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| Voice_type = Baritone
| Voice_type = Baritone
| Instrument = Guitar, saxophone, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, [[Mellotron]], [[harmonica]], [[Stylophone]], [[xylophone]], [[vibraphone]], [[Koto (musical instrument)|koto]], drums, percussion
| Instrument = Guitar, saxophone, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, [[Mellotron]], [[harmonica]], [[Stylophone]], [[xylophone]], [[vibraphone]], [[Koto (musical instrument)|koto]], drums, percussion
| Genre = Rock, [[glam rock]], [[pop rock]], [[art rock]], [[blue-eyed soul]], [[psychedelic rock]], [[protopunk]]
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[glam rock]], [[pop rock]], [[art rock]], [[blue-eyed soul]], [[psychedelic rock]], [[protopunk]]
| Alias =
| Alias =
| Associated_acts =[[The Riot Squad]], [[Tin Machine]]
| Associated_acts =[[The Riot Squad]], [[Tin Machine]]
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| URL = [http://www.davidbowie.com Official Website]
| URL = [http://www.davidbowie.com Official Website]
}}
}}
'''David Bowie''' ({{pron-en|ˈboʊ.iː}} {{respell|BOH|ee}};<ref name="bbc_say_bowie">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2007/01/how_to_say_bowie.shtml |title=How to say: Bowie |accessdate=22 November 2008 |work=Magazine Monitor |publisher=BBC News |date=8 January 2008 }}</ref> born '''David Robert Jones''', 8 January 1947) is an English musician, actor, record producer and [[Arrangement|arranger]]. Active in five decades of [[popular music]] and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s, and is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth of his work.
'''David Bowie''' ({{pron-en|ˈboʊ.iː}} {{respell|BOH|ee}};<ref name="bbc_say_bowie">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2007/01/how_to_say_bowie.shtml |title=How to say: Bowie |accessdate=16 September 2010 |work=bbc.co.uk |date=8 January 2008 }}</ref> born '''David Robert Jones''', 8 January 1947) is an English [[rock music|rock]] musician, who has also worked as an actor, record producer and [[Arrangement|arranger]]. A major figure for five decades in the world of [[popular music]], Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s, and is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth of his work.


Although he released an album (''[[David Bowie (album)|David Bowie]]'') and several singles earlier, Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when the song "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]" reached the top five of the [[UK Singles Chart]]. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the [[glam rock]] era as the flamboyant, [[androgynous]] [[alter ego]] Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "[[Starman (song)|Starman]]" and the album ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]''. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona epitomised a career often marked by musical innovation, reinvention and striking visual presentation.
Although he released an album (''[[David Bowie (album)|David Bowie]]'') and several singles earlier, Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when the song "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]" reached the top five of the [[UK Singles Chart]]. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the [[glam rock]] era as the flamboyant, [[androgynous]] [[alter ego]] Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "[[Starman (song)|Starman]]" and the album ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]''. Bowie's impact at that time, as described by biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture."<ref name="buckley_legacy" /> The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention, musical innovation and striking visual presentation.


In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]", co-written with [[John Lennon]], and the hit album ''[[Young Americans (album)|Young Americans]]'', which the singer identified as "[[plastic soul]]". The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the [[minimalist music|minimalist]] album ''[[Low (album)|Low]]'' (1977)—the first of three collaborations with [[Brian Eno]] over the next two years. The so-called "[[Berlin Trilogy]]" albums all reached the UK top five and garnered lasting critical praise.
In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]", co-written with [[John Lennon]], and the hit album ''[[Young Americans (album)|Young Americans]]'', which the singer characterised as "[[plastic soul]]". The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the [[minimalist music|minimalist]] album ''[[Low (album)|Low]]'' (1977)—the first of three collaborations with [[Brian Eno]] over the next two years. The so-called "[[Berlin Trilogy]]" albums all reached the UK top five and garnered lasting critical praise.


After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]" and its parent album, ''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]''. He paired with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] for the 1981 UK chart-topping single "[[Under Pressure]]", but reached a new commercial peak in 1983 with the album ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'', which yielded the hit singles "[[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance]]", "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]", and "[[Modern Love (song)|Modern Love]]". Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including [[blue-eyed soul]], [[industrial music|industrial]], [[adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]], and [[drum and bass|jungle]]. His last recorded album was ''[[Reality (David Bowie album)|Reality]]'' (2003), which was supported by the 2003–2004 [[A Reality Tour|Reality Tour]].
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]" and its parent album, ''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]''. He paired with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] for the 1981 UK chart-topping single "[[Under Pressure]]", then reached a new commercial peak in 1983 with the album ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'', which yielded the hit singles "[[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance]]", "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]", and "[[Modern Love (song)|Modern Love]]". Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including [[blue-eyed soul]], [[industrial music|industrial]], [[adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]], and [[drum and bass|jungle]]. His last recorded album was ''[[Reality (David Bowie album)|Reality]]'' (2003), which was supported by the 2003–2004 [[A Reality Tour|Reality Tour]].


In the BBC's 2002 poll of the [[100 Greatest Britons]], Bowie ranked 29. Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136&nbsp;million albums. In the United Kingdom, he has been awarded 9 Platinum, 11 Gold and 8 Silver albums, and in the United States, 5 Platinum and 7 Gold. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him 39th on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time and the 23rd best singer of all time.
Buckley says of Bowie, "His influence has been unique in popular culture—he has permeated and altered more lives than any comparable figure."<ref name="buckley_legacy" /> In the BBC's 2002 poll of the [[100 Greatest Britons]], Bowie was placed at number 29. Throughout his career, he has sold an estimated 136&nbsp;million albums. In the United Kingdom, he has been awarded 9 Platinum album certifications, 11 Gold and 8 Silver, and in the United States, 5 Platinum and 7 Gold certifications. In 2004, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked him 39th on their list of the "100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time", and 23rd on their list of the best singers of all-time.


==History==
==History==
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===1962–68: The Kon-rads to the Riot Squad===
===1962–68: The Kon-rads to the Riot Squad===


In a collegiate environment, under the tutelage of Owen Frampton, Bowie studied languages, science, art and design. Frampton, meanwhile, endeavoured to persuade his son [[Peter Frampton|Peter]]—Bowie's fellow student—to seek a career in music with him.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 22</ref> Bowie received a serious injury when his friend George Underwood, wearing a ring on his finger, punched him in the left eye during a fight over a girl. He was forced to stay out of school for an extended period so that doctors could conduct operations to repair his potentially blinded eye. The damage could not be fully repaired, leaving him with faulty [[depth perception]] and a permanently [[mydriasis|dilated pupil]] (the latter producing Bowie's appearance of having [[Heterochromia|different coloured eyes]], though each iris has the same blue colour). Despite the fight, Underwood and Bowie remained good friends, and Underwood went on to create the artwork for Bowie's early albums.<ref>Buckley (2005): p.19</ref>
In the technical school's unusually collegiate environment Bowie was tutored by Owen Frampton, studying languages, science, art and design. Frampton, meanwhile, endeavoured to persuade his son [[Peter Frampton|Peter]]—Bowie's fellow student—to seek a career in music with him.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 22</ref> Bowie received a serious injury when his friend George Underwood, wearing a ring on his finger, punched him in the left eye during a fight over a girl. Doctors feared he would lose the sight of the eye, and he was forced to stay out of school for a series of operations during a four-month hospitalisation.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rock 'n' Roll's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary Tales from Over Fifty Years |last=Evans |first=Mike |publisher=Anova Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-1861059239 |page=57}}</ref> The damage could not be fully repaired, leaving him with faulty [[depth perception]] and a permanently [[mydriasis|dilated pupil]] (the latter producing Bowie's appearance of having [[Heterochromia|different coloured eyes]], though each iris has the same blue colour). Despite their fisticuffs, Underwood and Bowie remained good friends, and Underwood went on to create the artwork for Bowie's early albums.<ref>Buckley (2005): p.19</ref>


Graduating from his plastic saxophone to a real instrument during 1962, Bowie formed his first band at the age of 15. Playing guitar-based rock and roll at local youth gatherings and weddings, the Kon-rads had a varying line-up of between four and eight members, Underwood among them.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 28</ref> When Bowie left the technical school the following year, he informed his parents of his intention to become a pop idol. His mother promptly arranged his employment as an electrician's mate. Frustrated by his band-mates' limited aspirations, Bowie left the Kon-rads and formed another band, the King Bees. He wrote to the newly successful washing-machine entrepreneur [[John Bloom (businessman)|John Bloom]] inviting him to "do for us what Brian Epstein has done for the Beatles—and make another million." Bloom did not respond to the offer, but his referral to [[Dick James]]'s partner Leslie Conn led to Bowie's first personal management contract.<ref name="sandford29-30">Sandford (1997): pp. 29–30</ref>
Graduating from his plastic saxophone to a real instrument during 1962, Bowie formed his first band at the age of 15. Playing guitar-based [[rock and roll]] at local youth gatherings and weddings, the Kon-rads had a varying line-up of between four and eight members, Underwood among them.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 28</ref> When Bowie left the technical school the following year, he informed his parents of his intention to become a pop star. His mother promptly arranged his employment as an electrician's mate. Frustrated by his band-mates' limited aspirations, Bowie left the Kon-rads and formed another band, the King Bees. He wrote to the newly successful washing-machine entrepreneur [[John Bloom (businessman)|John Bloom]] inviting him to "do for us what Brian Epstein has done for the Beatles—and make another million." Bloom did not respond to the offer, but his referral to [[Dick James]]'s partner Leslie Conn led to Bowie's first personal management contract.<ref name="sandford29-30">Sandford (1997): pp. 29–30</ref>


Conn quickly began to promote Bowie. The singer's debut single, "[[Liza Jane (David Bowie song)|Liza Jane]]", credited to Davie Jones and the King Bees, had no commercial success. Dissatisfied with the King Bees and their repertoire of [[Howlin' Wolf]] and [[Willie Dixon]] blues numbers, Bowie quit the band less than a month later to join the Manish Boys, another blues outfit, who incorporated folk and soul—"I used to dream of being their Mick Jagger", Bowie was to recall.<ref name="sandford29-30" /> "[[I Pity the Fool]]" was no more successful than "Liza Jane", and Bowie soon moved on again to join the Lower Third, a blues trio strongly influenced by the Who. "[[You've Got a Habit of Leaving]]" fared no better, signalling the end of Conn's contract. Declaring that he would exit the pop world "to study mime at Sadler's Wells", Bowie nevertheless remained with the Lower Third.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 35</ref> His new manager, Ralph Horton, later instrumental in his transition to solo artist, soon witnessed Bowie's move to yet another group, the Buzz, yielding the singer's fifth unsuccessful single release, "[[Do Anything You Say]]". While with the Buzz, Bowie also joined the [[The Riot Squad|Riot Squad]]; their recordings, which included a Bowie number and [[The Velvet Underground|Velvet Underground]] material, went unreleased. Ken Pitt, introduced by Horton, took over as Bowie's manager.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 39–39</ref>
Conn quickly began to promote Bowie. The singer's debut single, "[[Liza Jane (David Bowie song)|Liza Jane]]", credited to Davie Jones and the King Bees, had no commercial success. Dissatisfied with the King Bees and their repertoire of [[Howlin' Wolf]] and [[Willie Dixon]] blues numbers, Bowie quit the band less than a month later to join the Manish Boys, another blues outfit, who incorporated folk and soul—"I used to dream of being their [[Mick Jagger]]", Bowie was to recall.<ref name="sandford29-30" /> "[[I Pity the Fool]]" was no more successful than "Liza Jane", and Bowie soon moved on again to join the Lower Third, a blues trio strongly influenced by [[The Who]]. "[[You've Got a Habit of Leaving]]" fared no better, signalling the end of Conn's contract. Declaring that he would exit the pop world "to study mime at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre|Sadler's Wells]]", Bowie nevertheless remained with the Lower Third. His new manager, Ralph Horton, later instrumental in his transition to solo artist, soon witnessed Bowie's move to yet another group, the Buzz, yielding the singer's fifth unsuccessful single release, "[[Do Anything You Say]]". While with the Buzz, Bowie also joined the [[The Riot Squad|Riot Squad]]; their recordings, which included a Bowie number and [[The Velvet Underground|Velvet Underground]] material, went unreleased. Ken Pitt, introduced by Horton, took over as Bowie's manager.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 35–39</ref>


Dissatisfied with his presentation as Davy (and Davie) Jones, which anyway invited confusion with [[Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones]] of the Monkees, Bowie assumed his pseudonym, naming himself after the soldier [[Jim Bowie]] and [[Bowie knife|the knife he popularised]].<ref>Buckley (2000): p.33</ref> His April 1967 solo single, "[[The Laughing Gnome]]", utilising sped-up [[The Chipmunks|Chipmunk]]-style vocals, failed to chart. Released six weeks later, his album debut, ''[[David Bowie (album)|David Bowie]]'', an amalgam of pop, [[psychedelic rock|psychedelia]], and [[music hall]], met the same fate. It would be his last release for two years.<ref name="albumdebut" />
Dissatisfied with his stage name as Davy (and Davie) Jones, which in the mid-1960s invited confusion with [[Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones]] of [[The Monkees]], Bowie re-named himself after the 19th century American [[Frontiersman#American_frontier|frontiersman]] [[Jim Bowie]] and [[Bowie knife|the knife he had popularised]].<ref>Buckley (2000): p. 33</ref> His April 1967 solo single, "[[The Laughing Gnome]]", utilising sped-up [[The Chipmunks|Chipmunk]]-style vocals, failed to chart. Released six weeks later, his album debut, ''[[David Bowie (album)|David Bowie]]'', an amalgam of pop, [[psychedelic rock|psychedelia]], and [[music hall]], met the same fate. It would be his last release for two years.<ref name="albumdebut" />


Bowie's fascination with the bizarre was fuelled when he met dancer [[Lindsay Kemp]]: "He lived on his emotions, he was a wonderful influence. His day-to-day life was the most theatrical thing I had ever seen, ever. It was everything I thought Bohemia probably was. I joined the circus."<ref name="buckley41-42">Buckley (2005): pp. 41–42</ref> Kemp, for his part, recalled, "I didn't really teach him to be a mime artiste but to be more of himself on the outside, ... I enabled him to free the angel and demon that he is on the inside."<ref name="buckley41-42" /> Studying the dramatic arts under Kemp, from [[avant-garde]] theatre and [[mime artist|mime]] to [[Commedia del Arte|Commedia dell'arte]], Bowie became immersed in the creation of personae to present to the world. Satirising life in a British prison, meanwhile, the Bowie-penned "Over the Wall We Go" became a 1967 single for [[Paul Nicholas|Oscar]]; another Bowie composition, "Silly Boy Blue", was released by [[Billy Fury]] the following year.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 46</ref> After Kemp cast Bowie with Hermione Farthingale for a poetic minuet, the pair began dating; they soon moved into a London flat together. Playing acoustic guitar, she formed a trio with Bowie and bassist John Hutchinson, and they began to give concerts combining folk, [[Beat music|Merseybeat]], poetry and mime. The venture was short-lived.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 49–50</ref>
Bowie's fascination with the bizarre was fuelled when he met dancer [[Lindsay Kemp]]: "He lived on his emotions, he was a wonderful influence. His day-to-day life was the most theatrical thing I had ever seen, ever. It was everything I thought Bohemia probably was. I joined the circus."<ref name="buckley41-42">Buckley (2005): pp. 41–42</ref> Kemp, for his part, recalled, "I didn't really teach him to be a mime artiste but to be more of himself on the outside, ... I enabled him to free the angel and demon that he is on the inside."<ref name="buckley41-42" /> Studying the dramatic arts under Kemp, from [[avant-garde]] theatre and [[mime artist|mime]] to [[Commedia del Arte|Commedia dell'arte]], Bowie became immersed in the creation of personae to present to the world. Satirising life in a British prison, meanwhile, the Bowie-penned "Over the Wall We Go" became a 1967 single for [[Paul Nicholas|Oscar]]; another Bowie composition, "Silly Boy Blue", was released by [[Billy Fury]] the following year.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 46</ref> After Kemp cast Bowie with Hermione Farthingale for a poetic minuet, the pair began dating; they soon moved into a London flat together. Playing acoustic guitar, she formed a trio with Bowie and bassist John Hutchinson, and they began to give concerts combining folk, [[Beat music|Merseybeat]], poetry and mime. The venture was short-lived.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 49–50</ref>


===1969–73: Psychedelic folk to glam rock===
===1969–73: Psychedelic folk to glam rock===
====''Space Oddity'' to ''Hunky Dory''====
In the continuing absence of commercial success, Bowie was forced to seek personal income from sundry sources. After appearing in a [[Lyons Maid]] ice cream commercial, he was rejected for another by [[Kit Kat]].<ref name="sandford49-50">Sandford (1997): pp. 49–50</ref> Intended as a vehicle to promote the singer, a 30-minute film featuring performances from his repertoire, ''[[Love You till Tuesday (film)|Love You till Tuesday]]'', was made. Though it went unreleased until 1984, the sessions for its January 1969 shooting gave rise to an unexpected benefit when Bowie, late in the proceedings, told the producers, "That film of yours—I've got a new song for it." He proceeded to demo the composition that was to provide his commercial breakthrough. "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]" was released later in the year to coincide with the first moon landing.<ref name="sandford49-50" /> Shortly after completion of the film, Bowie and Farthingale broke up, and Bowie moved in with Mary Finnigan as her lodger.<ref name="sandford53">Sandford (1997): p. 53</ref> Continuing the divergence from rock and roll and blues begun by his work with Farthingale, Bowie joined forces with Finnigan, Christina Ostrom and Barrie Jackson to run a folk club on Sunday nights at the Three Tuns [[public house|pub]] in [[Beckenham]] High Street.<ref name="sandford53" /> This soon morphed into the Beckenham Arts Lab, becoming extremely popular. The Arts Lab hosted a free festival in a local park, later immortalised by Bowie in his song "[[Memory of a Free Festival]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance |last=McKay |first=George |publisher=Verso |year=1996 |isbn=978-1859849088 |page=188}}</ref> "Space Oddity" was released on 11 July, five days ahead of the [[Apollo 11]] launch, becoming a UK top five hit. Bowie's second album, ''[[Space Oddity (album)|Space Oddity]]'', followed in November; originally issued in the UK as ''David Bowie'', it caused some confusion with its predecessor of the same name, and the early US release was instead titled ''Man of Words/Man of Music''. Featuring philosophical post-hippie lyrics on peace, love and morality, its acoustic folk rock occasionally fortified by harder rock, the album was not a commercial success at the time of its release.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 60</ref>
Because of his lack of commercial success, Bowie was forced to try to earn a living in different ways. He featured in a [[Lyons Maid]] ice cream commercial, but was rejected for another by [[Kit Kat]].<ref name="sandford49-50">Sandford (1997): pp. 49–50</ref> Intended as a vehicle to promote the singer, a 30-minute film featuring performances from his repertoire, ''[[Love You till Tuesday (film)|Love You till Tuesday]]'', was made. Though it went unreleased until 1984, the filming sessions in January 1969 led to unexpected success when Bowie told the producers, "That film of yours—I've got a new song for it." He then demoed the song that would provide his commercial breakthrough. "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]" was released later in the year to coincide with the first moon landing.<ref name="sandford49-50" /> Shortly after completion of the film, Bowie and Farthingale broke up, and Bowie moved in with Mary Finnigan as her lodger.<ref name="sandford53">Sandford (1997): p. 53</ref> Continuing the divergence from rock and roll and blues begun by his work with Farthingale, Bowie joined forces with Finnigan, Christina Ostrom and Barrie Jackson to run a folk club on Sunday nights at the Three Tuns [[public house|pub]] in [[Beckenham]] High Street.<ref name="sandford53" /> This soon morphed into the Beckenham Arts Lab, becoming extremely popular. The Arts Lab hosted a free festival in a local park, later immortalised by Bowie in his song "[[Memory of a Free Festival]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance |last=McKay |first=George |publisher=Verso |year=1996 |isbn=978-1859849088 |page=188}}</ref> "Space Oddity" was released on 11 July, five days ahead of the [[Apollo 11]] launch, becoming a UK top five hit. Bowie's second album, ''[[Space Oddity (album)|Space Oddity]]'', followed in November; originally issued in the UK as ''David Bowie'', it caused some confusion with its predecessor of the same name, and the early US release was instead titled ''Man of Words/Man of Music''. Featuring philosophical post-hippie lyrics on peace, love and morality, its acoustic folk rock occasionally fortified by harder rock, the album was not a commercial success at the time of its release.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 60</ref>


{{Listen |filename=David Bowie - Space Oddity.ogg |title="Space Oddity" |description=Sample of "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]". Released in July 1969 to coincide with [[Apollo 11|the first moon landing]], the single brought Bowie's commercial breakthrough.}}
{{Listen |filename=David Bowie - Space Oddity.ogg |title="Space Oddity" |description=Sample of "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]". Released in July 1969 to coincide with [[Apollo 11|the first moon landing]], the single brought Bowie's commercial breakthrough.}}
Bowie met [[Angela Bowie|Angela Barnett]] in April 1969. They would marry within a year. Her impact on him was immediate, and her involvement in his career far-reaching, leaving Pitt with limited influence.<ref name="sandford54-60">Sandford (1997): pp. 54–60</ref> Having established himself as a solo artist with "Space Oddity", Bowie now began to sense a lack: "a full-time band for gigs and recording—people he could relate to personally".<ref name="sandford62-63" /> The shortcoming was underlined by his artistic rivalry with [[Marc Bolan]], who was at the time acting as his session guitarist.<ref name="sandford62-63">Sandford (1997): pp. 62–63</ref> A band was duly assembled. John Cambridge, a drummer Bowie met at the Arts Lab, was joined by [[Tony Visconti]] on bass and [[Mick Ronson]] on electric guitar. After a brief and disastrous manifestation as the Hype, the group reverted to a configuration presenting Bowie as a solo artist.<ref name="sandford62-63" /> Their initial studio work was marred by a heated disagreement between Bowie and Cambridge over the latter's drumming style; matters came to a head when Bowie, enraged, accused, "You're fucking up my album." Cambridge summarily quit and was replaced by [[Mick Woodmansey]].<ref name="sandford67">Sandford (1997): p. 67</ref> Not long after, in a move that would result in years of litigation, at the conclusion of which Bowie would be forced to pay Pitt compensation, the singer fired his manager, replacing him with [[Tony Defries]].<ref name="sandford67" />
Bowie met [[Angela Bowie|Angela Barnett]] in April 1969. They would marry within a year. Her impact on him was immediate, and her involvement in his career far-reaching, leaving Pitt with limited influence.<ref name="sandford54-60">Sandford (1997): pp. 54–60</ref> Having established himself as a solo artist with "Space Oddity", Bowie now began to sense a lack: "a full-time band for gigs and recording—people he could relate to personally".<ref name="sandford62-63" /> The shortcoming was underlined by his artistic rivalry with [[Marc Bolan]], who was at the time acting as his session guitarist.<ref name="sandford62-63">Sandford (1997): pp. 62–63</ref> A band was duly assembled. John Cambridge, a drummer Bowie met at the Arts Lab, was joined by [[Tony Visconti]] on bass and [[Mick Ronson]] on electric guitar. After a brief and disastrous manifestation as the Hype, the group reverted to a configuration presenting Bowie as a solo artist.<ref name="sandford62-63" /> Their initial studio work was marred by a heated disagreement between Bowie and Cambridge over the latter's drumming style; matters came to a head when Bowie, enraged, accused, "You're fucking up my album." Cambridge summarily quit and was replaced by [[Mick Woodmansey]].<ref name="sandford67">Sandford (1997): p. 67</ref> Not long after, in a move that would result in years of litigation, at the conclusion of which Bowie would be forced to pay Pitt compensation, the singer fired his manager, replacing him with [[Tony Defries]].<ref name="sandford67" />


