Paris Set To Name Street In Honour Of David Bowie
Next Monday, 8 January, the city of Paris will name a street after rock music icon David Bowie: a first in honour of the singer eight years after his death.
‘Rue David Bowie’ will be officially inaugurated in the capital’s 13th district on the left bank of the city.
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No former dignitary’s name will need to be removed to make room for Bowie, as the street was created recently as part of a major makeover of the neighbourhood which also includes modernist university library Bibliotheque Francois Mitterrand.
The thoroughfare – around 50 metres (165 feet) long – was previously known to city planners as “VoieDZ/13”, a working title that could have appealed to Bowie himself who wrote songs such as TVC15 or 5:15.
Bowie, who died on 10 January 2016, of liver cancer would have been 77 on Monday. He ranks as one of the most influential, as well as best-selling, musicians of the 20th century, mostly thanks to his unparalleled ability to reinvent himself artistically throughout his career that initially took off with hit single Space Oddity in 1969.
His landmark songs and albums include Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane, and huge chart hits such as Let’s Dance, Ashes To Ashes and China Girl as well as more experimental, but highly influential works such as Low and “Heroes”.
Bowie has always maintained a cult following in France, where fan clubs such as ‘Bowie France’ sell merchandise, organise concerts and Bowie conventions drawing thousands, and where cover band Bowie Reloaded fills even large venues with nostalgic fans.
Monday’s unveiling of the plaque is scheduled for 4:15 pm (1515 GMT), the mayor of Paris 13th district, Jerome Coumet, said on X, former Twitter.
An avowed Bowie fan, Coumet launched the idea for a Bowie street in early 2020, and won Paris city approval later that year, arguing that the star had “a strong link with the city of light”.
Monday’s unveiling of the street name plaque will be followed by an evening of homage to Bowie at the district’s city hall, featuring Bowie friend and biographer Jerome Soligny as well as Clifford Slapper, producer of a tribute album Bowie Songs One. A Bowie exhibition, also at the mayor’s office, is also set to run to the end of next week.
Buy David Bowie vinyl, CDs and merch at the Dig! store.