January 12, 2016
While music fans across the globe are still mourning the death of legendary musician David Bowie, one Philadelphian is hoping to remember his legacy by dedicating an entire week to him.
A Change.org petition was launched Tuesday calling on Mayor Jim Kenney to declare July 17 to July 24 "David Bowie Week." As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had 19 of 100 desired signees.
Here's the reasoning for the week, according to the guy who started the petition, Timothy McCloskey:
Whereas the video for the song "Modern Love" was recorded at the Philadelphia Spectrum on July 20, 1983; and in recognition of the cultural contribution to our city by David Bowie, and Philly Soul; we, the undersigned petition the City of Philadelphia to proclaim July 17 to July 24 as "David Bowie Week 2016."
The video for "Modern Love was used with clips of Bowie performing the song at The Spectrum, one of many ties Bowie has to Philly. He recorded two albums in the city and in 2005 thousands of master tapes from 1975's "Young Americans" were inherited by Drexel University.
Bowie died Sunday at the age of 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer. Kenney was not immediately available for comment on the possibility of a whole week dedicated to the singer, but the mayor did tweet about a time he saw the singer following the news of his passing:
July 30, 1987. We had seats behind stage. To get in the Glass Spider, David Bowie was level w/our row. I got to say "hey, good luck w/show!"
— Jim Kenney (@JimFKenney) January 12, 2016
Some tributes in the city have already been planned, including a "Bowie Forever" night at the 700 in Northern Liberties. Some prominent area musicians took to social media to honor Bowie, including G. Love and Questlove from The Roots.
