David Bowie fans found a new way to be passing time after the pop star’s death: setting a single-day record for video views on Vevo.
The music video service owned by Universal and Sony says views of Bowie videos hit 51 million Monday, the day after he died. That broke the record held by Adele, whose videos had 36 million views when her song “Hello” debuted on Oct. 23 rd. Vevo hosts more than 60 Bowie videos, including “Space Oddity” and “The Jean Genie.” The most-watched video on Monday was “Lazarus,” from his last album, which had 11.1 million views. Said to be a parting gift to fans.
The woman who starred in David Bowie’s “China Girl” video says the steamy scene on the beach was the least sexy she’s ever been in her life. Geeling Ching was 23 when she was cast in the 1983 video. Ching says she and Bowie were naked for the beach scene but it was not romantic. She says she was freezing and she kept getting salt water in her mouth. She also accidentally head-butted Bowie. They hit it off anyway and had a real-life romance that involved her travelling with him on private jets. Ching says Bowie was “other-worldly” and “beautiful.” It didn’t last long, and Ching returned to her native New Zealand. She had other acting roles but fell in love with the hospitality industry and now works as a restaurant manager.
The writer and director of the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” had wanted David Bowie to do a cameo in the sequel, and Bowie was open to the idea. James Gunn writes on Facebook he heard from mutual friends that Bowie wasn’t doing well, then heard back Bowie was OK and the cameo could potentially happen. Bowie’s song “Moonage Daydream” was on the bestselling soundtrack of the first movie, and Gunn says he’s trying to work another Bowie song into the sequel. He says it seems appropriate for Bowie to be the only artist with songs on both soundtracks.