The studio sessions continued; their end product was Bowie's third album, ''[[The Man Who Sold the World (album)|The Man Who Sold the World]]'' (1970). Characterised by the heavy rock sound of his new backing band, it was a marked departure from the acoustic guitar and folk rock style established by ''Space Oddity''.To promote it in the United States, [[Mercury Records]] financed a coast-to-coast publicity tour in which Bowie, between January and February 1971, was interviewed by radio stations and the media. Exploiting his [[androgyny|androgynous]] appearance, the original cover of the UK version unveiled two months later would depict the singer wearing a dress: taking the garment with him, he wore it during interviews—to the approval of critics, including ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s John Mendelsohn who described him as "ravishing, almost disconcertingly reminiscent of Lauren Bacali"—and in the street, to mixed reaction including laughter and, in the case of one male pedestrian, producing a gun and telling Bowie to "kiss my ass".<ref name="sandford73-74">Sandford (1997): pp. 73–74</ref><ref>Pegg (2000): pp. 260–65</ref> During the tour Bowie's observation of two seminal American proto-punk artists led him to develop a concept that would eventually find form in the Ziggy Stardust character: a melding of the persona of [[Iggy Pop]] with the music of [[Lou Reed]], producing "the ultimate pop idol".<ref name="sandford73-74" /> A girlfriend recalled his "scrawling notes on a cocktail napkin about a crazy rock star named Iggy or Ziggy", and on his return to England he declared his intention to create a character "who looks like he's landed from Mars."<ref name="sandford73-74" />
The studio sessions continued and resulted in Bowie's third album, ''[[The Man Who Sold the World (album)|The Man Who Sold the World]]'' (1970). Characterised by the heavy rock sound of his new backing band, it was a marked departure from the acoustic guitar and folk rock style established by ''Space Oddity''. To promote it in the United States, [[Mercury Records]] financed a coast-to-coast publicity tour in which Bowie, between January and February 1971, was interviewed by radio stations and the media. Exploiting his [[androgyny|androgynous]] appearance, the original cover of the UK version unveiled two months later would depict the singer wearing a dress: taking the garment with him, he wore it during interviews—to the approval of critics, including ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s John Mendelsohn who described him as "ravishing, almost disconcertingly reminiscent of [[Lauren Bacall]]"—and in the street, to mixed reaction including laughter and, in the case of one male pedestrian, producing a gun and telling Bowie to "kiss my ass".<ref name="sandford73-74">Sandford (1997): pp. 73–74</ref><ref>Pegg (2000): pp. 260–65</ref> During the tour Bowie's observation of two seminal American proto-punk artists led him to develop a concept that would eventually find form in the Ziggy Stardust character: a melding of the persona of [[Iggy Pop]] with the music of [[Lou Reed]], producing "the ultimate pop idol".<ref name="sandford73-74" /> A girlfriend recalled his "scrawling notes on a cocktail napkin about a crazy rock star named Iggy or Ziggy", and on his return to England he declared his intention to create a character "who looks like he's landed from Mars."<ref name="sandford73-74" />
[[File:David-Bowie Early.jpg|thumb|175px|right|David Bowie during the [[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Ziggy and the Spiders]] Tour]]


[[Duncan Jones|Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones]] was born on 30 May. His parents chose "his kooky name"—he would be known as Zowie for the next 12 years—after the Greek word ''zoe'' (life).<ref name="sandford80">Sandford (1997): p. 80</ref> Immediately following her recovery from the cracked pelvis she sustained giving birth, Angela left for Italy with a friend. She would look back on the period as "the beginning of the end", though the couple would not divorce until 1980: "I'd gained a son, but lost a husband."<ref name="sandford80" /> For Bowie, too, in Ronson's estimation, "mentally, the divorce began that summer."<ref name="sandford80" />
''[[Hunky Dory]]'' (1971) found Visconti, Bowie's producer and bassist, supplanted in both roles, by [[Ken Scott]] and [[Trevor Bolder]] respectively. The album saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of "Space Oddity", with light fare such as "[[Kooks (song)|Kooks]]", a song written for his son, [[Duncan Jones|Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones]], born on 30 May.<ref name="buckley95-99">Buckley (2005): pp. 95–99</ref> (His parents chose "his kooky name"—he would be known as Zowie for the next 12 years—after the Greek word ''zoe'', life.)<ref name="sandford80">Sandford (1997): p. 80</ref> Elsewhere, the album explored more serious themes, and found Bowie paying unusually direct homage to his influences with "[[Song for Bob Dylan]]", "[[Andy Warhol (David Bowie song)|Andy Warhol]]", and "[[Queen Bitch]]", a [[Velvet Underground]] pastiche. It was not a significant commercial success at the time.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 85–86</ref>


====''Ziggy Stardust''====
''[[Hunky Dory]]'' (1971) found Visconti, Bowie's producer and bassist, supplanted in both roles, by [[Ken Scott]] and [[Trevor Bolder]] respectively. The album saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of "Space Oddity", with light fare such as "[[Kooks (song)|Kooks]]", a song written for his newborn son.<ref name="buckley95-99">Buckley (2005): pp. 95–99</ref> Elsewhere, it explored more serious themes, and found Bowie paying unusually direct homage to his influences with "[[Song for Bob Dylan]]", "[[Andy Warhol (David Bowie song)|Andy Warhol]]", and "[[Queen Bitch]]", a [[Velvet Underground]] pastiche. It was not a significant commercial success at the time.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 85–86</ref>
[[File:David-Bowie Early.jpg|thumb|175px|right|David Bowie during the [[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Ziggy and the Spiders]] Tour]]
With his next venture, Bowie, in the words of biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture".<ref name="buckley_legacy" /> Dressed in a striking costume, his hair dyed red, Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the [[The Spiders from Mars|Spiders from Mars]]—Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey—at the Toby Jug pub in [[Tolworth]] on 10 February 1972.<ref name="buckley135-6" /> The show was hugely popular, catapulting him to stardom as he toured the UK over the course of the next six months and creating, as described by Buckley, a "cult of Bowie" that was "unique&mdash;its influence lasted longer and has been more creative than perhaps almost any other force within pop fandom."<ref name="buckley135-6">Buckley (2005): pp. 135–36</ref><ref name="buckley135-6" /> ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]'' (1972), combining the hard rock elements of ''The Man Who Sold the World'' with the lighter experimental rock and pop of ''Hunky Dory'', was released in June. "[[Starman (song)|Starman]]", issued as an April single ahead of the album, was to cement Bowie's UK breakthrough: both single and album charted rapidly following his July [[Top of the Pops]] performance of the song. The album, which would remain in the chart for two years, was soon joined there by the six-month-old ''Hunky Dory''. At the same time the non-album single "[[John, I’m Only Dancing]]", and "[[All the Young Dudes (song)|All the Young Dudes]]", a song he wrote and produced for [[Mott the Hoople]], became UK hits. The [[Ziggy Stardust Tour]] continued to the United States.<ref> Sandford (1997): pp. 93–95</ref>


Bowie contributed backing vocals to Reed's 1972 solo breakthrough ''[[Transformer (album)|Transformer]]'', co-producing the album with Ronson.<ref>Buckley (2000): p. 156</ref> His own ''[[Aladdin Sane]]'' (1973) topped the UK chart, his first number one album. Described by Bowie as "Ziggy goes to America", it contained songs he wrote while travelling to and across the United States during the earlier part of the Ziggy tour, which now continued to Japan to promote the new album. ''Aladdin Sane'' spawned the UK top five singles "[[The Jean Genie]]" and "[[Drive-In Saturday]]".<ref>Pegg (2004): pp. 281–83</ref><ref>Sandford (1997): p. 108</ref>
Dressed in a striking costume, his hair dyed red, Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the [[The Spiders from Mars|Spiders from Mars]]—Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey—at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth on 10 February 1972.<ref name="buckley135-6" /> The show was hugely popular, catapulting him to stardom as he toured the UK over the course of the next six months.<ref name="buckley135-6">Buckley (2005): pp. 135–6</ref> ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]'' (1972), combining the hard rock elements of ''The Man Who Sold the World'' with the lighter experimental rock and pop of ''Hunky Dory'', was released in June. "[[Starman (song)|Starman]]", issued as an April single ahead of the album, was to cement Bowie's UK breakthrough: both single and album charted rapidly following his July [[Top of the Pops]] performance of the song. The album, which would remain in the chart for two years, was soon joined there by the six-month-old ''Hunky Dory''. At the same time the non-album single "[[John, I’m Only Dancing]]", and "[[All the Young Dudes (song)|All the Young Dudes]]", a song he wrote and produced for [[Mott the Hoople]], became UK hits. The [[Ziggy Stardust Tour]] continued to the United States.<ref> Sandford (1997): pp. 93–95</ref>


Bowie's love of acting led his total immersion in the characters he created for his music. "Offstage I'm a robot. Onstage I achieve emotion. It's probably why I prefer dressing up as Ziggy to being David." With satisfaction came severe personal difficulties: acting the same role over an extended period, it became impossible for him to separate Ziggy Stardust—and, later, the Thin White Duke—from his own character offstage. Ziggy, Bowie said, "wouldn't leave me alone for years. That was when it all started to go sour ... My whole personality was affected. It became very dangerous. I really did have doubts about my sanity."<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 106–7</ref> His later Ziggy shows, which included songs from both ''Ziggy Stardust'' and ''Aladdin Sane'', were ultra-theatrical affairs filled with shocking stage moments, such as Bowie stripping down to a [[sumo|sumo wrestling]] loincloth or simulating [[oral sex]] with Ronson's guitar.<ref name="Bowie: An Illustrated Record p.7">Carr & Murray (1981): p. 7</ref> Bowie toured and gave press conferences as Ziggy before a dramatic and abrupt on-stage "retirement" at London's [[Hammersmith Odeon]] on 3 July 1973. Footage from the final show was released in 1983 for the film ''[[Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (film)|Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]''.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): p. 116</ref>
{{Listen |filename=David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust.ogg |title="Ziggy Stardust" |description=Sample of "[[Ziggy Stardust (song)|Ziggy Stardust]]" (1972). A pioneer of [[glam rock]], Bowie performed as the character Ziggy Stardust, backed by the [[The Spiders from Mars|Spiders from Mars]].}}
Bowie contributed backing vocals to Reed's 1972 solo breakthrough ''[[Transformer (album)|Transformer]]'', co-producing the album with Ronson.<ref>Buckley (2000): p.156</ref> His own ''[[Aladdin Sane]]'' (1973) topped the UK chart, his first number one album. Described by Bowie as "Ziggy goes to America", it contained songs he wrote while travelling to and across the United States during the earlier part of the Ziggy tour, which now continued to Japan to promote the new album. ''Aladdin Sane'' spawned the UK top five singles "[[The Jean Genie]]" and "[[Drive-In Saturday]]".<ref>Pegg (2004): pp. 281–83</ref><ref>Sandford (1997): p. 108</ref>

Bowie's love of acting led his total immersion in the characters he created for his music. "Offstage I'm a robot. Onstage I achieve emotion. It's probably why I prefer dressing up as Ziggy to being David." With satisfaction came severe personal difficulties. Acting the same role over an extended period, it became impossible for him to separate Ziggy Stardust—and, later, the Thin White Duke—from his own character offstage. Ziggy, Bowie said, "wouldn't leave me alone for years. That was when it all started to go sour ... My whole personality was affected. It became very dangerous. I really did have doubts about my sanity."<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 106–7</ref> His later Ziggy shows, which included songs from both ''Ziggy Stardust'' and ''Aladdin Sane'', were ultra-theatrical affairs filled with shocking stage moments, such as Bowie stripping down to a [[sumo|sumo wrestling]] loincloth or simulating [[oral sex]] with Ronson's guitar.<ref name="Bowie: An Illustrated Record p.7">Carr & Murray (1981): p.7</ref> Bowie toured and gave press conferences as Ziggy before a dramatic and abrupt on-stage "retirement" at London's [[Hammersmith Odeon]] on 3 July 1973. Footage from the final show was released in 1983 for the film ''[[Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (film)|Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]''.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): p.116</ref>


{{Listen |filename=David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust.ogg |title="Ziggy Stardust" |description=Sample of "[[Ziggy Stardust (song)|Ziggy Stardust]]" (1972). A pioneer of [[glam rock]], Bowie performed as the character Ziggy Stardust, backed by the [[The Spiders from Mars|Spiders from Mars]].}}
After breaking up the Spiders from Mars, Bowie attempted to move on from his Ziggy persona. His back catalogue was now highly sought: ''The Man Who Sold the World'' had been re-released in 1972 along with ''Space Oddity''. "[[Life on Mars (song)|Life on Mars?]]", from ''Hunky Dory'', was released in June 1973 and made number three in the UK singles chart. Entering the same chart in September, Bowie's novelty record from 1967, "[[The Laughing Gnome]]", would reach number four.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 163</ref> ''[[Pin Ups]]'', a collection of covers of his 1960s favourites, followed in October, producing a UK number three hit in "[[Sorrow (David Bowie song)|Sorrow]]" and itself peaking at number one, making David Bowie the best-selling act of 1973 in the UK. It brought the total number of Bowie albums currently in the UK chart to six.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 115</ref>
After breaking up the Spiders from Mars, Bowie attempted to move on from his Ziggy persona. His back catalogue was now highly sought: ''The Man Who Sold the World'' had been re-released in 1972 along with ''Space Oddity''. "[[Life on Mars (song)|Life on Mars?]]", from ''Hunky Dory'', was released in June 1973 and made number three in the UK singles chart. Entering the same chart in September, Bowie's novelty record from 1967, "[[The Laughing Gnome]]", would reach number four.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 163</ref> ''[[Pin Ups]]'', a collection of covers of his 1960s favourites, followed in October, producing a UK number three hit in "[[Sorrow (David Bowie song)|Sorrow]]" and itself peaking at number one, making David Bowie the best-selling act of 1973 in the UK. It brought the total number of Bowie albums currently in the UK chart to six.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 115</ref>


===1974–76: Soul, funk and the Thin White Duke===
===1974–76: Soul, funk and the Thin White Duke===
[[File:Bowie-DD-1974-3.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Bowie performing during the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour]]
[[File:Bowie-DD-1974-3.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Bowie performing during the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour]]
Bowie moved to the United States in 1974, initially staying in [[New York City]] before settling in [[Los Angeles]].<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 3</ref> ''[[Diamond Dogs]]'' (1974), parts of which found him heading towards [[soul (music)|soul]] and [[funk]], was the product of two distinct ideas: a musical based on a wild future in a post-[[apocalypse|apocalyptic]] city, and setting [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'' to music.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 180–83</ref> The album went to number one in the UK, spawning the hits "[[Rebel Rebel]]" and "[[Diamond Dogs (song)|Diamond Dogs]]", and number five in the US. To promote it, Bowie launched the [[Diamond Dogs Tour]], visiting cities in North America between June and December 1974. Choreographed by [[Toni Basil]], and lavishly produced with theatrical special effects, the high-budget stage production was filmed by [[Alan Yentob]]. The resulting documentary, ''[[Cracked Actor]]'', featured a pasty and emaciated Bowie: the tour coincided with the singer's slide from heavy [[cocaine]] use into addiction, producing severe physical debilitation, [[paranoia]] and emotional problems.<ref name="buckley 204-5">Buckley (2005): pp. 204–5</ref> He later commented that the accompanying live album, ''[[David Live]]'', ought to have been titled "David Bowie Is Alive and Well and Living Only In Theory". ''David Live'' nevertheless solidified Bowie's status as a superstar, charting at number two in the UK and number eight in the US. It also spawned a UK number ten hit in Bowie's cover of "[[Knock on Wood (song)|Knock on Wood]]". After a break in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], where Bowie recorded new material, the tour resumed with a new emphasis on soul.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 128</ref>
Despite his by now well established superstardom, Bowie, in the words of biographer Christopher Sandford, "for all his record sales (over a million copies of ''Ziggy Stardust'' alone), existed essentially on loose change."<ref name="firesDefries">Sandford (1997): pp. 135–6</ref> In January 1975, in a move echoing Pitt's acrimonious dismissal 15 years earlier, Bowie fired his manager. At the culmination of the ensuing months-long legal dispute, he watched, as described by Sandford, "millions of dollars of his future earnings being surrendered" in what were "uniquely generous terms for Defries", then "shut himself up in West 20th Street, where for a week his howls could be heard through the locked attic door."<ref name="firesDefries" /> Michael Lippman, Bowie's lawyer during the negotiations, became his new manager; Lippman in turn would be awarded substantial compensation when Bowie fired him the following year.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 137, 153</ref>


The fruit of the Philadelphia recording sessions was ''[[Young Americans (album)|Young Americans]]'' (1975). Biographer Christopher Sandford writes, "Over the years, most British rockers had tried, one way or another, to become black-by-extension. Few had succeeded as Bowie did now."<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 138</ref> The album's sound, which the singer identified as "[[plastic soul]]", constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 68–74</ref> ''Young Americans'' yielded Bowie's first US number one, "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]", co-written with [[John Lennon]], who contributed backing vocals, and [[Carlos Alomar]]. Earning the distinction of being one of the first white artists to appear on the US variety show ''[[Soul Train]]'', Bowie mimed "Fame", as well as "[[Golden Years (song)|Golden Years]]", his October single.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 146</ref> ''Young Americans'' was a commercial success in both the US and the UK, and a re-issue of the 1969 single "Space Oddity" became Bowie's first number one hit in the UK a few months after "Fame" achieved the same in the US.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David (ed.) |year=2001 |publisher=Guinness World Records Ltd |title=Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles |isbn=0-85156-156-X |page=120}}</ref>
''[[Diamond Dogs]]'' (1974), parts of which found Bowie heading towards [[soul (music)|soul]] and [[funk]], was the product of two distinct ideas: a musical based on a wild future in a post-[[apocalypse|apocalyptic]] city, and setting [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'' to music.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 180–183</ref> The album went to number one in the UK, spawning the hits "[[Rebel Rebel]]" and "[[Diamond Dogs (song)|Diamond Dogs]]", and number five in the US. To promote it, Bowie launched the [[Diamond Dogs Tour]], visiting cities in North America between June and December 1974. Choreographed by [[Toni Basil]], and lavishly produced with theatrical special effects, the high-budget stage production was filmed by [[Alan Yentob]]. The resulting documentary, ''[[Cracked Actor]]'', featured a pasty and emaciated Bowie: the tour coincided with the singer's slide from heavy cocaine use into addiction, producing severe physical debilitation, paranoia and emotional problems.<ref name="buckley 204-5">Buckley (2005): pp. 204–5</ref> He later commented that the accompanying live album, ''[[David Live]]'', ought to have been titled "David Bowie Is Alive and Well and Living Only In Theory". ''David Live'' nevertheless solidified Bowie's status as a superstar, charting at number two in the UK and number eight in the US. It also spawned a UK number ten hit in Bowie's cover of "[[Knock on Wood (song)|Knock on Wood]]". After a break in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], where Bowie recorded new material, the tour resumed with a new emphasis on soul.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 128</ref>


Despite his by now well established superstardom, Bowie, in the words of biographer Christopher Sandford, "for all his record sales (over a million copies of ''Ziggy Stardust'' alone), existed essentially on loose change."<ref name="firesDefries">Sandford (1997): pp. 135–36</ref> In 1975, in a move echoing Pitt's acrimonious dismissal 15 years earlier, Bowie fired his manager. At the culmination of the ensuing months-long legal dispute, he watched, as described by Sandford, "millions of dollars of his future earnings being surrendered" in what were "uniquely generous terms for Defries", then "shut himself up in West 20th Street, where for a week his howls could be heard through the locked attic door."<ref name="firesDefries" /> Michael Lippman, Bowie's lawyer during the negotiations, became his new manager; Lippman in turn would be awarded substantial compensation when Bowie fired him the following year.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 137, 153</ref>
The fruit of the Philadelphia recording sessions was ''[[Young Americans (album)|Young Americans]]'' (1975). Biographer Christopher Sandford writes, "Over the years, most British rockers had tried, one way or another, to become black-by-extension. Few had succeded as Bowie did now."<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 138</ref> The album's sound, which the singer identified as "[[plastic soul]]", constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): pp.68–74</ref> ''Young Americans'' yielded Bowie's first US number one, "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]", co-written with [[John Lennon]], who contributed backing vocals, and [[Carlos Alomar]]. Earning the distinction of being one of the first white artists to appear on the US variety show, Bowie mimed "Fame", as well as "[[Golden Years (song)|Golden Years]]", his October single, for "[[Soul Train]]".<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 146</ref> ''Young Americans'' was a commercial success in both the US and the UK, and a re-issue of the 1969 single "Space Oddity" became Bowie's first number one hit in the UK a few months after "Fame" achieved the same in the US.<ref>{{cite book |author=David Roberts (ed.) |year=2001 |publisher=Guinness World Records Ltd |title=Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles |isbn=0-85156-156-X |page=120}}</ref>


[[File:David Bowie 1976.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Bowie at the O'Keefe center, Toronto 1976]]
[[File:David Bowie 1976.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Bowie at the O'Keefe center, Toronto 1976]]
''[[Station to Station]]'' (1976) introduced a new Bowie persona, the "Thin White Duke" of its title track. Visually, the character was an extension of Thomas Jerome Newton, the extraterrestrial being he portrayed in the film ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'' the same year.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 238</ref> Developing the funk and soul of ''Young Americans'', ''Station to Station'' also prefigured the [[Krautrock]] and synthesiser music of his next releases. The extent to which drug addiction was now affecting Bowie was made public when [[London Weekend Television]]'s [[Russell Harty]] interviewed the singer in anticipation of the album's supporting tour. Shortly before the satellite-linked interview was scheduled to commence, the death of the Spanish dictator [[Francisco Franco]] was announced. Bowie was asked to relinquish the satellite booking, to allow the Spanish Government to put out a live newsfeed. This he refused to do, and his interview went ahead. In the ensuing conversation with Harty, as described by biographer David Buckley, "the singer made hardly any sense at all throughout what was quite an extensive interview. [...] Bowie looked completely disconnected and was hardly able to utter a coherent sentence."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 244</ref> His sanity—by his own later admission—became twisted from cocaine; he overdosed several times during the year, and was withering physically to an alarming degree.<ref name="sandford158" /><ref name="buckley 204-5" />
''[[Station to Station]]'' (1976) introduced a new Bowie persona, the "Thin White Duke" of its title track. Visually, the character was an extension of Thomas Jerome Newton, the extraterrestrial being he portrayed in the film ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'' the same year.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 238</ref> Developing the funk and soul of ''Young Americans'', ''Station to Station'' also prefigured the [[Krautrock]] and synthesiser music of his next releases. The extent to which drug addiction was now affecting Bowie was made public when [[Russell Harty]] interviewed the singer for his [[London Weekend Television]] talk show in anticipation of the album's supporting tour. Shortly before the satellite-linked interview was scheduled to commence, the death of the Spanish dictator [[Francisco Franco|General Franco]] was announced. Bowie was asked to relinquish the satellite booking, to allow the Spanish Government to put out a live newsfeed. This he refused to do, and his interview went ahead. In the ensuing conversation with Harty, as described by biographer David Buckley, "the singer made hardly any sense at all throughout what was quite an extensive interview. [...] Bowie looked completely disconnected and was hardly able to utter a coherent sentence."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 244</ref> His sanity—by his own later admission—became twisted from cocaine; he overdosed several times during the year, and was withering physically to an alarming degree.<ref name="sandford158" /><ref name="buckley 204-5" />


