“People stared at the makeup on his face,” sang Bowie, in “Lady Stardust." “Laughed at his long black hair, his animal grace/The boy in the bright blue jeans/Jumped up on the stage/And ...

Overstatement? Not for me. The news that Bowie had died left me breathless. “How could he be dead?” I thought. “He had a new album out, which was sitting right there on my desk. He had just ...