David Bowie is young. David Bowie: biography, personal life, creativity

David Bowie: short biography

Called a musical chameleon due to his ever-changing appearance and sound, future rock star David Bowie was born in London on 01/08/47. The real name of the British singer is David Robert Jones. He showed an interest in music from an early age and began playing the saxophone at age 13. David was significantly influenced by his half-brother Terry, who was nine years older and introduced him to the worlds of rock music and beat literature. But Terry was not well. He suffered from mental illness, due to which his family was forced to place him in a mental institution. This haunted David all his life. Terry committed suicide in 1985. The tragedy formed the basis of Bowie's song Jump They Say.

After graduating from Bromley Technical School at the age of 16, David began working as an artist. He continued to play with a number of bands and formed his own called Davy Jones and the Lower Third. Several singles were released then, but none of them gave the young artist the much-needed commercial boost.

Carier start

Out of fear that he would be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkeys, the aspiring artist changed his last name - he was inspired by a knife named after the 19th century American folk hero Jim Bowie.

Eventually, David began performing alone. But after an unsuccessful solo album, he temporarily left music world. As often happened in his later life, these years turned out to be experimental for the young artist. For several weeks in 1967, he lived in a Buddhist monastery in Scotland. Bowie later formed his own mime troupe called the Feathers.

Pop star

By early 1969, Bowie had returned to music. He signed a contract with the record company Mercury Records and in the summer the single “Space Oddity” was released. Bowie later admitted that the song came to him after watching Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: Space Odyssey" The composition quickly resonated with the public, in large part due to the fact that the BBC used it during its coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The track was also a success upon its release in the US in 1972, peaking at number 15 on the charts.

Bowie's next album, The Man Who Sold the World (1970), brought him even closer to fame. The recording featured a heavier rock sound than previous compositions and included the song "Everybody's Crazy", dedicated to his brother Terry. The next effort, “Hunky Dory” (1971), included two hits: the title track, which was dedicated to Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground, and “Changes,” which became the embodiment of David himself.

Ziggy Stardust

As Bowie's celebrity status grew, so did Bowie's desire to keep fans and critics constantly guessing. In an interview with Melody Maker magazine in January 1972, he claimed to be gay and then introduced the imaginary rock star Ziggy Stardust and his backing band, the Spiders from Mars, into the pop world. His 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars, made him a superstar. Dressed in a costume from some wild future, the British singer celebrated new era in rock music that seemed to officially announce the end of the 1960s and the Woodstock era.

Was David Bowie gay? The singer's biography is full of contradictory facts. In September 1976, in an interview with Playboy magazine, he announced that he was bisexual. According to his first wife, Bowie had an affair with Mick Jagger. However, in a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said that he had always been heterosexual.

More change

David Bowie, whose biography is marked by frequent changes of images, also quickly changed the image of Stardust. The singer took advantage of his popularity and produced collections and Lou Reed. In 1973, he broke up Spiders from Mars and shelved Ziggy. David Bowie collected glam rock music in the collection Alladin Sane (1973). The release included the songs "Genie Jean" and "Let's Spend the Night Together", which were the result of his collaborations with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Around the same time, he expressed his passion for English fashion and released Pin Ups, an album of cover versions of songs popular groups, including Pink Floyd and Pretty Things.

Conquest of America

By the mid-1970s, Bowie had undergone a full-scale reinvention. Gone are the outrageous costumes and flashy sets. In just two years, he released the albums Diamond Dogs (1974) and Young Americans (1975). The former went to number one in the UK with the hits Rebel Rebel and Diamond Dogs, and number five in the US. Promotional tour of North America ran from June to December 1974. The big-budget production featured theatrical special effects, but was marred by David Bowie's mental illness. The documentary Cracked Actor, directed by Alan Entob, captured the pale and emaciated singer suffering from a severe drug addiction. Young Americans featured a young Luther Vandross on backing vocals, and the song "Glory", written with Carlos Alomar and John Lennon, became Bowie's first American single to hit number one on the charts.

After moving to Los Angeles, David Bowie recorded the song Station to Station, which made the plastic soul of the Young Americans collection more avant-garde, and the track became a hit. Bowie soon decided that the city was too boring for him and returned to England. After arriving in London, he greeted crowds of fans with a Nazi-like wave of his hand, a manifestation of the drug-addicted singer's growing detachment from reality. The incident caused a huge scandal, and Bowie left the country to live in Berlin, where he lived and worked with Brian Eno.