''Station to Station''{{'}}s January 1976 release was followed in February by a three-and-a-half-month concert tour of Europe and North America. Featuring a starkly lit set, the [[Isolar - 1976 Tour]] highlighted songs from the album, including the dramatic and lengthy [[Station to Station (song)|title track]], the ballads "[[Wild Is the Wind (song)|Wild Is the Wind]]" and "[[Word on a Wing]]", and the funkier "[[TVC 15]]" and "[[Stay (David Bowie song)|Stay]]". The core band that coalesced around this album and tour—rhythm guitarist Alomar, bassist [[George Murray (musician)|George Murray]], and drummer [[Dennis Davis]]—would continue as a stable unit for the remainder of the 1970s. The tour was highly successful but mired in political controversy. Bowie was quoted in [[Stockholm]] as saying that "Britain could benefit from a Fascist leader", and detained by [[customs]] on the Russian/Polish border for possessing [[Nazism|Nazi]] paraphernalia.<ref name="Buckley pp.289–291">Buckley (2000): pp. 289–291.</ref> Matters came to a head in London in May in what became known as the "[[London Victoria station|Victoria Station]] incident". Arriving in an open-top [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] [[convertible]], the singer waved to the crowd in a gesture that some alleged was a Nazi salute, which was captured on camera and published in ''[[NME]]''. Bowie said the photographer simply caught him in mid-wave.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=Paytress |first=Mark |title=The Controversial Homecoming |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=64}}</ref> He later blamed his pro-Fascism comments and his behaviour during the period on his addictions and the character of the Thin White Duke.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): p. 11.</ref> "I was out of my mind, totally crazed. The main thing I was functioning on was mythology ... that whole thing about Hitler and Rightism ... I'd discovered King Arthur ...".<ref name="sandford158">Sandford (1997): p. 158</ref> According to playwright Alan Franks, writing later in ''The Times'', "he was indeed 'deranged'. He had some very bad experiences with hard drugs."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 252</ref>
''Station to Station''{{'}}s January 1976 release was followed in February by a three-and-a-half-month concert tour of Europe and North America. Featuring a starkly lit set, the [[Isolar 1976 Tour]] highlighted songs from the album, including the dramatic and lengthy [[Station to Station (song)|title track]], the ballads "[[Wild Is the Wind (song)|Wild Is the Wind]]" and "[[Word on a Wing]]", and the funkier "[[TVC 15]]" and "[[Stay (David Bowie song)|Stay]]". The core band that coalesced around this album and tour—rhythm guitarist Alomar, bassist [[George Murray (musician)|George Murray]], and drummer [[Dennis Davis]]—would continue as a stable unit for the remainder of the 1970s. The tour was highly successful but mired in political controversy. Bowie was quoted in [[Stockholm]] as saying that "Britain could benefit from a Fascist leader", and detained by [[customs]] on the Russian/Polish border for possessing [[Nazism|Nazi]] paraphernalia.<ref name="Buckley pp.289–91">Buckley (2000): pp. 289–91.</ref> Matters came to a head in London in May in what became known as the "[[London Victoria station|Victoria Station]] incident". Arriving in an open-top [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] [[convertible]], the singer waved to the crowd in a gesture that some alleged was a Nazi salute, which was captured on camera and published in ''[[NME]]''. Bowie said the photographer simply caught him in mid-wave.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=Paytress |first=Mark |title=The Controversial Homecoming |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=64}}</ref> He later blamed his pro-Fascism comments and his behaviour during the period on his addictions and the character of the Thin White Duke.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): p. 11.</ref> "I was out of my mind, totally crazed. The main thing I was functioning on was mythology ... that whole thing about Hitler and Rightism ... I'd discovered King Arthur ...".<ref name="sandford158">Sandford (1997): p. 158</ref> According to playwright Alan Franks, writing later in ''The Times'', "he was indeed 'deranged'. He had some very bad experiences with hard drugs."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 252</ref>


===1976–79: The Berlin era===
===1976–79: The Berlin era===
[[File:David bowie 05061978 01 150.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Bowie performing in Oslo on 5 June 1978]]
[[File:David bowie 05061978 01 150.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Bowie performing in Oslo on 5 June 1978]]
Bowie's interest in the burgeoning German music scene, as well as his drug addiction, prompted him to move to [[West Berlin]] to clean up and revitalise his career. Working with [[Brian Eno]] while sharing an apartment in [[Schöneberg]] with Iggy Pop, he began to focus on minimalist, ambient music for the first of three albums, co-produced with Tony Visconti, that would become known as his [[Berlin Trilogy]].<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 149</ref> During the same period, Pop, with Bowie as a co-writer and musician, completed his solo album debut, ''[[The Idiot (album)|The Idiot]]'', and its follow-up, ''[[Lust for Life (album)|Lust for Life]]'', touring the UK, Europe, and the US in March and April 1977.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=Needs|first=Kris |title=The Passenger |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=65}}</ref> ''[[Low (album)|Low]]'' (1977), partly influenced by the [[Krautrock]] sound of [[Kraftwerk]] and [[Neu!]], evidenced a move away from narration in Bowie's songwriting to a more abstract musical form in which lyrics were sporadic and optional. It received considerable negative criticism upon its release—a release which RCA, anxious to maintain the established commercial momentum, did not welcome, and which Bowie's ex-manager, Tony Defries, who still maintained a significant financial interest in the singer's affairs, tried to prevent. Despite these forebodings, ''Low'' yielded the UK number three single "[[Sound and Vision]]", and its own performance surpassed that of ''Station to Station'' in the UK chart, where it reached number two. It would in 1992 be described as "a work of genius" by the composer [[Phillip Glass]], who used both ''Low'' and its successor as the basis for his [[Symphony No. 1 (Glass)|''Symphony No. 1 "Low"'']] and [[Symphony No. 4 (Glass)|''Symphony No. 4 "Heroes"'']] respectively.<ref name="low">Sandford (1997): pp. 166–8</ref><ref>Perone (2007): p. 175</ref>
Bowie moved to [[Switzerland]] in 1976, purchasing a chalet in the hills to the north of [[Lake Geneva]]. In the new environment, his cocaine use increased; so too did his interest in pursuits outside his musical career. He took up painting, producing a number of post-modernist pieces. When on tour, he took to sketching in a notebook, and photographing scenes for later reference. Visiting galleries in [[Geneva]] and the [[Brücke Museum]] in [[Berlin]], Bowie became, in the words of biographer Christopher Sandford, "a prolific producer and collector of contemporary art. [...] Not only did he become a well-known patron of expressionist art: locked in Clos des M&eacute;sanges he began an intensive self-improvement course in classical music and literature, and started work on an autobiography".<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 154&ndash;55</ref>
Before the end of 1976, Bowie's interest in the burgeoning German music scene, as well as his drug addiction, prompted him to move to [[West Berlin]] to clean up and revitalise his career. Working with [[Brian Eno]] while sharing an apartment in [[Schöneberg]] with Iggy Pop, he began to focus on minimalist, ambient music for the first of three albums, co-produced with Tony Visconti, that would become known as his [[Berlin Trilogy]].<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 149</ref> During the same period, Pop, with Bowie as a co-writer and musician, completed his solo album debut, ''[[The Idiot (album)|The Idiot]]'', and its follow-up, ''[[Lust for Life (album)|Lust for Life]]'', touring the UK, Europe, and the US in March and April 1977.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=Needs|first=Kris |title=The Passenger |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=65}}</ref> ''[[Low (album)|Low]]'' (1977), partly influenced by the [[Krautrock]] sound of [[Kraftwerk]] and [[Neu!]], evidenced a move away from narration in Bowie's songwriting to a more abstract musical form in which lyrics were sporadic and optional. It received considerable negative criticism upon its release—a release which RCA, anxious to maintain the established commercial momentum, did not welcome, and which Bowie's ex-manager, Tony Defries, who still maintained a significant financial interest in the singer's affairs, tried to prevent. Despite these forebodings, ''Low'' yielded the UK number three single "[[Sound and Vision]]", and its own performance surpassed that of ''Station to Station'' in the UK chart, where it reached number two. It would in 1992 be described as "a work of genius" by the composer [[Phillip Glass]], who used both ''Low'' and its successor as the basis for his [[Symphony No. 1 (Glass)|''Symphony No. 1 "Low"'']] and [[Symphony No. 4 (Glass)|''Symphony No. 4 "Heroes"'']] respectively.<ref name="low">Sandford (1997): pp. 166–68</ref><ref>Perone (2007): p. 175</ref>


{{Listen |filename=David Bowie - Heroes.ogg |title="Heroes" |description=Sample of "[["Heroes" (song)|Heroes]]" (1977). One of the ambient rock songs to emerge from Bowie's [[Berlin Trilogy]] era, "Heroes" gained lasting popularity.}}
{{Listen |filename=David Bowie - Heroes.ogg |title="Heroes" |description=Sample of "[["Heroes" (song)|Heroes]]" (1977). One of the ambient rock songs to emerge from Bowie's [[Berlin Trilogy]] era, "Heroes" gained lasting popularity.}}


Echoing ''Low''{{'}}s minimalist, instrumental approach, the second of the trilogy, ''[["Heroes"]]'' (1977), incorporated pop and rock to a greater extent, seeing Bowie joined by guitarist [[Robert Fripp]]. Like ''Low'', ''"Heroes"'' evinced the [[zeitgeist]] of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city of Berlin.<ref>Pegg (2000): pp.90–92</ref> Incorporating ambient sounds from a variety of sources including white noise generators, synthesizers and [[koto (musical instrument)|koto]], the album was another hit, reaching number three in the UK. Its [["Heroes" (song)|title track]], though only reaching number 24 in the UK singles chart, gained lasting popularity, and within months had been released in both German and French.<ref name="heroes">Sandford (1997): pp. 181–2</ref> Towards the end of the year, Bowie performed the song for Marc Bolan's television show ''Marc'', and again two days later for [[Bing Crosby]]'s televised Christmas special, when he joined Crosby in "[[Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy]]", a version of "[[The Little Drummer Boy]]" with a new, contrapuntal verse. Five years later, the duet would prove a worldwide seasonal hit, charting in the UK at number three on Christmas Day, 1982.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bronson |first=Fred |title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits |year=1990 |publisher=Billboard Books |isbn=0-823-07677-6 |page=572}}</ref>
Echoing ''Low''{{'}}s minimalist, instrumental approach, the second of the trilogy, ''[["Heroes"]]'' (1977), incorporated pop and rock to a greater extent, seeing Bowie joined by guitarist [[Robert Fripp]]. Like ''Low'', ''"Heroes"'' evinced the [[zeitgeist]] of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city of Berlin.<ref>Pegg (2000): pp. 90–92</ref> Incorporating ambient sounds from a variety of sources including white noise generators, synthesizers and [[koto (musical instrument)|koto]], the album was another hit, reaching number three in the UK. Its [["Heroes" (song)|title track]], though only reaching number 24 in the UK singles chart, gained lasting popularity, and within months had been released in both German and French.<ref name="heroes">Sandford (1997): pp. 181–82</ref> Towards the end of the year, Bowie performed the song for Marc Bolan's television show ''Marc'', and again two days later for [[Bing Crosby]]'s televised Christmas special, when he joined Crosby in "[[Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy]]", a version of "[[The Little Drummer Boy]]" with a new, [[contrapuntal]] verse. Five years later, the duet would prove a worldwide seasonal hit, charting in the UK at number three on Christmas Day, 1982.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bronson |first=Fred |title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits |year=1990 |publisher=Billboard Books |isbn=0-823-07677-6 |page=572}}</ref>


After completing ''Low'' and ''"Heroes"'', Bowie spent much of 1978 on the [[Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour|Isolar II world tour]], bringing the music of the first two Berlin Trilogy albums to almost a million people during 70 concerts in 12 countries. Recordings from the tour made up the live album ''[[Stage (David Bowie album)|Stage]]'', released the same year.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 189</ref>
After completing ''Low'' and ''"Heroes"'', Bowie spent much of 1978 on the [[Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour|Isolar II world tour]], bringing the music of the first two Berlin Trilogy albums to almost a million people during 70 concerts in 12 countries. Recordings from the tour made up the live album ''[[Stage (David Bowie album)|Stage]]'', released the same year.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 189</ref>


The final piece in what Bowie called his "[[triptych]]", ''[[Lodger (album)|Lodger]]'' (1979), eschewed the minimalist, ambient nature of the other two, making a partial return to the drum and guitar based rock and pop of his pre-Berlin era. The result was a complex mixture of [[New Wave music|New Wave]] and [[World Music]], in places combining Western and Hejaz [[Musical scales|scales]]. Some tracks were composed using Eno and [[Peter Schmidt (artist)|Peter Schmidt]]'s [[Oblique Strategies]] cards: "Boys Keep Swinging" entailed band members swapping instruments, "Move On" used the chords from Bowie's early composition "All the Young Dudes" played backwards, and "Red Money" took backing tracks from "Sister Midnight", a piece previously composed with Iggy Pop.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 102–07</ref> The album was recorded in Switzerland. Ahead of its release, RCA's Mel Ilberman stated, "It would be fair to call it Bowie's ''Sergeant Pepper'' [...] a concept album that portrays the Lodger as a homeless wanderer, shunned and victimized by life's pressures and technology." As described by biographer Christopher Sandford, "The record dashed such high hopes with dubious choices, and production that spelt the end—for fifteen years—of Bowie's partnership with Eno." ''Lodger'' reached number 4 in the UK and number 20 in the US, and yielded the UK hit singles "[[Boys Keep Swinging]]" and "[[DJ (song)|DJ]]".<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 281</ref><ref name="lodger">Sandford (1997): pp. 191–2</ref> Towards the end of the year, Bowie and Angela initiated divorce proceedings, and after months of court battles the marriage was ended in early 1980.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 197</ref>
The final piece in what Bowie called his "[[triptych]]", ''[[Lodger (album)|Lodger]]'' (1979), eschewed the minimalist, ambient nature of the other two, making a partial return to the drum and guitar based rock and pop of his pre-Berlin era. The result was a complex mixture of [[New Wave music|New Wave]] and [[World Music]], in places incorporating [[Hejaz]] [[Musical scale#Non-Western_scales|non-Western scales]]. Some tracks were composed using Eno and [[Peter Schmidt (artist)|Peter Schmidt]]'s [[Oblique Strategies]] cards: "Boys Keep Swinging" entailed band members swapping instruments, "Move On" used the chords from Bowie's early composition "All the Young Dudes" played backwards, and "Red Money" took backing tracks from "Sister Midnight", a piece previously composed with Iggy Pop.<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 102–7</ref> The album was recorded in Switzerland. Ahead of its release, RCA's Mel Ilberman stated, "It would be fair to call it Bowie's ''Sergeant Pepper'' [...] a concept album that portrays the Lodger as a homeless wanderer, shunned and victimized by life's pressures and technology." As described by biographer Christopher Sandford, "The record dashed such high hopes with dubious choices, and production that spelt the end—for fifteen years—of Bowie's partnership with Eno." ''Lodger'' reached number 4 in the UK and number 20 in the US, and yielded the UK hit singles "[[Boys Keep Swinging]]" and "[[DJ (song)|DJ]]".<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 281</ref><ref name="lodger">Sandford (1997): pp. 191–92</ref> Towards the end of the year, Bowie and Angela initiated divorce proceedings, and after months of court battles the marriage was ended in early 1980.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 197</ref>


===1980–89: From superstar to megastar===
===1980–89: From superstar to megastar===
''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]'' (1980) produced the number one hit "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]", featuring the textural work of guitar-synthesist [[Chuck Hammer]] and revisiting the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity". The song gave international exposure to the underground [[New Romantic]] movement when Bowie visited the London club "Blitz"—the main New Romantic hangout—to recruit several of the regulars (including [[Steve Strange]] of the band [[Visage]]) to act in the accompanying video, renowned as one of the most innovative of all time.<ref>Pegg (2000): p.29</ref> While ''Scary Monsters'' utilised principles established by the Berlin albums, it was considered by critics to be far more direct musically and lyrically. By now Bowie had stopped the drug use of the "Thin White Duke" era and radically changed his concept of the way music should be written. The album's hard rock edge included conspicuous guitar contributions from Fripp, [[Pete Townshend]], [[Chuck Hammer]] and [[Tom Verlaine]].<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 108–14</ref> As "Ashes to Ashes" hit number one on the UK charts, Bowie opened a three-month run on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] on 24 September, starring in ''[[The Elephant Man (play)|The Elephant Man]]''.<ref name="elephantman">Sandford (1997): pp. 205–7</ref>
''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]'' (1980) produced the number one hit "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]", featuring the textural work of guitar-synthesist [[Chuck Hammer]] and revisiting the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity". The song gave international exposure to the underground [[New Romantic]] movement when Bowie visited the London club "Blitz"—the main New Romantic hangout—to recruit several of the regulars (including [[Steve Strange]] of the band [[Visage]]) to act in the accompanying video, renowned as one of the most innovative of all time.<ref>Pegg (2000): p. 29</ref> While ''Scary Monsters'' utilised principles established by the Berlin albums, it was considered by critics to be far more direct musically and lyrically. By now Bowie had stopped the drug use of the "Thin White Duke" era and radically changed his concept of the way music should be written. The album's hard rock edge included conspicuous guitar contributions from Fripp, [[Pete Townshend]], [[Chuck Hammer]] and [[Tom Verlaine]].<ref>Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 108–14</ref> As "Ashes to Ashes" hit number one on the UK charts, Bowie opened a three-month run on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] on 24 September, starring in ''[[The Elephant Man (play)|The Elephant Man]]''.<ref name="elephantman">Sandford (1997): pp. 205–7</ref>


Bowie paired with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] in 1981 for a one-off single release, "[[Under Pressure]]". The duet was a hit, becoming Bowie's third UK number one single. The same year, he made a cameo appearance in the German movie ''[[Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)|Christiane F.]]'', a real-life story of teenage drug addiction in 1970s Berlin. The soundtrack, in which Bowie's music featured prominently, was released as ''[[Christiane F. (album)|Christiane F.]]'' a few months later. Bowie was given the lead role in the BBC's 1981 televised adaptation of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s play [[Baal (play)|''Baal'']]. Coinciding with its transmission, a five-track [[Extended play|EP]] of songs from the play, recorded earlier in Berlin, was released as [[Baal (EP)|''David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal'']]. In March 1982, the month before [[Paul Schrader]]'s film ''[[Cat People (1982 film)|Cat People]]'' came out, Bowie's title song, "[[Cat People (Putting Out Fire)]]", was released as a single, becoming a minor US hit and entering the UK top 30.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 208, 211–12</ref>
Bowie paired with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] in 1981 for a one-off single release, "[[Under Pressure]]". The duet was a hit, becoming Bowie's third UK number one single. The same year, he made a cameo appearance in the German movie ''[[Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)|Christiane F.]]'', a real-life story of teenage drug addiction in 1970s Berlin. The soundtrack, in which Bowie's music featured prominently, was released as ''[[Christiane F. (album)|Christiane F.]]'' a few months later. Bowie was given the lead role in the BBC's 1981 televised adaptation of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s play [[Baal (play)|''Baal'']]. Coinciding with its transmission, a five-track [[Extended play|EP]] of songs from the play, recorded earlier in Berlin, was released as [[Baal (EP)|''David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal'']]. In March 1982, the month before [[Paul Schrader]]'s film ''[[Cat People (1982 film)|Cat People]]'' came out, Bowie's title song, "[[Cat People (Putting Out Fire)]]", was released as a single, becoming a minor US hit and entering the UK top 30.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 208, 211–12</ref>


[[Image:BowieRaR87.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Performing during the critically maligned Glass Spider Tour, 1987]]
[[Image:BowieRaR87.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Performing during the critically maligned Glass Spider Tour, 1987]]
Bowie reached a new peak of popularity and commercial success in 1983 with ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]''. Co-produced by [[Chic (band)|Chic's]] [[Nile Rodgers]], the album went Platinum in both the UK and the US. Its three singles became top twenty hits in both countries, where its [[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|title track]] reached number one. "[[Modern Love (song)|Modern Love]]" and "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]" made number two in the UK, the latter—a remake of a song Bowie co-wrote several years earlier with [[Iggy Pop]]—causing something of a stir with its suggestive promotional video. ''Let's Dance'' was followed by the [[Serious Moonlight Tour|Serious Moonlight]] world tour, during which Bowie was accompanied by guitarist [[Earl Slick]] and backing vocalists [[The Simms Brothers Band|Frank and George Simms]]. The tour lasted six months and was extremely popular.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 335–355</ref>
Bowie reached a new peak of popularity and commercial success in 1983 with ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]''. Co-produced by [[Chic (band)|Chic's]] [[Nile Rodgers]], the album went platinum in both the UK and the US. Its three singles became top twenty hits in both countries, where its [[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|title track]] reached number one. "[[Modern Love (song)|Modern Love]]" and "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]" made number two in the UK, accompanied by a pair of acclaimed promotional videos that, as described by biographer David Buckley, "were totally absorbing and activated key archetypes in the pop world. 'Let's Dance', with its little narrative surrounding the young [[Aborigine]] couple, targeted 'youth', and 'China Girl', with its bare-bummed (and later partially-censored) beach lovemaking scene (a homage to the film ''[[From Here to Eternity]]''), was sufficiently sexually provocative to guarantee heavy rotation on [[MTV]]. By 1983, Bowie had emerged as one of the most important video artists of the day". ''Let's Dance'' was followed by the [[Serious Moonlight Tour|Serious Moonlight]] world tour, during which Bowie was accompanied by guitarist [[Earl Slick]] and backing vocalists [[The Simms Brothers Band|Frank and George Simms]]. The tour lasted six months and was extremely popular.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 335–55</ref>


''[[Tonight (David Bowie album)|Tonight]]'' (1984), another dance-oriented album, found Bowie collaborating with [[Tina Turner]] and, once again, Iggy Pop. It included a number of cover songs, among them the 1966 [[The Beach Boys|Beach Boys]] hit "[[God Only Knows]]". The album bore the transatlantic top ten hit "[[Blue Jean (song)|Blue Jean]]", itself the inspiration for a short film that won Bowie a [[Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video]], "[[Jazzin' for Blue Jean]]". Bowie performed at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] in 1985 for [[Live Aid]], a multi-venue benefit concert for Ethiopian famine relief. During the event, the video for a fundraising single was premièred, Bowie's duet with [[Mick Jagger]]. "[[Dancing in the Street (cover)|Dancing in the Street]]" quickly went to number one on release. The same year, Bowie worked with the [[Pat Metheny Group]] to record the song "[[This Is Not America]]" for the soundtrack of ''[[The Falcon and the Snowman]]''. Released as a single, the song became a top 40 hit in the UK and US.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 165–6</ref>
''[[Tonight (David Bowie album)|Tonight]]'' (1984), another dance-oriented album, found Bowie collaborating with [[Tina Turner]] and, once again, Iggy Pop. It included a number of cover songs, among them the 1966 [[The Beach Boys|Beach Boys]] hit "[[God Only Knows]]". The album bore the transatlantic top ten hit "[[Blue Jean (song)|Blue Jean]]", itself the inspiration for a short film that won Bowie a [[Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video]], "[[Jazzin' for Blue Jean]]". Bowie performed at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] in 1985 for [[Live Aid]], a multi-venue benefit concert for Ethiopian famine relief. During the event, the video for a fundraising single was premièred, Bowie's duet with Jagger. "[[Dancing in the Street (cover)|Dancing in the Street]]" quickly went to number one on release. The same year, Bowie worked with the [[Pat Metheny Group]] to record "[[This Is Not America]]" for the soundtrack of ''[[The Falcon and the Snowman]]''. Released as a single, the song became a top 40 hit in the UK and US.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 165–66</ref>


