I was profoundly affected by the passing of David Bowie (1947-2016), author, visionary, artist and entertainer. I suppose Bowie was someone whose timelessness has widely been taken for granted, because for almost 5 decades he sauntered through rock history, which in great part he himself shaped, seemingly unscathed, emerging every time as someone new and fresh, never as an afterthought of his former self. I have to admit, I myself have completely forgotten about him, have hardly played any of his songs lately, and yet when he died, I got overwhelmed with the new reality of him not being around. As I look back on his career and numerous collaborations he had with all kinds of music artists, ranging from Iggy Pop and Lou Reed to Brian Eno and Nine Inch Nails, he seems to have been all over the place, even if not in the spotlight all the time. Take for instance this video of him seconding Tina Turner in her concert back in 1988-89:

Just like the dashing white knight that he is portraying in this guest appearance, Bowie seems to have been present whoever was playing – waiting in the backstage only to suddenly reemerge – as his influence permeated the entire music industry. Now that he is gone, this simple truth becomes more evident: It was Bowie all along. He has always been there, and his good spirit is sure to continue to linger on in the back, no matter who takes the stage.