Known For
Acting
Born
Jan 08, 1947
Died
Jan 10, 2016
Place of Birth
London, England, UK
Credits
277 titles
David Bowie
Biography
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Born and raised in South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. “Space Oddity” became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single “Starman” and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterized as “plastic soul,” initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. The following year, he further confounded musical expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low (1977), the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that would come to be known as the Berlin Trilogy. Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise. After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes,” its parent album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and “Under Pressure,” a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, with its title track topping both UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. Bowie also continued acting; his roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
Known For
Filmography
Eyes Behind the Lens
Voice (Uncredited, Archive)
Looking for Laurie
Songs
Tribute to David Bowie - Heroes Never Die
Original Music Composer
Bowie: The Final Act
Self (archive footage)
Twiggy
(archival footage)
Enigma
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Self (archive footage)
Placebo: This Search for Meaning
Self (archive footage)
Luther: Never Too Much
Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (2024 Dolby Atmos Mix)
Guitar, Saxophone, Vocals
TIME
Narrator (voice)
Jim Henson Idea Man
Self (archive footage)
Can Creativity Save the World?
Self (archive footage)
Hits That Missed at the BBC
Self (archive footage)
DEVO
Self (archive footage)
Eno
Self (archive footage)
Dear Bowie
David Bowie
Thriller 40
Self (archive footage)
AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex
Self (archive footage)
WHAM!
Self (archive footage)
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story
Self (archive footage)
LOLA
Self - Singer (archive footage)
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
Self (archive footage)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage)
Moonage Daydream
Self (archive footage)
Freddie Mercury: The Final Act
Self (archive footage)
Mickey: The Story of a Mouse
Self (archive footage)
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self
The Velvet Underground
Self (voice)
The Magic Voices of Pop
Self (archive)
Moby Doc
Self
The Dancing Man of L.A.
Self (archive footage)
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: Out of this World
Self
This Is Pop
Self (archive footage)
David Bowie: London Boy
Self
Zappa
Self (archive footage)
70 Years of Youth Revolt
Self (archive footage)
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 Inductions
Self (archive footage)
Lindsay Dances - Theatre and life according to Lindsay Kemp
Self
The BRITs at 40
Self (archive footage)
The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!
Original Music Composer
My Music: A Classic Christmas
Self (archive footage)
The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story
Self (archive footage)
WBCN and the American Revolution
Self
David Bowie: Finding Fame
Self (archive footage)
Bowie: Glastonbury 2000
Self - Vocals
Why Are We Creative?
Self
BowieNext - Nascita di una galassia
Lazarus
Original Music Composer