Are we over emotional ?

Oh, it is news. A lot of people are sad.

Fifteen minutes into the 6pm BBC TV news, it's still all about David Bowie. Yes, this is (to use an unfortunate term) overkill. I was waiting to hear the news about the relief of Madaya which I have now found (with difficulty) on the BBC web site.
Even 35 years ago, there was a lot of emotion following the murder of John Lennon. The first I heard of it was when I went to the hairdresser and found him wearing a black armband.

I quite agree M0nica. I'm fed up with the 6 O'clock news. Its a pity he died relatively young but I want to hear the news not this waffle about David Bowie. What claptrap people are coming out with!

Lemmy 'sang' with the group.Motorhead. He was very influential and admired within his musical genre. I had heard of the group and knew that he was iconic, but whether I had ever heard any of his music or would have recognised it if I had is doubtful. David Bowie was an exceptionally talented and gifted individual and influenced far more people over far more genres than Lemmy. Many famous performers have come forward today to register the part David Bowie played in their musical development and performance.I have heard some of Bowie's music and would recognise some of it if I heard it.

I do not object to the deaths of famous people being well publicised. The performances and work of the above and also Cilla Black were loved by many people and are wound into the fabric of their lives. The song's of Cilla Black certainly wind in and out of my life and I can understand the deaths of these people being headline news, but I do find the wall to wall coverage of Bowie's death today a bit OTT.

Supplies of food and medications got through to Madaya today taking, literally life-saving supplies to the 40,000 starving people in that town. There is a hospital doctor's strike tomorrow. The RAF has raised the stakes in its battle against IS. These significant and important news events haven't just been sidelined by the outpourings following David Bowie's death, they have almost been entirely forgotten. Many people with houses and businesses flooded will probably be very happy to discover that the chairman of the Environment Agency has resigned, except they will not know unless they go through the lowest level of news with a magnifying glass. Pop icons are not Gods and and probably more than half the population, if they have heard of them, are indifferent to them.

There needs to be a sense of pperspective.

It's a sad loss for his family but when something like this is reported endlessly I think it's a clear sign that it's a 'slow news' day

I was surprised when I found out early this morning but not sad.
As someone else said you can't mourn for someone you didn't know. I didn't understand the out pourings for Diana either. My friend and her DD came up from Portsmouth just to lay flowers outside the palace at the time .
I admired Bowie's musical talent but I can't say I'm sad and yes I've seen enough now. I think I heard there's a programme on BBC tonight about him. I won't be watching.
Bad timing that the DM has published a centre fold article written about him by his ex today.

It is sad, and it brings it home when someone dies who is close to my own age , however, we haven't had the radio on all day; the only time I heard it was when DH told me first thing and I switched on the TV and heard some woman earnestly telling Lorraine Kelly that 'everyone' dies within three weeks of their birth date, either way.
That got me thinking about all my family and friends who have died and I cannot think of one who died within three weeks of their birth date. Where do they find these people and are we interested in their views?

To some extent I think it was the shock that has made people react as they have. Very few seemed to know he was ill. I know I gasped when I saw the news this morning. As WK says, I grew up with his music and it connects with important periods of my life. I remember the same shock when John Lennon died, and also Freddie Mercury. It's that this talent has gone and we'll have no more to add to what we have from them. It is shallow emotion compared with the tragedies other people on here have suffered, but it is that moment of realisation of mortality.

I think it's preferable to endless footage and non-stories about the royal family.

Mind you, I haven't had the radio/telly on since 9 am.

I don't think it's too much. He was a great pop musician. One of the best. By all accounts he was a decent human being too. He figured hugely in many people's youths. Why would it be too much?

Sorry can't recall Lemmy but thanks. Admit not into rock, I am a jazz fiend

Just wanted to add that David Bowie is from my 'era', so I am not unaware of his life. I think he was a very talented guy, but what's happening today is a sign of the times, the age of instant messaging.

Bowie's family and friends will feel the same grief whether they see the media coverage or not is what I meant, imperfect. So long as people aren't banging in their doors and pestering them for comments, I don't regard what is happening as a hijack. Even of they were being pestered, it'd be their privacy that was being "hijacked" (I'd substitute 'invaded' there I think), not their grief.

I think it's a bit strange that the news coverage is so extensive. I would expect a mention during the news bulletins for a half a day, with some tribute programmes later on TV and radio, but not at peak times. If he died in an accident you might expect more coverage because of updates to the causes or circumstances, but David Bowie died of cancer in his own bed with his family around him.

Two things may be a factor, one is it was not publicly known he was ill and the other is he had just released a new album. But still.

At the end of every year we see photo shows and lists of well known people who died that year and I am always surprised at a few of the names. I don't understand why David Bowie is receiving this level of attention.

Thatbags, I have to disagree. Sorry if I have offended pedants by applying the verb 'hijack' to an abstract noun (grief), but the verb can mean to seize, to force to change direction, or to take over. In the case of media reporting of David Bowie's death, I feel the media (as ever with anyone famous) has 'taken over' or over taken what is essentially a private grieving time.

I know this sounds sweepingly judging of me, there will be many sad people today, but it is the disingenuous outpourings of grief that inevitably follow that are hard to stomach.

In my experience, real grief is mostly silent and shared by few.

I wouldn't/didn't recognise Lemmy. I'd never heard of him.

Julie Burchill calls it "sob signalling". Chuckle.

Maybe!

Lemmy was an old rocker. He always wore a cowboy hat and had sideburns and a beard. You'd recognise him even if you aren't into rock.

I find it strange that with all the other newsworthy stories that so much airtime is spent on famous people when they die.

They did the same for Cilla Black.

I have to ask, who is/was Lemmy?

Decent people die every day , decent people suffer cancer . It's a repeat of Diana's death , how can the death of a person one has never met leave one devastated

I'm a bit conflicted on this one!

The last time was when Cilla Black died - she and Bowie were around the same age and famous for the past 40-50 years.

They were both cultural backdrops for most of our teenage/growing-up years, so it is a significant moment when they die.

The 'good and the great' in the media are of the same age so it's inevitable that their deaths get a great deal of coverage. Probably deserved, certainly in comparison to Lemmy whom most people had probably never heard of.

I suspect there's a feeling of, wow we're all getting old and death is not only for others.

I think what I find weird is not all the talk about the man and his music, but the fact that people say how sad it is that he's died. I don't think it's sad for anyone except his family and very close friends, who will miss him. We all die sooner or later.