Why David Bowie was the model of a Renaissance Englishman

It’s hard to imagine how baffled the British public must have been by the arrival of David Bowie on to TV screens in the early 1970s. With his saffron hair, make-up and androgynous clothes, superficially he looked like a rejection of everything his post-war south London childhood had taught him.

One of the most pivotal scenes in Moonage Daydream, the recent film about his life, is his 1973 interview with chat show host Russell Harty. Throughout this awkward cross-examination, Harty searches for a label he can stick on Bowie for the benefit of discomfited viewers. ‘Are those men’s shoes? Or women’s shoes? Or bisexual shoes?’ Harty inquires, looking down at Bowie’s strappy red and gold platform sandals. ‘They’re shoe-shoes, silly!’ shoots back Bowie, helpfully adding that his spangly tights are from Woolworths.

The exchange is classic Bowie, and not just because it shows how skilfully he dodged any attempts to pigeonhole him. It’s also a joyful reminder of how, despite his shape-shifting personas, there was one constant – his Britishness. After