How David Bowie's generous donation helped make Ch-Ch-Ch Changes to crumbling car park in Binley Woods
Global icon David Bowie helped make Ch-Ch-Ch Changes to a humble village hall car park in Binley Woods thanks to the persistence of one resident.
Norman Miller put pen to paper in 2014 and was relentless with his requests to Bowie to help upgrade the hall’s crumbling car park.
And his determination paid off.
For two years, he wrote to the Star Man, filling his letters with humour, wit and football updates about Coventry City ‘Sky Blues’.
He even invited the Starman to play a benefit gig at the village hall to help raise funds for the upgrade.
Norman received a reply from Bowie’s son, filmaker Duncan Jones, who said his father wasn’t taking on new work due to ongoing health issues.
On January 10, 2016, the day the world lost Bowie, Norman was contacted by the star’s family saying his letters and jokes had brightened the singer's final days.
The estate offered the village exactly £10,116 – a figure to reflect the day of Bowie’s death.
Bowie died from cancer days after turning 69 and the release of his 25th studio album, Blackstar, having kept his illness a secret from the world.
Paul Salisbury, chair of Binley Woods Parish Council, said: “The bank initially thought it was a scam.
"Norman went in and showed them the letter and they said they'd opened an account with nothing in it.”
The money was transferred the day he died.
Paul added: "The car park was in really poor condition and without that money, it wouldn't have been done.”
A painting of Bowie now proudly stands in Binley Woods Village Hall.