I have been a fan of David Bowie since I first saw "Labyrinth" at the cinema for my eleventh birthday in January 1987. I don't know why Bowiemania inspires such obsessive-compulsive devotion, but he certainly has a unique appeal - and the combination of the music and the image is really powerful. Fantastic voice, a brilliant songwriter, multi-talented musician, one of the best-dressed men in pop, and some of his films aren't bad either.

I even like both the Tin Machine albums (nowhere near as bad as critics make out - listen to "I Can't Read", "Amazing" or "Baby Can Dance" on the first album, and the second album sounds just like a 'real' Bowie album); and have enjoyed pretty much everything he's done from "Jump They Say" onwards. My favourite albums are HUNKY DORY, LOW, THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, STATION TO STATION, SCARY MONSTERS, THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA (an obscure and under-rated title, search it out!), DIAMOND DOGS, 1.OUTSIDE and LODGER. Some of my favourite Bowie songs are "Life On Mars?", "Aladdin Sane", "The Width Of A Circle", "Time Will Crawl", "Moonage Daydream", "Teenage Wildlife", "Hallo Spaceboy", "Sweet Thing/Candidate", "When The Wind Blows" and "Because You're Young", although it's impossible to narrow it down!

As I write, a new Bowie studio album is about to be released, and - although the days of Ziggymania and "Let's Dance" are in the past (say something once, why say it again?) - the sense of anticipation and excitement that accompanies every new album is still there; indeed, it's one of the few pure pleasures in my life, wondering what to expect from Bowie this time!

My Bowie Collection

The Best of Bowie On The Net