Pop music has its fair share of queer icons to be worshipped, but few are as strange, revolutionary and undeniably sexy as David Bowie. And let’s not forget his staying power with a career spanning six decades! While his music, style and numerous personas have built a one-of-a-kind legacy, his biggest impact remains in bringing upfront, no holds barred queerness to an otherwise (straight-acting) male-dominated rock and roll scene. On the eve of his upcoming 25th album Blackstar (out January 8), now is a perfect time to take a look back at some of Bowie’s queerest moments, milestones for both himself and pop culture at large.

1. When he cross-dressed on his album promotion tour

Well before Bowie achieved international success, he was a sensitive musician figuring how to get the attention that he so desperately craved. In conservative early 1970s Britain, a great way to do so was to perform a radical presentation of gender nonconformity. In so many (almost outmoded) words, cross-dressing. For his 1971 classic Hunky Dory, Bowie appeared on the album artwork in a luscious gown while modelling himself after an old glamour shot of Marlene Dietrich. He continued the luscious gown vibe by appearing in the dress for every interview on the album’s promotional tour. Naturally, this was met with some backlash, but it did little to deter the already loud, proud and brave Bowie.

2. When he gave his guitarist a blowjob on stage

So it wasn’t technically a blowjob, but it was an obscene pantomime that made headlines around the world. While on tour supporting his mammoth record The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Bowie delivered his fabulous alien sex god persona unto the world, and things often got out of hand. In one infamous show, Bowie sauntered over to his guitarist Mick Ronson, and proceeded to give him/the guitar some elaborate oral sex. It was an act so popular that it got duplicated multiple times throughout the tour and solidified Bowie’s status as a sexual subversive.

3. When he had a love affair with Iggy Pop in Berlin

Rumors abound as to what really happened between Bowie and fellow glam/sex icon Iggy Pop during their time in Berlin, but their relationship is undoubtedly something special. They shared a flat in Berlin’s gay Schöneberg district where Bowie produced two solo records for Iggy on top of his own music. And they made numerous television appearances together where Bowie did little more than silently hold Iggy’s hand like a devoted life partner. Not to mention the hundreds upon hundreds of photos proving that they were the cutest couple in Europe at the time – hell, even Kraftwerk gave them a shout-out. Does it get queerer than the two gods of glam rock joining together in the city of Berlin? Not really.

4. When he recorded a duet with that other queer rock icon

By 1980, Bowie had outshone the controversy that surrounded his early career as a gender-ambiguous glam-star and had become a proper rock star in any category. Nevertheless, he remained one of the only steadfast symbols of queerness in the music world, with only one other contender for the throne. That contender was Freddie Mercury, and so instead of being rivals for the glittery gay throne of rock stardom, the two of them made a duet. The song is one that literally anyone and their grandmother can sing aloud, the fabulously soulful and moving “Under Pressure”, a record that didn’t lose any of its power even after a dreadful Vanilla Ice sampling. And the fact that the song comes off as a natural ebb and flow between the two queer camps of Bowie and Mercury instead of a diva-off is a testament to the record’s message of peace, love and understanding.

5. When he made this music video with Mick Jagger

There’s gay, there’s flamboyantly gay, and there’s this music video for “Dancing in the Street”. Even if Bowie’s ex-wife hadn’t confirmed a past liaison with Mick Jagger in the 1970s, this short clip is a damn declaration of their everlasting love. Initially recorded for the charity Live Aid in 1985, the video has catapulted the song’s legacy from a cut and dry R&B cover to a monument of homo-erotica. It was even spoofed for every single second of its runtime in a now infamous Family Guy sketch. Where Bowie’s previous duet delved into a more heartfelt place of queer identity, this is just pure balls-to-the-wall eye candy.

Sources: Time Out, David Bowie, Telegraph, Mirror