"While the BBC’s decision looks comic in retrospect, no Bowie aficionado would suggest that his mid-60s output contained much intimation of his future genius".

Probably true.

I hope you aren't dissing The Laughing Gnome.

His close friend Mick Ronson ( Spiders from Mars) was the same. So full of themselves.

Bowie was good for a short while - similar to Elton John and Oasis. All living off a couple of good albums. After those, blaaahhh.

To understand why rock stars act as they do perhaps it is necessary to walk in their shoes for a while.
The artistic output of any creative songwriter is bound to peak and decline with age. There is also the perceptions of the listener that also changes.

If you build someone up as some sort of genius then it is inevitable that they can only fall. People looking to make a name for themselves or get a bit of attention usually find a way to make that happen, especially after the person is dead.

In which universe is Mark E Smith a genius?

It's also the only thing I agreed with N. Gusset on, which doesn't really help my case.