In Berlin, David came to his senses and began to draw and study art. He became interested in German electronic music, and Eno helped record their first joint album Low. Released in 1977, the release was a stunning blend electronic music, pop and avant-garde. Although the collection received mixed reviews, it proved to be one of the most influential albums of the late '70s, as did its follow-up, Heroes, released the same year. In 1977, Bowie not only recorded two collections of solo compositions, but also produced recordings of Iggy Pop's tracks "Idiot" and "Lust for Life" and toured anonymously as his keyboardist. That same year David resumed his acting career, starring in the film Just Gigolo with and Kim Novak. He returned to the stage in 1978, starting an international tour, the recording of which was released as a double album, Stage.

In 1980, David Bowie, whose biography was again connected with New York, released the collection Scary Monsters. The release received positive reviews and included the single "Ashes to Ashes", a kind of new version of the earlier composition "Space Oddity". The release was accompanied by a number of innovative videos (Fashion, DJ, Ashes to Ashes), which became the basis of early MTV.

Three years later, Bowie recorded the album Let's Dance (1983), which contained numerous hits such as " Modern love" and "Chinese Girl", and the virtuoso guitar playing of Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Works in cinema

Of course, music is not the only thing David Bowie was interested in. The singer's biography is marked by his participation in many feature films. His love for cinema helped him get the lead role in the 1976 film “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” In 1980, Bowie performed on Broadway in The Elephant Man, and his performance was critically acclaimed. In 1986, he starred as Jareth in the fantasy adventure film Labyrinth, directed and produced by George Lucas. The actor performed with a young Jennifer Connelly and the dolls in the film, which became a classic of the 1980s. Just a Gigolo (1978), Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Hunger (1983), Linguini Incident (1991) - pictures in which David Bowie played the main role. The films in which he played cameo roles are The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Zoolander (2001). In addition, he participated in several television series, as well as documentaries about his career.

In decline in popularity

Over the next decade, David Bowie tried to combine films and music, which negatively affected his popularity. Music career the artist began to decline. His side project with musicians Reeve Gabrels and Tony and Hunt Sales, known as Tin Machine, he released two self-titled albums in 1989 and 1991, which turned out to be failures. The much-hyped 1993 compilation Black Tie White Noise, which David Bowie called a wedding gift for his new wife supermodel Iman Abdulmajid also struggled to gain the attention of music lovers.

Ironically, David's most popular creation from this period was bonds backed by royalties from his pre-1990 work. Bowie issued the securities in 1997 and earned $55 million from the sale. The rights to the songs were returned to him when the bonds expired in 2007.

Last years

In 2004, Bowie suffered a heart attack while performing on stage in Germany. He made a full recovery and returned to work with the band Arcade Fire and American actress Scarlett Johansson on her album Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008) - a collection of cover versions of Tom Waits compositions.

David Bowie was awarded a Grammy Award in 2006. He remained silent for several years until the release of his 2013 album, which rocketed to number two on the Billboard charts the very next day. IN next year Bowie released a best-of collection of songs, Nothing Has Changed, which featured new song"Sue". In 2015, he participated in the production of the rock musical Lazarus, starring Michael C. Hall, which refreshed the image of his character from the film The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Bowie released his last album, Blackstar, on 01/08/16, when he turned 69 years old. The New York Times critic noted that it was "a strange, irreverent and ultimately rewarding work, with a mood created by a poignant awareness of mortality." Only a few days later the world learned that the album was recorded under difficult conditions.

Death and posthumous awards

The pop icon died on January 10, 2016, two days after his 69th birthday. A post on his Facebook page stated that the singer died quietly surrounded by his family after a year and a half of battle with cancer. David Bowie's wife Iman, his son, daughter Alexandria and adopted daughter Zulekha Haywood were left without a husband and father. The musician's legacy consists of 26 released albums. His producer and friend Tony Visconti wrote on Facebook that Blackstar was a "parting gift."

David Bowie's death shocked his friends and fans. Iggy Pop tweeted that his friendship was the light of his life. He had never met such a brilliant person. " Rolling Stones" remembered him as a "wonderful and kind man" who was "truly original." And even those who did not know him personally felt the influence of his work. Kanye West tweeted: "David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations." According to Madonna, this great artist changed her life.

In February 2017 last work Bowie won Grammy awards for Best Production Design, Best Engineering, Best Rock Performance, Best Alternative Rock Album and Best Rock Song.

