#1.outside

David Bowie 1.Outside 1995 Virgin ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. Leon Takes Us Outside 02. Outside 03. The Hearts Filthy Lesson 04. A Small Plot of Land 05. Segue - Baby Grace (a Horrid Cassette) 06. Hallo Spaceboy 07. The Motel 08. I Have Not Been to Oxford Town 09. No Control 10. Segue - Algeria Touchshriek 11. The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty) 12. Segue - Ramona A. Stone · I Am with Name 13. Wishful Beginnings 14. We Prick You 15. Segue - Nathan Adler 16. I’m Deranged 17. Thru’ These Architects Eyes 18. Segue - Nathan Adler 19. Strangers When We Meet ———————————————————————

Carlos Alomar

Joey Baron

David Bowie

Sterling Campbell

Brian Eno

Yossi Fine

Reeves Gabrels

Mike Garson

Erdal Kızılçay

is the most LGBTQ+ album of David Bowie. Not Ziggy, or Diamond Dogs, or any other. This one. 

But if it accidentally happened that you don’t know what this album os about, it’s conceptual story in a bit dystopian world, where main character, Nathan Adler, tries to find out who killed “Baby Grace Blue”. Oh, and his work is to find when crime is art and when it isn’t. There are many characters, and most of them got an occasion to say something, or eventually we’ve got some suggestions about them in Nathan Adler’s diaries. You may think, that concept sounds not very LGBTQ+ at all, just a detective story with philosophical thoughts maybe. But let’s focus at some details.

And especially characters we meet here.

First of all, our... protagonist. But I won’t call him like that if I hadn’t better word for this. Especially when we meet him personally for the first time, as he is the character who sings “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson”. He may seem in the first lines a bit... Harsh? And on the verge of mental breakdown? Something like that. When he says “oh Ramona, if there was only something between us... other than our clothes” my first impression was: “oh, how cold emotionally this guy is” and then he mentions Paddy for the first time. And you know what? No, he’s definetely not emotionally cold. Or at least he cares for Paddy. And Paddy cares for him. So at all it seems Nathan is like... bisexual?  or bisexual homoromantic? Something like that.

Also, Paddy also does slight suggestion about Nathan’s behaviour. As he is the one singing “Hallo Spaceboy”. “Do you like girls or boys, it’s confusing these days”... And you ask why this is like that? Well... In Heart’s Filthy Lesson we’ve got a bit of suggestion that when Nathan asks “Paddy? Who’s been wearing Miranda’s clothes?” he at all knows who did it. And like... Ugh, it might be very confusing for both of them, like... Just... Bowie is the one who literally knew what is being unsure about sexuality and gender expression.

Okay, I’m getting more and more chaotic, BUT I’m just halfway.

Now let’s talk ‘bout old mr Touchshriek. In his segue we’ve got some suggestions that he’s literally old gay guy (he’s also freak and he’s a bit scary at all). For example: “He’s a broken man. I’m also a broken man. It would be nice to have company”. Sounds like he’s having a crush on some guy. Just... You know what I’m talkin’ about.

Now... Leon. We don’t get many knowledge about him at all. Despite there are few songs he sings. And he almost doesn’t give us any mentions about his sexual or romantic preferences. So I don’t want to make any overinterpretations, but for me he seems pansexual. Or bisexual. But it’s just guessing here. And I will add only that as I see some patterns on this album, he might be.

And let’s talk also about the Artist, called also Minotaur. We’ve got slight suggestions that this guy is experimenting. That he “pushes extremes of his sex”

Also in my opinion just the fact, that David Bowie portrays both male (Nathan, Touchshriek, Paddy, Leon, Minotaur) and female (Ramona, Grace) characters is... You know. It has LGBTQ+ vibes as hell for me.

So, summarising it all, the most LGBTQ+ album of David Bowie is 1. Outside. And, which is the most important, it’s not the way like “this guy is gay. And that’s all his personality” like sometimes book authors, or tv series creators do. This is just additional thing in a very well created story, ambitious concept and... Okay, now I’m gonna just add, that it’s extremely underrated album, and it’s a pity, that Bowie niever finished this project and we didn’t got the next 4 albums from this series and we’ll never know what happened next.