David Bowie Biography, Update, Age, Personal Life, Death, Discography, Films

David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), better known as David Bowie,[a] was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, especially for his work in the 1970s. Bowie was known for constantly reinventing himself and for his striking visual style, both of which left a lasting mark on popular music.

This Video Is Trending Right Now →

Before starting his music career in 1962, Bowie studied art, music, and design. He first released several singles with local bands and a self-titled solo album in 1967, but these were not successful. His breakthrough came in 1969 with the top-five UK single “Space Oddity.” After experimenting with different styles, he returned in 1972 as the glam rock character Ziggy Stardust. The single “Starman” and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) made him widely popular.

In 1975, Bowie changed his style to what he called “plastic soul.” This new sound was not popular with many of his UK fans at first, but it brought him his first big success in the US with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans (1975). In 1976, he acted in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released the album Station to Station. The next year, he shifted again with the electronic album Low, the first of three albums made with Brian Eno, known as the Berlin Trilogy. “Heroes” (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed, both reaching the UK top five and earning critical praise.

Profile Summary

Age

David Robert Jones was born on 8 January 1947 in London, England.

Early life

David Robert Jones was born on 8 January 1947 at 40 Stansfield Road in Brixton, London, and grew up in Bromley, Kent. He learned to play the saxophone and sang in London blues bands. He chose the stage name David Bowie because his real name was similar to Davy Jones from The Monkees. David took the name Bowie from Jim Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie knife.

Bowie first became famous with his 1969 song “Space Oddity,” which was released around the time of the first moon landing. The title of the song was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 1970, Bowie won an Ivor Novello Award for “Space Oddity.”

Personal life

Bowie was married to Mary Angela Barnett from 1970 to 1980, and they had one son, Duncan Jones, born in 1971. In 1992, he married Somali-American supermodel Iman, and they remained together until his death. Their daughter, Alexandria Jones, was born in 2000. Bowie also had a stepdaughter, Zulekha Haywood (born 1978), from Iman’s previous marriage to American basketball player Spencer Haywood.

Death

In June 2014, Bowie was diagnosed with liver cancer. He died in Manhattan, New York City, on 10 January 2016, just two days after his 69th birthday. His remains were cremated on 14 January in a private ceremony in New York.

Discography

• David Bowie (1967)
• David Bowie[g] (1969)
• The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
• Hunky Dory (1971)
• The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
• Aladdin Sane (1973)
• Pin Ups (1973)
• Diamond Dogs (1974)
• Young Americans (1975)
• Station to Station (1976)
• Low (1977)
• “Heroes” (1977)
• Lodger (1979)
• Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
• Let’s Dance (1983)
• Tonight (1984)
• Never Let Me Down (1987)
• Black Tie White Noise (1993)
• The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
• Outside (1995)
• Earthling (1997)
• Hours (1999)
• Heathen (2002)
• Reality (2003)
• The Next Day (2013)
• Blackstar (2016)
• Toy (posthumous, 2021)

Selected filmography

• The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
• Just a Gigolo (1978)
• The Hunger (1983)
• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
• Absolute Beginners (1986)
• Labyrinth (1986)
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
• The Linguini Incident (1991)
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
• Basquiat (1996)
• Gunslinger’s Revenge (1998)
• Everybody Loves Sunshine (1999)
• Mr. Rice’s Secret (2000)
• The Prestige (2006)
• Arthur and the Minimoys (2006)
• August (2008)

Tours

• Ziggy Stardust Tour (1972–73)
• Diamond Dogs Tour (1974)
• Isolar – 1976 Tour (1976)
• Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour (1978)
• Serious Moonlight Tour (1983)
• The Glass Spider Tour (1987)
• Sound+Vision Tour (1990)
• The Outside Tour (1995–96)
• Earthling Tour (1997)
• Hours Tour (1999)
• Mini Tour (2000)
• Heathen Tour (2002)
• A Reality Tour (2003–04)