David Bowie: biography. Family

In the late 1960s, the British singer met American top model Angela Barnett. Their wedding took place on March 19, 1970, and on May 30, 1971, the couple had a son. They divorced in 1980. Bowie's son is now known by his real name, Duncan Jones.

On April 24, 1992, in Lausanne, David married the Somali-American model Iman. The wedding took place on June 6 in Florence. In August 2000, the couple had a daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones. The couple lived in New York and London, and owned apartments in Sydney.

On July 10, 2016, exactly 6 months after the death of David Bowie, his grandson was born, whose father was Duncan.

David Bowie's hometown is London, where he was born on January 8, 1947. The capital of England in those years was far from best place where it was worth raising children. Therefore, in 1953, Bowie and his parents moved to the suburbs.

David Bowie in childhood and youth

IN preschool age little David studied at preparatory group, after which he entered school at the age of six. All the teachers noted the fact that the boy was very smart, talented and promising. At the same time, everyone was extremely upset by his scandalous temper. At school he was a real bully. Bowie developed in many ways: he played football, sang in the school choir, and played the flute. At the same time, the director of the school choir noted that his success in singing was very mediocre.

At the age of 9, a choreography and music club was added to the boy’s list of hobbies. Now the teachers spoke about David’s success in a completely different way: “He has simply phenomenal abilities. His interpretations are fantastic and vibrant!”

One day, Bowie's father brought home records with compositions. David was so impressed American performer that he immediately asked his father to buy a musical instrument, a ukulele, for his lessons. Then he began to master the piano.

Now the young man is all his free time began to devote himself to music. Because of this, school performance has greatly declined. It got to the point where he failed his final exams. Therefore, David was forced to continue his studies not at the university, but at a technical college. During his time in college, Bowie successfully mastered many musical instruments, among which were keyboards, winds and drums. Also during this period, the musician discovered such a direction in music as jazz.

Bowie formed his first band at the age of 15. During the year of their existence they played only at banquets. Then David moved to The King Bees. At this time, he wrote a letter to the millionaire with an offer to become their sponsor in order to earn another million. The musician’s appeal yielded results. Thanks to him, David signed his first contract with the publisher of The Beatles. After that, he changed three more musical groups, released six singles, which turned out to be absolute failures. Bowie devoted the next two years of his life to circus art.

The first successful single was released in 1969. It was called Space Oddity and came out just at the time when the first astronauts landed on the Moon. His music was used by all TV channels to report on this event. As a result, the single became a leader in the UK. The success of the young David Bowie was recognized by critics. This was the beginning of the glam rock era.

A couple of years later, the musician moved to New York, created new group and gives his first concert in 1972. The success was so great that David decided to tour throughout the country. This is where his path to worldwide fame began. The band played their first concert at the Music Hall in Cleveland. Later a Hall of Fame was created there.

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Since his time stormy youth David Bowie is remembered by everyone not only as a talented musician, but also as a trendsetter. At each of his concerts he appeared in a radically new image. This was another feature of the artist. Fans came not only to listen to the music, but also to look at the idol’s new outfit with interest. But fame doesn't come easily. David Bowie in his youth for a long time He was addicted to drugs, which greatly affected his health. The musician himself, giving one of his interviews, jokingly said: “The fact that I did without drugs until 1974 is already a lot! Is not it?".

On January 10, 2016, the news that the famous singer, songwriter, film actor and generally cultural icon of the second half of the 20th century died of cancer at the age of 69 caused bewilderment. Literally two days before his death, on his birthday on January 8, David Bowie released new album Blackstar, unlike any other. His sudden departure came as a shock - only the narrowest circle of his family and friends knew that the musician was terminally ill. On the day of Bowie's death, social media was filled with endless expressions of condolences and RIPs, video clips and photographs from all periods of Bowie's career.

It sounds cliche, but everyone has their own Bowie. His work had a tremendous influence on pop and rock music, an influence that continues and will continue. At the same time, it is difficult to say in what style he worked - he himself was a style. Ever changing.

Glam Bowie

David Bowie was born in London on January 8, 1947 (symbolically, January 8 is the birthday of another 20th century pop idol, Elvis Presley). David Bowie's real name is Jones. He took the pseudonym in 1966 so as not to be confused with The Monkees frontman Davy Jones. In an interview, Bowie recalled that at first he “very wisely” changed his pseudonym to Tom Jones: “I was Tom Jones for only a couple of weeks and was about to do a photo shoot for the press when the song It’s Not Unusual came out (one of the main hits Welsh musician Tom Jones. - Approx. TASS)".

