Me & The Starman

Way back in the early days of this blog I posted about the first CDs made of the David Bowie albums (see here). In 1984 I coordinated the conversion of RCA albums from analogue to digital; selecting the master tapes to be used and condensing the artwork to 120mm square CD booklets, before organising the manufacturing in Germany and Japan. There was a good deal of interest in the post as in addition to being 'firsts' the CDs were deleted within 18 months of release when Bowie moved labels from RCA to EMI. The audio of those digital conversions has been praised in some forums as being the best versions of those albums, surpassing subsequent releases. 

I was contacted by a number of Bowie enthusiasts asking for further information and a few helped me answer some of the questions readers posed. When Bowie died in January 2016, traffic to the post increased 10 fold and one reader, James Gent, contacted me to say that he was organising a book of essays by those connected to Bowie's work. All proceeds from the book would go to Cancer Research UK. Would I be willing to have my story included? I was more than happy to submit a revised version.  I sent a draft and didn't hear back, assuming that the project was a marathon rather than a sprint and I'd hear if and when it came to fruition. 

 I forgot all about it until last month when I stumbled across it when down some related rabbit hole. I now own a copy and find myself included, alongside other contributors, some who knew him and some that would have like to have met their hero. There are collaborators and record collectors - but they are all fans, with each essay relating to how Bowie entered and affected the lives of the writers. His art penetrating the mundane, lifting them from the day to day to a world where all things seemed possible. It's a good read, even if you are not a Bowie obsessive. It reflects the power of music and the lasting effect art has on its audience. Available on Amazon