11/01/2016 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten - the life and music of David Bowie,

the rock legend, who has died at the age of 69.

His career spanned half a century, leaving an indelible mark on popular

Musicians and fans around the world have paid tribute to his artistry,

his capacity for reinvention and his originality.

In the last 40, 50 years, continually breaking barriers,

crossing borders, musically and culturally, it is just incredible.

The focus of tributes in Britain was at his birthplace,

It was just a great British icon and gentlemen and a legend. I seriously

never thought this day was going to,.

His final album was released just three days ago,

and it seems to foreshadow his own death.

We'll be looking at David Bowie's life and work, and we'll be

Junior doctors in England are urged by ministers to call off tomorrow's

strike to avoid "real difficulties for patients".

An aid convoy arrives in the besieged Syrian town

of Madaya, where people are said to have been dying from starvation.

The head of the Environment Agency, Sir Philip Dilley,

who was criticised for being in Barbados during the recent

And how long before owners will be able to summon their

We meet the man who says we're nearly there.

Three 24-hour Tube strikes are announced.

Commuters are warned of a complete shutdown.

And the Calais refugee camp - a former head of counter-terrorism

claims it is at risk from IS fighters from Syria.

Around the world, people have been paying tribute to the iconic

rock star David Bowie, who sold 140 million albums

in a career that spanned half a century.

His family announced overnight that he had died of cancer

His work, which also encompassed acting, record producing,

art and fashion, left a unique mark on popular culture.

A remarkable array of musicians, artists and leaders have spoken

of their admiration for Bowie and his work.

We begin with this appraisal by our arts editor, Will Gompertz.

Here is a special man, with screwed-up eyes

It's David Bowie, it's 1972 and this is his game-changing alter ego,

I'm only using rock 'n' roll as a medium.

I don't think it had been voiced before then.

I wanted to be the instigator of new ideas, I wanted to turn

people on to new things and perspectives, wanted to be

that kind of catalyst.

# Ground control to Major Tom # Born David Jones and brought up

in suburban south London, he restyled himself as David Bowie

and in 1969, presented his strange world of alienation and ambiguity,

and in 1969, presented his strange world of alienation and sexual

ambiguity, misfits, and space oddities.

The older generation were bemused, the rockers dismissive.

But teenagers in bedrooms from Devon to Dundee were transfixed,

at last here was somebody who understood them.

People laughed about his crossdressing, but he did it

because he wanted to know what it was like.

He had that clever thing of creating a persona on stage

When he had had enough of that person, he could bring another

He made plain his artistic modus operandi with Changes.

Just going to have to be a different man.

It is like looking at an actor's films and taking clippings

and saying here he is.

That is very different to most rock stars.

I am not a rock star, I am not in rock 'n' roll.

The singer-songwriter and performance artist morphed

A number one in America followed, and transatlantic success

for this bizarre British export.

Some people said you would bite my neck? And what do you think I am

like? A working actor. That's right. That's very good!

David Bowie was an actor, he started out as a mime artist

followed by his various stage personas and in 1976 he took

the starring role in this arthouse film.

His next stop was Germany, he moved to Berlin where he made

a trilogy of critically-acclaimed albums with the producer Brian Eno.

# We could be heroes just for one day #

social behaviours meant he was often at the forefront of change

from raising gender issues to embracing the video age.

David Bowie brought something to our culture which had never been there

before. To have that kind of longevity, to last 40, 50 years,

continually breaking barriers, crossing boundaries, musically and

culturally, it is just an incredible thing. None of us, no musicians I

know, would be the same person without David Bowie.

# Put on your red shoes and dance the blues

and a new romantic look - Let's Dance was a massive

international and commercial success but he wasn't happy.

Artistically and aesthetically it was probably my lowest point.

David Bowie had heart surgery in 2004 and retreated from public life.

But he continued to make records and continued to do collaborations.

He released his final album, Blackstar, last week

True to form, it was innovative, surprising and in anticipating

his own death, visionary.

David Bowie was a truly great artist to the very end.

David Bowie was born in Brixton in south London,

and today, fans have been leaving flowers and candles next to a street

Similar scenes were witnessed in New York, where Bowie lived,

and in Berlin, where he composed some of his most powerful songs,

as people described the influence he had had on their lives.