Then, being a big fan of Mick Jagger, he learned that “jagger” means “knife” in Old English, so David decided to take a similar nickname for himself (a Bowie knife is a type of hunting knife named after Jim Bowie, one of the heroes of the Texas Revolution ). "David Bowie's" birthday is considered to be January 14, 1966 - it was on this day that he first appeared under that name with by The Lower Third on the cover of the Can't Help Thinking About Me record.

At that time, young Bowie looked like an ordinary "mod" boy in a jacket, playing the saxophone in several passing bands. His first solo album That's what it was called - David Bowie (1967). In 1969, he was signed to a contract by Mercury Records, which released his album Man of Words, Man of Music, later renamed Space Oddity. Actually, this is where Bowie’s first hit came from, the title song about an astronaut named Major Tom. Space was a hot topic back then since the Americans landed on the moon in July 1969.

At the same time - the beginning of Bowie's long-term "cosmic" theme, which was successfully continued in the 1972 album, which is now considered a classic - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ("The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars") - a concept album, the story of a space alien-rock star, told with excellent songs in the style of glam rock. Glam was the hottest music style back then, but Ziggy became more than just a style. Throughout his forty-year career, Bowie often fit into current style and changed it. In general, we can say that it was then, in 1972, that Bowie as we know him began: an artist bright images. He never looked like a rock star (whatever that means), but always had a fairy-tale quality to him.

Bowie got ideas from everywhere: contemporary art, theater, cinema, fashion. He was interested in everything, so his albums turned out to be multi-layered and rich in different meanings. Therefore, in fact, almost the entire discography of Bowie is an unconditional classic. And each of his musical discoveries gave rise to a generation of successors and imitators. By the way, he himself contributed in every possible way to the success of his colleagues. For example, in the same 1972, Bowie produced ex-Velvet Underground leader Lou Reed's solo album Transformer, from which the song Walk on the Wild Side became a worldwide hit. Also in 1972, Bowie discovered young talent- a failed drummer, punk and brat named James Newell Osterberg, who performed in The Stooges under the pseudonym Iggy Pop. Bowie got him a contract with the Columbia label, produced a number of his albums, performed with him semi-anonymously and, in general, made a name for Iggy Pop.

Interestingly, selfless collaboration with Iggy Pop, who can hardly be called a commercial artist (although for punk he is, of course, just a superstar and a millionaire), brought solid dividends to Bowie himself. In 1977, Iggy Pop's album The Idiot was released, which was produced by Bowie and his guitarist Mick Ronson. Firstly, the work on this eclectic album, combining drum machines and funk, inspired Bowie himself with his experimental "Berlin Trilogy" - the dark, claustrophobic albums Low (1977), Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979), which reflected both personal Bowie's turmoil and depression, as well as the spirit of the time: tension in the world, the Cold War, confrontation between powers, etc. Secondly, it was on “The Idiot” that Iggy Pop’s song China Girl appeared (Bowie was listed as a co-author, but the lyrics were almost entirely written by Iggy Pop, based on his personal experiences). In 1983, Bowie decided to cover it, seemingly so that Pop, who was then in a sad financial situation, would receive good copyright credits. For the Let's Dance album, the song was radically reworked. Funk guitarist Nile Rodgers, leader of the disco band Chic, came up with the now famous catchy "Chinese" riff. The famous blues-rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan played a stunning solo, in his style - meaty vital blues. The song, of course, became a hit (2nd place in the British hit parade), as did the entire album, but we are talking about something else - about Bowie’s incredible ability to connect seemingly incompatible musicians and ideas into one inseparable whole. And to sell these experiments to the widest possible public.

One of the main songs from the time of Ziggy Stardust - Starman

Disco Bowie

The 1980s were the time of disco and synth-pop. Let's Dance and the album Tonight (1984) were precisely in this stream: unbridled fun, dancing and carnal joys. Bowie, who once invented the image of an alien, was always presented as a not entirely human being, a kind of alien.

But he himself was both a lover of life and a businessman (in 1997 he issued his own shares, that is, part of the income from future albums and reissues). He tirelessly trolled the press about his alleged homo- or bisexuality, despite the fact that he was always married to beauties. All sorts of drug stories also excited the imagination. British singer Morrissey, former leader of the influential band The Smiths, recalls Bowie once telling him: “You know, I’ve had so much sex and drugs in my life that I can’t believe I’m still alive.”

