He was traveling around Europe and met David Bowie

(CNN) — American teenager Brad Miele spent the summer of 1984 exploring Europe by rail with his Sony Walkman in his ears.

Days rummaging through Paris record stores and evenings sampling Berlin nightlife were soundtracked by Miele’s favorite albums.

Miele’s mother also traveled around Europe that summer, but while she opted for five star hotels and tours of famous city landmarks, Miele and his brother stayed in hostels and spent their days wandering side streets, looking for the locations where their favorite artists laid down tracks.

For Miele, who grew up in New Jersey, the pinnacle of music was David Bowie, the cult British singer. His walls were papered with Bowie posters. He took style cues from the man sometimes known as Ziggy Stardust. Bowie was Miele’s hero — and being in Europe only made Bowie’s music resonate all the more.

One evening, during their stay in the UK, Miele and his brother met up with his mother for dinner. She was staying in the luxurious Savoy Hotel on the Strand, a bustling London thoroughfare lined with theaters and bars.

Miele was in peak Bowie mode that night: a gray wide-brimmed hat complementing a double-breasted blazer, baggy pants, braces and a bow tie. On his feet, he wore a snazzy pair of red Oxfords, in honor of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” lyrics: “Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.”

“I definitely was seeking that David Bowie, London vibe,” says Miele.

After dinner, Miele headed out into the night alone. His attention was immediately drawn to an alley neighboring the Savoy, where a group of people had gathered.

Mielle says it’s bizarre for him to recollect now, but he recalls thinking: “That’s clearly David Bowie down there.”

He made his way down the street, toward the Victorian Savoy Theatre.

“It almost manifested itself for me as it was happening,” Miele says now. “It could be no other thing. And then all of a sudden, I see David Bowie climbing up a drainpipe, up above the crowd of people.”

It felt like Miele had wandered the length and breadth of Europe with Bowie’s tunes in his ears. Now, the man behind the music was only a few yards in front of him.

Stepping into the frame

Bowie was in the middle of filming a music video, “Jazzin’ for Blue Jean,” an extended 21-minute film showcasing soon-to-be-single “Blue Jean.” In it, Bowie plays two characters: gawky Vic,…