Bowie was given a role in the 1986 film ''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]''. The movie was not well received by critics, but Bowie's theme song rose to number two in the UK charts. He also appeared as [[Jareth]], the Goblin King, in the 1986 [[Jim Henson]] film ''[[Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth]]'', for which he wrote five songs. His final solo album of the decade was 1987's ''[[Never Let Me Down]]'', where he ditched the light sound of his previous two albums, instead offering harder rock with an [[industrial music|industrial]]/[[techno]] dance edge. Peaking at number six in the UK, the album yielded the hits "[[Day-In Day-Out|Day-In, Day-Out]]" (his 60th single), "[[Time Will Crawl]]", and "[[Never Let Me Down (song)|Never Let Me Down]]". Bowie later described it as his "nadir", calling it "an awful album".<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=McNair |first=James |title=Tumble & Twirl |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=101}}</ref> Supporting ''Never Let Me Down'', and preceded by nine promotional press shows, the 86-concert [[Glass Spider Tour]] commenced on 30 May. Bowie's backing band included [[Peter Frampton]] on lead guitar. Critics maligned the tour as overproduced, saying it pandered to the current [[arena rock|stadium rock]] trends in its special effects and dancing.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=Fyfe |first=Andy |title=Too Dizzy |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |pages=88–91}}</ref>
Bowie was given a role in the 1986 film ''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]''. The movie was not well received by critics, but Bowie's theme song rose to number two in the UK charts. He also appeared as [[Jareth]], the Goblin King, in the 1986 [[Jim Henson]] film ''[[Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth]]'', for which he wrote five songs. His final solo album of the decade was 1987's ''[[Never Let Me Down]]'', where he ditched the light sound of his previous two albums, instead offering harder rock with an [[industrial music|industrial]]/[[techno]] dance edge. Peaking at number six in the UK, the album yielded the hits "[[Day-In Day-Out|Day-In, Day-Out]]" (his 60th single), "[[Time Will Crawl]]", and "[[Never Let Me Down (song)|Never Let Me Down]]". Bowie later described it as his "nadir", calling it "an awful album".<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=McNair |first=James |title=Tumble & Twirl |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=101}}</ref> Supporting ''Never Let Me Down'', and preceded by nine promotional press shows, the 86-concert [[Glass Spider Tour]] commenced on 30 May. Bowie's backing band included [[Peter Frampton]] on lead guitar. Critics maligned the tour as overproduced, saying it pandered to the current [[arena rock|stadium rock]] trends in its special effects and dancing.<ref>{{Cite journal |publisher=Mojo |last=Fyfe |first=Andy |title=Too Dizzy |journal=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |pages=88–91}}</ref>
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[[File:David Bowie Chile.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Bowie in Chile during the 1990 [[Sound+Vision Tour]]]]
[[File:David Bowie Chile.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Bowie in Chile during the 1990 [[Sound+Vision Tour]]]]
Though he intended Tin Machine to operate as a democracy, Bowie dominated, both in songwriting and in decision-making.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 274</ref> The band's album debut, ''[[Tin Machine (album)|Tin Machine]]'' (1989), was initially popular, though its politicised lyrics did not find universal approval: Bowie described one song as "a simplistic, naive, radical, laying-it-down about the emergence of neo-Nazis"; in the view of biographer Christopher Sandford, "It took nerve to denounce drugs, fascism and TV [...] in terms that reached the literary level of a comic book."<ref name="tinmachine1">Sandford (1997): p. 275</ref> EMI complained of "lyrics that preach" as well as "repetitive tunes" and "minimalist or no production".<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 273</ref> The album nevertheless reached number three in the UK.<ref name="tinmachine1" /> Tin Machine's first world tour was a commercial success, but there was growing reluctance—among fans and critics alike—to accept Bowie's presentation as merely a band member.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 394</ref> A series of Tin Machine singles failed to chart, and Bowie, after a disagreement with EMI, left the label.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 278–9</ref> Like his audience and his critics, Bowie himself became increasingly disaffected with his role as just one member of a band.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 278</ref> Tin Machine began work on a second album, but Bowie put the venture on hold and made a return to solo work. Performing his early hits during the seven-month ''[[Sound+Vision Tour]]'', he found commercial success and acclaim once again.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 280–286</ref>
Though he intended Tin Machine to operate as a democracy, Bowie dominated, both in songwriting and in decision-making.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 274</ref> The band's album debut, ''[[Tin Machine (album)|Tin Machine]]'' (1989), was initially popular, though its politicised lyrics did not find universal approval: Bowie described one song as "a simplistic, naive, radical, laying-it-down about the emergence of neo-Nazis"; in the view of biographer Christopher Sandford, "It took nerve to denounce drugs, fascism and TV [...] in terms that reached the literary level of a comic book."<ref name="tinmachine1">Sandford (1997): p. 275</ref> EMI complained of "lyrics that preach" as well as "repetitive tunes" and "minimalist or no production".<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 273</ref> The album nevertheless reached number three in the UK.<ref name="tinmachine1" /> Tin Machine's first world tour was a commercial success, but there was growing reluctance—among fans and critics alike—to accept Bowie's presentation as merely a band member.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 394</ref> A series of Tin Machine singles failed to chart, and Bowie, after a disagreement with EMI, left the label.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 278–79</ref> Like his audience and his critics, Bowie himself became increasingly disaffected with his role as just one member of a band.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 278</ref> Tin Machine began work on a second album, but Bowie put the venture on hold and made a return to solo work. Performing his early hits during the seven-month ''[[Sound+Vision Tour]]'', he found commercial success and acclaim once again.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 280–86</ref>


In October 1990, a decade after his divorce from Angela, Bowie and [[Somali people|Somali]]-born supermodel [[Iman (model)|Iman]] were introduced by a mutual friend. Bowie recalled, "I was naming the children the night we met ... it was absolutely immediate." They would marry in 1992.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 289</ref> Tin Machine resumed work the same month, but their audience and critics, ultimately left disappointed by the first album, showed little interest in a second. ''[[Tin Machine II]]''{{'}}s arrival was marked by a widely publicised and ill-timed conflict over the cover art: after production had begun, the new record label, Victory, deemed the depiction of the four nude band members in statuesque pose, judged by Bowie to be "in exquisite taste", "a show of wrong, obscene images", requiring air-brushing and patching to render the figures sexless.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 292</ref> Tin Machine toured again, but after the live album ''[[Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby]]'' failed commercially, the band drifted apart, and Bowie, though he continued to collaborate with Gabrels, resumed his solo career.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 294–5</ref>
In October 1990, a decade after his divorce from Angela, Bowie and [[Somali people|Somali]]-born supermodel [[Iman (model)|Iman]] were introduced by a mutual friend. Bowie recalled, "I was naming the children the night we met ... it was absolutely immediate." They would marry in 1992.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 289</ref> Tin Machine resumed work the same month, but their audience and critics, ultimately left disappointed by the first album, showed little interest in a second. ''[[Tin Machine II]]''{{'}}s arrival was marked by a widely publicised and ill-timed conflict over the cover art: after production had begun, the new record label, Victory, deemed the depiction of the four nude band members in statuesque pose, judged by Bowie to be "in exquisite taste", "a show of wrong, obscene images", requiring air-brushing and patching to render the figures sexless.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 292</ref> Tin Machine toured again, but after the live album ''[[Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby]]'' failed commercially, the band drifted apart, and Bowie, though he continued to collaborate with Gabrels, resumed his solo career.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 294–95</ref>


===1992–99: Electronica===
===1992–99: Electronica===
[[File:David Bowie 1997.jpg|thumb|175px|left|Bowie performing in Finland in 1997.]]
[[File:David Bowie 1997.jpg|thumb|175px|left|Bowie performing in Finland in 1997]]
In April 1992 Bowie appeared at the [[Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert]], following the Queen frontman's death the previous year. As well as performing "Heroes" and "All the Young Dudes", he was joined on "Under Pressure" by [[Annie Lennox]], who took Mercury's part for the number one duet Bowie's 1981 collaboration with Queen had produced.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 298–99</ref> 1993 saw the release of Bowie's first solo offering since his Tin Machine departure, the soul, jazz and [[hip hop music|hip-hop]] influenced ''[[Black Tie White Noise]]''. Making prominent use of electronic instruments, the album, which reunited Bowie with ''Let's Dance'' producer [[Nile Rodgers]], confirmed Bowie's return to popularity, hitting the number one spot on the UK charts and spawning three top 40 hits, including the top 10 song "[[Jump They Say]]".<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 301–8</ref>
In April 1992 Bowie appeared at the [[Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert]], following the Queen frontman's death the previous year. As well as performing "Heroes" and "All the Young Dudes", he was joined on "Under Pressure" by [[Annie Lennox]], who took Mercury's vocal part.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 298–99</ref> Four days later, Bowie and Iman were married in Switzerland. Intending to move to Los Angeles, they flew in to search for a suitable property, but found themselves confined to their hotel, under curfew: the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]] began the day they arrived. They settled in New York instead.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 413&ndash;14</ref>


1993 saw the release of Bowie's first solo offering since his Tin Machine departure, the soul, jazz and [[hip hop music|hip-hop]] influenced ''[[Black Tie White Noise]]''. Making prominent use of electronic instruments, the album, which reunited Bowie with ''Let's Dance'' producer [[Nile Rodgers]], confirmed Bowie's return to popularity, hitting the number one spot on the UK charts and spawning three top 40 hits, including the top 10 song "[[Jump They Say]]".<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 301–8</ref>
Bowie explored new directions on ''[[The Buddha of Suburbia (soundtrack)|The Buddha of Suburbia]]'' (1993), a soundtrack album of incidental music composed for the TV series of [[The Buddha of Suburbia (novel)|Hanif Kureishi's novel]]. It contained some of the new elements introduced in ''Black Tie White Noise'', and also signalled a move towards [[alternative rock]]. The album was a critical success but received a low-key release and only made number 87 in the UK charts.<ref>Buckley (2000): pp. 494–95,623</ref>


Bowie explored new directions on ''[[The Buddha of Suburbia (soundtrack)|The Buddha of Suburbia]]'' (1993), a soundtrack album of incidental music composed for the TV series adaptation of [[The Buddha of Suburbia (novel)|Hanif Kureishi's novel]]. It contained some of the new elements introduced in ''Black Tie White Noise'', and also signalled a move towards [[alternative rock]]. The album was a critical success but received a low-key release and only made number 87 in the UK charts.<ref>Buckley (2000): pp. 494–95, 623</ref>
The ambitious, quasi-[[industrial music|industrial]] ''[[Outside (album)|Outside]]'' (1995), conceived as the first volume in a subsequently abandoned non-linear narrative of art and murder, reunited Bowie with [[Brian Eno]]. Featuring characters from a short story written by Bowie, the album achieved US and UK chart success, and yielded three top 40 UK singles.<ref>Buckley (2000): pp.623–624</ref> In a move that provoked mixed reaction from both fans and critics, Bowie chose [[Nine Inch Nails]] as his tour partner for the [[Outside Tour]]. Visiting cities in Europe and North America between September 1995 and February the following year, the tour saw the return of Gabrels as Bowie's guitarist.<ref>Buckley (2000): pp.512–513</ref> Bowie was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] on 17 January 1996.<ref name="rockhall">{{cite web | title=David Bowie: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction| work=rockhall.com |publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/david-bowie}}</ref>

Reuniting Bowie with Eno, the quasi-[[industrial music|industrial]] ''[[Outside (album)|Outside]]'' (1995) was originally conceived as the first volume in a non-linear narrative of art and murder. Featuring characters from a short story written by Bowie, the album achieved US and UK chart success, and yielded three top 40 UK singles.<ref>Buckley (2000): pp. 623–24</ref> In a move that provoked mixed reaction from both fans and critics, Bowie chose [[Nine Inch Nails]] as his tour partner for the [[Outside Tour]]. Visiting cities in Europe and North America between September 1995 and February the following year, the tour saw the return of Gabrels as Bowie's guitarist.<ref>Buckley (2000): pp. 512–13</ref> Bowie was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] on 17 January 1996.<ref name="rockhall">{{cite web | title=David Bowie: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction| work=rockhall.com |publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/david-bowie |accessdate=16 September 2010}}</ref>


''[[Earthling (album)|Earthling]]'' (1997), incorporating experiments in British jungle and [[drum and bass|drum 'n' bass]], was a critical and commercial success in the UK and the US, and two singles from the album became UK top 40 hits. Bowie's song "[[I'm Afraid of Americans]]" from the Paul Verhoeven film ''[[Showgirls]]'' was re-recorded for the album, and remixed by [[Trent Reznor]] for a single release. The heavy rotation of the accompanying video, also featuring Reznor, contributed to the song's 16-week stay in the US [[Billboard Hot 100]]. The [[Earthling Tour]] took in Europe and North America between June and November 1997.<ref name="Buckley pp. 533–34">Buckley (2000): pp. 533–34</ref>
''[[Earthling (album)|Earthling]]'' (1997), incorporating experiments in British jungle and [[drum and bass|drum 'n' bass]], was a critical and commercial success in the UK and the US, and two singles from the album became UK top 40 hits. Bowie's song "[[I'm Afraid of Americans]]" from the Paul Verhoeven film ''[[Showgirls]]'' was re-recorded for the album, and remixed by [[Trent Reznor]] for a single release. The heavy rotation of the accompanying video, also featuring Reznor, contributed to the song's 16-week stay in the US [[Billboard Hot 100]]. The [[Earthling Tour]] took in Europe and North America between June and November 1997.<ref name="Buckley pp. 533–34">Buckley (2000): pp. 533–34</ref>


Bowie reunited with Visconti in 1998 to record "(Safe in This) Sky Life" for ''[[The Rugrats Movie]]''. Although the track was edited out of the final cut, it would later be re-recorded and released as "Safe" on the B-side of Bowie's 2002 single "[[Everyone Says 'Hi']]".<ref>''The Complete David Bowie'', Nicholas Pegg, 2006 Reynolds & Hearn Ltd</ref> The reunion led to a new collaborative effort. Among their earliest work together in this period was a reworking of [[Placebo (band)|Placebo's]] track "[[Without You I'm Nothing (Placebo song)|Without You I'm Nothing]]", in which Visconti oversaw the additional production required when Bowie's harmonised vocal was added to the original version for a limited-edition single release.<ref>Thompson (2006): pp. 203, 212</ref>
Bowie reunited with Visconti in 1998 to record "(Safe in This) Sky Life" for ''[[The Rugrats Movie]]''. Although the track was edited out of the final cut, it would later be re-recorded and released as "Safe" on the B-side of Bowie's 2002 single "[[Everyone Says 'Hi']]".<ref>Thompson (2006): p. 203</ref> The reunion led to other collaborations including a limited-edition single release version of [[Placebo (band)|Placebo's]] track "[[Without You I'm Nothing (Placebo song)|Without You I'm Nothing]]", co-produced by Visconti, with Bowie's harmonised vocal added to the original recording.<ref>Thompson (2006): pp. 203, 212</ref>


===1999–present: Neoclassicist Bowie===
===1999–present: Neoclassicist Bowie===
[[File:Heathen Tour Bowie and Sterling Campbell.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Bowie (left) on-stage with [[Sterling Campbell]] during the [[Heathen Tour]] in 2002.]]
[[File:Heathen Tour Bowie and Sterling Campbell.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Bowie (left) on-stage with [[Sterling Campbell]] during the [[Heathen Tour]] in 2002.]]
Bowie created the soundtrack for ''[[Omikron: The Nomad Soul|Omikron]]'', a 1999 computer game in which he and Iman also appeared as characters. Released the same year and containing re-recorded tracks from Omikron, his album ''[['Hours...']]'' featured a song with lyrics by the winner of his "Cyber Song Contest" Internet competition, Alex Grant.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 466</ref> Making extensive use of live instruments, the album was Bowie's exit from heavy electronica.<ref>Perone (2007): p. 125</ref> Sessions for the planned album ''Toy'', intended to feature new versions of some of Bowie's earliest pieces as well as three new songs, commenced in 2000, but the album was never released. Bowie and Visconti continued their collaboration, producing a new album of completely original songs instead: the result of the sessions would be the 2002 album ''[[Heathen (album)|Heathen]]''.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 488–9</ref> Alexandria Zahra Jones, Bowie and Iman's daughter, was born on 15 August.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 485</ref>
Bowie created the soundtrack for ''[[Omikron: The Nomad Soul|Omikron]]'', a 1999 computer game in which he and Iman also appeared as characters. Released the same year and containing re-recorded tracks from Omikron, his album ''[['Hours...']]'' featured a song with lyrics by the winner of his "Cyber Song Contest" Internet competition, Alex Grant.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 466</ref> Making extensive use of live instruments, the album was Bowie's exit from heavy electronica.<ref>Perone (2007): p. 125</ref> Sessions for the planned album ''Toy'', intended to feature new versions of some of Bowie's earliest pieces as well as three new songs, commenced in 2000, but the album was never released. Bowie and Visconti continued their collaboration, producing a new album of completely original songs instead: the result of the sessions would be the 2002 album ''[[Heathen (album)|Heathen]]''.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 488–89</ref> Alexandria Zahra Jones, Bowie and Iman's daughter, was born on 15 August.<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 485</ref>


In October 2001, Bowie opened [[The Concert for New York City]], a charity event to benefit the victims of the [[11 September attacks]], with a minimalist performance of [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s "[[America (Simon & Garfunkel song)|America]]", followed by a full band performance of "Heroes".<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 491</ref>
In October 2001, Bowie opened [[The Concert for New York City]], a charity event to benefit the victims of the [[11 September attacks]], with a minimalist performance of [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s "[[America (Simon & Garfunkel song)|America]]", followed by a full band performance of "Heroes".<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 491</ref>


2002 saw the release of ''Heathen'', and, during the second half of the year, the [[Heathen Tour]]. Taking in Europe and North America, the tour opened at London's annual ''[[Meltdown (festival)|Meltdown]]'' festival, for which Bowie was that year appointed artistic director. Among the acts he selected for the festival were [[Phillip Glass]], [[Television (band)|Television]] and [[The Polyphonic Spree]]. As well as songs from the new album, the tour featured material from Bowie's ''[[Low (album)|Low]]'' era.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 493–5</ref>
2002 saw the release of ''Heathen'', and, during the second half of the year, the [[Heathen Tour]]. Taking in Europe and North America, the tour opened at London's annual ''[[Meltdown (festival)|Meltdown]]'' festival, for which Bowie was that year appointed artistic director. Among the acts he selected for the festival were [[Phillip Glass]], [[Television (band)|Television]] and [[The Polyphonic Spree]]. As well as songs from the new album, the tour featured material from Bowie's ''[[Low (album)|Low]]'' era.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 493–95</ref>


''[[Reality (David Bowie album)|Reality]]'' (2003) followed, and then a world tour. Covering Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, '[[A Reality Tour]]', with an estimated attendance of 722,000, grossed more than any other tour in 2004. It was not without problems. Onstage in Oslo, Norway, on 18 June, Bowie was hit in the eye with a lollipop thrown by a fan; a week later he suffered chest pain while performing at the [[Hurricane Festival]] in [[Scheeßel]], Germany. Originally thought to be a pinched nerve in his shoulder, the pain was later diagnosed as an acutely blocked [[artery]], requiring an emergency [[angioplasty]] in Hamburg. The remaining 14 dates of the tour were cancelled.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 504–5</ref>
''[[Reality (David Bowie album)|Reality]]'' (2003) followed, and then a world tour. Covering Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, '[[A Reality Tour]]', with an estimated attendance of 722,000, grossed more than any other tour in 2004. Onstage in Oslo, Norway, on 18 June, Bowie was hit in the eye with a lollipop thrown by a fan; a week later he suffered chest pain while performing at the [[Hurricane Festival]] in [[Scheeßel]], Germany. Originally thought to be a pinched nerve in his shoulder, the pain was later diagnosed as an acutely blocked [[artery]], requiring an emergency [[angioplasty]] in Hamburg. The remaining 14 dates of the tour were cancelled.<ref>Buckley (2005): pp. 504–5</ref>


[[File:Duncan Jones and David Bowie at the premiere of Moon.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Bowie in 2009 with his son [[Duncan Jones]] at the premiere of Jones' directorial debut ''[[Moon (film)|Moon]]'']]
Recuperating from the heart surgery, Bowie worked off-stage and relaxed from studio work for the first time in several years. He sang in a duet of his 1972 song "[[Changes (David Bowie song)|Changes]]" with [[Butterfly Boucher]] for the 2004 comedy film ''[[Shrek 2]]''.<ref>Buckley (2004): p. 16</ref> During a relatively quiet 2005, he recorded the vocals for the song "(She Can) Do That", co-written by Brian Transeau, for the movie ''[[Stealth (movie)|Stealth]]''.<ref>Perone (2007): p. 142</ref> He returned to the stage on 8 September 2005, appearing with [[Arcade Fire]] for the US nationally televised event Fashion Rocks, and performed with the Canadian band for the second time a week later during the CMJ Music Marathon.<ref>Thompson (2006): pp. 292–2</ref> He contributed back-up vocals on [[TV on the Radio]]'s song "Province" for their album ''Return to Cookie Mountain'',<ref>{{Cite journal |date=June 2006 |title=Space Is the Place: Innovative Brooklyn rockers blast off to the future |journal=Spin |publisher=Spin Media LLC |page=1}}</ref> made a commercial with [[Snoop Dogg]] for [[XM Satellite Radio]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Marketing |last1=Lamb |first=Charles W. |last2=Hair |first2=Joseph F. |last3=McDaniel |first3=Carl |publisher=South-Western College Pub |year=2007 |isbn=978-0324362084 |page=472}}</ref> and joined with Lou Reed on Danish alt-rockers [[Kashmir (band)|Kashmir's]] 2005 album ''[[No Balance Palace]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stone | first=Andrew | title=Denmark | year=2008 | publisher=Lonely Planet | isbn=978-1741046694|page=46}}</ref> He then announced a break from performance for 2006.<ref>{{cite web|last=Yuan |first=Jada |url=http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/16865/ |title=David Bowie Takes Time Off, Sneaks Into Movies&nbsp;— New York Magazine |publisher=Nymag.com |date=1 May 2006 |accessdate=2 September 2010}}</ref>
Recuperating from the heart surgery, Bowie reduced his musical output for the first time in several years, making only one-off appearances on stage and in the studio. He sang in a duet of his 1972 song "[[Changes (David Bowie song)|Changes]]" with [[Butterfly Boucher]] for the 2004 animated film ''[[Shrek 2]]''.<ref>Buckley (2004): p. 16</ref> During a relatively quiet 2005, he recorded the vocals for the song "(She Can) Do That", co-written by Brian Transeau, for the movie ''[[Stealth (movie)|Stealth]]''.<ref>Perone (2007): p. 142</ref> He returned to the stage on 8 September 2005, appearing with [[Arcade Fire]] for the US nationally televised event Fashion Rocks, and performed with the Canadian band for the second time a week later during the CMJ Music Marathon.<ref>Thompson (2006): pp. 291–92</ref> He contributed back-up vocals on [[TV on the Radio]]'s song "Province" for their album ''Return to Cookie Mountain'',<ref>{{Cite journal |date=June 2006 |title=Space Is the Place: Innovative Brooklyn rockers blast off to the future |journal=Spin |publisher=Spin Media LLC |page=1}}</ref> made a commercial with [[Snoop Dogg]] for [[XM Satellite Radio]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Marketing |last1=Lamb |first=Charles W. |last2=Hair |first2=Joseph F. |last3=McDaniel |first3=Carl |publisher=South-Western College Pub |year=2007 |isbn=978-0324362084 |page=472}}</ref> and joined with Lou Reed on Danish alt-rockers [[Kashmir (band)|Kashmir's]] 2005 album ''[[No Balance Palace]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stone | first=Andrew | title=Denmark | year=2008 | publisher=Lonely Planet | isbn=978-1741046694|page=46}}</ref>


Bowie was awarded the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]] on 8 February 2006.<ref>Thompson (2006): p. 293</ref> In April, he announced, "I’m taking a year off—no touring, no albums."<ref>{{cite web|last=Yuan |first=Jada |url=http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/16865/ |title=David Bowie Takes Time Off, Sneaks Into Movies |work=New York Magazine |date=1 May 2006 |accessdate=16 September 2010}}</ref> He made a surprise guest appearance at [[David Gilmour]]'s 29 May concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London. The event was recorded, and a selection of songs on which he had contributed joint vocals were subsequently released.<ref>{{cite book |title=Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History |last=Gulla |first=Bob |year=2008 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0313358067 |page=95}}</ref> He performed again in November, alongside [[Alicia Keys]], at the Black Ball, a New York benefit event for [[Keep a Child Alive]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 2009 |title=The Elements of Style |first=Gail |last=Mitchell |journal=Billboard |publisher=Billboard.com |page=22}}</ref>
[[File:Duncan Jones and David Bowie at the premiere of Moon.jpg|thumb|175px|Bowie in 2009 with his son [[Duncan Jones]] at the premiere of Jones' directorial debut ''[[Moon (film)|Moon]]''.]]
Bowie was awarded the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]] on 8 February 2006.<ref>Thompson (2006): p. 293</ref> Despite his announcement of a break for the year, he made a surprise guest appearance at [[David Gilmour]]'s 29 May concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London. The event was recorded, and a selection of songs on which he had contributed joint vocals were subsequently released.<ref>{{cite book |title=Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History |last=Gulla |first=Bob |year=2008 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0313358067 |page=95}}</ref> He performed again in November, alongside [[Alicia Keys]], at the Black Ball, a New York benefit event for [[Keep a Child Alive]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 2009 |title=The Elements of Style |author=Gail Mitchell |journal=Billboard |publisher=Billboard.com |page=22}}</ref>