By the end of the 80s, Bowie was already an icon and a living classic, but as a solo artist he himself was somewhat lost. He deliberately moved away from commercial pop music on the album Never Let Me Down (1987). A real failure was his strange project - the group Tin Machine with experimental guitarist Reeves Gabrels (now member of The The Cure existed from 1988 to 1992 and released two albums. The musicians themselves viewed this project as purely musical experiment for your own pleasure; everyone contributed their ideas, and the fees were divided equally among the four. It is clear that thanks to Bowie, Tin Machine's albums briefly entered the charts, but in general public interest was minimal. Critics were simply annoyed by this story, and, in general, Bowie, in the role of a democrat and experimenter, greatly ruined his reputation.

The famous composition of the 80s Let's Dance

Pop Bowie

Throughout the 90s, David Bowie experimented desperately. It’s a good face against an unimportant game, as if that’s how it should be, that’s how it was intended. Every couple of years a new album and a new hit would appear. For example, Jump They Say (from Black Tie White Noise, 1993), The Heart's Filthy Lesson and Hallo Spaceboy (both from the conceptual 1. Outside, 1995). Finally, Bowie's very decisive step towards the end of the 90s was the album Earthling, made in the then-current drum"n"bass style. This, by the way, is truly an absolutely outstanding album in Bowie's discography, in the sense that fans of the singer unanimously hate him, and fans of all electronic dance music from Bowie, if they recognize anything, it's only this the most Earthling. Be that as it may, this shows Bowie’s unique ability to rush headlong into any genre. And also to make songs out of any non-song music. This, by the way, applies to the quasi-free jazz of the album Black Tie White Noise and Blackstar, now, alas, is the last in every sense.

But, no matter what happened to Bowie's hits in the 90s, at that time he was already looked upon as spiritual father many new groups. Let's say, all the fashionable Britpop - Blur, Suede, Pulp and others - are, of course, echoes of early Bowie. Indie sensations of the 2000s like MGMT or Scissor Sisters were also clearly inspired by his images and dance tracks of the 80s. Bowie's messianic and cosmic motifs migrated to the work of rapper Kanye West. Lady Gaga as a character wouldn't exist at all if it weren't for Bowie. And so on. He himself encouraged young people in every possible way, singing duets with Placebo and Arcade Fire. His hits were covered by many, since it was an almost one hundred percent guarantee of success. Let's say The Wallflowers brought Heroes back into the charts in 1998.

David Bowie and Arcade Fire perform Wake Up

Cinema Bowie

Bowie not only entered the history of music, but also became an integral part modern cinema. His songs are heard in dozens of films: Starman in The Martian, Young Americans in Dogville, Rock & Roll Suicide in The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou - the list is endless. Bowie himself also loved acting: he had almost fifty film roles, some of which were major or key. His first big role was, of course, a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to save his home planet from a catastrophic drought. This is the plot of the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976), which resonates with the Ziggy Stardust album. He was followed by the role of a vampire in "The Hunger" (1983), the goblin king Jareth in "Labyrinth" (1986), Andy Warhol (whom Bowie adored and even dedicated one of his early songs to him) in "Basquiat" (1996), and already in the 21st century - Nikola Tesla in "Prestige" (2006).

Not a single film has been made based on the biography of David Bowie, not counting “Velvet Goldmine” (1998), which refers to the musician’s glam rock period (the title of the film was given by Bowie’s song Velvet Goldmine). True, Bowie himself perceived the film as a lampoon, distorting real facts his biography. His music was supposed to be featured in the film, but he banned its use, as well as the mention of his name. Which, in general, is not surprising, because only Bowie himself could play Bowie. Each of his cameos as himself instantly became the central moment of the film - as, for example, in the comedy Zoolander (2001), where Bowie acted as the judge of a “fashion duel”. If it weren't for Bowie, no one would even remember this film now.

Russian rock Bowie

It cannot be said that Bowie enjoyed mass success in our country. However, it had an impact on the underground Russian rock that developed in the 80s. undoubted influence. The first one that comes to mind, of course, is Boris Grebenshchikov, who at one time even visually resembled Bowie with his bleached bangs. And in general, BG does not hide his passion for the Briton’s work. Our rockers at that time already had the opportunity to watch videos of concerts and videos of Western musicians. The aesthetics of the "new wave" simply revolutionized the locals' understanding of rock music. Dance rhythms, drum machines, a bright carnival image, exotic melodies - all this was one way or another adopted by “Kino”, “Alice”, “Alliance”, “TV”, Nautilus Pompilius, “April March”, “Obermaneken”, “Nastya” ", and a little later, "Mumiy Troll", which also comes from the 80s, although it became famous in the 90s. That is, the influence spread literally from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. Another question is that technically it was very difficult for us to make such music - neither free access in the studio, no instruments.

