I was 13 when Let's Dance came out. The 80's were a crazy time to be a teenager, we were terribly overindulged by our baby boomer parents who came of age in the 60's. I knew little of the David Bowie of the 70's he was a vague name from my parents' time. We loved that album in 1983, and we answered the call and danced with David. He was sexy and cool with his platinum hair and zoot suits with his provocative music videos. Then in 1986 came Labyrinth and every day my best friend and I were saying the words "I wish the goblins would come and take me away!" It was a flop so it ended up being one of those movies they would show weekday afternoons for $1 and we went at least a dozen times. I fell in love. The weird thing was my Bowie obsession I kept mostly private. Everyone knew me as a rocker chick with puffy hair and too much makeup, but in my room alone at night I was laying in the dark getting lost in a Moonage Daydream. I reluctantly admit, in college I got away from Bowie for a while. Life was busy and the local music scene took up much of my time when I wasn't in school. Oddly enough my college station promoted the hell out of Tin Machine but I barely noticed David was in it. So for about a decade, while I would throw on Ziggy or maybe one of the many hits collections and study or whatever, he wasn't at the forefront of my music habits. Then my life changed. My dad got sick and I had to help care for him. My dad was best friend my whole life. Something called me back to David, and therein I found solace and comfort. Then my dad died and the world fell down. But see, when I was 16, and sitting in that darkened theater, David promised he would be there, and he was. I crashed and burned, developed depression, anxiety, lost my job and barely functioned, and they only thing that kept me here was David. Through the days and nights of pain and sadness, only his voice brought me peace. He saved my life and my sanity.
My wish for Iman, for Lexi, and for Duncan is that they are well and happy, and that they know how very precious David is and will always be to us fans. We will do our very best to kept his light shining brightly in the world and keep his beautiful spirit alive and keep being inspired by him. I will love him "all the days of my life" and honor him every day by living well with no regrets.
With Love,
Tammi Starten
Stockton, CA