Bowie was chosen to curate the 2007 High Line Festival, selecting musicians and artists for the [[Manhattan]] event,<ref>Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 500</ref> and performed on [[Scarlett Johansson]]'s 2008 album of [[Tom Waits]] covers, ''[[Anywhere I Lay My Head]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=May 2008 |title=The Inquisition: Scarlett Johansson |author=David Marchese |journal=Spin |publisher=Spin Media LLC |page=40}}</ref>
Bowie was chosen to curate the 2007 High Line Festival, selecting musicians and artists for the [[Manhattan]] event,<ref>Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 500</ref> and performed on [[Scarlett Johansson]]'s 2008 album of [[Tom Waits]] covers, ''[[Anywhere I Lay My Head]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=May 2008 |title=The Inquisition: Scarlett Johansson |first=David |last=Marchese |journal=Spin |publisher=Spin Media LLC |page=40}}</ref>


On the 40th anniversary of the July 1969 mooon landing—and Bowie's accompanying commercial breakthrough with "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]"—EMI released the individual tracks from the original eight-track studio recording of the song,
On the 40th anniversary of the July 1969 moon landing—and Bowie's accompanying commercial breakthrough with "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]"—EMI released the individual tracks from the original eight-track studio recording of the song,
in a 2009 contest inviting members of the public to create a remix.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nme.com/news/david-bowie/45872 |publisher=NME |work=NME News |title=David Bowie to release "Space Oddity" multi-tracks to celebrate moon landing |date=6 July 2009 |accessdate=2 September 2010}}</ref>
in a 2009 contest inviting members of the public to create a remix.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nme.com/news/david-bowie/45872 |work=NME News |title=David Bowie to release "Space Oddity" multi-tracks to celebrate moon landing |date=6 July 2009 |accessdate=2 September 2010}}</ref>


''[[A Reality Tour (album)|A Reality Tour]]'', a double album of live material from the 2003 concert tour, was released in January 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5gwx |title=David Bowie A Reality Tour Review |author=Mike Diver |date=5 February 2010 |accessdate=2 September 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
''[[A Reality Tour (album)|A Reality Tour]]'', a double album of live material from the 2003 concert tour, was released in January 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5gwx |title=David Bowie A Reality Tour Review |first=Mike |last=Diver |date=5 February 2010 |accessdate=2 September 2010 |work=bbc.co.uk }}</ref>


==Acting career==
==Acting career==
{{Main|David Bowie filmography}}
{{Main|David Bowie filmography}}
Biographer David Buckley writes, "The essence of Bowie's contribution to popular music can be found in his outstanding ability to analyse and select ideas from outside the mainstream&mdash;from art, literature, theatre and film&mdash;and to bring them inside, so that the currency of pop is constantly being changed."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 526</ref> Buckley says "Just one person took glam rock to new rarefied heights and invented character-playing in pop, marrying theatre and popular music in one seamless, powerful whole."<ref name="buckley05p2>Buckley (2005): p. 2</ref> Bowie's career has also been punctuated by various roles in film and theatre productions, earning him some acclaim as an actor in his own right.
The beginnings of Bowie's acting career predate his commercial breakthrough as a musician. Studying [[avant-garde]] theatre and [[mime artist|mime]] under [[Lindsay Kemp]], he was given the role of Cloud in Kemp's 1967 theatrical production ''Pierrot in Turquoise'' (later made into the 1970 TV movie ''The Looking Glass Murders'').<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 43</ref> In the black and white short film ''[[The Image (short film)|The Image]]'' (1969), he played a ghostly boy who emerges from a troubled artist's painting to haunt him.<ref name="Buckley 2005: p. 49">Buckley (2005): p. 49</ref> The same year, the film of [[Leslie Thomas]]'s 1966 comic novel ''[[The Virgin Soldiers]]'' saw Bowie make a brief appearance as an extra.<ref name="Buckley 2005: p. 49"/> In 1976 he earned acclaim for his first major film role, portraying Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from a dying planet, in ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]''. ''[[Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo|Just a Gigolo]]'' (1979), an Anglo-German co-production directed by [[David Hemmings]], saw Bowie in the lead role as Prussian officer Paul von Pryzgodski, who, returning from World War I, is discovered by a Baroness ([[Marlene Dietrich]]) and put into her Gigolo Stable.


The beginnings of his acting career predate his commercial breakthrough as a musician. Studying [[avant-garde]] theatre and [[mime artist|mime]] under [[Lindsay Kemp]], he was given the role of Cloud in Kemp's 1967 theatrical production ''Pierrot in Turquoise'' (later made into the 1970 TV movie ''The Looking Glass Murders'').<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 43</ref> In the black and white short film ''[[The Image (short film)|The Image]]'' (1969), he played a ghostly boy who emerges from a troubled artist's painting to haunt him.<ref name="Buckley 2005: p. 49">Buckley (2005): p. 49</ref> The same year, the film of [[Leslie Thomas]]'s 1966 comic novel ''[[The Virgin Soldiers]]'' saw Bowie make a brief appearance as an extra.<ref name="Buckley 2005: p. 49"/> In 1976 he earned acclaim for his first major film role, portraying Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from a dying planet, in ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'', directed by [[Nic Roeg]]. ''[[Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo|Just a Gigolo]]'' (1979), an Anglo-German co-production directed by [[David Hemmings]], saw Bowie in the lead role as Prussian officer Paul von Pryzgodski, who, returning from World War I, is discovered by a Baroness ([[Marlene Dietrich]]) and put into her Gigolo Stable.
Bowie took the lead role in the Broadway theatre production ''[[The Elephant Man (play)|The Elephant Man]]'', earning high praise for an expressive performance. He played the part 157 times between 1980 and 1981.<ref name="elephantman" /> ''[[Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)|Christiane F.&nbsp;– Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo]]'', a 1981 biographical film focusing on a young girl's drug addiction in [[West Berlin]], featured Bowie in a cameo appearance as himself at a concert in Germany. Its soundtrack album, ''[[Christiane F. (album)|Christiane F.]]'' (1981), featured much material from his [[Berlin Trilogy]] albums.<ref>Sandford (1997); p. 208</ref> Bowie starred in ''[[The Hunger (film)|The Hunger]]'' (1983), a revisionist [[vampire]] movie, with [[Catherine Deneuve]] and [[Susan Sarandon]]. In [[Nagisa Oshima]]'s film the same year, ''[[Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence]]'', based on [[Laurens van der Post]]'s novel ''The Seed and the Sower'', Bowie played Major Jack Celliers, a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp. Another musician, [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]], played the camp commandant who begins to be undermined by Celliers' bizarre behaviour. Bowie had a cameo in ''[[Yellowbeard]]'', a 1983 pirate comedy created by [[Monty Python]] members, and a small part as Colin, the [[hitman]] in the 1985 film ''[[Into the Night (film)|Into the Night]]''. He declined to play the villain [[Max Zorin]] in the [[James Bond]] film ''[[A View to a Kill]]'' (1985).<ref>''The Complete David Bowie'' by Nicholas Pegg (2004, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd) p.561.</ref>


Bowie took the title role in the Broadway theatre production ''[[The Elephant Man (play)|The Elephant Man]]'', earning high praise for an expressive performance. He played the part 157 times between 1980 and 1981.<ref name="elephantman" /> ''[[Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)|Christiane F.&nbsp;– Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo]]'', a 1981 biographical film focusing on a young girl's drug addiction in [[West Berlin]], featured Bowie in a cameo appearance as himself at a concert in Germany. Its soundtrack album, ''[[Christiane F. (album)|Christiane F.]]'' (1981), featured much material from his [[Berlin Trilogy]] albums.<ref>Sandford (1997); p. 208</ref> Bowie starred in ''[[The Hunger (film)|The Hunger]]'' (1983), a revisionist [[vampire]] movie, with [[Catherine Deneuve]] and [[Susan Sarandon]]. In [[Nagisa Oshima]]'s film the same year, ''[[Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence]]'', based on [[Laurens van der Post]]'s novel ''The Seed and the Sower'', Bowie played Major Jack Celliers, a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp. Another musician, [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]], played the camp commandant who begins to be undermined by Celliers' bizarre behaviour. Bowie had a cameo in ''[[Yellowbeard]]'', a 1983 pirate comedy created by [[Monty Python]] members, and a small part as Colin, the [[hitman]] in the 1985 film ''[[Into the Night (film)|Into the Night]]''. He declined to play the villain [[Max Zorin]] in the [[James Bond]] film ''[[A View to a Kill]]'' (1985).<ref>Pegg (2004) p. 561.</ref>
''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]'' (1986), a rock musical based on [[Colin MacInnes]]'s 1959 novel about London life, featured Bowie's music and presented him with a minor acting role. The same year, [[Jim Henson]]'s dark fantasy ''[[Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth]]'' found him with the part of Jareth, the king of the [[goblin]]s.<ref>Sandford (1997): p. 252–3</ref> Two years later he played [[Pontius Pilate]] in [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 1988 film ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]''. Bowie portrayed a disgruntled restaurant employee opposite [[Rosanna Arquette]] in ''[[The Linguini Incident]]'' (1991), and the mysterious [[FBI]] agent [[Phillip Jeffries]] in David Lynch's ''[[Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me]]'' (1992). He took a small but pivotal role as [[Andy Warhol]] in ''[[Basquiat]]'', artist/director [[Julian Schnabel]]'s 1996 biopic of [[Jean-Michel Basquiat]], and co-starred in [[Giovanni Veronesi]]'s [[Spaghetti Western|spaghetti western]] ''Il Mio West'' (1998, released as ''[[Gunslinger's Revenge]]'' in the US in 2005) as the most feared gunfighter in the region.<ref>Thompson (2006): p. 195</ref> He played the aging gangster Bernie in Andrew Goth's ''[[Everybody Loves Sunshine]]'' (1999), and appeared in the TV horror serial of ''[[The Hunger (serial)|The Hunger]]''. In ''[[Mr. Rice's Secret]]'' (2000), he played the title role as the neighbour of a terminally ill twelve-year-old, and the following year appeared as himself in ''[[Zoolander]]''.


''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]'' (1986), a rock musical based on [[Colin MacInnes]]'s 1959 novel about London life, featured Bowie's music and presented him with a minor acting role. The same year, [[Jim Henson]]'s dark fantasy ''[[Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth]]'' found him with the part of Jareth, the king of the [[goblin]]s.<ref>Sandford (1997): pp. 252–53</ref> Two years later he played [[Pontius Pilate]] in [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 1988 film ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]''. Bowie portrayed a disgruntled restaurant employee opposite [[Rosanna Arquette]] in ''[[The Linguini Incident]]'' (1991), and the mysterious [[FBI]] agent [[Phillip Jeffries]] in David Lynch's ''[[Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me]]'' (1992). He took a small but pivotal role as [[Andy Warhol]] in ''[[Basquiat]]'', artist/director [[Julian Schnabel]]'s 1996 biopic of [[Jean-Michel Basquiat]], and co-starred in [[Giovanni Veronesi]]'s [[Spaghetti Western|spaghetti western]] ''Il Mio West'' (1998, released as ''[[Gunslinger's Revenge]]'' in the US in 2005) as the most feared gunfighter in the region.<ref>Thompson (2006): p. 195</ref> He played the aging gangster Bernie in Andrew Goth's ''[[Everybody Loves Sunshine]]'' (1999), and appeared in the TV horror serial of ''[[The Hunger (serial)|The Hunger]]''. In ''Mr. Rice's Secret'' (2000), he played the title role as the neighbour of a terminally ill twelve-year-old, and the following year appeared as himself in ''[[Zoolander]]''.
Bowie portrayed [[Nikola Tesla]] alongside [[Christian Bale]] and [[Hugh Jackman]] in ''[[The Prestige (film)|The Prestige]]'' (2006), [[Christopher Nolan]]'s film of [[Christopher Priest (novelist)|Christopher Priest]]'s [[epistolary novel]] following the bitter competition between two magicians in the early 20th century. He voice-acted in the animated movie ''[[Arthur and the Invisibles]]'' as the powerful villain Maltazard, and lent his voice to the character Lord Royal Highness in the ''[[SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis]]'' TV movie. In the 2008 film ''[[August (2008 film)|August]]'', directed by [[Austin Chick]], he played a supporting role as Ogilvie alongside [[Josh Hartnett]] and [[Rip Torn]], with whom he had worked in 1976 for ''The Man Who Fell to Earth''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470679 |title=August |publisher=imdb.com |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0074851/fullcredits |title=The Man Who Fell to Earth |publisher=imdb.com |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref>

Bowie portrayed [[Nikola Tesla]], the physicist who pioneered [[Alternating current|AC electricity]], co-starring with [[Christian Bale]] and [[Hugh Jackman]] in ''[[The Prestige (film)|The Prestige]]'' (2006), [[Christopher Nolan]]'s film of [[Christopher Priest (novelist)|Christopher Priest]]'s [[epistolary novel]] about the bitter rivalry between two magicians in the early 20th century. He voice-acted in the animated movie ''[[Arthur and the Invisibles]]'' as the powerful villain Maltazard, and lent his voice to the character Lord Royal Highness in the ''[[SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis]]'' TV movie. In the 2008 film ''[[August (2008 film)|August]]'', directed by [[Austin Chick]], he played a supporting role as Ogilvie, alongside [[Josh Hartnett]] and [[Rip Torn]], with whom he had worked in 1976 for ''The Man Who Fell to Earth''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470679 |title=August |work=imdb.com |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0074851/fullcredits |title=The Man Who Fell to Earth |work=imdb.com |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref>


==Sexual orientation==
==Sexual orientation==
Biographer David Buckley writes, "If Ziggy confused both his creator and his audience, a big part of that confusion centred on the topic of sexuality."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 140</ref> Bowie declared himself [[bisexuality|bisexual]] in an interview with ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as [[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Ziggy Stardust]].<ref name="Bowie: An Illustrated Record p.7"/> In a September 1976 interview with ''[[Playboy]]'', Bowie said: "It's true&nbsp;— I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me."<ref name="playboy">{{cite web |url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/david-bowie-interview/index.html?page=2 |title=Playboy Interview: David Bowie |date=September 1976 |publisher=Playboy |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref>
Buckley writes, "If Ziggy confused both his creator and his audience, a big part of that confusion centred on the topic of sexuality."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 140</ref> Bowie declared himself [[bisexuality|bisexual]] in an interview with ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as [[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Ziggy Stardust]].<ref name="Bowie: An Illustrated Record p.7"/> In a September 1976 interview with ''[[Playboy]]'', Bowie said: "It's true—I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me."<ref name="playboy">{{cite web |url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/david-bowie-interview/index.html?page=2 |title=Interview: David Bowie |date=September 1976 |work=Playboy |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref>


In a 1983 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Bowie said his public declaration of bisexuality was "the biggest mistake I ever made", and on other occasions he said his interest in homosexual and bisexual culture had been more a product of the times and the situation in which he found himself than his own feelings; as described by Buckley, he said he had been driven more by "a compulsion to flout moral codes than a real biological and psychological state of being".<ref>Buckley (2000): p. 401</ref><ref>Buckley (2005): p. 106</ref>
In a 1983 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Bowie said his public declaration of bisexuality was "the biggest mistake I ever made", and on other occasions he said his interest in homosexual and bisexual culture had been more a product of the times and the situation in which he found himself than his own feelings; as described by Buckley, he said he had been driven more by "a compulsion to flout moral codes than a real biological and psychological state of being".<ref>Buckley (2000): p. 401</ref><ref>Buckley (2005): p. 106</ref>
Line 167: Line 173:
Asked in 2002 by ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' whether he still believed his public declaration was the biggest mistake he ever made, he replied:
Asked in 2002 by ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' whether he still believed his public declaration was the biggest mistake he ever made, he replied:


{{blockquote|Interesting. [Long pause] I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer, and I felt that bisexuality became my headline over here for so long. America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Collis| first=Clark| title = Dear Superstar: David Bowie | publisher=Blender | date= August 2002 | url =http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=366}}</ref>}}
{{blockquote|Interesting. [Long pause] I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer, and I felt that bisexuality became my headline over here for so long. America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Collis| first=Clark| title = Dear Superstar: David Bowie | work=blender.com |publisher=Alpha Media Group Inc | date= August 2002 |accessdate=16 September 2010 | url =http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=366}}</ref>}}


Buckley's view of the period is that Bowie, "a taboo-breaker and a dabbler ... mined sexual intrigue for its ability to shock",<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 141</ref> and that "it is probably true that Bowie was never gay, nor even consistently actively bisexual ... he did, from time to time, experiment, even if only out of a sense of curiosity and a genuine allegiance with the 'transgressional'."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 147</ref> Biographer Christopher Sandford says that according to Mary Finnigan, with whom Bowie had an affair in 1969, the singer and his first wife Angie "lived in a fantasy world [...] and they created their bisexual fantasy."<ref name=sandford48>Sandford (1997): p. 48</ref> Sandford tells how, during the marriage, Bowie "made a positive fetish of repeating the quip that he and his wife had met while 'fucking the same bloke' [...] Gay sex was always an anecdotal and laughing matter. That Bowie's actual tastes swung the other way is clear from even a partial tally of his affairs with women."<ref name=sandford48 />
Buckley's view of the period is that Bowie, "a taboo-breaker and a dabbler ... mined sexual intrigue for its ability to shock",<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 141</ref> and that "it is probably true that Bowie was never gay, nor even consistently actively bisexual ... he did, from time to time, experiment, even if only out of a sense of curiosity and a genuine allegiance with the 'transgressional'."<ref>Buckley (2005): p. 147</ref> Biographer Christopher Sandford says that according to Mary Finnigan, with whom Bowie had an affair in 1969, the singer and his first wife Angie "lived in a fantasy world [...] and they created their bisexual fantasy."<ref name=sandford48>Sandford (1997): p. 48</ref> Sandford tells how, during the marriage, Bowie "made a positive fetish of repeating the quip that he and his wife had met while 'fucking the same bloke' [...] Gay sex was always an anecdotal and laughing matter. That Bowie's actual tastes swung the other way is clear from even a partial tally of his affairs with women."<ref name=sandford48 />


==Musicianship==
==Musicianship==
A man of many voices, Bowie, from the time of his earliest recordings in the 1960s, has employed a wide variety of musical styles. His early compositions and performances were strongly influenced not only by rock and rollers like [[Little Richard]] and [[Elvis Presley]] but also by the wider world of show business. He particularly strove to emulate the British musical theatre singer-songwriter and actor [[Anthony Newley]], whose vocal style he frequently adopted, and made prominent use of for his 1967 debut release, ''[[David Bowie (album)|David Bowie]]'' (to the disgust both of his relatives, one of whom dismissed the album as "muck", and of Newley himself, who destroyed the copy he received from Bowie's publisher).<ref>Perone (2007): p. 4</ref><ref name="albumdebut">Sandford (1997): pp. 41–2</ref> Bowie's [[music hall]] fascination continued to surface sporadically alongside such diverse styles as hard rock and heavy metal, soul, psychedelic folk and pop.<ref>Perone (2007): pp. 22, 36–37</ref>
A man of many voices, Bowie, from the time of his earliest recordings in the 1960s, has employed a wide variety of musical styles. His early compositions and performances were strongly influenced not only by rock and rollers like [[Little Richard]] and [[Elvis Presley]] but also by the wider world of show business. He particularly strove to emulate the British musical theatre singer-songwriter and actor [[Anthony Newley]], whose vocal style he frequently adopted, and made prominent use of for his 1967 debut release, ''[[David Bowie (album)|David Bowie]]'' (to the disgust of Newley himself, who destroyed the copy he received from Bowie's publisher).<ref>Perone (2007): p. 4</ref><ref name="albumdebut">Sandford (1997): pp. 41–42</ref> Bowie's [[music hall]] fascination continued to surface sporadically alongside such diverse styles as hard rock and heavy metal, soul, psychedelic folk and pop.<ref>Perone (2007): pp. 22, 36–37</ref>


[[Image:David Bowie holywood.jpg|thumb|right|240px|David Bowie on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]
[[Image:David Bowie holywood.jpg|thumb|right|240px|David Bowie on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]
Musicologist James Perone observes Bowie's use of octave switches for different repetitions of the same melody, exemplified in his commercial breakthrough single, "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]", and later in the song "[["Heroes" (song)|Heroes]]", to dramatic effect; Perone notes that "in the lowest part of his vocal register [...] his voice has an almost crooner-like richness."<ref>Perone (2007) p. 12</ref>
Musicologist James Perone observes Bowie's use of octave switches for different repetitions of the same melody, exemplified in his commercial breakthrough single, "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]", and later in the song "[["Heroes" (song)|Heroes]]", to dramatic effect; Perone notes that "in the lowest part of his vocal register [...] his voice has an almost crooner-like richness."<ref>Perone (2007) p. 12</ref>


Voice instructor Jo Thompson describe's Bowie's vocal vibrato technique as "particularly deliberate and distinctive".<ref>{{cite book |title=Find Your Voice: A Self-Help Manual for Singers |first=Jo |last=Thompson |publisher=Artemis Editions |year=2004 |isbn=978-0634074356 |page=76}}</ref> Schinder and Schwartz call him "a vocalist of extraordinary technical ability, able to pitch his singing to particular effect."<ref>Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 483</ref> Here, too, as in his stagecraft and songwriting, the singer's chamaeleon-like nature is evident: historiographer Michael Campbell says that Bowie's lyrics "arrest our ear, without question. But Bowie continually shifts from person to person as he delivers them [...] His voice changes dramatically from section to section."<ref>Campbell (2008): p. 254</ref>
Voice instructor Jo Thompson describes Bowie's vocal vibrato technique as "particularly deliberate and distinctive".<ref>{{cite book |title=Find Your Voice: A Self-Help Manual for Singers |first=Jo |last=Thompson |publisher=Artemis Editions |year=2004 |isbn=978-0634074356 |page=76}}</ref> Schinder and Schwartz call him "a vocalist of extraordinary technical ability, able to pitch his singing to particular effect."<ref>Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 483</ref> Here, too, as in his stagecraft and songwriting, the singer's chamaeleon-like nature is evident: historiographer Michael Campbell says that Bowie's lyrics "arrest our ear, without question. But Bowie continually shifts from person to person as he delivers them [...] His voice changes dramatically from section to section."<ref>Campbell (2008): p. 254</ref>


Bowie plays many instruments, among them electric, acoustic, and [[Twelve-string guitar|twelve-string]] guitar, alto, tenor and baritone [[saxophone]], keyboards including piano, synthesizers and [[Mellotron]], [[harmonica]], [[Stylophone]], [[xylophone]], [[vibraphone]], [[Koto (musical instrument)|koto]], drums, and percussion.<ref>Perone (2007): pp. 17–44, 152–160</ref><ref>Buckley (2004): p. 48</ref>
Bowie plays many instruments, among them electric, acoustic, and [[Twelve-string guitar|twelve-string]] guitar, alto, tenor and baritone [[saxophone]], keyboards including piano, synthesizers and [[Mellotron]], [[harmonica]], [[Stylophone]], [[xylophone]], [[vibraphone]], [[Koto (musical instrument)|koto]], drums, and percussion.<ref>Perone (2007): pp. 17–44, 152–60</ref><ref>Buckley (2004): p. 48</ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==


