He was the Man Who Fell to Earth or, more specifically, Dundee, in 1973 and Dundee woman Charley Gavigan will never forget it.
She was just six-years old and got a kiss on the cheek from David Bowie when he was in the city for his legendary Caird Hall gig.
Charley Gavigan. Picture by Kris Kesiak.
Yesterday, on what would have been the Starman’s 72nd birthday, Charley, now 52, remembered walking into the city centre with her parents from their Perth Road home when they came across a large crowd outside the Angus Hotel, which used to be on the corner of Marketgait and Nethergate.
Happy birthday @DavidBowieReal ? I met you in 1973 outside The Angus Hotel in Dundee ! I was the 6 year old you kissed on the cheek. I refused to wash my cheek for weeks. One thing I was disturbed with was your sparkly nail polish was so chipped? #childhoodmemories #DavidBowie pic.twitter.com/8kNt2V5uw1
— CharleyBraveYourDay (@skagirl67) January 8, 2019
She was ecstatic when the Ziggy Stardust singer emerge from the hotel to greet fans.
Charley managed to squeeze her way through the crowd and get to the front, where Bowie gave her a kiss on the cheek “out of the blue”.
However, the starstruck youth was disappointed his finger nails were not up to her standard.
She said: “It’s quite comical that that’s the thing I remember most. I was a little disappointed that his sparkly nail polish was a little chipped.
“Maybe that’s why I take so much care with things like that now. But he really is an inspirational figure in my life.
“His drive to try different things, even if they didn’t always work out, is something I admire.
“It was just a chance encounter. I had a poster of him in my room at the time and I remember he was wearing the exact same thing as that, which was unreal.
“He had this big bomber jacket, and of course his big orange hair. To actually see him in the flesh was something else.
“I remember he was really pale, which made more sense when I got older and reflected on the difficulties he was having at the time.
“But it’s a great story to pull out at parties. People love it.
“I never got to see him live in concert, I was too young when he was in Dundee, but my husband did. He said he had a real aura around him.”
Charley now lives in Glasgow with husband Colin, and the couple work together on social enterprise Brave Your Day.
The initiative helps people from a variety of backgrounds build confidence to improve their lives.
Bowie died on January 10 2016, just two days after his 69th birthday and release of final album Blackstar.
