The fact that David Bowie is being honored with his own stamp is nothing new. In Great Britain, there is already one that pays homage to one of the most colorful queer rock stars.
Now Germany is following suit. Already from the beginning of the year, more precisely: from 03 January 2022, the special stamp should then be available. If you want, you can also secure a special packset edition a few days later, on January 7, 2022.
What does the German David Bowie special stamp look like?
The German variant of the David Bowie special edition is an 85 cent variant. On it: Bowie with guitar. The picture is a shot from the mid-1980s.
The fact that the German community also has such a strong connection to Bowie is no coincidence. After all, the exceptional artist, who had no problem with making a splash here and there, lived in Germany for a period of about two years.
His style and music were or are just as colorful as the stamp. For fans, the special edition should become a real collector's item. Especially the colorful overall design catches the eye directly.
Queer stars on stamps? Not a rarity
It is not uncommon for icons of the community to be immortalized on stamps. Freddie Mercury, for example, has already received this honor. In most cases, the selected personalities are people who have left their mark on their generation for a wide variety of reasons.
Accordingly, it is self-explanatory why it should have been clear that Bowie would sooner or later join the ranks.
The exceptional queer artist is one of those people who are still extremely present even after their death - whether on the radio or in the field of fashion. Accordingly, the German special edition stamp is just another milestone that makes Bowie immortal in a certain way.
Who was David Bowie?
If you think of David Bowie, but perhaps didn't grow up in the 1980s and 1990s, you usually think directly of classics such as "Let's Dance". But: it is definitely worthwhile to dive a little deeper into his impressive biography. Because: Bowie, who was born in 1947, is officially one of the most influential artists in pop and rock music. He has sold more than 140 million records. And is therefore rightly considered a legend.
Bowie was especially known for his play with gender roles. Without him, glam rock would certainly not have developed as it ultimately did. Back then, in the 1970s, there were far fewer artists who presented their penchant for queerness in such an extroverted way as Bowie did. At the same time, he always left a lot of room for interpretation about how masculine or feminine he saw himself. Many of his fans are of the opinion that he was ahead of his time with regard to topics like LGBTQI+ and co.
Gay, or not?
Dazzling outfits, an often very feminine habitus and an outing via a newspaper... There are many details that over time have ensured that David Bowie's sexual orientation has been talked about publicly. Among other things, he was dating Romy Haag, a transsexual artist. In addition, rumors that he was having an affair with Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop were repeated.
Then, at the beginning of the 1980s, Bowie surprisingly announced that he was no longer gay. A statement that some in the community were not thrilled about. However, since Bowie still managed to be authentic and not actually shed any of his individual habitus, for which so many people loved him, many still hold the opinion that his "retreat from outing" was just a PR stunt.
But whether gay or not, Bowie has become a figurehead for the community.
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