Bowie's innovative songs and stagecraft brought a new paradigm to popular music in the early 1970s, strongly influencing both its immediate forms and its subsequent development. A pioneer of glam rock, Bowie, according to music historians Schinder and Schwartz, has joint responsibility with Marc Bolan for creating the genre.<ref name="Schinder & Schwartz 2007: p. 482">Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 482</ref> At the same time, he inspired those who would carry the punk rock movement later in the decade—historiographer Michael Campbell calls him "one of punk's seminal influences"—and simultaneously explored other new directions himself, which would in time influence other acts: biographer David Buckley writes that "At a time when punk rock was noisily reclaiming the three-minute pop song in a show of public defiance, Bowie almost completely abandoned traditional rock instrumentation."<ref>Campbell (2008) p. 304</ref><ref>Buckley (2004): p. 45</ref> Musicologist James Perone credits him with having "brought sophistication to rock music", and critical reviews frequently acknowledge the intellectual depth of his work and influence.<ref name="Schinder & Schwartz 2007: p. 482"/><ref>Perone (2007): p. 183</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Paytress |title=Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar |year=2003 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-0711992931 |page=218}}</ref>
Bowie's innovative songs and stagecraft brought a new paradigm to popular music in the early 1970s, strongly influencing both its immediate forms and its subsequent development. A pioneer of glam rock, Bowie, according to music historians Schinder and Schwartz, has joint responsibility with Marc Bolan for creating the genre.<ref name="Schinder & Schwartz 2007: p. 482">Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 482</ref> At the same time, he inspired the innovators of the punk rock music movement—historiographer Michael Campbell calls him "one of punk's seminal influences". While punk musicians trashed the conventions of pop stardom, Bowie moved on again&mdash;into a more abstract style of music making that would in turn become a transforming influence. Biographer David Buckley writes, "At a time when punk rock was noisily reclaiming the three-minute pop song in a show of public defiance, Bowie almost completely abandoned traditional rock instrumentation."<ref>Campbell (2008) p. 304</ref><ref>Buckley (2004): p. 45</ref> Bowie's record company sought to convey his unique status in popular music with the slogan, "There is old wave, there is new wave, and there is Bowie..."<ref>Thomson (1993): p. 217</ref> Musicologist James Perone credits him with having "brought sophistication to rock music", and critical reviews frequently acknowledge the intellectual depth of his work and influence.<ref name="Schinder & Schwartz 2007: p. 482"/><ref>Perone (2007): p. 183</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Paytress |title=Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar |year=2003 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-0711992931 |page=218}}</ref>

Buckley writes that, in an early 1970s pop world that was "Bloated, self-important, leather-clad, self-satisfied, [...] Bowie challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day." As described by [[John Peel]], "The one distinguishing feature about early-70s progressive rock was that it didn't progress. Before Bowie came along, people didn't want too much change." Buckley says that Bowie "subverted the whole notion of what it was to be a rock star", with the result that "After Bowie there has been no other pop icon of his stature, because the pop world that produces these rock gods doesn't exist any more. [...] The fierce partisanship of the cult of Bowie was also unique&mdash;its influence lasted longer and has been more creative than perhaps almost any other force within pop fandom." Buckley concludes that "Bowie is both star and icon. The vast body of work he has produced [...] has created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture. [...] His influence has been unique in popular culture&mdash;he has permeated and altered more lives than any comparable figure."<ref name="buckley_legacy">Buckley (2005): pp. 516&ndash;17, 524, 529</ref>


Bowie was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1996.<ref name="rockhall" /> Through perpetual reinvention, he has seen his influence continue to broaden and extend: music reviewer Brad Filicky writes that over the decades, "Bowie has become known as a musical chameleon, changing and dictating trends as much as he has altered his style to fit", influencing fashion and pop culture to a degree "second only to Madonna".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Filicky |first=Brad |title=Reviews; David Bowie: Heathen |journal=CMJ New Music Report |publisher=CMJ |volume=71 |issue=766 |date=10 June 2002 |page=13}}</ref>
Bowie was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1996.<ref name="rockhall" /> Through perpetual reinvention, he has seen his influence continue to broaden and extend: music reviewer Brad Filicky writes that over the decades, "Bowie has become known as a musical chameleon, changing and dictating trends as much as he has altered his style to fit", influencing fashion and pop culture to a degree "second only to Madonna".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Filicky |first=Brad |title=Reviews; David Bowie: Heathen |journal=CMJ New Music Report |publisher=CMJ |volume=71 |issue=766 |date=10 June 2002 |page=13}}</ref>
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{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by David Bowie}}
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by David Bowie}}


Bowie's 1969 commercial breakthrough, the song "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]", won him an [[Ivor Novello Awards|Ivor Novello]] Special Award For Originality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bucksmusicgroup.com/about/Ivor_Novello_Awards.html|title=Ivor Novello Awards|publisher=Bucks Music Group|accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref> For his performance in the 1976 [[science fiction]] film ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'', he won a [[Saturn Award for Best Actor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html|title=Past Award Winners|publisher=The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films|accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref> In the ensuing decades he has been honoured with numerous awards for his music and its accompanying videos, receiving, among others, two [[Grammy Award]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=David%20Bowie&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1|title=Grammy Award Winners|publisher=Grammy.com|accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Awards/Lifetime_Awards/|title=Lifetime Achievement Award: Past Recipients|publisher=Grammy.com|accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref> and two [[BRIT Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/david-bowie|title=David Bowie|publisher=Brit Awards Ltd|accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref>
Bowie's 1969 commercial breakthrough, the song "[[Space Oddity (song)|Space Oddity]]", won him an [[Ivor Novello Awards|Ivor Novello]] Special Award For Originality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bucksmusicgroup.com/about/Ivor_Novello_Awards.html|title=Ivor Novello Awards |work=buckmusicgroup.com |publisher=Bucks Music Group|accessdate=16 September 2010}}</ref> For his performance in the 1976 [[science fiction]] film ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'', he won a [[Saturn Award for Best Actor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html|title=Past Award Winners |work=saturnawards.org |publisher=The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films|accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref> In the ensuing decades he has been honoured with numerous awards for his music and its accompanying videos, receiving, among others, two [[Grammy Award]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=David%20Bowie&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1|title=Grammy Award Winners|publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc |work=Grammy.com|accessdate=16 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Awards/Lifetime_Awards/|title=Lifetime Achievement Award: Past Recipients|publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc |work=Grammy.com |accessdate=16 September 2010}}</ref> and two [[BRIT Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/david-bowie|title=David Bowie|publisher=Brit Awards Ltd |work=brits.co.uk |accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref>


In 1999, Bowie was made a Commander of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] by the French government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-big-question-how-does-the-french-honours-system-work-and-why-has-kylie-been-decorated-822752.html|title=The Big Question: How does the French honours system work, and why has Kylie been decorated?|last=Lichfield|first=John|date=8 May 2009|work=The Independent |location=UK|accessdate=7 April 2010 | location=London}}</ref> He received an honorary doctorate from [[Berklee College of Music]] the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berklee.edu/news/1999/grad99.html|title=ChChChChanges|publisher=[[Berklee College of Music]]|accessdate=7 April 2010}}</ref> He declined the British honour [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the British Empire]] in 2000, and a [[knight]]hood in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson|first=Jody|title=Sixty things about David Bowie|publisher=(No. 35): BBC News|date=8 January 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6230201.stm|accessdate=12 January 2008}}</ref>
In 1999, Bowie was made a Commander of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] by the French government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-big-question-how-does-the-french-honours-system-work-and-why-has-kylie-been-decorated-822752.html|title=The Big Question: How does the French honours system work, and why has Kylie been decorated?|last=Lichfield|first=John|date=8 May 2009|work=The Independent |accessdate=17 September 2010 }}</ref> He received an honorary doctorate from [[Berklee College of Music]] the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berklee.edu/news/1999/grad99.html|title=ChChChChanges|publisher=[[Berklee College of Music]]|work=berklee.edu|accessdate=17 September 2010}}</ref> He declined the British honour [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the British Empire]] in 2000, and a [[knight]]hood in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson|first=Jody|title=Sixty things about David Bowie|publisher=(No. 35): BBC News|date=8 January 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6230201.stm|accessdate=17 September 2010}}</ref>


Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136&nbsp;million albums.<ref name="dailymail2009" /> In the United Kingdom, he has been awarded 9 Platinum, 11 Gold and 8 Silver albums, and in the United States, 5 Platinum and 7 Gold.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=David%20Bowie&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |title=Gold and Platinum: Search Results |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |accessdate=12 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |title=Certified Awards Search |publisher=[[British Phonographic Industry]] |accessdate=12 September 2010}}</ref> In the BBC's 2002 poll of the [[100 Greatest Britons]], he was ranked 29.<ref name="dailymail2009">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1231539/David-Bowie-asked-play-Glastonbury-time-mark-40th-anniversary.html |publisher=[[The Daily Mail]] |title=David Bowie asked to play at Glastonbury for third time to mark 40th anniversary |author=Ben Todd |date=27 November 2009 |accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref> In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him 39th on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time<ref>{{cite web| title = The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time| publisher=Rolling Stone |date=15 April 2004| |accessdate=14 September 2010 |url =http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty}}</ref> and the 23rd best singer of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/6027/32782/33036 |title=The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time |publisher=Rolling Stone |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref>
Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136&nbsp;million albums.<ref name="dailymail2009" /> In the United Kingdom, he has been awarded 9 Platinum, 11 Gold and 8 Silver albums, and in the United States, 5 Platinum and 7 Gold.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=David%20Bowie&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |title=Gold and Platinum: Search Results |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |work=riaa.com |accessdate=12 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |title=Certified Awards Search |publisher=[[British Phonographic Industry]] |work=bpi.co.uk |accessdate=12 September 2010}}</ref> In the BBC's 2002 poll of the [[100 Greatest Britons]], he was ranked 29.<ref name="dailymail2009">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1231539/David-Bowie-asked-play-Glastonbury-time-mark-40th-anniversary.html |work=[[The Daily Mail]] |title=David Bowie asked to play at Glastonbury for third time to mark 40th anniversary |first=Ben |last=Todd |date=27 November 2009 |accessdate=11 September 2010}}</ref> In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him 39th on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time<ref>{{cite web| title = The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time| work=Rolling Stone |date=15 April 2004| |accessdate=14 September 2010 |url =http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty}}</ref> and the 23rd best singer of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/6027/32782/33036 |title=The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time |work=Rolling Stone |accessdate=14 September 2010}}</ref>


Bowie was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] on 17 January 1996.<ref name="rockhall" />
Bowie was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] on 17 January 1996.<ref name="rockhall" />
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* {{Cite book|last=Buckley| first=David|year=2000| origyear=First published 1999 |title=Strange Fascination&nbsp;— David Bowie: The Definitive Story |location=London |publisher=Virgin |isbn=075350457X}}
* {{Cite book|last=Buckley| first=David|year=2000| origyear=First published 1999 |title=Strange Fascination&nbsp;— David Bowie: The Definitive Story |location=London |publisher=Virgin |isbn=075350457X}}
* {{Cite book |last=Buckley |first=David |year=2004 |title=David Bowie: The Complete Guide To His Music |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-1844494231}}
* {{Cite book |last=Buckley |first=David |year=2004 |title=David Bowie: The Complete Guide To His Music |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-1844494231}}
* {{Cite book|last=Buckley| first=David|year=2005| origyear=First published 1999 |title=Strange Fascination&nbsp;— David Bowie: The Definitive Story |location=London |publisher=Virgin |isbn=978 0 7535 1002 5}}<!--This ISBN is malformed and Amazon only lists 2001 and 2010 editions of this book-->
* {{Cite book|last=Buckley| first=David|year=2005| origyear=First published 1999 |title=Strange Fascination&nbsp;— David Bowie: The Definitive Story |location=London |publisher=Virgin |isbn=978-0753510025}}
* {{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Michael |year=2008 |title=Popular Music in America: And The Beat Goes On |publisher=Schirmer |isbn=978-0495505303}}
* {{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Michael |year=2008 |title=Popular Music in America: And The Beat Goes On |publisher=Schirmer |isbn=978-0495505303}}
* {{Cite book|last=Carr |first=Roy |authorlink=Roy Carr |coauthors=[[Charles Shaar Murray|Murray, Charles Shaar]] | year=1981| title=Bowie: An Illustrated Record |location=New York| publisher=Avon|isbn=0380779668}}
* {{Cite book|last=Carr |first=Roy |authorlink=Roy Carr |coauthors=[[Charles Shaar Murray|Murray, Charles Shaar]] | year=1981| title=Bowie: An Illustrated Record |location=New York| publisher=Avon|isbn=0380779668}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Sandford |first=Christopher |title=Bowie: Loving the Alien |publisher=Time Warner |year=1997 |origyear=First published 1996 |isbn=0306808544}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sandford |first=Christopher |title=Bowie: Loving the Alien |publisher=Time Warner |year=1997 |origyear=First published 1996 |isbn=0306808544}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Schinder |first1=Scott |year=2007 |last2=Schwartz |first2=Andy |title=Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT |isbn=978-0313338458}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Schinder |first1=Scott |year=2007 |last2=Schwartz |first2=Andy |title=Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT |isbn=978-0313338458}}
* {{Cite book|last=Thomson|first=Elizabeth|title=The Bowie Companion|publisher=Macmillan |year=1993 |isbn=0283062622}}
* {{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=Dave|title=Hallo Spaceboy: The Rebirth of David Bowie |publisher=Ecw Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1550227338}}
* {{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=Dave|title=Hallo Spaceboy: The Rebirth of David Bowie |publisher=Ecw Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1550227338}}


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* [http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/5019 ''Charlie Rose'' interview (1998)]
* [http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/5019 ''Charlie Rose'' interview (1998)]
*[http://www.allofme.com/Timeline/Music_Top_Artists/570110/David_Bowie David Bowie Time Discography Timeline]
*[http://www.allofme.com/Timeline/Music_Top_Artists/570110/David_Bowie David Bowie Time Discography Timeline]
* [http://www.bowiegoldenyears.com/ Bowie Golden Years]


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Revision as of 05:39, 23 September 2010

David Bowie

David Bowie (Template:Pron-en BOH-ee;[1] born David Robert Jones, 8 January 1947) is an English rock musician, who has also worked as an actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for five decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s, and is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth of his work.

Although he released an album (David Bowie) and several singles earlier, Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when the song "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era as the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie's impact at that time, as described by biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture."[2] The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention, musical innovation and striking visual presentation.

In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "Fame", co-written with John Lennon, and the hit album Young Americans, which the singer characterised as "plastic soul". The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album Low (1977)—the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno over the next two years. The so-called "Berlin Trilogy" albums all reached the UK top five and garnered lasting critical praise.

After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes" and its parent album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He paired with Queen for the 1981 UK chart-topping single "Under Pressure", then reached a new commercial peak in 1983 with the album Let's Dance, which yielded the hit singles "Let's Dance", "China Girl", and "Modern Love". Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including blue-eyed soul, industrial, adult contemporary, and jungle. His last recorded album was Reality (2003), which was supported by the 2003–2004 Reality Tour.

Buckley says of Bowie, "His influence has been unique in popular culture—he has permeated and altered more lives than any comparable figure."[2] In the BBC's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie was placed at number 29. Throughout his career, he has sold an estimated 136 million albums. In the United Kingdom, he has been awarded 9 Platinum album certifications, 11 Gold and 8 Silver, and in the United States, 5 Platinum and 7 Gold certifications. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him 39th on their list of the "100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time", and 23rd on their list of the best singers of all-time.

History

1947–61: Early years

David Bowie was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, London on 8 January 1947. His mother, Margaret Mary "Peggy" (née Burns), of Irish descent, worked as a cinema usherette, while his father, Haywood Stenton "John" Jones, was a promotions officer for Barnardo's. The family lived at 40 Stansfield Road, located near the border of the south London suburbs of Brixton and Stockwell. A neighbour recalled that in a world still feeling the effects of post-war depression, "London in the forties was the worst possible place, and the worst possible time for a child to grow up in." Bowie attended Stockwell Infants School until he was six years old, acquiring a reputation as a gifted and single-minded child—and a defiant brawler.[3][4]

The family moved in 1953 to another nearby suburb, Bromley, where, two years later, Bowie progressed to Burnt Ash Junior School. His singing voice was considered "adequate" by the school choir, and his recorder playing judged to demonstrate above-average musical ability.[5] At the age of nine, his dancing during the newly introduced music and movement classes was strikingly imaginative: teachers called his interpretations "vividly artistic" and his poise "astonishing" for a child.[5] The same year, his interest in music was further stimulated when his father brought home a collection of American 45s by artists including Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, The Platters, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley and Little Richard.[6][7] Upon listening to "Tutti Frutti", Bowie would later say, "I had heard God".[8] Presley's impact on him was likewise emphatic: "I saw a cousin of mine dance to ... 'Hound Dog' and I had never seen her get up and be moved so much by anything. It really impressed me, the power of the music. I started getting records immediately after that."[7] By the end of the following year he had taken up the ukelele and tea-chest bass and begun to participate in skiffle sessions with friends, and had started to play the piano; meanwhile his stage presentation of numbers by both Presley and Chuck Berry—complete with gyrations in tribute to the original artists—to his local Wolf Cub group was described as (QMESMERIZING ... LIKE SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER PLANET.)[7] After Terry Burns, Bowie's half-brother, introduced him to modern jazz, his enthusiasm for players like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane led his mother to give him a plastic alto saxophone in 1961; he was soon receiving lessons from a local musician.[9] Failing his eleven plus exam at the conclusion of his Burnt Ash Junior education, Bowie joined Bromley Technical High School.[10]

1962–68: The Kon-rads to the Riot Squad

In the technical school's unusually collegiate environment Bowie was tutored by Owen Frampton, studying languages, science, art and design. Frampton, meanwhile, endeavoured to persuade his son Peter—Bowie's fellow student—to seek a career in music with him.[11] Bowie received a serious injury when his friend George Underwood, wearing a ring on his finger, punched him in the left eye during a fight over a girl. Doctors feared he would lose the sight of the eye, and he was forced to stay out of school for a series of operations during a four-month hospitalisation.[12] The damage could not be fully repaired, leaving him with faulty depth perception and a permanently dilated pupil (the latter producing Bowie's appearance of having different coloured eyes, though each iris has the same blue colour). Despite their fisticuffs, Underwood and Bowie remained good friends, and Underwood went on to create the artwork for Bowie's early albums.[13]

Graduating from his plastic saxophone to a real instrument during 1962, Bowie formed his first band at the age of 15. Playing guitar-based rock and roll at local youth gatherings and weddings, the Kon-rads had a varying line-up of between four and eight members, Underwood among them.[14] When Bowie left the technical school the following year, he informed his parents of his intention to become a pop star. His mother promptly arranged his employment as an electrician's mate. Frustrated by his band-mates' limited aspirations, Bowie left the Kon-rads and formed another band, the King Bees. He wrote to the newly successful washing-machine entrepreneur John Bloom inviting him to "do for us what Brian Epstein has done for the Beatles—and make another million." Bloom did not respond to the offer, but his referral to Dick James's partner Leslie Conn led to Bowie's first personal management contract.[15]

Conn quickly began to promote Bowie. The singer's debut single, "Liza Jane", credited to Davie Jones and the King Bees, had no commercial success. Dissatisfied with the King Bees and their repertoire of Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon blues numbers, Bowie quit the band less than a month later to join the Manish Boys, another blues outfit, who incorporated folk and soul—"I used to dream of being their Mick Jagger", Bowie was to recall.[15] "I Pity the Fool" was no more successful than "Liza Jane", and Bowie soon moved on again to join the Lower Third, a blues trio strongly influenced by The Who. "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" fared no better, signalling the end of Conn's contract. Declaring that he would exit the pop world "to study mime at Sadler's Wells", Bowie nevertheless remained with the Lower Third. His new manager, Ralph Horton, later instrumental in his transition to solo artist, soon witnessed Bowie's move to yet another group, the Buzz, yielding the singer's fifth unsuccessful single release, "Do Anything You Say". While with the Buzz, Bowie also joined the Riot Squad; their recordings, which included a Bowie number and Velvet Underground material, went unreleased. Ken Pitt, introduced by Horton, took over as Bowie's manager.[16]

Dissatisfied with his stage name as Davy (and Davie) Jones, which in the mid-1960s invited confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees, Bowie re-named himself after the 19th century American frontiersman Jim Bowie and the knife he had popularised.[17] His April 1967 solo single, "The Laughing Gnome", utilising sped-up Chipmunk-style vocals, failed to chart. Released six weeks later, his album debut, David Bowie, an amalgam of pop, psychedelia, and music hall, met the same fate. It would be his last release for two years.[18]

Bowie's fascination with the bizarre was fuelled when he met dancer Lindsay Kemp: "He lived on his emotions, he was a wonderful influence. His day-to-day life was the most theatrical thing I had ever seen, ever. It was everything I thought Bohemia probably was. I joined the circus."[19] Kemp, for his part, recalled, "I didn't really teach him to be a mime artiste but to be more of himself on the outside, ... I enabled him to free the angel and demon that he is on the inside."[19] Studying the dramatic arts under Kemp, from avant-garde theatre and mime to Commedia dell'arte, Bowie became immersed in the creation of personae to present to the world. Satirising life in a British prison, meanwhile, the Bowie-penned "Over the Wall We Go" became a 1967 single for Oscar; another Bowie composition, "Silly Boy Blue", was released by Billy Fury the following year.[20] After Kemp cast Bowie with Hermione Farthingale for a poetic minuet, the pair began dating; they soon moved into a London flat together. Playing acoustic guitar, she formed a trio with Bowie and bassist John Hutchinson, and they began to give concerts combining folk, Merseybeat, poetry and mime. The venture was short-lived.[21]

1969–73: Psychedelic folk to glam rock

Space Oddity to Hunky Dory

Because of his lack of commercial success, Bowie was forced to try to earn a living in different ways. He featured in a Lyons Maid ice cream commercial, but was rejected for another by Kit Kat.[22] Intended as a vehicle to promote the singer, a 30-minute film featuring performances from his repertoire, Love You till Tuesday, was made. Though it went unreleased until 1984, the filming sessions in January 1969 led to unexpected success when Bowie told the producers, "That film of yours—I've got a new song for it." He then demoed the song that would provide his commercial breakthrough. "Space Oddity" was released later in the year to coincide with the first moon landing.[22] Shortly after completion of the film, Bowie and Farthingale broke up, and Bowie moved in with Mary Finnigan as her lodger.[23] Continuing the divergence from rock and roll and blues begun by his work with Farthingale, Bowie joined forces with Finnigan, Christina Ostrom and Barrie Jackson to run a folk club on Sunday nights at the Three Tuns pub in Beckenham High Street.[23] This soon morphed into the Beckenham Arts Lab, becoming extremely popular. The Arts Lab hosted a free festival in a local park, later immortalised by Bowie in his song "Memory of a Free Festival".[24] "Space Oddity" was released on 11 July, five days ahead of the Apollo 11 launch, becoming a UK top five hit. Bowie's second album, Space Oddity, followed in November; originally issued in the UK as David Bowie, it caused some confusion with its predecessor of the same name, and the early US release was instead titled Man of Words/Man of Music. Featuring philosophical post-hippie lyrics on peace, love and morality, its acoustic folk rock occasionally fortified by harder rock, the album was not a commercial success at the time of its release.[25] Bowie met Angela Barnett in April 1969. They would marry within a year. Her impact on him was immediate, and her involvement in his career far-reaching, leaving Pitt with limited influence.[26] Having established himself as a solo artist with "Space Oddity", Bowie now began to sense a lack: "a full-time band for gigs and recording—people he could relate to personally".[27] The shortcoming was underlined by his artistic rivalry with Marc Bolan, who was at the time acting as his session guitarist.[27] A band was duly assembled. John Cambridge, a drummer Bowie met at the Arts Lab, was joined by Tony Visconti on bass and Mick Ronson on electric guitar. After a brief and disastrous manifestation as the Hype, the group reverted to a configuration presenting Bowie as a solo artist.[27] Their initial studio work was marred by a heated disagreement between Bowie and Cambridge over the latter's drumming style; matters came to a head when Bowie, enraged, accused, "You're fucking up my album." Cambridge summarily quit and was replaced by Mick Woodmansey.[28] Not long after, in a move that would result in years of litigation, at the conclusion of which Bowie would be forced to pay Pitt compensation, the singer fired his manager, replacing him with Tony Defries.[28]