Our arts correspondent David Sillito has been looking at the fans'

tributes, and he joins us now from Brixton.

Let me set the scene for you here. David Bowie was born just up the

road from here. Tonight in the centre of Brixton, his images

projected on the side of the buildings. Behind me, a crowd of

thousands, a sea of fans, Ziggy Stardust face paint and, well, you

know your David Bowie songs. The atmosphere, celebratory. They have

been singing all the songs. But this has also been a day of mourning.

# But her friend is nowhere to be seen...

# And she's hooked to the silver screen

Brixton, his birthplace, Berlin, his creative escape.

And his home in recent years, New York.

And this, the place made famous by the legendary album cover.

For most of us, this is as close as you ever got to David Bowie.

For his fans, he was like an alien who had arrived in strange clothes

What he did was give people permission to live

He probably saved my life, through his lyrics and songs

David Bowie has been part of my life since I first met him in 1967 so it

feels like a major pit prop has been knocked away.

Madonna, Sir Paul McCartney and the man who helped create some

He said, "I received an e-mail seven days ago.

It ended, 'Thank you for our good times, Brian.

I realise now he was saying goodbye."

As we've heard, David Bowie's impact on British culture extended far

His career, which also encompassed art and fashion, earned him

a retrospective show at the Victoria Albert Museum in 2013 which has

Mark Easton examines the wide-ranging influence

of David Bowie's work on British society and culture.

David Bowie provided a changing soundtrack

to the formative years of successive generations.

But across the decades he was also an advocate for imagination,

for contemplation and for confrontation.

ARCHIVE NEWS FOOTAGE: A 17-year-old David Jones has just founded

The Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men.

In 1964, the boy from south London was interviewed by the BBC,

For the last two years we've had comments like,

"Darling," and "Can I carry your handbag?"

Britain has become far more tolerant of difference.

And arguably, the cultural influence of David Bowie provided

some of the fuel for that social revolution.

A retrospective put together by the V -

on show today in Holland - documents Bowie's influence

into every corner of cultural space - fashion, digital

He famously declared he was gay and always had been and at the time

he was pushing a pram and had a wife.

He was very provocative, he played with the media.

But in presenting that alternative version of masculinity and always

being super cool, looking gorgeous, he changed the minds of millions.

We are asking you to cut down to the absolute minimum the use

In grey, troubled Britain, David Bowie was a colourful

A glam rocker, challenging conformity and satirising

He gave space to oddity, and made it cool.

And I have always just seemed to collect personalities. His energy

and artistry prodded Britain towards the global creative powerhouse it

has become. He is are role models for this and every generation. He

was fearless, he was courageous and he was innovative, he kept on

changing. And he has has massive impact on the way this country is

seen by the world as the most reactive nation on earth.

If Bowie defined what it meant to be young and smart,

for many British baby boomers, he was also a companion when it came

He never lost his sense of urgency and vitality and creativity

Some will wonder what the fuss is about - he was not

But when the British team stepped into the Olympic Stadium,

it was Bowie who provided the anthem.

A man who has changed the way the world sees Britain

and Britain sees itself.

Mark posed the question on behalf of some people, what is the fuss about?

It is about breadth of contribution, isn't it?

He was a truly great artist. He had a remarkable ability to make sense

of the world for us, his audience, to shine a light in the corner and

sate usually be concentrating on that long way before the rest of us.

He was talking about gender issues 30 or 40 years ago when it is

current now. He redefined, with the Beatles and Bob Dylan and the

Rolling Stones what pop could be, he questioned what it was to be a man

in the second half of the 20th century. In a way, he was the

Picasso of pop that he had this remarkable ability to synthesise all

these different ideas from different art forms and hone them into one

beautiful form of a song. Very few people can do that. Those songs have

become legends already. If you talk to children now, teenagers, look at

those pictures from Brixton, it is not old folk like you and me, there

are plenty of youngsters dancing along to David Bowie. His

contribution and his legend will live much longer than any of us.

