Whether Bowie’s 26 albums and 111 singles had brought colour to dark political landscapes, helped people come to terms with their sexuality, or simply made them want to dance, it had reached everyone in some way or another. Constantly reinventing himself, Bowie proved that you never have to conform.

Both young and old gathered in Brixton last night – and elsewhere in London, New York and Berlin. How rare it is, to have a person affect so many in such different ways. Even the 10 O’Clock News spent twenty minutes covering his death. As he himself sung in Quicksand, “Knowledge comes with death’s release.”

Bowie didn’t tell the media of his 18-month battle with cancer, or that he’d suffered six heart attacks in the past year alone. But once the news had broken it was clear that what he was giving in his final album was a farewell gift which, when listened to in retrospect, was a deeply poignant goodbye - opening with the lyric: “Look up here, I’m in heaven.”

The streets of Brixton, already so steeped in cultural history, continue to serve as a reminder of how music can wipe clean the slate and unite us all.

Celebrating an icon: last night's David Bowie vigil was a much-needed reminder of the uniting power of music