David Coughlan takes a deep dive into the world of David Bowie in the digital era and the Irishman who claims to have been the superstar's secret email pen pal.

Dara O'Kearney is a professional poker player. He has also been an ultra-marathon runner, author, blogger, podcast host and IT consultant.

For many years Dara was also a David Bowie superfan and during the late 1990s he became a prominent figure on Internet forums dedicated to the artist.

Around that time he started to receive emails from a mysterious figure, someone who seemed to know more about Bowie than anyone else.

Someone Dara believes really was David Bowie.

But why would one of the biggest rock stars on the planet start emailing a fan from Ireland?

Bowie fan and journalist David Coughlan meets some of the people closest to the singer from that time, including his guitarist Gerry Leonard from Clontarf in Dublin, Irish lighting designer Tom Kenny and Bowie’s producer and collaborator Mark Plati.

We hear about the secret Bowie gig that caused chaos in Dublin and speak to superfans, including Dara, and we explore the shifting world of Bowie fandom in the digital age.

25 years ago David Bowie became the first major artist to release an album as a download. The singer changed music and changed the way artists interact with their fans in the Internet era.

But did he have a secret Irish pen pal in those early online days?

Narrated by David Coughlan. Produced by David Coughlan and Tim Desmond.

Additional recording by Grace Kenny.

Thanks to Mark Adams, aka Blammo, for the use of his photos.

First broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, 2PM, Saturday 12th October 2024

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries