Calgary's David Bowie reflects on sharing name with music legend

In 1958music legendDavid Bowiewas a tween who still went by his given name DavidJones.

And so, without a second thought, acouple from Calgary with the last name Bowie named their newborn son David.

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For thefirst decadeof his life, no one batted an eye at the boy from Calgary namedDavid Bowie.

But that all changed in the late 1960swhen a singerfrom across the pondstarted making a name for himself and took on thestage nameDavid Bowieto set himself apart from The Monkees singer Davy Jones.

"It wasmind-blowing. I getgoosebumpswhen I think about it," saidDavid Bowie, 57, who lives in the southeast community ofRiverbend.

His name is listed in the phone book, and that's how CBC'sCalgary Eyeopenerfound him.

'Actually, I had the name first'

Sharing a name with one of themost influential musicians in the world hasn't been easy.

Calgary's David Bowie says meeting new people is like listening to a broken record.

"I'd tell them and they'd go, 'Yeah right, I'm Alice Cooper.' And I'm like, 'No, really that's my name,'" he said.

"Or they'd go, 'Well how come you changed your name to the singer's name?Were your parents fans?' And I'm like actually, I had the name first," said the truck driver who is currently looking for work.

He says when he applies for jobs, he has to drop off his resume in person.

"They pull it out of the pile and thinkthat somebody in their company isprankingthem and they throw it in the trash and pull out another resume and read it instead."

"I think that's why I've never, ever won any draws of any kind because I figure when they draw my name they go, 'Yeah right' and throw the ticket away and then draw somebody else's name."

Despite all the missed opportunities,David Bowie of Calgary stillloves David Bowie from England.

He says his favourite song is Life on Mars.

• What's your favourite David Bowie song and why? Leave your suggestions below in the comments section.