The studio sessions continued and resulted in Bowie's third album, The Man Who Sold the World (1970). Characterised by the heavy rock sound of his new backing band, it was a marked departure from the acoustic guitar and folk rock style established by Space Oddity. To promote it in the United States, Mercury Records financed a coast-to-coast publicity tour in which Bowie, between January and February 1971, was interviewed by radio stations and the media. Exploiting his androgynous appearance, the original cover of the UK version unveiled two months later would depict the singer wearing a dress: taking the garment with him, he wore it during interviews—to the approval of critics, including Rolling Stone's John Mendelsohn who described him as "ravishing, almost disconcertingly reminiscent of Lauren Bacall"—and in the street, to mixed reaction including laughter and, in the case of one male pedestrian, producing a gun and telling Bowie to "kiss my ass".[29][30] During the tour Bowie's observation of two seminal American proto-punk artists led him to develop a concept that would eventually find form in the Ziggy Stardust character: a melding of the persona of Iggy Pop with the music of Lou Reed, producing "the ultimate pop idol".[29] A girlfriend recalled his "scrawling notes on a cocktail napkin about a crazy rock star named Iggy or Ziggy", and on his return to England he declared his intention to create a character "who looks like he's landed from Mars."[29]

Hunky Dory (1971) found Visconti, Bowie's producer and bassist, supplanted in both roles, by Ken Scott and Trevor Bolder respectively. The album saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of "Space Oddity", with light fare such as "Kooks", a song written for his son, Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones, born on 30 May.[31] (His parents chose "his kooky name"—he would be known as Zowie for the next 12 years—after the Greek word zoe, life.)[32] Elsewhere, the album explored more serious themes, and found Bowie paying unusually direct homage to his influences with "Song for Bob Dylan", "Andy Warhol", and "Queen Bitch", a Velvet Underground pastiche. It was not a significant commercial success at the time.[33]

Ziggy Stardust

David Bowie during the Ziggy and the Spiders Tour

With his next venture, Bowie, in the words of biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture".[2] Dressed in a striking costume, his hair dyed red, Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the Spiders from Mars—Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey—at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth on 10 February 1972.[34] The show was hugely popular, catapulting him to stardom as he toured the UK over the course of the next six months and creating, as described by Buckley, a "cult of Bowie" that was "unique—its influence lasted longer and has been more creative than perhaps almost any other force within pop fandom."[34][34] The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), combining the hard rock elements of The Man Who Sold the World with the lighter experimental rock and pop of Hunky Dory, was released in June. "Starman", issued as an April single ahead of the album, was to cement Bowie's UK breakthrough: both single and album charted rapidly following his July Top of the Pops performance of the song. The album, which would remain in the chart for two years, was soon joined there by the six-month-old Hunky Dory. At the same time the non-album single "John, I’m Only Dancing", and "All the Young Dudes", a song he wrote and produced for Mott the Hoople, became UK hits. The Ziggy Stardust Tour continued to the United States.[35]

Bowie contributed backing vocals to Reed's 1972 solo breakthrough Transformer, co-producing the album with Ronson.[36] His own Aladdin Sane (1973) topped the UK chart, his first number one album. Described by Bowie as "Ziggy goes to America", it contained songs he wrote while travelling to and across the United States during the earlier part of the Ziggy tour, which now continued to Japan to promote the new album. Aladdin Sane spawned the UK top five singles "The Jean Genie" and "Drive-In Saturday".[37][38]

Bowie's love of acting led his total immersion in the characters he created for his music. "Offstage I'm a robot. Onstage I achieve emotion. It's probably why I prefer dressing up as Ziggy to being David." With satisfaction came severe personal difficulties: acting the same role over an extended period, it became impossible for him to separate Ziggy Stardust—and, later, the Thin White Duke—from his own character offstage. Ziggy, Bowie said, "wouldn't leave me alone for years. That was when it all started to go sour ... My whole personality was affected. It became very dangerous. I really did have doubts about my sanity."[39] His later Ziggy shows, which included songs from both Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, were ultra-theatrical affairs filled with shocking stage moments, such as Bowie stripping down to a sumo wrestling loincloth or simulating oral sex with Ronson's guitar.[40] Bowie toured and gave press conferences as Ziggy before a dramatic and abrupt on-stage "retirement" at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July 1973. Footage from the final show was released in 1983 for the film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.[41]

After breaking up the Spiders from Mars, Bowie attempted to move on from his Ziggy persona. His back catalogue was now highly sought: The Man Who Sold the World had been re-released in 1972 along with Space Oddity. "Life on Mars?", from Hunky Dory, was released in June 1973 and made number three in the UK singles chart. Entering the same chart in September, Bowie's novelty record from 1967, "The Laughing Gnome", would reach number four.[42] Pin Ups, a collection of covers of his 1960s favourites, followed in October, producing a UK number three hit in "Sorrow" and itself peaking at number one, making David Bowie the best-selling act of 1973 in the UK. It brought the total number of Bowie albums currently in the UK chart to six.[43]

1974–76: Soul, funk and the Thin White Duke

Bowie performing during the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour

Bowie moved to the United States in 1974, initially staying in New York City before settling in Los Angeles.[44] Diamond Dogs (1974), parts of which found him heading towards soul and funk, was the product of two distinct ideas: a musical based on a wild future in a post-apocalyptic city, and setting George Orwell's 1984 to music.[45] The album went to number one in the UK, spawning the hits "Rebel Rebel" and "Diamond Dogs", and number five in the US. To promote it, Bowie launched the Diamond Dogs Tour, visiting cities in North America between June and December 1974. Choreographed by Toni Basil, and lavishly produced with theatrical special effects, the high-budget stage production was filmed by Alan Yentob. The resulting documentary, Cracked Actor, featured a pasty and emaciated Bowie: the tour coincided with the singer's slide from heavy cocaine use into addiction, producing severe physical debilitation, paranoia and emotional problems.[46] He later commented that the accompanying live album, David Live, ought to have been titled "David Bowie Is Alive and Well and Living Only In Theory". David Live nevertheless solidified Bowie's status as a superstar, charting at number two in the UK and number eight in the US. It also spawned a UK number ten hit in Bowie's cover of "Knock on Wood". After a break in Philadelphia, where Bowie recorded new material, the tour resumed with a new emphasis on soul.[47]

The fruit of the Philadelphia recording sessions was Young Americans (1975). Biographer Christopher Sandford writes, "Over the years, most British rockers had tried, one way or another, to become black-by-extension. Few had succeeded as Bowie did now."[48] The album's sound, which the singer identified as "plastic soul", constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees.[49] Young Americans yielded Bowie's first US number one, "Fame", co-written with John Lennon, who contributed backing vocals, and Carlos Alomar. Earning the distinction of being one of the first white artists to appear on the US variety show Soul Train, Bowie mimed "Fame", as well as "Golden Years", his October single.[50] Young Americans was a commercial success in both the US and the UK, and a re-issue of the 1969 single "Space Oddity" became Bowie's first number one hit in the UK a few months after "Fame" achieved the same in the US.[51]

Despite his by now well established superstardom, Bowie, in the words of biographer Christopher Sandford, "for all his record sales (over a million copies of Ziggy Stardust alone), existed essentially on loose change."[52] In 1975, in a move echoing Pitt's acrimonious dismissal 15 years earlier, Bowie fired his manager. At the culmination of the ensuing months-long legal dispute, he watched, as described by Sandford, "millions of dollars of his future earnings being surrendered" in what were "uniquely generous terms for Defries", then "shut himself up in West 20th Street, where for a week his howls could be heard through the locked attic door."[52] Michael Lippman, Bowie's lawyer during the negotiations, became his new manager; Lippman in turn would be awarded substantial compensation when Bowie fired him the following year.[53]

Bowie at the O'Keefe center, Toronto 1976

Station to Station (1976) introduced a new Bowie persona, the "Thin White Duke" of its title track. Visually, the character was an extension of Thomas Jerome Newton, the extraterrestrial being he portrayed in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth the same year.[54] Developing the funk and soul of Young Americans, Station to Station also prefigured the Krautrock and synthesiser music of his next releases. The extent to which drug addiction was now affecting Bowie was made public when Russell Harty interviewed the singer for his London Weekend Television talk show in anticipation of the album's supporting tour. Shortly before the satellite-linked interview was scheduled to commence, the death of the Spanish dictator General Franco was announced. Bowie was asked to relinquish the satellite booking, to allow the Spanish Government to put out a live newsfeed. This he refused to do, and his interview went ahead. In the ensuing conversation with Harty, as described by biographer David Buckley, "the singer made hardly any sense at all throughout what was quite an extensive interview. [...] Bowie looked completely disconnected and was hardly able to utter a coherent sentence."[55] His sanity—by his own later admission—became twisted from cocaine; he overdosed several times during the year, and was withering physically to an alarming degree.[56][46]

Station to Station's January 1976 release was followed in February by a three-and-a-half-month concert tour of Europe and North America. Featuring a starkly lit set, the Isolar – 1976 Tour highlighted songs from the album, including the dramatic and lengthy title track, the ballads "Wild Is the Wind" and "Word on a Wing", and the funkier "TVC 15" and "Stay". The core band that coalesced around this album and tour—rhythm guitarist Alomar, bassist George Murray, and drummer Dennis Davis—would continue as a stable unit for the remainder of the 1970s. The tour was highly successful but mired in political controversy. Bowie was quoted in Stockholm as saying that "Britain could benefit from a Fascist leader", and detained by customs on the Russian/Polish border for possessing Nazi paraphernalia.[57] Matters came to a head in London in May in what became known as the "Victoria Station incident". Arriving in an open-top Mercedes convertible, the singer waved to the crowd in a gesture that some alleged was a Nazi salute, which was captured on camera and published in NME. Bowie said the photographer simply caught him in mid-wave.[58] He later blamed his pro-Fascism comments and his behaviour during the period on his addictions and the character of the Thin White Duke.[59] "I was out of my mind, totally crazed. The main thing I was functioning on was mythology ... that whole thing about Hitler and Rightism ... I'd discovered King Arthur ...".[56] According to playwright Alan Franks, writing later in The Times, "he was indeed 'deranged'. He had some very bad experiences with hard drugs."[60]

1976–79: The Berlin era

Bowie performing in Oslo on 5 June 1978

Bowie moved to Switzerland in 1976, purchasing a chalet in the hills to the north of Lake Geneva. In the new environment, his cocaine use increased; so too did his interest in pursuits outside his musical career. He took up painting, producing a number of post-modernist pieces. When on tour, he took to sketching in a notebook, and photographing scenes for later reference. Visiting galleries in Geneva and the Brücke Museum in Berlin, Bowie became, in the words of biographer Christopher Sandford, "a prolific producer and collector of contemporary art. [...] Not only did he become a well-known patron of expressionist art: locked in Clos des Mésanges he began an intensive self-improvement course in classical music and literature, and started work on an autobiography".[61]

Before the end of 1976, Bowie's interest in the burgeoning German music scene, as well as his drug addiction, prompted him to move to West Berlin to clean up and revitalise his career. Working with Brian Eno while sharing an apartment in Schöneberg with Iggy Pop, he began to focus on minimalist, ambient music for the first of three albums, co-produced with Tony Visconti, that would become known as his Berlin Trilogy.[62] During the same period, Pop, with Bowie as a co-writer and musician, completed his solo album debut, The Idiot, and its follow-up, Lust for Life, touring the UK, Europe, and the US in March and April 1977.[63] Low (1977), partly influenced by the Krautrock sound of Kraftwerk and Neu!, evidenced a move away from narration in Bowie's songwriting to a more abstract musical form in which lyrics were sporadic and optional. It received considerable negative criticism upon its release—a release which RCA, anxious to maintain the established commercial momentum, did not welcome, and which Bowie's ex-manager, Tony Defries, who still maintained a significant financial interest in the singer's affairs, tried to prevent. Despite these forebodings, Low yielded the UK number three single "Sound and Vision", and its own performance surpassed that of Station to Station in the UK chart, where it reached number two. It would in 1992 be described as "a work of genius" by the composer Phillip Glass, who used both Low and its successor as the basis for his Symphony No. 1 "Low" and Symphony No. 4 "Heroes" respectively.[64][65]

Echoing Low's minimalist, instrumental approach, the second of the trilogy, "Heroes" (1977), incorporated pop and rock to a greater extent, seeing Bowie joined by guitarist Robert Fripp. Like Low, "Heroes" evinced the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city of Berlin.[66] Incorporating ambient sounds from a variety of sources including white noise generators, synthesizers and koto, the album was another hit, reaching number three in the UK. Its title track, though only reaching number 24 in the UK singles chart, gained lasting popularity, and within months had been released in both German and French.[67] Towards the end of the year, Bowie performed the song for Marc Bolan's television show Marc, and again two days later for Bing Crosby's televised Christmas special, when he joined Crosby in "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy", a version of "The Little Drummer Boy" with a new, contrapuntal verse. Five years later, the duet would prove a worldwide seasonal hit, charting in the UK at number three on Christmas Day, 1982.[68]

After completing Low and "Heroes", Bowie spent much of 1978 on the Isolar II world tour, bringing the music of the first two Berlin Trilogy albums to almost a million people during 70 concerts in 12 countries. Recordings from the tour made up the live album Stage, released the same year.[69]

The final piece in what Bowie called his "triptych", Lodger (1979), eschewed the minimalist, ambient nature of the other two, making a partial return to the drum and guitar based rock and pop of his pre-Berlin era. The result was a complex mixture of New Wave and World Music, in places incorporating Hejaz non-Western scales. Some tracks were composed using Eno and Peter Schmidt's Oblique Strategies cards: "Boys Keep Swinging" entailed band members swapping instruments, "Move On" used the chords from Bowie's early composition "All the Young Dudes" played backwards, and "Red Money" took backing tracks from "Sister Midnight", a piece previously composed with Iggy Pop.[70] The album was recorded in Switzerland. Ahead of its release, RCA's Mel Ilberman stated, "It would be fair to call it Bowie's Sergeant Pepper [...] a concept album that portrays the Lodger as a homeless wanderer, shunned and victimized by life's pressures and technology." As described by biographer Christopher Sandford, "The record dashed such high hopes with dubious choices, and production that spelt the end—for fifteen years—of Bowie's partnership with Eno." Lodger reached number 4 in the UK and number 20 in the US, and yielded the UK hit singles "Boys Keep Swinging" and "DJ".[71][72] Towards the end of the year, Bowie and Angela initiated divorce proceedings, and after months of court battles the marriage was ended in early 1980.[73]

1980–89: From superstar to megastar

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980) produced the number one hit "Ashes to Ashes", featuring the textural work of guitar-synthesist Chuck Hammer and revisiting the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity". The song gave international exposure to the underground New Romantic movement when Bowie visited the London club "Blitz"—the main New Romantic hangout—to recruit several of the regulars (including Steve Strange of the band Visage) to act in the accompanying video, renowned as one of the most innovative of all time.[74] While Scary Monsters utilised principles established by the Berlin albums, it was considered by critics to be far more direct musically and lyrically. By now Bowie had stopped the drug use of the "Thin White Duke" era and radically changed his concept of the way music should be written. The album's hard rock edge included conspicuous guitar contributions from Fripp, Pete Townshend, Chuck Hammer and Tom Verlaine.[75] As "Ashes to Ashes" hit number one on the UK charts, Bowie opened a three-month run on Broadway on 24 September, starring in The Elephant Man.[76]

Bowie paired with Queen in 1981 for a one-off single release, "Under Pressure". The duet was a hit, becoming Bowie's third UK number one single. The same year, he made a cameo appearance in the German movie Christiane F., a real-life story of teenage drug addiction in 1970s Berlin. The soundtrack, in which Bowie's music featured prominently, was released as Christiane F. a few months later. Bowie was given the lead role in the BBC's 1981 televised adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's play Baal. Coinciding with its transmission, a five-track EP of songs from the play, recorded earlier in Berlin, was released as David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal. In March 1982, the month before Paul Schrader's film Cat People came out, Bowie's title song, "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", was released as a single, becoming a minor US hit and entering the UK top 30.[77]

Performing during the critically maligned Glass Spider Tour, 1987

Bowie reached a new peak of popularity and commercial success in 1983 with Let's Dance. Co-produced by Chic's Nile Rodgers, the album went platinum in both the UK and the US. Its three singles became top twenty hits in both countries, where its title track reached number one. "Modern Love" and "China Girl" made number two in the UK, accompanied by a pair of acclaimed promotional videos that, as described by biographer David Buckley, "were totally absorbing and activated key archetypes in the pop world. 'Let's Dance', with its little narrative surrounding the young Aborigine couple, targeted 'youth', and 'China Girl', with its bare-bummed (and later partially-censored) beach lovemaking scene (a homage to the film From Here to Eternity), was sufficiently sexually provocative to guarantee heavy rotation on MTV. By 1983, Bowie had emerged as one of the most important video artists of the day". Let's Dance was followed by the Serious Moonlight world tour, during which Bowie was accompanied by guitarist Earl Slick and backing vocalists Frank and George Simms. The tour lasted six months and was extremely popular.[78]

Tonight (1984), another dance-oriented album, found Bowie collaborating with Tina Turner and, once again, Iggy Pop. It included a number of cover songs, among them the 1966 Beach Boys hit "God Only Knows". The album bore the transatlantic top ten hit "Blue Jean", itself the inspiration for a short film that won Bowie a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video, "Jazzin' for Blue Jean". Bowie performed at Wembley in 1985 for Live Aid, a multi-venue benefit concert for Ethiopian famine relief. During the event, the video for a fundraising single was premièred, Bowie's duet with Jagger. "Dancing in the Street" quickly went to number one on release. The same year, Bowie worked with the Pat Metheny Group to record "This Is Not America" for the soundtrack of The Falcon and the Snowman. Released as a single, the song became a top 40 hit in the UK and US.[79]

Bowie was given a role in the 1986 film Absolute Beginners. The movie was not well received by critics, but Bowie's theme song rose to number two in the UK charts. He also appeared as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth, for which he wrote five songs. His final solo album of the decade was 1987's Never Let Me Down, where he ditched the light sound of his previous two albums, instead offering harder rock with an industrial/techno dance edge. Peaking at number six in the UK, the album yielded the hits "Day-In, Day-Out" (his 60th single), "Time Will Crawl", and "Never Let Me Down". Bowie later described it as his "nadir", calling it "an awful album".[80] Supporting Never Let Me Down, and preceded by nine promotional press shows, the 86-concert Glass Spider Tour commenced on 30 May. Bowie's backing band included Peter Frampton on lead guitar. Critics maligned the tour as overproduced, saying it pandered to the current stadium rock trends in its special effects and dancing.[81]

1989–91: Tin Machine

Bowie shelved his solo career in 1989, retreating to the relative anonymity of band membership for the first time since the early 1970s. A hard-rocking quartet, Tin Machine came into being after Bowie began to work experimentally with guitarist Reeves Gabrels. The line-up was completed by Tony and Hunt Sales, known by Bowie since the late 1970s for their contribution, on drums and bass respectively, to Iggy Pop's 1977 album Lust For Life.[82]

Bowie in Chile during the 1990 Sound+Vision Tour

Though he intended Tin Machine to operate as a democracy, Bowie dominated, both in songwriting and in decision-making.[83] The band's album debut, Tin Machine (1989), was initially popular, though its politicised lyrics did not find universal approval: Bowie described one song as "a simplistic, naive, radical, laying-it-down about the emergence of neo-Nazis"; in the view of biographer Christopher Sandford, "It took nerve to denounce drugs, fascism and TV [...] in terms that reached the literary level of a comic book."[84] EMI complained of "lyrics that preach" as well as "repetitive tunes" and "minimalist or no production".[85] The album nevertheless reached number three in the UK.[84] Tin Machine's first world tour was a commercial success, but there was growing reluctance—among fans and critics alike—to accept Bowie's presentation as merely a band member.[86] A series of Tin Machine singles failed to chart, and Bowie, after a disagreement with EMI, left the label.[87] Like his audience and his critics, Bowie himself became increasingly disaffected with his role as just one member of a band.[88] Tin Machine began work on a second album, but Bowie put the venture on hold and made a return to solo work. Performing his early hits during the seven-month Sound+Vision Tour, he found commercial success and acclaim once again.[89]

In October 1990, a decade after his divorce from Angela, Bowie and Somali-born supermodel Iman were introduced by a mutual friend. Bowie recalled, "I was naming the children the night we met ... it was absolutely immediate." They would marry in 1992.[90] Tin Machine resumed work the same month, but their audience and critics, ultimately left disappointed by the first album, showed little interest in a second. Tin Machine II's arrival was marked by a widely publicised and ill-timed conflict over the cover art: after production had begun, the new record label, Victory, deemed the depiction of the four nude band members in statuesque pose, judged by Bowie to be "in exquisite taste", "a show of wrong, obscene images", requiring air-brushing and patching to render the figures sexless.[91] Tin Machine toured again, but after the live album Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby failed commercially, the band drifted apart, and Bowie, though he continued to collaborate with Gabrels, resumed his solo career.[92]

1992–99: Electronica

Bowie performing in Finland in 1997

In April 1992 Bowie appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, following the Queen frontman's death the previous year. As well as performing "Heroes" and "All the Young Dudes", he was joined on "Under Pressure" by Annie Lennox, who took Mercury's vocal part.[93] Four days later, Bowie and Iman were married in Switzerland. Intending to move to Los Angeles, they flew in to search for a suitable property, but found themselves confined to their hotel, under curfew: the 1992 Los Angeles riots began the day they arrived. They settled in New York instead.[94]

1993 saw the release of Bowie's first solo offering since his Tin Machine departure, the soul, jazz and hip-hop influenced Black Tie White Noise. Making prominent use of electronic instruments, the album, which reunited Bowie with Let's Dance producer Nile Rodgers, confirmed Bowie's return to popularity, hitting the number one spot on the UK charts and spawning three top 40 hits, including the top 10 song "Jump They Say".[95]

Bowie explored new directions on The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), a soundtrack album of incidental music composed for the TV series adaptation of Hanif Kureishi's novel. It contained some of the new elements introduced in Black Tie White Noise, and also signalled a move towards alternative rock. The album was a critical success but received a low-key release and only made number 87 in the UK charts.[96]

Reuniting Bowie with Eno, the quasi-industrial Outside (1995) was originally conceived as the first volume in a non-linear narrative of art and murder. Featuring characters from a short story written by Bowie, the album achieved US and UK chart success, and yielded three top 40 UK singles.[97] In a move that provoked mixed reaction from both fans and critics, Bowie chose Nine Inch Nails as his tour partner for the Outside Tour. Visiting cities in Europe and North America between September 1995 and February the following year, the tour saw the return of Gabrels as Bowie's guitarist.[98] Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 17 January 1996.[99]

Earthling (1997), incorporating experiments in British jungle and drum 'n' bass, was a critical and commercial success in the UK and the US, and two singles from the album became UK top 40 hits. Bowie's song "I'm Afraid of Americans" from the Paul Verhoeven film Showgirls was re-recorded for the album, and remixed by Trent Reznor for a single release. The heavy rotation of the accompanying video, also featuring Reznor, contributed to the song's 16-week stay in the US Billboard Hot 100. The Earthling Tour took in Europe and North America between June and November 1997.[100]

Bowie reunited with Visconti in 1998 to record "(Safe in This) Sky Life" for The Rugrats Movie. Although the track was edited out of the final cut, it would later be re-recorded and released as "Safe" on the B-side of Bowie's 2002 single "Everyone Says 'Hi'".[101] The reunion led to other collaborations including a limited-edition single release version of Placebo's track "Without You I'm Nothing", co-produced by Visconti, with Bowie's harmonised vocal added to the original recording.[102]

1999–present: Neoclassicist Bowie

Bowie (left) on-stage with Sterling Campbell during the Heathen Tour in 2002.

