The rain was hammering down on the evening of Sunday December 3rd 1995. Having made our way into the arena, I couldn't believe how close to the stage we were. The stage set was part artist’s studio, part crime scene, comprising hanging beam lights, torn curtains, fabric cadavers, a table and chairs plus a puzzling wooden sign reading “Ouvrez le chien”. Eventually, from out of nowhere came David Bowie’s voice. Higher in tone than I was expecting, and with a more pronounced vibrato, Bowie sang the opening lines of "A Small Plot of Land" from off stage. David eventually crept on to the stage, in a paint-stained, t-shirt, sack-like trousers and no shoes – and still looked charismatic and distinctive as ever! I have never seen anybody own a stage like Bowie did, and fill an arena with their presence in such a way. The setlist was fantastic, comprising exciting new songs from the Outside album alongside back catalogue classics such as Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), DJ, Moonage Daydream, Boys Keep Swinging and Breaking Glass. This tour was also the only time Jump They Say and Nite Flights were ever performed, and that alone feels really special in hindsight. I feel like I saw Bowie at his best that night, performing the songs he wanted to play. The whole thing was a mesmerising and almost surreal experience. I had just seen David Bowie, and it was better than I had ever imagined it could be. Live shows didn’t get better than this - it was life changing!

The only time we got to see Bowie. I was supposed to see him at Milton Keynes 83 but parental interruption snookered that. We were perhaps 50 feet from the front row and to hear the man in person was a revelation and to hear the revisiting of classics like The Man Who Sold The World and Andy Warhol was double the revelation. And we danced and we kept on dancing through the entire performance partly because it was a fantastic groove-fest and partly because, underneath the wooden flooring was the ice rink: it was impossible to stand still. We tried to see Bowie at other times after this but he rarely ventured to our part of the country and it was difficult to get away with young kids & little money. So this will remain my only memory of seeing Bowie in person and a great one it is too.....despite the cold feet.

The first and only time I saw David Bowie. Made me wish I'd been born earlier. To have seen Ziggy and the Spiders my life would be complete. Happy Birthday Mr Bowie. The world is strange without you.