I began researching David Bowie’s childhood three years before his death in January this year. As you might expect of such a remarkable man, it’s a remarkable story, one with much to teach us.

Madness was the refrain playing in his family background: three of his mother’s sisters reportedly became psychotic, likewise Terry, his much-loved half-brother.

Their insanity, and Bowie’s fear of it, became a major theme of the lyrics of his greatest albums.