music

In Tribute To David Bowie: Talking About My Book “Playing God”

Mark Hastings books, David Bowie, playing god, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I remember January 10th, 2016, like it was yesterday… I remember what I was doing and where I was on the day when I heard that David Bowie had died… and I remember what I did next: I wrote a poem. I wrote a poem for David Bowie called “Always The Starman”, because I wanted to pay tribute to him, to who he was, and to what he and his music meant to so many people from all around the world. Then, not long after, I was inspired to write a short story that was not about David Bowie per se but his spirit definitely influenced it, my story “The Man in Black”; and following on from my short story I would go on to write six more short stories once again influenced by the spirit of David Bowie, which I would go on to collect together and have published in my short story collection “Playing God”. The original 2018 paperback version of “Playing God” had this image of David Bowie on the cover which I drew against a starry backdrop, and the 2024 hardback version featured a cover which was inspired by a sketch of David Bowie which was already within my book – but I gave it a fresh twist of colour and detail. Anyway, suffice to say, if it weren’t for David Bowie then I don’t know who I would be right now, because David Bowie has inspired me and he has influenced me for years in one way or another. I am so grateful for the spirit and the music of David Bowie which has visited me and inspired me so many times over the years, and I know that I am not the only one who feels that way. Rest in peace, David Bowie. Thank you, Starman. ⭐ 🖤

– Mark

”Bowie” by Annatomix

A Journey Through Poetry #39: Our Song

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , ,

This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and an author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Our Song’, from his poetry collection The Eternal Boy, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.

Olivia Hunter’s Christmas Playlist – from Christmas At Mistletoe Cottage

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Check out this specially created Spotify playlist filled with all the songs that Olivia Hunter listens to in ‘Christmas At Mistletoe Cottage’ while you read it while you listen to the story.

Listen to every song of Olivia Hunter’s Christmas Playlist on Spotify now: here!

Christmas Poems: My Poem “Jingles”

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In this episode I recite one of my Christmas themed poems. In this episode I read my poem “Jingles” written in 2021.

Listen, Like, and Subscribe to my podcast on Spotify and on iTunes.

My Poem “Pulse”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Music matters to so many people…
Music can change people in so many ways…
Music is so important and so impactful
to so many people that it can help create
a bubble of peace, joy, inclusivity,
and isolation from the rest of the world…
Music can draw so many people together
to share so many emotions, feelings,
and memories that will last forever -
that is why so many people buy tickets
to attend concerts and music festivals
that won’t take place a long time into the future…
Music speaks to something inside each and every one of us -
especially certain songs by certain artists,
musicians, and groups who captured
the imagination of their audience and their fans
at a time and at a place when they were
looking for a wave of inspiration to carry them forward
and through a particularly formative
and challenging time in their life…
Music should always come before everything else
when it comes to why people create it
and why people choose to listen
to some songs and to some music on repeat,
over all the countless others,
and beyond how an artist or a musician might appear;
however, artists and musicians do have
a duty to respect the boundaries of the stage,
and those who have paid to see them perform,
and not let their ego overshadow their art -
but some artists like to play a part for so long
that it is hard for them to change their ways…
Music and sound is obligatory, everlasting,
and ever-present in every moment of the universe -
and the more that we listen for what is always there
the more that we understand that music and sound
has always been a powerful driving force
for people to do what their heart tells them to do
and connect them with the music and the sounds
of the consciousness of the universe
that resonates with the heartbeats of everyone
and the pulse of every star and every world.

The Storyteller: The Music of The Midnight

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“The Music of The Midnight” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.

The Storyteller: Muses of Music

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Muses of Music” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.

My Poem “Sounds and Voices”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
There are some sounds
and there are some voices
that for some reason
always stand out
above all others…
there are some sounds
and there are some voices that,
when we hear them,
are immediately able to transport us
within our minds to a particular place
and to a particular time…
there are some sounds
and there are some voices
that are like music to our ears,
because we can hear within
some sounds and some voices
something akin to magic -
because what we hear
can make us feel something
that we might not have felt before,
or remind us of what we once felt
at a point in our lives that seems
a long time ago, and far away from
where we now finds ourselves…
there are some sounds
and there are some voices
that are so unique and so timeless
that any imitation of them
could never hope to capture
why some sounds and some voices
will resonate in the same way 
that they always will.

Composers have their own way of composing…
musicians have their preferred instrument
and their favourite style of playing…
singers have their own way of singing…
actors have their own method
when they are acting…
artists have their own process
when they are creating…
writers have their own reasons
why they write what they write,
as well as when and where they write -
and most of the time their ideas about
what they write about
seem to come to them
as if from out of nowhere,
as well as being a combination of
both the familiar and the new,
as if being repeated, remixed,
and remade from a different point of view.

