Many friends of ours had stories of joy, sorrow and celebration to tell at the anniversary David Bowie’s passing. On this day, the one year anniversary of his passing, we share our friend Craig's account of how Bowie touched his life and helped him be a better misfit in a small country town.

I grew up with Countdown.

(I wish I could add coloured lights and a smoke machine to that first line.)

Spending my early teens in a small, football worshipping country town, I knew I didn't fit in - and seeing the strange and exciting singers every Sunday night was about as counterculture as I could possibly imagine.

KISS, ABBA, Skyhooks, Queen, Madonna, Dragon... a whole range of strange, glam rockers banging out songs about sex and drugs and, well, nothing much that sounded small town (except Chisel’s iconic Flame Trees, but that came later).

And then there was Bowie.

Effortlessly cool, frequently bizarre and unashamedly original. He just kept reinventing himself. 

I remember the first time I saw the 'Ashes to Ashes' clip with Bowie walking down a solarised beach dressed like an interstellar jester. It was mesmerising.

Something about the tone of his voice resonated with me, and the way he revelled in his uniqueness made me feel like it might be OK to be something other, something different, something alien - whatever that may turn out to be.

There were so many other songs of his that stuck with me.

China Girl, Let's Dance, Space Oddity... don't even get me started on the theme from Cat People! I could bore the crap out of you, listing all of my favourite Bowie songs. 

One year on, it’s still surprising to me that he's not around. 

It hasn’t sunk in. 

I keep expecting that he'll release some other genre redefining album from the grave (which I wouldn’t put past him). 

Ashes to Ashes, Star man, thank you for showing us how to put on our red shoes and dance the blues.

- Craig Arnold

Thanks so much Craig, for sharing your sweet Bowie story.

Feelin' the urge to pay tribute to your favourite artist? Write to us. If we like the cut of your jib, we'll feature you on our blog.