David Robert Jones
( January 8th 1947 – January 10th 2016)
known as
David Bowie,
was an
English singer,
songwriter and actor.
Regarded as among
the most influential
musicians of
The 20th Century,
Bowie received
particular acclaim
for his work in the 1970s.
His career was marked by
reinvention and visual presentation,
and his music and stagecraft
have had a
great impact on
popular music.
Bowie studied art,
music and design
before embarking
on a music career
in 1962.
He released a string of
unsuccessful singles
with local bands
and a
self-titled solo album
(1967)
before achieving his
first top-five entry
on the UK singles chart
with
"Space Oddity"
(1969).
After a period of
experimentation,
he re-emerged
in 1972
during the
glam rock era
with the alter ego
Ziggy Stardust.
The single
"Starman"
and its album
The Rise and Fall of
Ziggy Stardust
and the
Spiders from Mars
(1972)
won him
widespread popularity.
In 1975,
Bowie's style shifted towards
a sound he characterised as
"plastic soul",
initially alienating
many of his
UK fans
but garnering his
first major US
crossover success
with the number-one single
"Fame"
(w/John Lennon)
and the album
Young Americans
(1975).
In 1976,
Bowie starred in
the cult film
The Man Who Fell to Earth
and released
Station to Station.
In 1977,
he again changed direction
with the
electronic-inflected album
Low,
the first of three
collaborations with
Brian Eno
that came to be known as
the Berlin Trilogy.
"Heroes"
(1977)
and
Lodger
(1979)
followed;
each album
reached the
UK top-five
and received
critical praise.
After uneven
commercial success
in the late 1970s,
Bowie had three
number-one hits:
the 1980 single
"Ashes to Ashes",
its album
Scary Monsters
(and Super Creeps)
and
"Under Pressure"
a 1981 collaboration
with Queen
He achieved his
greatest commercial success
in the 1980s
with
Let's Dance
(1983).
Between
1988 and 1992,
he fronted the
hard rock band
Tin Machine.
Throughout the
1990s and 2000s,
Bowie continued to
experiment with
musical styles,
including industrial
and jungle.
He also continued acting;
his films included
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
(1983),
Labyrinth
(1986),
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
(1992),
Basquiat
(1996),
and
The Prestige
(2006).
He retired from touring
in 2004
and his last
live performance
was at a
charity event
in 2006.
He returned from a
decade-long
recording hiatus
in 2013
with
The Next Day.
His death in 2016
came two days after
the release
of his final
studio album,
Blackstar.








