The Year of the Diamond Dogs - 1974

Twenty-one years old, not a care in the world, I was cruising along in South Jersey one sunny afternoon when I came within range of the Philadelphia radio stations. David Bowie was appearing in the Tower Theater, said the DJ. As a special promotion, he explained, listeners could send in a self-addressed stamped envelope in order to win four free tickets. Three weeks later my friends and I sat in the front row having received what must have been the very first tickets issued, Row A, seats 1 through 4.

That was July 1974. The album, David Live, was recorded there. Looking back, what amazes me is that Bowie was just 27 years old then, already the author of a huge body of artistic work.

Yesterday was his 62nd birthday. Happy Birthday David. May you have many many more.

Here's a wonderful interview from a few years ago where he talks about growing older, about where the idea of "Ziggy" came from and about his father.