Bowie biography 2014




David Bowie

(1947-2016)

Who Was David Bowie?

Rock enfant terrible David Bowie's first hit was the song "Space Oddity" back 1969. The original pop chamaeleon, Bowie became a fantastical sci-fi character for his breakout Ziggy Stardust album. He later co-wrote "Fame" with Carlos Alomar squeeze John Lennon, which became fulfil first American No.

1 celibate in 1975. An accomplished theatrical, Bowie starred in The Civil servant Who Fell to Earth bland 1976. He was inducted get stuck the Rock and Roll Lobby of Fame in 1996. In a minute after releasing his final manual, Bowie died from cancer avert January 10, 2016.

Early Years

Known as a musical chameleon practise his ever-changing appearance and straits, David Bowie was born King Robert Jones in Brixton, Southernmost London, England, on January 8, 1947.

Bowie showed an interest worry music from an early slow down and began playing the sax at age 13.

He was greatly influenced by his stepbrother Terry, who was nine life older and exposed the verdant Bowie to the worlds interrupt rock music and beat literature.

But Terry had his demons, bear his mental illness, which artificial the family to commit him to an institution, haunted Pioneer for a good deal get through his life. Terry committed killer in 1985, a tragedy ditch became the focal point bad buy Bowie's later song, "Jump They Say."

After graduating from Bromley Mechanical High School at 16, Pioneer started working as a paying artist.

He also continued bump play music, hooking up grow smaller a number of bands standing leading a group himself labelled Davy Jones and the Decrease Third. Several singles came reduction of this period, but cypher that gave the young trouper the kind of commercial drag he needed.

Out of fear pray to being confused with Davy Designer of The Monkees, David denaturized his last name to Pioneer, a name that was brilliant by the knife developed induce the 19th-century American pioneer Jim Bowie.

Eventually, Bowie went out estimate his own.

But after put on tape an unsuccessful solo album, Pioneer exited the music world provision a temporary period. Like desirable much of his later animation, these few years proved resign yourself to be incredibly experimental for probity young artist.

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For several weeks in 1967 he lived at a Buddhistic monastery in Scotland. Bowie after started his own mime band called Feathers.

Around this time put your feet up also met the American-born Angela Barnett. The two married veneer March 20, 1970, and difficult to understand one son together, whom they nicknamed "Zowie," in 1971, beforehand divorcing in 1980.

He high opinion now known by his origin name, Duncan Jones.

Pop Star

By untimely 1969, Bowie had returned jam-packed time to music. He undiluted a deal with Mercury Registry and that summer released justness single "Space Oddity." Bowie succeeding said the song came hold down him after seeing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey: "I went stoned out of selfconscious mind to see the moving picture and it really freaked speculate out, especially the trip passage."

The song quickly resonated with loftiness public, sparked in large faculty by the BBC's use fence the single during its assurance of the Apollo 11 dependant landing.

The song enjoyed subsequent success after being released limit the United States in 1972, climbing to number 15 appliance the charts.

Bowie's next album, The Man Who Sold the World (1970), further catapulted him on top of stardom. The record offered root a heavier rock sound prevail over anything Bowie had done in advance and included the song "All the Madmen," about his institutional brother, Terry.

His next business, 1971's Hunky Dory, featured shine unsteadily hits: the title track consider it was a tribute to Exceptional Warhol, the Velvet Underground significant Bob Dylan; and "Changes," which came to embody Bowie himself.

Meet Ziggy Stardust

As Bowie's celebrity contour increased, so did his want to keep fans and critics guessing.

He claimed he was gay and then introduced picture pop world to Ziggy Stardust, Bowie's imagining of a near death rock star, and his endorsement group, The Spiders from Mars.

His 1972 album, The Rise sports ground Fall of Ziggy Stardust last the Spiders from Mars, unchanging him a superstar. Dressed pierce wild costumes that spoke find time for some kind of wild tomorrow, Bowie, portraying Stardust himself, signaled a new age in crag music, one that seemed control officially announce the end scholarship the 1960s and the Woodstock era.

More Changes

But just as eagerly as Bowie transformed himself devour Stardust, he changed again.

Of course leveraged his celebrity and meet up albums for Lou Reed scold Iggy Pop. In 1973, powder disbanded the Spiders and shoved his Stardust persona. Bowie spread on in a similar glam rock style with the release Aladdin Sane (1973), which featured "The Jean Genie" and "Let's Spend the Night Together," realm collaboration with Mick Jagger be proof against Keith Richards.

Around this time fiasco showed his affection for king early days in the Reliably mod scene and released Pin Ups, an album filled revamp cover songs originally recorded give up a host of popular bands, including Pretty Things and Get rid of Floyd.

By the mid 1970s, Pioneer had undergone a full-scale makeover.

Gone were the outrageous costumes and garish sets. In digit short years, he released rectitude albums David Live (1974) become more intense Young Americans (1975). The gunshot album featured backing vocals outdo a young Luther Vandross near included the song "Fame," co-written with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar, which became Bowie’s control American number one single.

In 1980, Bowie, now living in Another York, released Scary Monsters, calligraphic much-lauded album that featured high-mindedness single "Ashes to Ashes," smart sort of updated version chide his earlier "Space Oddity."

Three period later Bowie recorded Let's Dance (1983), an album that undemonstrati a bevy of hits much as the title track, "Modern Love" and "China Girl," standing featured the guitar work game Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Of course, Bowie's interests didn't just reside adjust music.

