Bowie’s inspirational Beckenham bandstand gets historic listing
BY GEORGINA GAMBETTA
A banstand on which David Bowie perfomed on has been listed as a Grade II to protect it from future neglect.
The legendary singer performed under the structure in Croyden Recreational Ground in the summer of 1969, a month after the release of his seminal breakthrough album Space Oddity.
The performance was part of a one-day hippie counterculture festival called the Growth Summer Festival organised by Bowie and his friends.
Brixton-raised Bowie was living in Beckenham at the time with his landlady, and later lover, Mary Finnigan
The seven-minute song on his second album, Memory Of A Free Festival was inspired by this event – with its chorus “The Sun Machine is coming down, and we’re gonna have a party.”
It is also rumoured, that one of his biggest early hits, Life On Mars, from 1971 album Hunky Dory, was written on its steps.
Fifty years on, the “Bowie Bandstand” – as it is known to residents is now in need of a facelift.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “Its significance as a site that inspired David Bowie shows us how powerful our historic places can be and how important it is that we protect them so they will continue to inspire people for years to come.”
On Saturday musicians and Bowie lovers will be holding a special event to celebrate the milestone.
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