‘Go home you’re drunk!’ British Gas under pressure over Bowie tribute

It’s the first anniversary of David Bowie’s death and there have been lots of lovely tributes, including this one by @helengreeen.

We can be Heroes, for ever and ever@Helengreeen has created this beautiful animation referencing all 28 Bowie studio albums#BowieForever pic.twitter.com/A9DppVf3M8

— David Bowie Official (@DavidBowieReal) January 10, 2017

But all anyone is talking about, naturally, is British Gas.

Eh?

The energy supplier – “looking after your world” – felt the heat on Twitter after one of its helpline staff, a chap called Paul, mentioned Bowie’s death in a tweet to customers.

Morning all. A year today we lost a pop icon David Bowie, time flys don't it? We're here till 10pm if you need anything. Thanks, Paul #RipDB

— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017

Grammatical errors to one side – “time flys don’t it?” – time was presumably moving very, very slowly in the helpline department this morning after an avalanche of criticism on social media.

. @BritishGasHelp Paul, quit while you're only slightly humiliated.

— Dave (@D_P_DD) January 10, 2017

@BritishGasHelp Go home British Gas Help, you're drunk.

— Miranda Athanasiou (@Mirandalife) January 10, 2017

@BritishGasHelp "time flys don't it" My God. "Time flies, doesn't it" is what you were looking for. You know this is visible to the public?

— Brian Keen (@thebriankeen) January 10, 2017

They must be really, er, feeling the pressure, right?

But you’ll be reassured to know that Paul is not about to lose his job.

@fenton1991 Not at all, Paul's not in trouble. We often kick off the shift with tweets including something relevant to us, no harm meant ^LP

— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017

Emboldened by this news, he later returned to Twitter, only slightly more bruised than he was when he woke up this morning.

Hey, David Bowie meant so much to me. I didn't mean to offend anyone & I only wanted to pay tribute to a master songwriter & true icon ^Paul

— British Gas Help (@BritishGasHelp) January 10, 2017

Others chose to pay tribute in more suitable style, including this from French Vogue about his changing style.

From Mod to Glam Rock, chart the style evolution of #DavidBowie ahead of the first anniversary of his untimely death https://t.co/0Pg9WFCBGv pic.twitter.com/rTKNXebKRK

— Vogue.fr (@VogueParis) December 29, 2016

And there’s his fascinating interview on Newsnight, back in 1999, in which he pretty much predicted the future of the internet.

David Bowie died a year ago today. Back in 1999 he made this incredible prediction about how the internet would change our lives forever pic.twitter.com/ITF9Wv6jlC

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 10, 2017

The NME also posted its own tribute.

One year without David Bowie pic.twitter.com/cG0rgAUnSU

— NME (@NME) January 10, 2017