Some sounds and some voices
stay with us all our lives…
some sounds and some voices never change,
even as we grow older…
some sounds and some voices
last longer than others
because they have something about them
that says more about their source
that can be definitively described…
some sounds and some voices
we return to time and again
because they fill us with joy,
happiness, hope, echoes of memories,
love, and experiences,
as well as recollections
of times of sadness, loss, grief,
and wishes that we could
return to somewhere,
to once again be with someone,
because we would give anything
to have more time to say
what we wish we had said
when we had the time to say it,
because there are some sounds
and there are some voices
that we could never forget.

My Poem “An Artist At Their Best”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
An artist is always a storm of emotions...
an artist is never just inspired
by one source of inspiration...
an artist is always looking
to create something for a reason -
because their instincts
tell them that they must...
an artist is never bound
by a blueprint or a roadmap,
because what they want to say,
what they want to share,
and what they want to show
may ultimately become something
that can not be displayed upon one wall
nor contained within the confines
of a single canvas.

An artist is always finding
new energy to inspire new art...
an artist never forgets
what it was, or who it was,
that gave them the first link
of an idea that would
grow into becoming a chain -
sometimes made of a substance
as strong as steel
or as fragile as glass...
an artist always sees the world,
the universe, as if it were one, big,
limitless, gallery of infinite beauty
and infinite possibilities...
an artist never explains
why their creations are
the way that they are,
because, after their creation,
everything starts a new life
and becomes something different
to everyone who finds it.

An artist uses every colour, every word,
every sound, every sensation,
every taste, every aroma,
to create what they make...
an artist sometimes returns
to something that others
might have long-since left behind -
ncluding their so-called "mistakes"...
an artist, like a child, knows
what they are saying when they speak -
but because, sometimes, some things
need a little more time given
by their observers and admirers
in order to interpret the secrets of their meaning,
some creations reveal what they are
and why they are created
a long time after the passing
of the artist who took the time
to bestow them with
a splinter of who they will always be...
an artist has been capturing
the life around them
and the life within them
since the first human
watched their first bolt of lightning
streak across a dark sky
and create the sound of thunder
that echoed with the sound
of their heart beating in their chest...
an artist is able to show
all who discover their art
what humanity is capable of,
and also what is possible
when humanity unites -
and that is when an artist
is truly at their best.

My Poem “Muses of Music”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Music has always been
an important part of my life...
Music has always meant more to me
than I could put into words...
Music has always been
what has created a connection
between me and what I have
always felt can be sensed
whenever I have looked up
at the sky at twilight...
Music has always opened
doorways of imagination
and inspiration that have led me
to visit a multitude of incredible worlds.

Music was, most likely, my first love,
because every time I heard
any kind of music -
from the vinyl records
of The Beatles and Mike Oldfield
that my parents used to play
from our home stereo,
to watching 'Top of the Pops' on TV,
to the Chart Shows that I used to
listen to every week on the radio -
I was absolutely spellbound by what I heard
and by the not so subtle magic.

When I first began expressing
my thoughts, my feelings,
my emotions, my memories,
and my experiences,
in the form of the poetry
that I was inspired to write,
as well as the love that I believed
I was feeling at the time,
I always sought out songs
and melodies that always
gave me the jump start of creativity
that I needed to create
a piece of art of my own.

Whenever I have found myself
going through a period in my life
when I have felt as if I were alone
in how I was feeling,
after listening to the words
of a song that has a power
and a gravity to it
that has a meaning,
a message, and a story to it
that is not always apparent,
I have always felt the wave energy
and understanding that has always reminded me
that there are always others
who have been through
what we have been through,
or what we are going through,
and that we can all there for one another -
even if we live vastly different lives,
and perhaps in different eras and time zones.

Even as I write this,
I am listening to a varied playlist
of some of my favourite songs -
some fast, some slow,
some acoustic, some electronic,
some old, some relatively new -
because I have found that
listening to a great song
while I am writing is like using
the key to a gateway
to the extra dimensions of possibilities
that play out and echo all around us,
and I am free to let my mind drift
and weave my own literary
tapestry of poetic fabric...
every day, I return to who I know,
what I know, where I know,
and to whom and to what
I have repeatedly listened to -
my favourite artists -
who, to me, will always be
the spark of hope, optimism,
and inspiration that I love -
in other words:
my muses of music.