To have had a bloody good cry over the news about David Bowie this morning

[MrsAxewound]

Bit of a strange way to react to the death of a stranger I guess but I am such a fan of his. I kinda cried like a family member had died! In my defence I am pregnant so I could just blame hormones

If something moves you to tears, that is a normal emotional response. Perhaps some people find being normal a strange concept

I also grew up with Bowie threading through my teens and totally understand the reactions of many, my own has caught me by surprise as I wouldn't have said I was a major fan. RIP.

Count mine among the arses parked on the U bench then, Cheers.

The man whose music forms a huge part of my life would not have been the artist he was without Bowie's influence. For that alone, I owe him respect.

Made me cry when I heard it on the radio, bit tearful as my dad was diagnosed with cancer not long ago and I think this hit home that it doesn't matter who you are cancer can hit anyone and no matter how much money you have you cant buy you're life. Terribly sad

I didn't know him, I'm not 'grieving' but I'm sad that he's gone, he was a genius musician.

I think it's fine for everybody to have their own emotions and responses here, I really do. We're not sheep. Some are crying, some are perhaps 'numb'... and I've just been dancing to 'China Girl' like a mad thing.

Live and let live, I don't think Medea's post was out of line and it shouldn't make anyone feel that their own feelings are null and void. Everybody feels what they feel and that's fine, isn't it?

To claim you were as grief stricken as his family would be wrong but why shouldn't people shed a few tears.

I cried when Robin Williams died. The sadness hit me as a total shock. It was a mix of things I find almost impossible to articulate - a lot to do with my own and family experiences of mental health problems.

I had a few tears to some of his songs this morning. He's someone whose songs my dad always played. Many of his songs are personally very meaningful to me.

FFS - his music could make me cry when he was alive, well, successful, loved, and constantly creatively fertile.

Add in him being taken by cancer at such a stupidly young age... and frankly, it would be madness, for me, to be dry-eyed.

I have a lump in my throat, too. Not helped by the fact that 6 music is pretty much dedicated to him, today. I can't get wildly enthusiastic about every single bit of his music, but he was such a game changer.

I sobbed when SirTP died. And sobbed again when I got to the end of The Long Utopia.

There are certain people who have such a unique vision that they cause quite a jolt when they go.

"Everybody feels what they feel and that's fine, isn't it?"

Exactly. Which is precisely the opposite of what Medea posted.

Medea: Grief Police. Do you get a badge and a uniform?

The OPs post actually includes the words "Bit of a strange way to react to the death of a stranger"!!!

He was a massive influence on musicians around the world, his music infiltrated every walk of life. I'm 27, but my first memory is of me and my dad dancing around the living room to let's dance.

He was a magical man and I always respected the fact that he and his wife led very private lives, this is epitomised in his death, to die with such dignity, releasing an album as a goodbye, is incredible.

I have cried and will cry again.

I think of myself as not a big crier over strangers but I cried about Terry Pratchett, Leonard Nimoy and Robin Williams too. The thing is, as Moonrise says, being moved to tears is complicated and about your own feelings about other things too. You may not be actually grieving for the personal loss of someone who you didn't know. But you're moved by the thought of the death of someone who meant so much to you as a teen, or who inspired you. Or the death just triggers sad feelings you have already.

With Robin Williams I just felt so sorry for him having to go through that decision and action, it was so tragic.

With Nimoy and Pratchett it was the bravery and good humour of their final messages.

I regularly cry at deaths on the news and I don't know those people either.

I mean you can be moved to tears by things happening in a film or book, and those characters aren't just people you don't know, they aren't even real. Of course you can cry over a celebrity death, if that's how it makes you feel.

multivac... I went back to read Medea's post. She's posting about her feelings/thoughts and the 'you' being referred to is a general 'you', I thought? Anyway, nobody needs to pay heed to that post or any other.

I'm dry-eyed, you are not. Both is ok.

Thinking of his family and friends

"you can be moved to tears by things happening in a film or book"

Absolutely. I howled towards the end when I saw "Sunset Song" recently!

I feel really sorry for his daughter. She's only 15/16, it must be terrible.

Thanks you madam - you articulated so well what I was trying to say.

Yanbu. I was 'oh that's sad' this morning but then I listened to star man and found a lump in my throat.
DD and I will be watching Labyrinth today in tribute.

I think it's weird to cry about the death of someone you never really knew, a stranger to you

Perhaps one day someone that you don't really know will touch you in ways you never knew how. I hope it happens to you as it really is a wonderful feeling.

I've just seen the posts, 'MN, I don't mind if you delete me'...

FFS, how trite. It's NOT a badge of honour nor a proclamation of 'right thinking', it's just self-serving nonsense in an attempt to prop up and excuse insults.

I appreciate you trying to pour oil on troubled waters, Lying ... but actually, Medea was not saying, 'we all feel differently, and that's fine' (as you are ). Instead, she opined:

"An appropriate response is to feel sadness at the death of another person, any person, perhaps a deeper sadness in the case of a person who's work you enjoyed or touched you. But crying is way over the top IMO"

Witch, mine wasn't, thanks for the presumption anyway.

Well said, Madam. I cried when Richard Griffiths died. I felt terribly sad by Robin Williams' death also, so much internal pain he was obviously in.

It's a reminder of our own mortality as well as a sharp and pointed 'The End' of people we've grown up with, appreciated the work of, self-referenced from even... very sad.

YANBU Sorrow.
I don't even have any of his albums but while growing up and for so long his music has been on in the background. Even when he went quiet you knew he'd be back with something new.
What a talent.

multivac... I'm more of an unintentional fire-starter but I concede that you're probably right.

I understood the post because she referenced the death of Diana, which made me think of the funeral and the few who really did give way - in front of her grieving sons. That really was bad, I thought.

This is quite a nice tribute thread anyway... lots of people have such great memories of Bowie's music. :)

FFS, a man is DEAD. Can some of you stop being tossers for 5 fucking minutes? I know it's really really hard, but concentrate.