A Year With Bowie [Part 1]

If I ever had the misfortune to appear on Mastermind, I would probably do either New Order as my specialist subject or the glorious sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles. Why? Because I am a fan of both. And by fan, I mean in an every song, every album, every episode, every character kind of way. Over the years I have pored over both of these and therefore have built up quite a repository of knowledge and trivia. I guess this is what constitutes being “a fan”. You love something, you can’t get enough of something, and so you consume everything about it that you can.

At work on New Years Eve, I listened to Ziggy Stardust. “Boy”, I thought. “I love David Bowie, he’s brilliant”. And I was right, he is, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who didn’t like him. I consider myself to be a fan of David Bowie. However, as the album finished and I went to my iPod for more Bowie, I realised that for someone declaring themselves a fan my collection is a little on the light side.

Sure, I have umpteen singles collections. I have “Heroes” on there about five times from various compilations. But as far as albums went, actual, studio albums, I had a grand total of four – the aforementioned Ziggy, Low, Scary Monsters, and Hunky Dory. “Well, how many more can there be” I thought, turning to Wikipedia for guidance, “another dozen or so?”. Well, I was staggered to discover that the Thin White Duke has been responsible for 28 studio albums in his career – countless solo, a smattering of soundtracks and two with Tin Machine. Some of them, Pin-ups and Lodger for example, I’d never even heard of! And so how can I call myself a fan of an artist when I own one album in seven of his output.

So this got me thinking. I have a bright, shiny new year stretching out in front of me. 28 albums, whilst a lot, is only really one every fortnight. Why don’t I spend 2008 working my way through the musical career of David Bowie in microcosm – starting with his solo debut from 1966, all the way through to 2003′s Reality. And so I worked out the logistics. I even did a timetable – giving the albums I know well a week rather than a fortnight – and saw that it could be scheduled. My birthday would be spent listening to Earthling. When I go on holiday in April I will be taking Diamond Dogs with me. It could be done. It SHOULD be done.

And so I am doing it. The past few days I have spending what little Christmas money I had on Bowie albums. Chances are if you had one of his albums on Ebay in the past week then I’ve troubled you with a bid. Tin Machine 2 is proving a real pain in the backside and is going to cost me a fortune, and so better be worth it. And thanks to The Line of Best Fit, I will be dropping in once a month to let you know how I am getting on and what I think are the highs and lows.

And here I need you help – what will the highlights be? As I undertake the Year of Bowie, what albums / tracks have I got to look forward to? What would you declare the Best of Bowie (and the worst if you are of that persuasion) to inspire me in this project? See you at the end of January where I will hopefully have the debut and Space Oddity under my belt. Its two-thousand-and-BOWIE!