Boris Grebenshchikov, musician

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About a year or two ago, during endless tours through the snowy forests, fields and steppes of our homeland, I started listening to Bowie’s music again, and it was as if a second ear had opened in me

Boris Grebenshchikov, musician

Russia was interested in David Bowie, and Bowie was interested in Russia. It is clear that in Soviet times there was no talk of any concerts for such a scandalous character. He came as a tourist in 1973. I just bought a tour and traveled by train from Vladivostok (where I arrived from Yokohama, having completed the Ziggy Stardust tour) to Moscow.

The trip delighted Bowie: “I was incredibly impressed by Siberia. We spent the whole day driving along majestic forests, rivers and wide plains. I could not imagine that there were still places in the world filled with such virgin nature,” he wrote in one of letters.

David Bowie stayed in Moscow for three days. No sensations or scandals: I went to museums and Red Square. In April 1976, Bowie came to Moscow again, again as a private citizen and in the company of Iggy Pop. And only 20 years later, a David Bowie concert finally took place in Russia. The start of the trip was inspiring (Bowie was greeted with bread and salt at the airport), but the concert itself in the Kremlin was a failure. They say that Bowie was dissatisfied with the abundance of “raspberry jackets” and the sluggish reaction of the audience to the new songs. It is believed that it was after this strange concert that he swore off coming to Russia at all. The company that organized that concert calls these rumors nonsense. But no one knows the true reason for Bowie’s non-return to Russia.

Blackstar is the title track from Bowie's latest album. The album is actually called ★, the same symbol used for the album's artwork. Blackstar is the only Bowie album not to feature an image of the musician himself on the cover.

In the 2000s, Bowie gave up show business in general for 10 years. In 2004, during the Reality tour, the singer had a heart attack, but it was then that Bowie began making hit, interesting albums (Heathen, and the same Reality), was again a relevant artist, and, in general, was experiencing a revival. However, Bowie didn't just cancel the tour, he actually became a recluse. Until 2013, when The Next Day album was released, he did not give interviews and almost never appeared in public. The energetic, rocking The Next Day, produced as in the best of times by Tony Visconti, began a new page in Bowie's discography. IN last years he did not stop working, because he knew that he did not have long to live. Released on January 8, 2016, the album Blackstar, recorded with New York jazz innovators Mark Juliana (drums) and Donnie McCaslin (saxophone), set, as it now turns out, a bright point in the discography and life of David Bowie.

However, 2016 was not “the year without Bowie”; rather, on the contrary, it was the year of Bowie. His latest album topped the charts, YouTube videos received tens of millions of views, he was talked about in the news and on late-night talk shows, his protégés dedicated performances and tributes to him (see Life On Mars performed by Lorde during the BRIT Awards ). Moreover, after Bowie’s death, the world heard several previously unreleased works by the musician: three new songs written for the musical Lazarus, as well as full album The Gouster, which Bowie recorded during the Gaunt White Duke period - from 1974 to 1976, when the albums Diamond Dogs, Young Americans and Station to Station were released.

This morning, sad news spread around the world: one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, died at the age of 69. David Bowie. After a year and a half of fighting cancer, the disease finally won. But millions of fans refuse to believe the obituaries: just a couple of days ago, on January 8, on his own birthday, David released a new album "Blackstar". Maybe this is all a cunning marketing ploy by the brilliant Bowie? After all, he repeatedly “killed” his stage characters in order to soon appear on stage in a completely new image. One thing is certain: without this gentleman, the modern pop and rock scene would look completely different. In memory of the musician, we offer a selection unusual facts from the life of this truly extraordinary man

1. Knife Man and Mick Jagger

The real name of the musician is David Jones. A Bowie is the name of an English hunting knife. David decided to take a pseudonym in 1966 so that he would not be confused with the then famous vocalist Davy Jones, a member of The Monkees. What does Mick Jagger have to do with it? It’s just that “jagger” is translated from Old English as “knife”. And young David, being a fan The Rolling Stones , borrowed the idea.

