David Bowie

David Bowie

Biography

David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Born and raised in South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. “Space Oddity” became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single “Starman” and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterized as “plastic soul,” initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. The following year, he further confounded musical expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low (1977), the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that would come to be known as the Berlin Trilogy. Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise. After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes,” its parent album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and “Under Pressure,” a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, with its title track topping both UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. Bowie also continued acting; his roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).

Personal info

Gender

Male

Birthday

1947-01-08

Place of birth

London, England, UK

Images

Cast

The Prestige

The Prestige

2006

8.20

Basquiat

Basquiat

1996

6.60

Yellowbeard

Yellowbeard

1983

5.50

Bandslam

Bandslam

2009

5.82

The Hunger

The Hunger

1983

6.66

Zoolander

Zoolander

2001

6.21

Labyrinth

Labyrinth

1986

7.27

August

August

2008

5.20

Zappa

Zappa

2020

7.30

Live Aid

Live Aid

1985

7.90

WHAM!

WHAM!

2023

7.40

Baal

Baal

1982

4.61

LOLA

LOLA

2023

6.50

The Image

The Image

1969

4.70

Burden

Burden

2016

5.90

Dear Bowie

Dear Bowie

2023

4.00

Fame

Fame

1976

0.00

Supergroups

Supergroups

2002

0.00

Video AID

Video AID

1985

0.00

DEVO

DEVO

2024

0.00

TIME

TIME

2024

0.00

My Way

My Way

2024

7.50

Ricochet

Ricochet

1984

9.00

TV Party

TV Party

2005

7.00

Night Lunch

Night Lunch

1975

5.00

Live Aid

Live Aid

2004

9.19

Moby Doc

Moby Doc

2021

6.10

Twiggy

Twiggy

2025

7.20

Thriller 40

Thriller 40

2023

8.50

The Snowman

The Snowman

1984

7.53

Blackstar

Blackstar

2015

0.00