You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t appreciate the incredible music and artistry of the late David Bowie.
But as is the case with all pop-culture phenomena there are fans, and then there are superfans.
Dave Ross, legendary Glasgow DJ and owner of the Admiral bar falls deeply into the latter category.
Having recently had to postpone the bar’s annual charitable celebration of Bowie on what would have been his 75th birthday, Dave and his team are now preparing to host a smaller ‘Let's Not dance’ event in line with government restrictions this weekend.
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Speaking of why these nights dedicated to the 'Life on Mars?' singer mean so much to him personally Dave said: “I’ve been following David Bowie since my brother first played me the Ziggy Stardust album at around ten years old.
“I was obsessed with him.
“Since then, if anyone buys me a present it’s guaranteed to be something to do with Bowie.
“I was lucky enough to be able to see him multiple times over the years and once for my Christmas I actually got tickets to go and see every one of his shows on The Stage (or Isolaris II) tour.”
Having himself gone on to enjoy a successful career at the heart of Glasgow’s music scene and now working in events safety, it seemed a natural fit for Dave to start hosting an annual tribute to his favourite artist.
This year’s effort will feature an impressive collection of DJs such as Robert Winning and Gerry Lyons, as well as offering face painting and displaying visual projections from artist Ash London.
He said: “The thing about Bowie is that he was an artist, and when looking at a piece of art everyone will take something different away from it.
“Running these nights, I soon realised that everyone has their own version of Bowie and they’re all very protective of that which in itself brings a lot of pressure.
“We’ve tried to keep it on a smaller scale because of that but because this year would have been his 75th birthday we decided to really go for it.”
Although the full ‘Bowie 75’ club night has now been postponed until April 30, 2022, this weekend’s party is far from cancelled and the organisers still intend to carry on their tradition of honouring the glam rock icon by donating proceeds to local charities.
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Dave said: “We always choose charities that have some kind of connection to Bowie’s life.
“I would say we’ve raised around £10,000 by hosting these events over the years for organisations like Cancer Research or Samh.
“April’s event will be in aid of the Beatson Charity.
“On Saturday for our ‘Let's Not Dance’ event we’re hoping to have around 120 people in the bar seated.
“Although it’s a shame because it’s very difficult not to dance to Bowie’s music.”
There’s no shortage of Bowie tribute events taking place in the city at any given time, and with both the anniversary of his birth and death soon approaching, it’s safe to assume there will be a further influx still.
But, what truly sets the events at the Admiral apart is the obvious reverence that Dave holds for Bowie, his music and the legacy he has left behind.
He said: “I think regardless of what’s going on in the world Glasgow has always had a great underground music scene that was clearly influenced by Bowie.
“My breakthrough as a DJ was doing a night called ‘Crash’ at the long since forgotten Cotton Club on Scott Street and there wasn’t a week that went by where I wouldn’t play one of his tracks.
“What he said to the world was that you can be anyone that you want to be, in terms of gender, sexuality or creativity.
“He was a flagbearer for so many people.
“I often still get asked if I’ll DJ for events or private functions but nowadays, I only choose a couple of things that I really like doing, including the Bowie events at the Admiral.
“Restrictions willing, we’re looking forward to seeing them both go ahead.”
For more information or to book for Let's Not Dance click here.
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