The first sculpture of the singer is coming sooner than you think.
Celebrating the life and work of one of music’s most successful artists, it has been announced that a statue in honour of David Bowie will be unveiled Sunday March 25th in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
Why Aylesbury? The sleepy market town, tucked away in the Chiltern Hills was, and is, home to Friars Aylesbury, the music club where David Bowie performed the world debuts of two of the most iconic albums of the 20th Century.
Bowie premiered Hunky Dory at Friars Aylesbury on September 25th 1971 and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars on January 29th 1972.
Not only that, Bowie actually formed The Spiders From Mars (with Mick Ronson, Woody Woodmansey and Trevor Boulder) in the dressing room of Friars Aylesbury.
Aylesbury’s Market Square was also referenced in the first line of “Five Years” – “Pushing through the Market square – so many mothers crying”.
The sculpture is the brainchild of David Stopps and his wife Sue, owners and promoters of Friars Aylesbury. The Saturday after Bowie’s death they organised a celebration of his life, which led to a petition to create the statue. A Kickstarter campaign raised £115,000, and internationally renowned sculptor Andrew Sinclair, who has produced works for the Queen, was commissioned to create the work.
Taking place on 25th March at 2pm, the unveiling of the statue will be preceded by Bowie music and videos playing in Aylesbury Market Square, as well as live music from Callow Saints. In the evening there will be a benefit concert at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre that will feature Marillion, Howard Jones, John Otway and the Dung Beatles. All proceeds from the concert will go to the sculpture fund that still needs £50,000 to break even.
There will be an opportunity for fans to contribute to the fund and order a piece of history by purchasing memorabilia, ranging from bronze copies of the maquette of the statue, life masks taken from an original mask of Bowie’s face made during the filming of The Man Who Fell To Earth, to the official Earthly Messenger t-shirts and Kris Needs’ The Thin White Book – A History of David Bowie and Friars Aylesbury.
Tickets for the Benefit Concert can be purchased from ATGtickets.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.