2. Fight with your best friend

Who doesn't quarrel with friends as a teenager? But not all quarrels leave an imprint for life. At the age of 15, the future music legend got into a fight with his friend, George Underwood. Of course, because of the girl. The fist with Underwood's ring ended up in David's left eye. The injury was so significant that Bowie risked going blind. After four months of operations, doctors saved the vision of the future rock star, but the damaged eye lost color perception and its the pupil always remained dilated. Which, among other things, made the musician’s appearance even more unusual.
It is noteworthy that after this drama the guys made peace and remained friends. In the future, artist Underwood will even create illustrations for early albums Bowie. Boys will be boys.

3. Bowie is a “techie”

Despite his early talent in the arts, after school David went to study at Bromley Technical High School, where he studied typographic layout and printing. Which did not stop him from simultaneously studying music and putting together own group.

4. Man on the Moon

Bowie became a star in 1969 after the release of the single "Space Oddity"(“Strange Case in Space”). The topic of space travel was of concern to many at the time, and the “alien” image of the musician took off. The song "Space Oddity" was even played in BBC reports on the Apollo 11 moon landing and Apollo 13 flight.

5. The Man Who Sold the World

A well-known song The Man Who Sold the World performed by the group Nirvana actually belongs to David Bowie. In 1970, the musician in the form Ziggy Stardust released an album of the same name. Kurt Cobain was 3 years old at the time.

6. The Star That Was Afraid to Fly

Despite his rapid career rise and increased interest in outer space, in his youth Bowie was afraid to fly. Even your first visit to Russia in 1973 During the Ziggy Stardust Tour, the musician traveled by land. But the journey was by no means close: the road from Yokohama (Japan) to Moscow took as long as 18 days.

7. Moonwalk

For many this will be a discovery, but the first artist to perform the famous “ moonwalk"On stage was David Bowie. The unusual moves were part of his performance on the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour. It is noteworthy that one of the concerts was attended by a young Michael Jackson, who in later interviews said that he was struck by both the performance in general and the musician’s manner of moving in particular.

8. “Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars.”

This and similar statements that Bowie allowed himself in interviews in the mid-to-late 70s became the cause of a lot of scandals. Soon the musician began to renounce his previous views in every possible way, publicly take back his words and donate money to anti-racism funds. According to him, at that time he was “out of his mind, completely crazy,” and the culprit was his passion for Nietzsche and, of course, hard drugs. Underline whatever applicable.

9. Made up language

Lyrics Subterraneans from the album Low (1977) written in a non-existent language invented by Bowie himself.

10. 10 groups

Throughout his career, David Bowie was a member of 10 musical groups, and in some he played all instruments alternately. Here is the full list of his commands: The Konrads, The Hooker Brothers, The King Bees, The Manish Boys, The Lower Third, The Buzz, The Riot Squad, The Hype, Tin Machine And Tao Jones Index.

11. Multi-instrumentalist

Few people know that Bowie is not only a talented poet and performer, but also a top-class musician. He played many instruments beautifully: guitar, saxophone, harmonica, piano, synthesizer, mellotron, stylophone, xylophone, vibraphone, koto, drums and percussion. And at the same time there was left-handed.

12. Max Zorin and Joker

Bowie's unusual appearance and ability to easily change images provided him with many offers to play in films. Especially the villains. For example, a musician was invited to play the role Max Zorin and in bondians(episode "A View to a Kill", 1985) and considered him for the role Joker in Batman. David himself refused the first offer, citing that he did not want to “spend five months watching your stunt double fall from the mountains.” In the end the role went to Christopher Walken. And he played the Joker Jack Nicholson.

13. Pontius Pilate

But Mr. Bowie happily agreed to the controversial role of Pontius Pilate in the sensational Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" in 1988. Since I'm playing villains, it's of biblical proportions.

14. Morrissey

In the early 90s, 70s icon Bowie becomes friends with 80s icon Morrissey (The Smiths). Musicians record cover versions of each other's songs, shower each other with compliments and demonstrate mutual admiration in every possible way. But the legendary friendship ends quickly and ugly in 1995: Bowie invites Morrissey on a joint tour, but in the end Moz performs, in fact, as an opening act for David, while fans are not yet filling the hall. Bowie's demand to replace a musician from his colleague's team with his own becomes the last straw. Under the pretext of illness, Morrissey leaves the tour and never speaks to David again. A few years later, he would only briefly, in his characteristic caustic manner, speak about that incident: “Bowie was a great artist in 1973, but not now.”

15. Tea

Being a true Briton, Bowie nevertheless hated tea. After a mysterious “tea incident” at the age of 5, the musician forever disliked this traditional drink.

