Free Republic

Singer David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of his era, has died of cancer at the age of 69. A statement was issued on his social media accounts, saying he "died peacefully, surrounded by his family" after an "18-month battle with cancer". Tributes have been paid from around the world to the "extraordinary artist" whose last album was released days ago. Sir Paul McCartney described him as a "great star" who "played a very strong part in British musical history". Bowie's son Duncan Jones, who is a Bafta-winning film director, wrote on Twitter: "Very sorry and sad to...

"One day in 1981 Bowie reunited with Queen in a recording studio in Switzerland, with the intention of doing vocals for the song “Cool Cat” . David got bored and suggested writing a new song from scratch. According to Mark Blake, author of a biography of Freddie Mercury, they began a 24 hours marathon of wine and cocaine and ended up with this musical gem. This is incredible! Back in the day when auto-tune wasn’t needed. You’d never hear this from most ‘singers’ these days."

George Jonas and David Bowie died yesterday. They both wrote lyrics, Jonas somewhat less profitably than Bowie. Other than that, they didn't have much in common. I will miss George very much. He was Canada's greatest public intellectual, and I was honored to share the pages of The National Post with him. I'll have more to say later, but there's a modest tribute from me as part of Joseph Brean's story in today's Post:His columns were memorable in many cases for a single aphorism. Politicians who seek high office, for example, should be disqualified for being stupid enough to think...

1. Space Oddity 0:00 2. The Man Who Sold The World 5:14 3. Oh! You Pretty Things 9:09 4. Changes12:20 5. Life On Mars 16:09 6. Starman 19:53 7. Ziggy Stardust 24:09 8. Suffragette City 27:30 9. John, I'm Only Dancing30:57 10. The Jean Genie 33:39 11. Drive-in Saturday 37:45 12. Sorrow 42:20 13. Diamond Dogs 45:13 14. Rebel Rebel 51:21 15. Young Americans 55:55 16. Fame 1:01:11 17. Golden Years1:05:26 18. Tvc15 1:08:56 19. Wild Is The Wind 1:12:29 For those who can't view Disc 2 and are curious what songs are on it here 1. Sound And Vision...

'AN ORGANIST has paid a moving tribute to David Bowie by playing one of the singer’s greatest hits on the organ at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Gordon Wilson posted a two-and-a-half minute clip on his Facebook page of the musician performing a beautiful rendition of Life on Mars at the Glasgow museum. Facebook users praised the touching tribute to Bowie, who passed away this morning after his 18-month battle with cancer.'

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: It was a shocking, somewhat sad day for many in the music world today. And that's the surprise death of David Bowie, who succumbed to cancer after 18 months. Many did not know that he had cancer. I have to admit there are only a couple of David Bowie songs that I like. I was not one of these dyed-in-the-wool David Bowie fans but he had a couple of tunes I really like, and the first one is this one, ChiCom Girl. And there's one other. No question, he was a supremely talented rock 'n' roll crooner....

(Full Headline) 'Look up here, I'm in heaven': David Bowie's 'parting gift' to his devastated fans - a haunting last video released just three days before he lost his secret 18-month battle with cancer David Bowie released a haunting video in which he declared 'look up here, I'm in heaven' just three days before he lost a secret 18-month battle with cancer. The star, whose new album came out just last week, passed away from the illness in New York yesterday surrounded by his family, according to an announcement posted on his official website and Facebook page today. His final...

The man who practically invented alter egos has departed planet earth.RIP, David Bowie, whoever you were; and thanks for the memories:From Happy Anniversary Hub!Around here, where alter egos abound, we’ve been Bowie fans for a long time. Remember this golden oldie, still gracing my sidebar, from my early days as Lady M’s Mirror Of The United States: Just think, without Ziggy Startdust, there might never have been a Madonna, Lady Gaga or President Obama. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with alter egos…butt I guess there’s a downside to everything. Dedicated to the proposition that change can be a good thing,...

Sexually ambiguous rocker David Bowie - one of many stars said to have frolicked under the bedcovers with Mick Jagger - says he has fooled around with guys, but ''I was always a closet heterosexual.'' Bowie, who raised eyebrows in the '70s with his fem-drag ''Ziggy Stardust'' look, insists in Rolling Stone, ''I didn't ever feel that I was a real bisexual,'' even though he was ''making all the moves, down to the situation of actually trying it out.''

David Bowie has died after a battle with cancer, his rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. "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," read a statement posted on the artist's official social media accounts.

