FOX BUSINESS – A new David Bowie Barbie doll is about to hit store shelves.
On Wednesday, the toy brand – owned by Mattel – released a second David Bowie doll in its Signature Collection.
The new David Bowie Barbie wears a powder-blue suit, just like the iconic suit Bowie wore in his “Life on Mars?” music video from the “Hunky Dory” album.
The doll’s outfit includes other iconic details such as the foil-printed pin-stripe shirt, the statement tie, platform shoes, blue eye shadow and “a hairstyle inspired by Bowie’s 70s glam era,” the announcement said.
The doll was designed by Linda Kyaw-Merschon, according to the website.
“I’m gay and always have been, even when I was David Jones.”
– David Bowie, Jan. 22, 1972
“David Bowie was a one-man cultural phenomenon for his contributions to music, art, fashion, and film – and the doll is a tribute to the pop legend who continue to be recognized as a cultural vanguard,” Mattel said in its announcement.
“Barbie first honored Bowie three years ago by recreating his Ziggy Stardust alter ego, complete with space suit and makeup effects in doll form,” the company added.
“I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual … I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer, and I felt that [bisexuality] became my headline over here for so long. America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do.” – David Bowie in a 2002 interview with Blender
[Editor’s note: the root word of puritanical is purity.]
The doll will cost $50 and on MattelCreations.com, it is limiting customers to two dolls per person …READ MORE.
What we know about David Bowie’s health and death
David Bowie’s health problems began over a decade before he died
11th January 2016
HERALD SCOTLAND – Despite releasing two stellar albums in three years – including one just two days before sad news of his death – rumours of David Bowie’s ill health had plagued the music idol for years.
Bowie bowed out of the spotlight following a heart attack in 2004, when he collapsed backstage at a gig in Schessel, Germany, and was forced to undergo emergency surgery on a blocked coronary artery.
He made very few public appearances since then, with his final live performance taking place nearly a decade ago, when he joined Alicia Keys on stage at the Black Ball fundraiser at New York’s Hammersmith Ballroom for a rendition of Changes in 2006.
Scrutiny of his health intensified in 2009, with long-time producer Tony Visconti denying reports the singer was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
“People thought he was dying. He’s not dying any time soon, let me tell you… He couldn’t have done two years’ work if he was a sick man. He’s very healthy, he’s very fit,” Visconti said.
Bowie cut a shadow of his former flamboyant self when he made his final public appearance at the premiere of his musical Lazarus at the Theatre Workshop in New York on December 12 last year (2015).
It was unknown at the time that the star was already coming to the end of his private 18-month battle with cancer – a fight he lost on Sunday. READ MORE.