Thank you. David Cameron has urged junior

doctors to call off their planned strike over the controversial

new contract. He said that tomorrow's

action would cause "real The strike begins across England

at eight in the morning, when junior doctors will only

provide emergency care. Some 4,000 operations

and procedures will be cancelled, as our Health Editor

Hugh Pym reports. Henry Jefferson is an anaesthetist

at a big hospital. With weekend working a major

issue in this dispute, he compiled a video diary of his

shifts on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is a busy day today,

lots of consultants here, lots of junior doctors

and lots of other health care staff He will be on strike tomorrow,

arguing government plans could make their

workload unbearable. In its current form,

this contract will stretch already demoralised and overstretched junior

doctors to a breaking point. Today the Prime Minister urged

the doctors to think again We will do everything we can

to mitigate its effects, but you can't have a strike

of this scale in our NHS without there being some real

difficulties for patients. The doctors' strike follows

a dispute over a new contract On pay, the government says junior

doctors will be the But the British Medical Association

says doctors will be worse off than they would have

been after three years. On hours, the government says

the current contract penalises hospitals which want to increase

staffing at weekends. But the BMA says the new contract

may increase working Hospitals like Milton Keynes

University Hospital have made contingency plans for the junior

doctors walk-out which will effect Today it is busy as usual

in the outpatients department but tomorrow it will

be very different. A number of patients have been

told their appointments have been postponed although some will go

ahead involving consultants who are not effected

by the industrial action. The message is that patients

needing urgent care will be Very similar to bank holiday working

and so it is a one-off, it's a reduced service but it's not

something we would wish to repeat Audrey has lived with excruciating

pain for months, waiting It was postponed from

December until tomorrow. Then she was told it

could be cancelled again because of the strike,

a major setback. But today came good

news, it will go ahead. Absolutely over the

moon, over the moon. Because it is the not knowing

that is the horrid part. Doctors in England like Henry

will walk out tomorrow but talks will continue in the hope

of averting two further planned strikes, one of which is set to hit

emergency as well as routine care. An aid convoy carrying

a month's supply of food, medicine and winter clothing has

finally entered the besieged Syrian town of Madaya as part

of an agreement between 40,000 people are trapped in Madaya

by a government blockade The UN says it's received credible

reports that some people have A second convoy also entered two

villages further north, which have been surrounded

by rebel forces. Our chief international

correspondent Lyse Doucet is in neighbouring Lebanon

and has sent this report. Aid finally arrived in Madaya

just as darkness fell. Thousands waited all day in the cold

at the barrier marking the entrance Now food, blankets,

medicine are being unloaded. The same operation is underway

in northern Syria in two villages That was the deal in

Syria's conflict. Food is used by warring sides

as a weapon and civilians Many in Madaya had been

living on boiled grass. Look at what we are eating,

this woman wails, this cry for help But today, the UN's top aid official

in Syria saw how bad At times it was difficult

to determine whether what we were seeing was actually

fabricated or exaggerated. I am sad to say it is not -

these are true stories This has become the face

of suffering in Syria. Today's aid will help,

but there is only permission for a month of supplies,

and no guarantee that more will be able

to get in. For some, this was

a chance to escape. They fled, complaining

of sky-high prices. Rebels are accused of hoarding

whatever food there has been. TRANSLATION: One kilo

of rice costs us $230. If you have money, you can buy

it but if you don't, My son has had a problem

with his chest and Today's aid operation means more

Syrians won't go hungry, at least for a while,

but what is really needed now in Syria is an end to all the sieges

across the country. Even war has laws and targeting

civilians is a war crime. The chairman of the

Environment Agency, Sir Philip Dilley, has

resigned following criticism of his handling of the

recent flooding crisis. after it emerged he was at his

holiday home in Barbados over Christmas while parts of the country

suffered severe weather. The Agency had initially said

he was "at home with his family". Our Science Editor

David Shukman is here. I suppose one of the questions is

what accounts for the timing of this announcement? The pressure must have

been overwhelming, there were more use paper stories yesterday

questioning his account of the holiday in Barbados and there were

also MPs, both Conservative and Labour, calling for him to resign on

the grounds that while his staff were battling flood he was sunning

himself in the Caribbean. Interestingly, Sir Philip himself

mounts a robust defence saying he had taken on a part-time three-day

week post and never expected to be effectively on call 24 hours a day.

Bear in mind this is someone who, before all this blew up, said it

would be right for someone in his position to bid it flooded areas.

This all comes as the government is launching a major investigation into

the state of flood defences across the country. I guess it is in no

one's interest for there to be a distraction of a question about

whether a key player in all of this went on holiday at the wrong time.

