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Plans to build David Bowie memorial in Brixton are abandoned

Plans to build a huge lightning bolt memorial to David Bowie in his hometown of Brixton, south London, have been scrapped after a crowdfunding campaign failed reach its target.

The proposed David Bowie memorial would have been erected opposite Brixton Tube station (Copyright: This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll)
The proposed David Bowie memorial would have been erected opposite Brixton Tube station (Copyright: This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll)

With support from Lambeth Council, fans of the late music icon had proposed creating a 9m (30ft) tall red and blue statue, dubbed the ZiggyZag, shaped in the style of the lightning bolt on Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album cover, just streets away from his Stansfield Road birthplace.

However the project’s organisers, who had set out to create an “appropriate piece of public art”, will no longer be able to go ahead with their plans after they failed to raise the required £900,000 total for the sculpture.

Bowie was born on 8 January 1947, in Brixton, south London and died on 10 January 2016 (Copyright: Suzan Moore/EMPICS Entertainment)
Bowie was born on 8 January 1947, in Brixton, south London and died on 10 January 2016 (Copyright: Suzan Moore/EMPICS Entertainment)

The campaign gathered £50,000 in pledges by its four-week deadline – which will not be taken following the project’s collapse.

In a statement, ‘This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll’ – the design team behind the proposal – said: “If someone had told us a year ago that we’d raise £50,000 from nearly 700 wonderful people in just three weeks we wouldn’t have believed it possible.

“Thank you from the bottom of our Bowie-obsessed hearts for supporting us.”

The current Bowie mural in Brixton became a shrine to the star after his death (Copyright: Johnny Armstead/REX/Shutterstock)
The current Bowie mural in Brixton became a shrine to the star after his death (Copyright: Johnny Armstead/REX/Shutterstock)

Seemingly undeterred from their recent setback, the strong-willed group added: “We are still determined to celebrate David Bowie, in Brixton, with a challenging and appropriate piece of public art.

“We’re just going to have to approach the fundraising in a different way.”

The team admitted, too, that they had learned a “hell of a lot” along the way, but were ultimately not surprised by their inability to reach their ambitious funding target.

Campaign organisers said they plan to celebrate Bowie’s life with a ‘challenging and appropriate piece of art’ (Copyright: Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock)
Campaign organisers said they plan to celebrate Bowie’s life with a ‘challenging and appropriate piece of art’ (Copyright: Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock)

They explained: “Of course £50,000 doesn’t go anywhere near realizing the ambitions of the ZiggyZag. It will be no surprise to anyone that this crowdfund isn’t going to hit its target.”

The proposed structure took its inspiration from the cover art of Bowie’s sixth studio album, Aladdin Sane, which was released in 1973 as a follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

David Bowie passed away last year following a private battle with liver cancer, just two days after celebrating his 69th birthday.

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