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‘What should London have as a Bowie memorial?’ we asked a year ago when the Starman shuffled off his mortal coil. Now we’ve got a proposal, and it’s three storeys high, bright red and… kind of fugly?
Consulting with Bowie’s people, designer Charlie Waterhouse (who also worked on the Brixton Pound) has come up with a massive red and blue metal lightning bolt that’s intended to sit on Tunstall Road, round the corner from the singer’s childhood home and James Cochran’s council-protected Bowie mural. In some ways it’s a fitting tribute to Ziggy-era Bowie, hoping to startle passers-by out of the mundane. It’s also got a suitably just-fallen-to-earth look. We can see what it’s getting at.
However it’s definitely, categorically not what we’d have come up with – brash and static rather than shifting and subtle. Isn’t it kind of weird to install a massive, solid, permanent chunk of metal to remember a guy whose main thing was constantly changing everything from his haircut to the whole shape of pop music? No? I guess that’s why they don’t get journalists to design sculptures.
Anyway, to make the Brixton Bolt happen its creators – the brand and design agency This Ain’t Rock ’n’ Roll – need to raise £1 million and get planning permission from Lambeth Council. You can help with the first bit by contributing to their Crowdfunder. If you’re feeling generous, you could also help Bromley Council restore their David Bowie bandstand. Go on – dig deep for Dave.