In honor of David Bowie's 77th birthday on Jan. 8, the city of Paris will honor the late artist with a street named "Rue David Bowie."
Bowie commands the stage at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium, 1985.
The Paris street dedication follows a number of other public monuments to the late star across the world, most notably in Bowie's native Britain. A mural of Bowie (born David Robert Jones) painted by Australian artist James Cochran was installed on the wall of Morley’s Department store in his birthplace of Brixton, in the south London borough of Lambeth. In addition, a commemorative blue plaque was erected at London's Trident Studios, where Bowie recorded Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, in June of 2017.
A memorial to Bowie at London's Triton Studios, where he recorded 'Hunky Dory' and 'Ziggy Stardust.'
The idea for the street name was fan-driven, but perhaps not from someone you'd expect. Back in 2020, district area mayor Jerome Coumet — a self-professed Bowie enthusiast — proposed the idea and won the city's approval later that year. The street, which is approximately 165 feet long, is fashioned as a pedestrian walkway, surrounded by other causeways named after creative artists: photojournalists Dorothea Lange, Vivian Maier and Gisele Freund and Swiss-German painter Paul Klee.
'Rue David Bowie,' under construction, west of the river Seine in 2022.
While Bowie's creative ties are more closely aligned to cities such as New York City, London, Berlin and Los Angeles, he was heavily influenced by French avant-garde theatrical culture. And of course, there's also the line from his 1973 song "Aladdin Sane": "Motor sensational, Paris or maybe hell."
Bowie died of liver cancer on January 10, 2016, two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar, recorded in secret and released on his 69th birthday. He had been diagnosed 18 months previous and kept his condition private, but during the Off Broadway production of his play Lazarus, he was unable to attend rehearsals due to the progression of the disease.
David Bowie - Blackstar (Video)
His legacy has not left Paris, where his presence lives on in the "Bowie France" fan club and conventions and concerts featuring cover bands such as "Bowie Reloaded" can draw thousands to congregate and celebrate his music.
The unveiling of the street name plaque will take place on January 8 at the corner of Rue David Bowie and 61 avenue Pierre-Mendès-France. Bowie's friends, George Underwood and Geoff MacCormack, are scheduled to be there on the estate's behalf. An acoustic concert at the district's town hall will commence in the evening to conclude the ceremony.
