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What is David Bowie's turntable?

After the passing of this great artist I have been listening to a lot of vinyl again, including his jazzy and brilliant Blackstar.

It got me to thinking what kind of turntable we would find in his home.

I can imagine a Gyrodec, given its charming form (Steve Jobs also had a Gyrodec). But I can also picture the Thin White Duke with a Thorens Reference. Given how avant garde he was a pitch black object from outer space, like a Technics SP10 in OMA Tourmaline plinth would also be so fitting.

Apologies for a somewhat trivial post, but it is my way of paying tribute to DB and also indulging in some pleasant daydreaming.

tokyojohn
jnovak's avatar
jnovak
441 posts
 
It's been discussed in Stereophile and other mags. Most artists don't care about equipment at all! I've talked to many musicians over the years. Not a one had or cared about playback systems. Crazy huh?
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
True artists don't care about equipment and rich ones like David Bowie would probably have something cool lookin' without giving a damn about overall performance or audiophile qualities. Most-likely it would be an automatic deck similar to full size linear trackers or Denon auto deck. You must remember that he was a male model and would go with fashion rather than performance. Chances he'd have some super-cool 1210MK5 in gold coated chassis also pretty big, but they're not automatic. Most of his recordings aren't audiophile I'd say except "Earthling". He was also among the coolest musicians such as Brian Eno, David Byrne, Lou Reed, Adrean Belew and others. His voice was average at best, but his image, appearance gave participating musicians great commercial success.



lewm
13,448 posts
 
I could see Bowie with a B&O turntable, one with a built-on straight line tonearm, and a B&O system, all in white.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Lewm,
DB might have B&O at some point, but it's very tough to find replacement styluses on these.
tokyojohn OP
11 posts
 
I can visualize both Linn and B&O mentioned. If a Linn, it would be a nonchalant, I-couldn’t-care, saw-it-at-Harrod’s-and-bought-it-on-a-whim, kind of Bowie cool. Or "Ivor gave it to me and I could not refuse". Cannot imagine Bowie ever tweaking the suspension :)
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