Five reasons to remember Leigh Bowery, having reached what would have been his 50th birthday.

1. In 1985, he started Taboo, the wildest, most hedonistic club that London, and the world, has ever known. Almost two decades later, Boy George’s musical of the same name became a West End hit.

2. He sat several times for Lucian Freud, who, after seeing him at Anthony d’Offay gallery in 1988, became obsessed with capturing his tragic-comedic, noble-grotesque split personality.

3. Alexander McQueen was known to be in the audience, producing inspiration that would find its way into many a collection. Leigh’s influence can also be seen in the work of John Galliano, Antony Hegarty, Cindy Sherman, David Lachapelle, Yasumasa Morimura, and Lady Gaga.

4. When Mick Jagger thought he was dancing too close at a party and shouted, “Fuck off , freak,” Leigh replied, without hesitation, “Fuck off, fossil!”

5. In 1994, in one of his last and most legendary performances, Leigh gave “birth” onstage to a fellow performer, who had been curled up inside a costume belly, held upside down with a harness.

Read the original blog post here on Hint.