Ken McLeod would argue that Bowie’s music is so important to the fans as it has the ability to
create “an embodied but imaginary space that mediated our internal space […] with external
space. He goes on to discuss the ways in which “Music takes us outside our bodies and place
while simultaneously reminding us of our location” 29 . This is explored further in Sean
Redmond’s Intimate fame everywhere . He goes on to discuss the ways in which the idea of
“productive intimacy” is formed between the artist and the fan – this is where “stars and
celebrities feel they are an important and valued part of everyday life, and fans/consumers
employ stars/celebrities to extend and enrich their everyday world …” .
30
Which explains why Christiane intertwines her own experiences and identity with Bowie’s own
identity and aesthetics and if you consider the music, his own experiences to a certain extent.
Moreover, I feel that perhaps the most profound influence that Bowie had upon on popular
culture was on the wave of Post Punk, New Romantic and New Wave artists that had emerged
at the end of the 1970's and early 80's. The Drum sounds on Low in particular, undoubtedly
begin to shape the sound of experimental pop in the future. Visconti had rigged the snare
through a Harmonizer in order to give it its characteristic, almost blunt-sounding beat. It could
be said that the album Low as a whole could be seen as the blueprints for a lot of British post-
punk artists; such as Gary Numan, Joy Division and The Human League – to name but a few.
To me, Low feels like the first post-punk album, despite being recorded and released during
the height of punk. Its seductive combination of RnB rhythms, electronica and ambience had
begun to carve out a “new” almost postmodern landscape which drew in on and redefined the
classical sound of RnB by infusing it with the ambient soundscapes that are reminiscent of
Bowie’s time at the Chateau d'Herouville during the early experimental sessions of “Low”
alongside Eno and Visconti. This fusion of electronica and funk lives on as a more prominent
29
30
Sean Redmond, Enchanting David Bowie (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2015).
Sean Redmond, Enchanting David Bowie (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2015).