Thank you. The Justice Secretary, Michael Gove,

is to meet officials from the security firm G4S

after it suspended seven members of staff amid allegations

of abuse and mistreatment at a young offenders' institution

run by the company. The claims were uncovered

by the BBC's Panorama programme at the Medway Secure Training

Centre in Rochester. Managers of the Southern Health NHS

Foundation Trust have faced demands from members of the public

for them to resign. An emergency board meeting

was called after a report, to investigate hundreds of deaths

of people in its care. Relatives of those who died attended

the meeting in Southampton and demanded to know why

no-one had been sacked. Our Social Affairs Correspondent

Michael Buchanan was there. Early this morning,

the latest stage in a long, We are in year three,

entering the third year, Her son, Connor Sparrowhawk,

who had learning disabilities, drowned in a bath in 2013

while in the residential care The family have never

received an apology. At a packed emergency

board meeting today, Sara and Connor's 16-year-old

brother came to demand major changes An official report last month found

Southern Health had failed to investigate hundreds

of unexpected deaths. There have been many calls

for the Chief Executive to resign. I thought it was extremely

inappropriate that you would even say that you might have added

to our grief as a family when you have definitely

piled it on, all of you. We are all, myself personally

and all of us, incredibly sorry that the actions and the care

allowed Connor to die. We can't imagine how awful

the pain is for you, losing your brother,

for your mum losing her son. This is the first time I've felt

like I've been apologised I'm 16 and this is a room full

of adults, you know, it's not easy, I didn't want to do

it, I've had to do it The struggle to finally be

heard has taken its toll. The Trust told the meeting, however,

that no one would resign, as their systems for investigating

deaths were improving. Southern Health now has to somehow

rebuild public trust and its efforts are not helped by internal

documents like this one. It was produced just days

after the Health Secretary described what happened here as totally

unacceptable and it says the Trust could perhaps have learned lessons

from just nine deaths rather than the hundreds in

the official report. Monitor, the regulator,

will announce later this week what steps it intends to take

about the failings of Southern Some families are also

considering legal action Michael Buchanan, BBC

News, Southampton. In just a few years' time a fully

autonomous Tesla electric car will be a reality, and owners

will be able to summon their vehicle That's the prediction of Elon Musk,

the man who made his vast fortune developing PayPal and is now

investing in car and space travel. Mr Musk, who surrounds

himself with futuristic, hi-tech gadgets, has been speaking

to our Technology Correspondent I'm driving a Tesla along

the freeway in California. I'm now going to put the car

into autopilot mode. It's keeping the car

at a constant 50 mph, a certain distance, I have five

vehicle lengths away from the car in front, but it's

also staying in lane. I'm still nervous about this

technology so I'm keeping my hands To get this far has meant

the electric car maker has lost huge sums but the technology

pioneer behind it is a man At Tesla's design studio,

most of which was off-limits to our cameras, Elon Musk did

give me a glimpse of the future You will be able to summon the car

from New York if you are living in LA and it will drive

across the country, charge itself at the various locations

and eventually come to you. In ten years' time,

what will I be driving, You will only drive

if you want to drive. Owning a car that is not

self-driving in the long term will be like owning a horse,

you would own it and use it for sentimental reasons

but not for, you know, Even today, the latest Tesla can

already change lanes itself. It's done that completely

automatically, that is slightly It may be smart but this car

will never actually become conscious although Musk does have wider

concerns about the advance There are, I think, scenarios

where if there is some vast intelligence that either develops

a will of its own or is subject to the will of a small number

of people, then we could Elon Musk has another business,

SpaceX, which last month managed the historic feat of landing

a rocket back on earth after sending He says he is driven

by a series of ambitions. Sustainable energy obviously,

sustainable transport, ultimately becoming a multi-planet

species and travelling out Elon Musk says he expected both

Tesla and SpaceX to fail. Now he has to race ahead

to realise his vision before Newsnight's about to

begin over on BBC Two. Tonight our thoughts are obviously

with David Bowie, we will hear from Nile Rodgers who produced his best

selling album and assess his effect on music, culture and social

attitudes, right now on BBC Two. In a moment on BBC One it's time

for the news where you are but we'll leave you with some

of the enduring sounds and images