This is the first in an occasional series of posts where I talk about music I seem to be in the minority for liking or disliking.
I begin with perhaps the most unpopular opinion I have. David Bowie is one of the most successful artists the world has ever seen. Some say when The Beatles called it a day he was the one to fill the gap they left behind. Yet I honestly don't see the appeal.
My music memories begin in 1987 and this was the year David Bowie released his "Never Let Me Down" album. The album was a flop and I have no recollection of the singles from it. This started a 6 year hiatus for David Bowie the artist and as such as we entered the 90s I'd still never heard of him.
When I became a Queen fan following the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991 I finally became aware of David Bowie thanks to "Under Pressure". My first impression of David Bowie was a positive one.
By the time of his comeback in 1993 I'd become more aware of David Bowie the person at least though not sure I knew too much of his music. Whilst my peers would give me stick for liking Queen mainly because they were old hate, David Bowie was considered one of the pioneers you should respect.
I don't recall too many people heaping praise on his 1993 singles and they were a bit of a non-entity for me. When Nirvana covered "The Man Who Sold The World" later on in the year this was seen as a David Bowie song you should like, and indeed it's not bad.
A lot of praise I was hearing for David Bowie in general was how he pushed the boundaries with his image rather than how groundbreaking his music was. I'd seen the pictures and knew of the Ziggy Stardust persona, I could imagine how strange that might have been in the 70s but don't necessarily see it as a good thing.
Into the late 90s the David Bowie I was seeing was an old duffer trying to be down with the kids. He teamed up with the Pet Shop Boys on "Hallo Spaceboy" and then did the drum & bass record "Little Wonder" which I thought was crap.
I can't place a point in time on this but I recall a TV advert for some greatest hits compilation of his and there was a clip of "Space Oddity" and "Starman". Both songs sounded quite good from the clips but after hearing in full they're not bad but not as good as the clips suggest.
At the same time this is as good as it gets when it comes to his music. He does have catchy numbers such as "Let's Dance" but I've always found that one irritating. The majority of his music is neither catchy or interesting in my opinion, it just sort of exists. It's almost like it's the image that does the talking and the music is secondary.
Yet the best song he's ever written is one he gave away to someone else. I'm talking about "All The Young Dudes" by Mott The Hoople. He knew how to write a good song then, but most of what he did write just isn't my cup of tea.
