quite close to speaking to Bowie, but failed to open my mouth and even say hi. Page wore a Black Box Recorder Lord Lucan T-shirt I’d given him for Bowie’s performance on Jools Holland. In the sound check, Bowie pointed at it disapprovingly and said, “Is that the nanny killer?” It was a fun time, even though I blew my opportunity to chat with this great artist.