After the news of Bowie’s passing, Hadfield joined Peake and the European Space Agency (ESA) in paying tribute to Bowie on Twitter.
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The Canadian built up a huge following with his videos of Earth from the International Space Station in 2013. Attractive and melancholy, it told the story of astronaut Major Tom, adrift in space, lamenting “Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do“.
Yes. From his first album in 1969 featuring the song “Space Oddity” to his just-released final album Blackstar, Bowie used imagination and creativity to find a place in the universe, giving voice to the outsider, the alienated, those longing to belong like me.
Fans took to Twitter to appreciate and remember the legendary character created by Bowie, even comparing the genre-blurring musician to the adventuring astronaut. Many included the somber lyrics, wishing Bowie “safe travels” and calling “ground control to Major Tom”.
Relive Hadfield’s zero-gravity rendition of Space Oddity, below. He went on to play parts including a World War II prisoner of war in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, a vampire in “The Hunger”, Pontius Pilate in “The Last Temptation of Christ” and Andy Warhol in “Basquiat”.
He said: “Ashes to ashes, dust to stardust”.
LONDON (AP) – Here he is, sitting in a tin can, far above the world – and saying goodbye to David Bowie. Your brilliance inspired us all.
Singer, actor, icon David Bowie died after 18 months battling cancer.
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Today, Britain’s other “starman”, astronaut Major Tim Peake, paid his own tribute to Bowie.
