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MY WORLD by David Bowie A WEEKLY DIARY EXCLUSIVELY WRITTEN FOR MIRABELLE MAGAZINE

6th October 1973

   Hello again!

   Everything surrounding me has been in its usual state of turmoil and again it seems that I haven't had a lot of time to really get out and about socially as it were. Angie has once again gone back to the States, to finalise some projects that she has become very involved with. I hope to be able to tell you about these very soon now - but she has made me promise not to give away anything yet until she is quite ready.

   Before Angie went back to the States we did manage to get out to have a look at an exhibition of rock paintings by a very original Belgian artist called Guy Peellaert. These paintings are all studies of important rock/pop artistes who have made contributions to pop music over the last decade. They have already been published in a book called 'Rock Dreams' and are highly individual and colourful portrayals of the artistes. If you have not already seen this book then it is very difficult for me to explain to you just how beautiful and effective a lot of these drawings are. They certainly fired my imagination and include portraits of such stars as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Marc Bolan, Elvis Presley, The Jackson Five, The Who, Rod Stewart - and yours truly, David Bowie!

   Angie and I had both seen the book and when we learned that the drawings were to be displayed at Biba's in London, we decided that we just had to get along and look at them. Biba's itself seemed to me an excellent place to show off the pictures as it also has an up-to-the-minute appearance combined with a lovely, nostalgic feel of the '30s. The building is enormous, and quite palatial, in fact it is really grand and the paintings had attracted an enormous crowd.

   Guy Peellaert was there himself to show people around.

   A lot of drawings were up for sale so, of course, Angie and I couldn't resist picking out some of our favourites and buying them.

   We got quite excited planning where we were going to hang our purchases when we got them home.

   Time seems to have run out for me again, so it's goodbye until next week.

13th October 1973

   Let me start off this week by explaining that I was going to write and tell you something about my favourite hobbies and interests, but that time seems to have flown by without really giving me a chance to get down to it. Things have been pretty hectic recently, as we had all the last minute details to finalise for my American TV show, and in the middle of all that, Angie suddenly found herself leaving for America to take part in some television shows herself.

   Anyway, I'll mention a few of the things that I really enjoy doing whenever I find some spare time and perhaps I'll be able to tell you about them in more detail another week.

   I've always had a great love for anything to do with films. I now have my own 16mm movie camera, and you can imagine what it's been like for me to make my own films at home - catching Angie and Zowie when they are least expecting it and even taking a quick surprise shot of friends as they arrive at the house.

   Recently I've also had the chance to start buying up old movies for myself - just imagine getting hold of some of those fabulous films you had enjoyed when you were a kid and being able to play them over at home whenever you felt like it. My current favourite is 'Jason And The Argonauts' and if any of you missed seeing that, try and catch up on it if it ever comes back to your local cinema.

   I love anything electronic. Things like that have always fascinated me and I'm trying to persuade my manager to buy me a computer! Which would probably keep me occupied for hours.

   I was also going to tell you a bit about my own musical tastes, but that really is something I'm going to have to try and come back to. Really it's a very varied selection, although I've always had a great love for any spiritual music and authentic gospel or negro slave songs, especially for the depth and feeling those singers always managed to bring out in their singing.

   So I'll try to get round to telling you more about this another time.

20th October 1973

   This week I'm going to carry on and try to tell you a little more about my own interests. I've already told you that I enjoy anything to do with films and filming, so I think I'll change the subject and tell you something about my interest in cars. I really do love cars, especially if they are old and classic ones. They have so much beauty, especially when you notice how well they have been designed, shaped and finished. At one time I began trying to get hold of some to build up a collection of my own, but at the moment I just own one - and old American Chrysler.

   As for my leisure time, I'm always being asked if I enjoy going to the theatre or shows. Naturally I go if there is something on that I particularly want to see but my main problem, as usual, is time. It is often the case that I have been recording or something all day, late into the night - or Angie has been modelling and is really tired - so we don't find that we get to go to theatres and concerts as often as we would like.

   I particularly love any sort of ethnic theatre. I don't think I have the space here to try to explain to you what 'ethnic' means if you don't already know, so perhaps you would like to make it a project to look the word up for yourself.

   For quite a long time I've had a great love of mime, in fact at one time I used to have my own mime troupe called Feathers and, as you probably know, I often used to incorporate little pieces of mime into my stage act.

   And now I think I'll mention a couple of artistes for whom I have a high regard. Mick Jagger has long been a favourite of mine. He's such a great performer - the energy and skill that goes into a Jagger performance with the Rolling Stones is tremendous!

   I expect most of you would be too young to remember anything about Edith Piaf. She was a great French entertainer who could really bring a song to life in an amazing way. Sadly she died a few years ago. There are still quite a large amount of Piaf recordings available, so I hope you will have a listen to her if ever you get the chance. That's all for now.

27th October 1973

   Since make-up and fashion play such a large part in my world I thought I'd take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the cosmetics I use and the sparkling and colourful clothes I like to wear, both on and off stage.

   Angie's just given Zowie his lunch and is sitting at her dressing-table applying some lovely light blue eye shadow for an afternoon tea date with her friend, Marianne... and reminding me that I should tell you what kind of looks I like for the women in my life.

   Well, it actually depends an awful lot on the person. I mean some girls look ever so attractive with just a touch of mascara and a little lip gloss while others look really cute with rosy rouge cheeks and sultry black eyelids. I suppose it also depends on the occasion. At my concerts when I wore golden circles on my forehead and silver lipstick on my lips. I used to like to see my audience both girls and boys, painted and powered up brightly for the event. Other times, like at the Chateau in France I used to enjoy seeing my friends sitting around the swimming pool with just their bikinis and their lovely summer sun-tans... but I also loved it when they'd fuss a bit with themselves for the evening in the dining-room and the late nights out in the Paris discotheques.

   Angie never wears very much make-up at home, perhaps just a touch of red around the eyes and a light brush of mascara. Angie has the most beautiful smooth white skin and looks just beautiful without any make-up at all. She has this fluffy white towelling robe with pink swans around the edges that she wears when she's come out of her bath and we often sit and share a pot of tea then.

   Oh, I'm afraid I'll have to continue this next week because little Zowie has just got hold of some of Angie's lipstick and I'm afraid he doesn't quite possess the skills necessary for its proper application. Oh no, Angie - watch out!! Guess you'll have to wait till next week for my beauty secrets, though my biggest beauty secret I've already told you about... it's Angie!

Created: April 1998 © Paul Kinder

Last Updated: 18/7/98