Bowie created the soundtrack for Omikron, a 1999 computer game in which he and Iman also appeared as characters. Released the same year and containing re-recorded tracks from Omikron, his album 'Hours...' featured a song with lyrics by the winner of his "Cyber Song Contest" Internet competition, Alex Grant.[103] Making extensive use of live instruments, the album was Bowie's exit from heavy electronica.[104] Sessions for the planned album Toy, intended to feature new versions of some of Bowie's earliest pieces as well as three new songs, commenced in 2000, but the album was never released. Bowie and Visconti continued their collaboration, producing a new album of completely original songs instead: the result of the sessions would be the 2002 album Heathen.[105] Alexandria Zahra Jones, Bowie and Iman's daughter, was born on 15 August.[106]

In October 2001, Bowie opened The Concert for New York City, a charity event to benefit the victims of the 11 September attacks, with a minimalist performance of Simon & Garfunkel's "America", followed by a full band performance of "Heroes".[107]

2002 saw the release of Heathen, and, during the second half of the year, the Heathen Tour. Taking in Europe and North America, the tour opened at London's annual Meltdown festival, for which Bowie was that year appointed artistic director. Among the acts he selected for the festival were Phillip Glass, Television and The Polyphonic Spree. As well as songs from the new album, the tour featured material from Bowie's Low era.[108]

Reality (2003) followed, and then a world tour. Covering Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, 'A Reality Tour', with an estimated attendance of 722,000, grossed more than any other tour in 2004. Onstage in Oslo, Norway, on 18 June, Bowie was hit in the eye with a lollipop thrown by a fan; a week later he suffered chest pain while performing at the Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel, Germany. Originally thought to be a pinched nerve in his shoulder, the pain was later diagnosed as an acutely blocked artery, requiring an emergency angioplasty in Hamburg. The remaining 14 dates of the tour were cancelled.[109]

Bowie in 2009 with his son Duncan Jones at the premiere of Jones' directorial debut Moon

Recuperating from the heart surgery, Bowie reduced his musical output for the first time in several years, making only one-off appearances on stage and in the studio. He sang in a duet of his 1972 song "Changes" with Butterfly Boucher for the 2004 animated film Shrek 2.[110] During a relatively quiet 2005, he recorded the vocals for the song "(She Can) Do That", co-written by Brian Transeau, for the movie Stealth.[111] He returned to the stage on 8 September 2005, appearing with Arcade Fire for the US nationally televised event Fashion Rocks, and performed with the Canadian band for the second time a week later during the CMJ Music Marathon.[112] He contributed back-up vocals on TV on the Radio's song "Province" for their album Return to Cookie Mountain,[113] made a commercial with Snoop Dogg for XM Satellite Radio,[114] and joined with Lou Reed on Danish alt-rockers Kashmir's 2005 album No Balance Palace.[115]

Bowie was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on 8 February 2006.[116] In April, he announced, "I’m taking a year off—no touring, no albums."[117] He made a surprise guest appearance at David Gilmour's 29 May concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The event was recorded, and a selection of songs on which he had contributed joint vocals were subsequently released.[118] He performed again in November, alongside Alicia Keys, at the Black Ball, a New York benefit event for Keep a Child Alive.[119]

Bowie was chosen to curate the 2007 High Line Festival, selecting musicians and artists for the Manhattan event,[120] and performed on Scarlett Johansson's 2008 album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head.[121]

On the 40th anniversary of the July 1969 moon landing—and Bowie's accompanying commercial breakthrough with "Space Oddity"—EMI released the individual tracks from the original eight-track studio recording of the song, in a 2009 contest inviting members of the public to create a remix.[122]

A Reality Tour, a double album of live material from the 2003 concert tour, was released in January 2010.[123]

Acting career

Biographer David Buckley writes, "The essence of Bowie's contribution to popular music can be found in his outstanding ability to analyse and select ideas from outside the mainstream—from art, literature, theatre and film—and to bring them inside, so that the currency of pop is constantly being changed."[124] Buckley says "Just one person took glam rock to new rarefied heights and invented character-playing in pop, marrying theatre and popular music in one seamless, powerful whole."[125] Bowie's career has also been punctuated by various roles in film and theatre productions, earning him some acclaim as an actor in his own right.

The beginnings of his acting career predate his commercial breakthrough as a musician. Studying avant-garde theatre and mime under Lindsay Kemp, he was given the role of Cloud in Kemp's 1967 theatrical production Pierrot in Turquoise (later made into the 1970 TV movie The Looking Glass Murders).[126] In the black and white short film The Image (1969), he played a ghostly boy who emerges from a troubled artist's painting to haunt him.[127] The same year, the film of Leslie Thomas's 1966 comic novel The Virgin Soldiers saw Bowie make a brief appearance as an extra.[127] In 1976 he earned acclaim for his first major film role, portraying Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from a dying planet, in The Man Who Fell to Earth, directed by Nic Roeg. Just a Gigolo (1979), an Anglo-German co-production directed by David Hemmings, saw Bowie in the lead role as Prussian officer Paul von Pryzgodski, who, returning from World War I, is discovered by a Baroness (Marlene Dietrich) and put into her Gigolo Stable.

Bowie took the title role in the Broadway theatre production The Elephant Man, earning high praise for an expressive performance. He played the part 157 times between 1980 and 1981.[76] Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, a 1981 biographical film focusing on a young girl's drug addiction in West Berlin, featured Bowie in a cameo appearance as himself at a concert in Germany. Its soundtrack album, Christiane F. (1981), featured much material from his Berlin Trilogy albums.[128] Bowie starred in The Hunger (1983), a revisionist vampire movie, with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. In Nagisa Oshima's film the same year, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, based on Laurens van der Post's novel The Seed and the Sower, Bowie played Major Jack Celliers, a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp. Another musician, Ryuichi Sakamoto, played the camp commandant who begins to be undermined by Celliers' bizarre behaviour. Bowie had a cameo in Yellowbeard, a 1983 pirate comedy created by Monty Python members, and a small part as Colin, the hitman in the 1985 film Into the Night. He declined to play the villain Max Zorin in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985).[129]

Absolute Beginners (1986), a rock musical based on Colin MacInnes's 1959 novel about London life, featured Bowie's music and presented him with a minor acting role. The same year, Jim Henson's dark fantasy Labyrinth found him with the part of Jareth, the king of the goblins.[130] Two years later he played Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese's 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. Bowie portrayed a disgruntled restaurant employee opposite Rosanna Arquette in The Linguini Incident (1991), and the mysterious FBI agent Phillip Jeffries in David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He took a small but pivotal role as Andy Warhol in Basquiat, artist/director Julian Schnabel's 1996 biopic of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and co-starred in Giovanni Veronesi's spaghetti western Il Mio West (1998, released as Gunslinger's Revenge in the US in 2005) as the most feared gunfighter in the region.[131] He played the aging gangster Bernie in Andrew Goth's Everybody Loves Sunshine (1999), and appeared in the TV horror serial of The Hunger. In Mr. Rice's Secret (2000), he played the title role as the neighbour of a terminally ill twelve-year-old, and the following year appeared as himself in Zoolander.

Bowie portrayed Nikola Tesla, the physicist who pioneered AC electricity, co-starring with Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in The Prestige (2006), Christopher Nolan's film of Christopher Priest's epistolary novel about the bitter rivalry between two magicians in the early 20th century. He voice-acted in the animated movie Arthur and the Invisibles as the powerful villain Maltazard, and lent his voice to the character Lord Royal Highness in the SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis TV movie. In the 2008 film August, directed by Austin Chick, he played a supporting role as Ogilvie, alongside Josh Hartnett and Rip Torn, with whom he had worked in 1976 for The Man Who Fell to Earth.[132][133]

Sexual orientation

Buckley writes, "If Ziggy confused both his creator and his audience, a big part of that confusion centred on the topic of sexuality."[134] Bowie declared himself bisexual in an interview with Melody Maker in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as Ziggy Stardust.[40] In a September 1976 interview with Playboy, Bowie said: "It's true—I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me."[135]

In a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone, Bowie said his public declaration of bisexuality was "the biggest mistake I ever made", and on other occasions he said his interest in homosexual and bisexual culture had been more a product of the times and the situation in which he found himself than his own feelings; as described by Buckley, he said he had been driven more by "a compulsion to flout moral codes than a real biological and psychological state of being".[136][137]

Asked in 2002 by Blender whether he still believed his public declaration was the biggest mistake he ever made, he replied:

Interesting. [Long pause] I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer, and I felt that bisexuality became my headline over here for so long. America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do.[138]

Buckley's view of the period is that Bowie, "a taboo-breaker and a dabbler ... mined sexual intrigue for its ability to shock",[139] and that "it is probably true that Bowie was never gay, nor even consistently actively bisexual ... he did, from time to time, experiment, even if only out of a sense of curiosity and a genuine allegiance with the 'transgressional'."[140] Biographer Christopher Sandford says that according to Mary Finnigan, with whom Bowie had an affair in 1969, the singer and his first wife Angie "lived in a fantasy world [...] and they created their bisexual fantasy."[141] Sandford tells how, during the marriage, Bowie "made a positive fetish of repeating the quip that he and his wife had met while 'fucking the same bloke' [...] Gay sex was always an anecdotal and laughing matter. That Bowie's actual tastes swung the other way is clear from even a partial tally of his affairs with women."[141]

Musicianship

A man of many voices, Bowie, from the time of his earliest recordings in the 1960s, has employed a wide variety of musical styles. His early compositions and performances were strongly influenced not only by rock and rollers like Little Richard and Elvis Presley but also by the wider world of show business. He particularly strove to emulate the British musical theatre singer-songwriter and actor Anthony Newley, whose vocal style he frequently adopted, and made prominent use of for his 1967 debut release, David Bowie (to the disgust of Newley himself, who destroyed the copy he received from Bowie's publisher).[142][18] Bowie's music hall fascination continued to surface sporadically alongside such diverse styles as hard rock and heavy metal, soul, psychedelic folk and pop.[143]

David Bowie on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Musicologist James Perone observes Bowie's use of octave switches for different repetitions of the same melody, exemplified in his commercial breakthrough single, "Space Oddity", and later in the song "Heroes", to dramatic effect; Perone notes that "in the lowest part of his vocal register [...] his voice has an almost crooner-like richness."[144]

Voice instructor Jo Thompson describes Bowie's vocal vibrato technique as "particularly deliberate and distinctive".[145] Schinder and Schwartz call him "a vocalist of extraordinary technical ability, able to pitch his singing to particular effect."[146] Here, too, as in his stagecraft and songwriting, the singer's chamaeleon-like nature is evident: historiographer Michael Campbell says that Bowie's lyrics "arrest our ear, without question. But Bowie continually shifts from person to person as he delivers them [...] His voice changes dramatically from section to section."[147]

Bowie plays many instruments, among them electric, acoustic, and twelve-string guitar, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, keyboards including piano, synthesizers and Mellotron, harmonica, Stylophone, xylophone, vibraphone, koto, drums, and percussion.[148][149]

Legacy

Bowie's innovative songs and stagecraft brought a new paradigm to popular music in the early 1970s, strongly influencing both its immediate forms and its subsequent development. A pioneer of glam rock, Bowie, according to music historians Schinder and Schwartz, has joint responsibility with Marc Bolan for creating the genre.[150] At the same time, he inspired the innovators of the punk rock music movement—historiographer Michael Campbell calls him "one of punk's seminal influences". While punk musicians trashed the conventions of pop stardom, Bowie moved on again—into a more abstract style of music making that would in turn become a transforming influence. Biographer David Buckley writes, "At a time when punk rock was noisily reclaiming the three-minute pop song in a show of public defiance, Bowie almost completely abandoned traditional rock instrumentation."[151][152] Bowie's record company sought to convey his unique status in popular music with the slogan, "There is old wave, there is new wave, and there is Bowie..."[153] Musicologist James Perone credits him with having "brought sophistication to rock music", and critical reviews frequently acknowledge the intellectual depth of his work and influence.[150][154][155]

Buckley writes that, in an early 1970s pop world that was "Bloated, self-important, leather-clad, self-satisfied, [...] Bowie challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day." As described by John Peel, "The one distinguishing feature about early-70s progressive rock was that it didn't progress. Before Bowie came along, people didn't want too much change." Buckley says that Bowie "subverted the whole notion of what it was to be a rock star", with the result that "After Bowie there has been no other pop icon of his stature, because the pop world that produces these rock gods doesn't exist any more. [...] The fierce partisanship of the cult of Bowie was also unique—its influence lasted longer and has been more creative than perhaps almost any other force within pop fandom." Buckley concludes that "Bowie is both star and icon. The vast body of work he has produced [...] has created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture. [...] His influence has been unique in popular culture—he has permeated and altered more lives than any comparable figure."[2]

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.[99] Through perpetual reinvention, he has seen his influence continue to broaden and extend: music reviewer Brad Filicky writes that over the decades, "Bowie has become known as a musical chameleon, changing and dictating trends as much as he has altered his style to fit", influencing fashion and pop culture to a degree "second only to Madonna".[156]

Biographer Thomas Forget writes, "Because he has succeeded in so many different styles of music, it is almost impossible to find a popular artist today that has not been influenced by David Bowie."[157]

Discography

Filmography

Awards and recognition

Bowie's 1969 commercial breakthrough, the song "Space Oddity", won him an Ivor Novello Special Award For Originality.[158] For his performance in the 1976 science fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth, he won a Saturn Award for Best Actor.[159] In the ensuing decades he has been honoured with numerous awards for his music and its accompanying videos, receiving, among others, two Grammy Awards[160][161] and two BRIT Awards.[162]

In 1999, Bowie was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.[163] He received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music the same year.[164] He declined the British honour Commander of the British Empire in 2000, and a knighthood in 2003.[165]

Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136 million albums.[166] In the United Kingdom, he has been awarded 9 Platinum, 11 Gold and 8 Silver albums, and in the United States, 5 Platinum and 7 Gold.[167][168] In the BBC's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, he was ranked 29.[166] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 39th on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time[169] and the 23rd best singer of all time.[170]

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 17 January 1996.[99]

See also

Template:Wikipedia-Books

Notes

  1. ^ "How to say: Bowie". bbc.co.uk. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Buckley (2005): pp. 516–17, 524, 529
  3. ^ Hume, John; et al. (2008). Britain & Ireland: Lives Entwined III. British Council. p. 127. ISBN 978-0863556128. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
  4. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 9–16
  5. ^ a b Sandford (1997): pp. 18–19
  6. ^ Buckley (2000): p. 21.
  7. ^ a b c Sandford (1997): pp. 19–20
  8. ^ Doggett, Peter (January 2007). "Teenage Wildlife". Mojo Classic (60 Years of Bowie). Mojo: 8–9.
  9. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 25
  10. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 21
  11. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 22
  12. ^ Evans, Mike (2006). Rock 'n' Roll's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary Tales from Over Fifty Years. Anova Books. p. 57. ISBN 978-1861059239.
  13. ^ Buckley (2005): p.19
  14. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 28
  15. ^ a b Sandford (1997): pp. 29–30
  16. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 35–39
  17. ^ Buckley (2000): p. 33
  18. ^ a b Sandford (1997): pp. 41–42
  19. ^ a b Buckley (2005): pp. 41–42
  20. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 46
  21. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 49–50
  22. ^ a b Sandford (1997): pp. 49–50
  23. ^ a b Sandford (1997): p. 53
  24. ^ McKay, George (1996). Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance. Verso. p. 188. ISBN 978-1859849088.
  25. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 60
  26. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 54–60
  27. ^ a b c Sandford (1997): pp. 62–63
  28. ^ a b Sandford (1997): p. 67
  29. ^ a b c Sandford (1997): pp. 73–74
  30. ^ Pegg (2000): pp. 260–65
  31. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 95–99
  32. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 80
  33. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 85–86
  34. ^ a b c Buckley (2005): pp. 135–36
  35. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 93–95
  36. ^ Buckley (2000): p. 156
  37. ^ Pegg (2004): pp. 281–83
  38. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 108
  39. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 106–7
  40. ^ a b Carr & Murray (1981): p. 7
  41. ^ Carr & Murray (1981): p. 116
  42. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 163
  43. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 115
  44. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 3
  45. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 180–83
  46. ^ a b Buckley (2005): pp. 204–5
  47. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 128
  48. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 138
  49. ^ Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 68–74
  50. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 146
  51. ^ Roberts, David (ed.) (2001). Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles. Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 120. ISBN 0-85156-156-X. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  52. ^ a b Sandford (1997): pp. 135–36
  53. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 137, 153
  54. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 238
  55. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 244
  56. ^ a b Sandford (1997): p. 158
  57. ^ Buckley (2000): pp. 289–91.
  58. ^ Paytress, Mark (January 2007). "The Controversial Homecoming". Mojo Classic (60 Years of Bowie). Mojo: 64.
  59. ^ Carr & Murray (1981): p. 11.
  60. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 252
  61. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 154–55
  62. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 149
  63. ^ Needs, Kris (January 2007). "The Passenger". Mojo Classic (60 Years of Bowie). Mojo: 65.
  64. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 166–68
  65. ^ Perone (2007): p. 175
  66. ^ Pegg (2000): pp. 90–92
  67. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 181–82
  68. ^ Bronson, Fred (1990). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. Billboard Books. p. 572. ISBN 0-823-07677-6.
  69. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 189
  70. ^ Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 102–7
  71. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 281
  72. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 191–92
  73. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 197
  74. ^ Pegg (2000): p. 29
  75. ^ Carr & Murray (1981): pp. 108–14
  76. ^ a b Sandford (1997): pp. 205–7
  77. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 208, 211–12
  78. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 335–55
  79. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 165–66
  80. ^ McNair, James (January 2007). "Tumble & Twirl". Mojo Classic (60 Years of Bowie). Mojo: 101.
  81. ^ Fyfe, Andy (January 2007). "Too Dizzy". Mojo Classic (60 Years of Bowie). Mojo: 88–91.
  82. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 387
  83. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 274
  84. ^ a b Sandford (1997): p. 275
  85. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 273
  86. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 394
  87. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 278–79
  88. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 278
  89. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 280–86
  90. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 289
  91. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 292
  92. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 294–95
  93. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 298–99
  94. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 413–14
  95. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 301–8
  96. ^ Buckley (2000): pp. 494–95, 623
  97. ^ Buckley (2000): pp. 623–24
  98. ^ Buckley (2000): pp. 512–13
  99. ^ a b c "David Bowie: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction". rockhall.com. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  100. ^ Buckley (2000): pp. 533–34
  101. ^ Thompson (2006): p. 203
  102. ^ Thompson (2006): pp. 203, 212
  103. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 466
  104. ^ Perone (2007): p. 125
  105. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 488–89
  106. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 485
  107. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 491
  108. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 493–95
  109. ^ Buckley (2005): pp. 504–5
  110. ^ Buckley (2004): p. 16
  111. ^ Perone (2007): p. 142
  112. ^ Thompson (2006): pp. 291–92
  113. ^ "Space Is the Place: Innovative Brooklyn rockers blast off to the future". Spin. Spin Media LLC: 1. June 2006.
  114. ^ Lamb, Charles W.; Hair, Joseph F.; McDaniel, Carl (2007). Marketing. South-Western College Pub. p. 472. ISBN 978-0324362084.
  115. ^ Stone, Andrew (2008). Denmark. Lonely Planet. p. 46. ISBN 978-1741046694.
  116. ^ Thompson (2006): p. 293
  117. ^ Yuan, Jada (1 May 2006). "David Bowie Takes Time Off, Sneaks Into Movies". New York Magazine. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  118. ^ Gulla, Bob (2008). Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History. Greenwood. p. 95. ISBN 978-0313358067.
  119. ^ Mitchell, Gail (November 2009). "The Elements of Style". Billboard. Billboard.com: 22.
  120. ^ Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 500
  121. ^ Marchese, David (May 2008). "The Inquisition: Scarlett Johansson". Spin. Spin Media LLC: 40.
  122. ^ "David Bowie to release "Space Oddity" multi-tracks to celebrate moon landing". NME News. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  123. ^ Diver, Mike (5 February 2010). "David Bowie A Reality Tour Review". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  124. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 526
  125. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 2
  126. ^ Sandford (1997): p. 43
  127. ^ a b Buckley (2005): p. 49
  128. ^ Sandford (1997); p. 208
  129. ^ Pegg (2004) p. 561.
  130. ^ Sandford (1997): pp. 252–53
  131. ^ Thompson (2006): p. 195
  132. ^ "August". imdb.com. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  133. ^ "The Man Who Fell to Earth". imdb.com. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  134. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 140
  135. ^ "Interview: David Bowie". Playboy. September 1976. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  136. ^ Buckley (2000): p. 401
  137. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 106
  138. ^ Collis, Clark (August 2002). "Dear Superstar: David Bowie". blender.com. Alpha Media Group Inc. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  139. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 141
  140. ^ Buckley (2005): p. 147
  141. ^ a b Sandford (1997): p. 48
  142. ^ Perone (2007): p. 4
  143. ^ Perone (2007): pp. 22, 36–37
  144. ^ Perone (2007) p. 12
  145. ^ Thompson, Jo (2004). Find Your Voice: A Self-Help Manual for Singers. Artemis Editions. p. 76. ISBN 978-0634074356.
  146. ^ Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 483
  147. ^ Campbell (2008): p. 254
  148. ^ Perone (2007): pp. 17–44, 152–60
  149. ^ Buckley (2004): p. 48
  150. ^ a b Schinder & Schwartz (2007): p. 482
  151. ^ Campbell (2008) p. 304
  152. ^ Buckley (2004): p. 45
  153. ^ Thomson (1993): p. 217
  154. ^ Perone (2007): p. 183
  155. ^ Paytress, Mark (2003). Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar. Omnibus Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0711992931.
  156. ^ Filicky, Brad (10 June 2002). "Reviews; David Bowie: Heathen". CMJ New Music Report. 71 (766). CMJ: 13.
  157. ^ Forget, Thomas (2002). David Bowie (Rock & Roll Hall of Famers). Rosen Publishing Group. p. 7. ISBN 978-0823935239.
  158. ^ "Ivor Novello Awards". buckmusicgroup.com. Bucks Music Group. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  159. ^ "Past Award Winners". saturnawards.org. The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  160. ^ "Grammy Award Winners". Grammy.com. National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  161. ^ "Lifetime Achievement Award: Past Recipients". Grammy.com. National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  162. ^ "David Bowie". brits.co.uk. Brit Awards Ltd. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  163. ^ Lichfield, John (8 May 2009). "The Big Question: How does the French honours system work, and why has Kylie been decorated?". The Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  164. ^ "ChChChChanges". berklee.edu. Berklee College of Music. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  165. ^ Thompson, Jody (8 January 2007). "Sixty things about David Bowie". (No. 35): BBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  166. ^ a b Todd, Ben (27 November 2009). "David Bowie asked to play at Glastonbury for third time to mark 40th anniversary". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  167. ^ "Gold and Platinum: Search Results". riaa.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  168. ^ "Certified Awards Search". bpi.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  169. ^ "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 April 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2010. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  170. ^ "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 September 2010.

References

  • Buckley, David (2000) [First published 1999]. Strange Fascination — David Bowie: The Definitive Story. London: Virgin. ISBN 075350457X.
  • Buckley, David (2004). David Bowie: The Complete Guide To His Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1844494231.
  • Buckley, David (2005) [First published 1999]. Strange Fascination — David Bowie: The Definitive Story. London: Virgin. ISBN 978-0753510025.
  • Campbell, Michael (2008). Popular Music in America: And The Beat Goes On. Schirmer. ISBN 978-0495505303.
  • Carr, Roy (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record. New York: Avon. ISBN 0380779668. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Pegg, Nicholas (2004) [First published 2000]. The Complete David Bowie. London: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111730.
  • Perone, James E. (2007). The Words and Music of David Bowie. Praeger. ISBN 978-0275992453.
  • Sandford, Christopher (1997) [First published 1996]. Bowie: Loving the Alien. Time Warner. ISBN 0306808544.
  • Schinder, Scott; Schwartz, Andy (2007). Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313338458.
  • Thomson, Elizabeth (1993). The Bowie Companion. Macmillan. ISBN 0283062622.
  • Thompson, Dave (2006). Hallo Spaceboy: The Rebirth of David Bowie. Ecw Press. ISBN 978-1550227338.

Further reading

  • Seabrook, Thomas Jerome, Bowie in Berlin: A New Career in a New Town, Jawbone Press, 2008.
  • Spitz, Marc, Bowie: A Biography, Crown Publishers, 2009.
  • Tremlett, George, David Bowie: Living on the Brink, Carroll and Graf, 1997.
  • Waldrep, Shelton, "Phenomenology of Performance," The Aesthetics of Self-Invention: Oscar Wilde to David Bowie, University of Minnesota Press, 2004.
  • Welch, Chris, David Bowie: We Could Be Heroes: The Stories Behind Every David Bowie Song, Da Capo Press, 1999.
  • Wilcken, Hugo, 33⅓: David Bowie's Low, Continuum, 2005.

External links

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