I can't believe there isn't a thread already.
Simple to say my life wouldn't have been the same without him. Thank you for everything.

In what way did he change your life out of curiosity?

I didn't say he changed my life, but music has been a massive part of my life, the places I have been & the people who I have met & become friends with can be traced back to his writing of All the Young Dudes for Mott the Hoople, my favourite all time band. Whilst Bowie wrote many classics, without that one song Mott would probably have folded & my musical journey & life would have been different.

One of the greats for sure.

When you look at his back catalogue it's amazing how many amazing albums he produced. So much variety too. A lot of artists produce stuff that is very similar - not Bowie.

When he first really hit the music scene in the 70's that was "my" era and I felt even as a tennager back then his music stood out.

Not for any arty-farty reasons that will not doubt be ascribed to him and his back catalogue now but just because it was good. I remember playing "The Man Who Sold the World" until I almost wore it out.

I am sure a lot of people were Bowie fans back then because he was seen as rebellious or nonconformist but he wasn't that far out compared to other artists around then as "Glam Rock", which is where he was placed at the time, had other proponents such as Mark Bolan with T-Rex and The Sweet.

I just liked his music.

Sad loss. I thought he'd go on forever and when your teenage heroes start popping their clogs it's a reminder to get on with that bucket list!

He was a great artist and his 1970s stuff was brilliant, innovative and exciting but after 1982 in my opinion he was past his sell by date. He did about two good singles and his last good album was Scary monsters before the abomination that was Let's dance.

And before everyone goes on about how that was his best seller . That is the point he became commercial with that before going back to and failing to be experimental with Tin machine.

Look at those paying respect to him everyone is talking about his Ziggy, Sane and Berlin years.

A legend whose legacy was pre 1982.

Bowie was immense, and changed so many things, affecting the lives and futures of millions of people.

Bowie never became commercial. He was Bowie; he did what he wanted. I doubt he ever read a critique or review, he just came up with his unique stuff, and we just sat back in awe.

Some people, like Durham Giant - most people, even - get old and jaundiced, and at a certain point, stop listening to music (the oldies were the best) but not Bowie.

When I first listened to "The Next day" (2013, a while past 1982) I was astounded. Not that it wasn't as ground-breaking or unique as his 70's output, but that a 66 year-old who'd been away from the game for a decade could still possibly burn so creatively bright, and produce such a stunning album.

But he always knew how to top things. Looks like on getting his diagnosis, his choice was to create a goodbye album for his fans, Blackstar. I've just listened to it and watched the videos, and only Bowie could have done it. Enough musicality and imagery to write several theses, and as one critic put it "David Bowie gains immortality with Lazarus, the boldest character of his career".

A true one-off, a genius not only of music but art and creativity, I consider it a stroke of amazing luck and a privilege to have lived through his magnificent career.

Groundbreaking and well missed by me, Ziggy plays guitar..

Loved Bowie.
Particularly Young Americans.
But I still own the worst album I ever bought, which was made by Bowie .... Lodger.
Truly terrible!

A true original - love or loathe him - and I can testify to doing both at various stages of his oeuvre; either way, he changed pop culture and influenced generations of artists and musicians that followed. Very sad news.