Mother and Father of Reinvention

To me, he is the absolute King (sorry Elvis, sorry Michael).
And Madonna's true predecessor.

For two decades, it was all about rock and roll. But in 1972, the world was about to witness a real revolution in pop culture.

Already with five albums behind, enough to prove his talent as a musician and songwriter, David Bowie engendered the first transmutation in the history of mainstream music: from artist to character. He was not Bowie anymore. He was Ziggy Stardust.

It happened not only on record, but mostly on stage, the place where it would all come to life. Ziggy/Bowie brought performance art, theatre, even fashion to a space where, so far, the only thing to do was to sing and play the guitar. The whole concept of a rock show was forever changed.

For years to come, David Bowie would produce groundbreaking music, embodied in new characters, animated onstage through more inventive performances.

One of those performances was from the Diamond Dogs Tour, in June 1974, which took place at the Cobo Hall, in Detroit, Michigan. Among the audience, stood a 15 year-old girl, moments after sneaking from her father's house, to watch her first concert ever.

Cobo Hall, Detroit

David Bowie, Diamond Dogs Tour, 1974

The 15 year-old girl

It would cost her the whole summer, as she was obviously grounded, "but it was worth every minute": on that evening, she felt overwhelmed and profoundly inspired. Ten years later, she would become the biggest female pop star in the Planet.

Madonna and David Bowie met each other, at least, circa 1986/87 - there's only one picture of them together, alongside Billy Idol and Sam Kinison, to tell the story.


But it was exactly sixteen years ago, on January 17, 1996, that the Mother and Father of Reinvention would finally come together in public - even though not in person. Madonna was invited to accept the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, on Bowie's behalf. On her speech, M described that unforgettable night, when she was a teenager.

One true symbolic moment in pop music history.

January 17, 1996
Accepting Bowie's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
and backstage with David Byrne and Seymour Stein