...a Christmas classic...  Bing Crosby had an annual Christmas TV special; this was recorded on 11 Sept. 1977 for the show which would be broadcast that year: 'Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas.' From wiki: The pair exchanged dialogue about what they do for Christmas before singing "Little Drummer Boy" with a new counterpoint with original lyrics written for the special, "Peace on Earth." Bowie's appearance has been described as a "surreal" event, undertaken at a time that he was "actively trying to normalise his career." He has since recalled that he only appeared on the show because "I just knew...

Film star Sean Connery is urging fellow Scots to vote for independence when a referendum is held in September. The longtime independence advocate says in The Sun on Sunday newspaper that the opportunity to separate from the rest of Britain is too good an opportunity to miss. He says independence would galvanize the film and creative industries, creating new jobs in Scotland. Connery no longer lives there and said the decision should be made by the people who choose to live and work in Scotland. He said a vote for independence would bring renewed focus on Scottish culture, heritage and...

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! And I have some special valentine’s for you: Who Wore it Better: In (mostly) RED!So let’s cut to the chase: Who Wore it Better (WWIB), MO or Rupaul?WWIB, MO or this runway model bimbo for Elie Saab?or, WWIB, MO or…Rupaul, again:By the way, do you recognize the little guy with big hair posing with Rupaul?Ding! Ding! Ding! if you said Johnny Weir, former U.S. ice skating champion:and current Olympic ice skating commentator for NBC: Since he arrived in Sochi he has been passive aggressively protesting Russia’s archaic intolerance of the existence of gays:Unlike Iran, which “does...

After coming to America, the singer found himself living in Los Angeles at 28-years-old. "Drugs had taken my life away from me," Bowie says, "I felt as though I would probably die and it was going to be all over." Bowie credits his assistant, Coco, for getting him out of that life. "Best advice, which I wish I had known at 18? Don't do drugs."

Pop group Squeeze have said hits like Cool for Cats and Up the Junction would not have happened if the band were starting out in today's music industry. Singer Glenn Tilbrook... "If we'd been placed under the same commercial criteria, I think we'd have been gone after our first album." Their second album, which came out in 1979, contained their biggest hits. He was speaking as the group were honoured with a plaque at the site of one of their first gigs in south-east London. Tilbrook and Chris Difford returned to the Greenwich Borough Hall - where they played in...

NOVEMBER 8--Mug shot aficionados are likely aware that TSG has unearthed a host of previously unseen celebrity mug shots, from Tupac Shakur and Andre The Giant to Johnny Cash and 50 Cent. Today we're adding to that list with this marvelous booking photo of David Bowie, which was snapped in Rochester, New York following the singer's March 1976 arrest on a felony pot possession charge. Bowie, 29 at the time, was nabbed along with Iggy Pop and two other codefendants at a Rochester hotel following a Saturday concert. Bowie was held in the Monroe County jail for a few hours...

Last Updated: Thursday, 20 September 2007, 09:17 GMT 10:17 UK Bowie supports US race row teens Bowie said the donation was a "small gesture" David Bowie has made a $10,000 (£4,981) donation to a legal defence fund for six black teenagers charged with assault on a white student in the US. One of the teens, Mychal Bell, was found guilty of second degree battery in June by an all-white jury before the case was overturned by an appeal court.The court said Bell, 16 at the time of the alleged incident in December 2006, should not have been tried as an...

David Bowie has donated $10,000 to a legal defense fund for six black teens charged in an alleged attack on a white classmate in the tiny central Louisiana town of Jena. The British rocker's donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund was announced by the NAACP as thousands of protesters were expected to march through Jena on Thursday in defense of Mychal Bell and five other teens. The group has become known as the Jena Six. "There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena," Bowie said Tuesday in an e-mail statement....

Love it or hate it, you have to admit: A mullet hairstyle is distinctive There are two kinds of people in this country, and forget that blue-state, red-state thing. You're either for a mullet or against a mullet. What's a mullet? Do not mock us. Yes, a mullet is a spiny-finned, feeble-toothed fish, but we all know it's so much more. A mullet is a hairstyle characterized by the hair cut short in front and on the sides but kept long down the back. It's not a cutting-edge style. But recently, the mullet has re-emerged as a pop culture object...

David Bowie fine after heart op Fri 9 July, 2004 01:39 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock legend David Bowie had emergency heart surgery for a blocked artery last month but is now recovering and hopes to return to work in August, his publicist says. Bowie, 57, sought treatment in a German hospital on June 25 after complaining of a pinched nerve during a European concert tour, publicist Mitch Schneider said in a statement. He underwent an angioplasty operation for an acutely blocked artery and was able to leave the clinic earlier this week. He is now convalescing at home with...