PARIS (AFP) – The city of Paris will name a street after rock music icon David Bowie, authorities said on Monday. This is the first tribute to the singer eight years after his death.
“David Bowie Street'' will be officially opened in the capital's 13th arrondissement on the city's left bank.
The street was recently created as part of a major renovation of the neighborhood that also included the modernist university library Francois Mitterrand Library, so there is no need to remove the names of former dignitaries to make room for Bowie.
The approximately 50-meter (165-foot) long boulevard was previously known to city planners as “VoieDZ/13,” a name given to songs such as “TVC15” and “5:15.” It is possible that it was an attractive tentative name for Bowie himself, who wrote it.
Bowie, who died of liver cancer on January 10, 2016, would have turned 77 on Monday.
In this January 9, 1997 file photo, David Bowie performs at a concert celebrating his 50th birthday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Bowie, the groundbreaking and iconic singer whose illustrious career spanned five decades, passed away on Sunday, January 10, 2016, after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 69 years old. (AP Photo/Ron Frame, File)
Bowie ranks as one of the most influential and best-selling musicians of the 20th century, largely because of his artistic and thanks to its unparalleled ability to reinvent itself.
His signature songs and albums include “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' and “Aladdin Sane,'' as well as commercial hits such as “Let's Dance'' and “China Girl,'' as well as dark songs such as “Low.'' There are some experimental works.
“Dancing in the street!”
Although Paris played a less important role in Bowie's life than London, Berlin, or Los Angeles, the French avant-garde theatrical culture influenced his visual style.
He also successfully covered the French songs “Amsterdam” and “Ma Morte” (My Death) by Jacques Brel, who is actually Belgian rather than French.
A cryptic line in Bowie's “Aladdin Sane” song refers to “Paris, or maybe hell.”
He remains a cult figure in France, where fan clubs such as Bowie France sell merchandise, organize concerts and Bowie conventions that draw thousands of people, and cover band Bowie… “Reloaded” even large venues are filled with nostalgic fans.
Monday's unveiling ceremony for the plaque is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. Japan time), said Jérôme Coume, the mayor of Paris' 13th arrondissement, on Twitter.
Coome, an avowed Bowie fan, launched the idea for Bowie Street in early 2020 and won approval from the city of Paris later that year, claiming the star had “strong ties to the City of Light.” Obtained.
Nowhere else is there a record of a street bearing David Bowie's name.
Koummet announced in a post on X, “We'll have David Bowie on the 13th!” Dancing in the Streets!'' is a reference to the hit song performed by Bowie and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
Following the unveiling of the street name plate on Monday, Bowie's friend and biographer Jerome Soligny and Clifford Slapper, the producer of the tribute album Bowie Songs One, will appear at the borough's City Hall. A night of homage continues.
A Bowie exhibition will also be held at the mayor's office until the end of next week.