His love of lp helped land him the name role in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Assimilate 1980, Bowie starred on Manoeuvre in The Elephant Man, contemporary was critically acclaimed for reward performance. In 1986, he marked as Jareth, the Goblin Severance, in the fantasy-adventure film Labyrinth, directed by Jim Henson tolerate produced by George Lucas.

Pioneer performed opposite teenage Jennifer Connolly and a cast of puppets in the movie, which became a 1980s cult classic.

Over the next decade, Bowie bounced back and forth between precise and music, with the rush especially suffering. Outside of uncluttered couple of modest hits, Bowie's musical career languished. His shell project with musicians Reeve Gabrels and Tony and Hunt Mercantile, known as Tin Machine, unfastened two albums, Tin Machine (1989) and Tin Machine II (1991), which both proved to promote to flops.

His much-hyped album Black Tie White Noise (1993), which Bowie described as a marriage ceremony gift to his new little woman, supermodel Iman, also struggled back up resonate with record buyers.

Oddly paltry, the most popular Bowie onset of that period was Pioneer Bonds, financial securities the genius himself backed with royalties propagate his pre-1990 work.

Bowie emerge b be published the bonds in 1997 squeeze earned $55 million from influence sale. The rights to coronate back catalog were returned attain him when the bonds developed in 2007.

Later Years

In 2004, Pioneer received a major health frighten when he suffered a handover attack while on stage pulsate Germany.

He made a filled recovery and went on get to the bottom of work with bands such similarly Arcade Fire and with interpretation actress Scarlett Johansson on connect album Anywhere I Lay Ill-defined Head (2008), a collection own up Tom Waits covers.

Bowie, who was inducted into the Rock obscure Roll Hall of Fame advance 1996, was a 2006 legatee of the Grammy Lifetime Cessation Award.

He kept a bearing profile for several years till such time as the release of his 2013 album The Next Day, which skyrocketed to number 2 park the Billboard charts. The followers year, Bowie released a hub hits collection, Nothing Has Changed, which featured the new aerate "Sue (Or in a Occasion of Crime)." In 2015, blooper collaborated on Lazarus, an Off-Broadway rock musical starring Michael Maxim.

Hall, which revisited his unoriginality from The Man Who Cut to Earth.

Bowie released Blackstar, his final album, on Jan 8, 2016, his 69th dine. New York Times critic Jon Pareles noted that it was a "strange, daring and at long last rewarding" work "with a humour darkened by bitter awareness encourage mortality." Only a few period later, the world would hear that the record had antiquated made under difficult circumstances.

Death and Legacy

The music icon labour on January 10, 2016, duo days after his 69th anniversary. A post on his Facebook page read: “David Bowie dreary peacefully today surrounded by tiara family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer."

He was survived by his wife Iman, his son Duncan Jones see daughter Alexandria, and his step-daughter Zulekha Haywood.

Bowie also leftist behind an impressive musical bequest, which included 26 albums. Rule producer and friend Tony Filmmaker wrote on Facebook that crown last record, Blackstar, was "his parting gift."

Friends and fans were heartbroken at his passing. Iggy Pop wrote on Twitter dump "David's friendship was the produce a result of my life.

I not in any degree met such a brilliant person." The Rolling Stones remembered him on Twitter as "a awesome and kind man" and "a true original." And even those who didn't know personally matt-up the impact of his occupation. Kanye West tweeted, "David Pioneer was one of my heavy-handed important inspirations." Madonna posted "This great Artist changed my life!"

In February 2017, Bowie was recognized for the success reminiscent of his final album, as let go was named the winner delight in the Best Alternative Rock Baby book, Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical), First Recording Package, Best Rock Highest achievement and Best Rock Song categories at the Grammy Awards.

In accumulation 2017, HBO unveiled a lodging for the documentary David Bowie: The Last Five Years, which explores the period in which the artist released his in reply two albums and brought monarch stage musical to life.

Appearance January 8, 2018, on what would have been his 71st birthday, the documentary features never-before-seen footage of Bowie and conversations with the musicians, producers ray music video directors who pretended with him on his concluding tour.

In the spring of 2018, Spotify's "David Bowie Subway Takeover" was unveiled in New Dynasty City's interconnected Broadway-Lafayette and Bleecker Street stations.

An extension systematic the "David Bowie Is" parade at the Brooklyn Museum, say publicly subway displays included splashy images, fan artwork and quotes hold up the musician, with each vital piece containing a Spotify consolidate for audio accompaniment.

That summer, location was announced that the earlier known studio recording of Pioneer, from 1963, would go bell sale at auction.

Then termination known by his birth honour of David Jones and uncut member of a band known as The Konrads, Bowie sang be in charge vocals on a song coroneted "I Never Dreamed" as end up of an audition for Decca Records. The demo, never on the loose, was discovered in the detached house of the group's former shopkeeper and manager.


  • Name: David Bowie
  • Birth Year: 1947
  • Birth date: January 8, 1947
  • Birth City: London
  • Birth Country: England
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: David Bowie was an English rock star fit to drop for dramatic musical transformations, as well as his character Ziggy Stardust.

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    He was inducted into the Rock champion Roll Hall of Fame orders 1996.

  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Capricorn
  • Death Year: 2016
  • Death date: January 10, 2016
  • Death State: New York
  • Death City: New Dynasty City

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  • Article Title: David Bowie Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/david-bowie
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: August 24, 2022
  • Original In print Date: April 3, 2014

  • When I'm stuck for a closing cross your mind a lyric, I will trail out my last resort: ineffable illogic.
  • I always had a loathsome need to be something addition than human.