David Bowie

David Bowie
Image from Extras
Date of Birth	08 January 1947
Place of Birth	Brixton, London
Date of Death	10 January 2016
Place of Death	Manhatten, New York
Education	Bromley Technical High School
Occupation	Singer/Songwriter/Producer/Actor
Partner	Iman Abdulmajid
Parents	Margaret Mary Jones
Children	Zowie Alexandria

David Bowie (8 January 1947 - 10 January 2016) born David Robert Jones was an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and actor whose work spanned more than five decades. A knowing, indulgent and occasionally camp figure, he is universally recognised as one of the most accomplished and inspired artists in popular music. Throughout the 1970s he took cues from art, philosophy and literature, and appeared to elevate popular music to a more sophisticated level while cleverly not overplaying the gravitas card. He was also a film and stage actor, music video director and visual artist. Ricky Gervais has cited Bowie as his favourite musical artist of all time and frequently played his records on his Xfm radio shows.

Career

Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when his space-age mini-melodrama "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 under the guise of 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. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona epitomised a career defined by consistent musical innovation, reinvention and striking visual presentation.

After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie hit big in 1980 with the UK number one "Ashes to Ashes" and its parent album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He paired with Queen for the 1981 UK chart-topper "Under Pressure", but consolidated his commercial – and, until then, most profitable – sound in 1983 with the album Let's Dance, which yielded the hit singles "China Girl", "Modern Love" and, most famously, the title track.

Since the mid-'80s only a handful of Bowie’s recordings have entered public consciousness, but his significance and influence remain undiminished. In the 90's Bowie adapted to new technologies with BowieNet, his own personal internet service provider that was active from 1998 to 2006. Following a heart attack in 2004, Bowie disappeared from the public limelight, performing his last live show in 2006, but in 2013, on Bowie's 66th birthday a new album, "The Next Day" was announced and released in March that year. Three years later, on Bowie's 69th birthday in 2016, another new album "Blackstar" was released. Two days later on January 10th, Bowie died at his home in New York after a 18 month battle with liver cancer. Throughout his career he had sold an estimated 136 million albums, and he ranks among the ten best-selling acts in UK pop history.

Extras

Bowie guest starred as himself in the second episode of the second series of Extras in 2006. After Andy Millman has achieved some success with his sitcom, When The Whistle Blows, he gets seated in the VIP area of an upscale bar. However, he is quickly asked to vacate when Bowie enters. After Andy pays a bouncer to get back in, he strikes up a conversation with the famous rock star that ends with Bowie spontaneously writing a song that ridicules Andy.

Lyrics

Little fat man who sold his soul
Little fat man who sold his dream
Chubby little loser
National joke
Pathetic little fat man
No one’s bloody laughing
The clown that no one laughs at
They all just wish he’d die
He’s so depressed at being hated
Fatso takes his own life
He blows his stupid brains out

He sold his soul for a shot at fame
Catchphrase and wig and the jokes are lame
He’s got no style, he’s got no grace
He’s benign and facile, he’s a fat waste of space

See his pug-nosed face
Pug, pug, pug, pug

External Links

• Official Site
• Official Myspace Page
• Official Youtube Channel
• IMDb Profile
• David Bowie CDs