The five European sites to honour David Bowie on the 10th anniversary of his death
10 years ago, the world lost David Bowie. Here are Euronews Culture's picks of the five European pilgrimage sites to pay tribute to the much-missed artist.
“Time - He’s waiting in the wings / He speaks of senseless things...” (‘Time’ - ‘Aladdin Sane', 1973.)
Time also passes. Fast.
Ten years ago, on 10 January 2016, two days after his birthday and the release of his final album, ‘Blackstar', the world lost David Bowie.
I was living in Berlin when the news broke, and I made my way to Hauptstraße 155 in Schöneberg - an inconspicuous building where Bowie lived during his time in the German capital.
There, candles were already lit, pictures propped up against the door, and flowers filled the pavement outside the flat he shared with Iggy Pop for two years. Fans beside me were crying and standing in silence, unable to fathom a world without the boundlessly creative artist.
I put down my candle and was greeted by a perfect stranger, who had her earbuds in. She took one out and gave it to me, as we both looked at the doorway, listening to ‘Starman’. This ended up leading to an impromptu rendition of the song, with some mourners joining in.
It's a memory I cherish – a moment of connection that showed to what extent Bowie touched so many lives.
It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that vivid moment took place a decade ago.
Little did I - or anyone - know at the time that Bowie’s death would be a harbinger of doom, as it’s hard to dismiss the theory that the Starman may have been the glue holding the fabric of this universe together. Think about how the world went to shit following 10 January 2016: Donald Trump sworn in for his first term ten days after his death; the UK votes to leave the EU; Prince, Alan Rickman, Carrie Fisher, Leonard Cohen, George Michael all follow suit by the end of 2016... It was a dark year.
But I digress. If, like me, you’re seeking a place to head to this Saturday to pay tribute to Bowie on the 10th anniversary of his death, here are five European pilgrimage sites you’d do well to visit.
London, UK
The best place to go to honour Bowie? Where it all began: 40 Stansfield Road, SW9, in Brixton. It was there that David Robert Jones was born on 8 January 1947. He lived in this house until he was six, before moving into suburban Bromley. His first school, Stockwell Primary School, is just around the corner.
You can also head to the mural of Bowie on Brixton Road, opposite Brixton tube station. Created by Australian artist Jimmy C (Cochran) in 2013, the colourful and vibrant painting became a shrine to the musician when he died. Thousands flocked there, leaving flowers and tributes, and Lambeth Council said that the mural was to be listed to ensure its long-term protection.
Elsewhere, there’s Heddon Street, also known as the Ziggy Stardust Street. Featured on the album cover of ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’, you’ll find a plaque on the wall of 23 Haddon Steet.
And if you feel like raising a glass to Bowie, make your way to The Ship bar on Wardour Street in Soho, where he used to give interviews.
Berlin, Germany
Wishing to overcome his cocaine addiction and leave the US, Bowie moved to Berlin in 1976 and lived there until 1979. The divided city would become the backdrop for his reinvention, and you can’t understate to what extent the German capital was an artistic influence and a crucial part of his life. He wrote three albums there: 'Low', 'Heroes' and 'Lodger', known as the Berlin Trilogy.
There are several options for those wishing to retrace Bowie’s steps in Berlin: the legendary Hansa Studios where he recorded 'Heroes' (it's worth noting that 'Heroes' was the only instalment in the Berlin Trilogy actually recorded completely in the city, as 'Low' was recorded mostly in France, while 'Lodger' was recorded in Switzerland); legendary punk club SO36 on Oranienstrasse in Kreuzberg, a favourite haunt of his... But as mentioned in the intro, you’d do well to head to Hauptstrasse 155 in Schöneberg, Berlin’s famous gay neighbourhood, where he lived with Iggy Pop from 1976 to 1978.
There’s a commemorative plaque on the unassuming façade since August 2016, and just next door is Café Neues Ufer (Haupstrasse 157, then known as Anderes Ufer), one of the city’s oldest gay bars which he and Iggy frequented. Several Bowie pictures still hang on the wall.
Lausanne, Switzerland
In 1980, Bowie and his wife Angie divorced but he kept their house in Blonay, near Montreux. It was his main residence until 1982, living there with his son Zowie (now Duncan), who attended the International School of Lausanne.
The Swiss connection doesn’t end there, as he moved to the grand Château de Signal, on the edge of a forest in Sauvabelin, in the hills of Lausanne, in 1982. He also married his second wife Iman at the city hall in Lausanne in 1992. She wasn’t a huge fan of the quite life in Lausanne, however, and they both ended up heading back to the US in 1998.
Paris, France
Two years ago, Rue David Bowie was inaugurated in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Located a stone’s throw away from Gare d’Austerlitz, the street has the distinction of being the first to be named after the musician.
"David Bowie loved France and especially Paris. He said so often," said Jérôme Coumet, mayor of the 13th arrondissement, as the street sign was unveiled in 2024.
Indeed, while Paris played less of a prominent role in Bowie's life compared to Berlin, French avant-garde theatrical culture was a huge influence on the artist's visual style.
Ørmen, Norway
“In the villa of Ørmen, stands a solitary candle...”
Thus begins the song ‘Blackstar’ on Bowie’s final album of the same name, a song which became imbued with the prophetic weight of the artist looking back over a lifetime and saying goodbye.
The song was accompanied by a creepy music video, an apocalyptic triumph open to a multitude of interpretations: a goodbye to Major Tom with the dead astronaut; an enigmatic farewell from Bowie dressed as his final character, the tormented and blind “Button Eyes”; a mystical incantation around the “black star”, which represents the contemplation of one’s mortality... But it's the cryptic opening lyric that had fans around the world wondering where this villa was and what it represents.
It turns out that Ørmen is the name of a village in the municipality of Fredrikstad in Norway - and that the word means “serpent” in Norwegian.
Some choose to believe that “the villa of Ørmen” is not a physical location and that Bowie is using it as the representation of a negative space, the serpent representing encroaching darkness and that the “solitary candle” is simply the light fighting to flicker amidst the chaos. However, Norwegian fans could do worse than to head to Ørmen and find out whether there is an incantatory location where time and space collapse, leading to a higher plane of existence. If so, please let us know and don’t forget to chant the lyrics to ‘Blackstar’ should the obscure heavenly body reveal itself.
“Something happened on the day he died / Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside / Somebody else took his place and bravely cried / I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar.”
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