16. The King Who Refused the Queen

Bowie has a son from his first marriage. He inherited from his father not only his stage name ( Duncan Zoe Heywood Jones also known as Zoe Bowie), but also talent. True, Duncan is not a singer, he is a director. Among his most famous works– sci-fi drama "Moon 2112". Apparently love for space travel also transmitted with genes.

19. Iman

In 1992 scandalous star and the enviable bachelor Bowie (his first ten-year marriage ended in 1980) married for the second time. The chosen one is the Somali model Iman. The black beauty gave the musician a daughter, got a tattoo of that same Bowie hunting knife on her ankle, and was with her husband until the end.

But the king of rock and roll cannot die. The maximum is to go back to the cold stars while his songs continue to live on Earth.
More rare photos of David and others.

British rock singer David Bowie has died at the age of 70. On January 8, the singer celebrated his 69th birthday and released a new album, Blackstar. The musician passed away after an 18-month battle with cancer, news of his death appeared on the official website, which said: “While many of you sympathize with the loss, we ask you to respect privacy families in times of grief." Interesting facts from his biography will help us remember the work of David Bowie.

1. Bowie claimed that at the age of five he had a "horrible accident" involving tea - and has never drunk it since.

2. David graduated from school with a grade of “0” in art.

3. At the age of eight, Bowie had a dream of becoming a saxophonist. This prompted him to buy his first saxophone, although it was made of pink plastic. For the sake of such a purchase, little Dave was forced to carry orders for the butcher shop. In 1961, his mother gave him a better quality alto saxophone.

4. Bowie's right pupil is always dilated - the result of a school fight he had with a friend named George Underwood. The quarrel was, of course, over a girl. Doctors feared that he would lose his sight, but were able to perform a series of operations and prevent blindness. It was not possible to completely restore his vision - as a result of the injury, Bowie developed defective perception of the depth of his visual field. Having become famous, the artist stated that although he can see with his injured eye, the perception of color is lost (a brown background is always present). The pupil of the injured eye became mydriatic, giving the appearance of different eye colors. Despite the fight, Underwood and Bowie remained good friends.

5. Bowie is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays guitar, piano, harpsichord, harmonica, mellotron, stylophone, vibraphone, koto, drums and percussion.

6. Being a big fan of Mick Jagger, Bowie learned that “jagger” means “knife” in Old English, so David took a similar nickname for himself (a Bowie knife is a type of hunting knife named after Texas Revolutionary hero Jim Bowie). David Bowie's birthday is considered to be January 14, 1966. It was on this day that he first appeared under that name with the band The Lower Third on the cover of the album “Can’t Help Thinking About Me”.

7. “I really wanted to become famous, but I didn’t know how to do it, and throughout the 1960s I tried everything I could - in theater, visual arts and music,” Bowie admitted in an interview in the eighties. Undoubtedly, at that time the artist’s work was greatly influenced by the frontman Pink Floyd Sid Barrett, who left the group after recording the first album. “There was something otherworldly about Sid, and that attracted me greatly. He looked like Peter Pan,” said the musician.

8. In 1974, Michael Jackson attended a Bowie concert. He later spoke out about the musician’s strange movements, referring to the moonwalk. This dance originally appeared in Bowie's pantomime plays of the sixties.

9. The small recording studio "Hansa", whose windows used to look out onto Berlin Wall, became one of favorite places tourists, although it continues to operate as a studio. All because of Bowie, who recorded the so-called “Berlin Trilogy” there (“Low” - “Heroes” - “Lodger”).

10. Beginning on September 24, 1980, Bowie performed on Broadway for three months in The Elephant Man. During this period, his friend and colleague John Lennon was killed by a crazy fanatic, Mark Chapman. This event made an extremely difficult impression on David - he not only lost a close friend, but also realized that he himself was close to death. Chapman attended the play, photographed Bowie at the stage doors, and shot Lennon shortly afterwards. He told the police that if he had failed to kill John, he would have returned to the theater and shot David.

11. In David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Firewalker (1992), Bowie played the mysterious FBI agent Phillip Jeffries. He appears in the film for only a few seconds, but he makes an indelible impression. "It was a dream. We're living in a dream," he says, drawing viewers into the middle of one of the outstanding masters arthouse.

12. Bowie visited Moscow three times. He first visited the capital in 1973 while traveling from Japan to Europe. At that time, he was afraid to fly on airplanes and preferred to use ground transport. In order to get to Moscow, he had to take a ship from Yokohama to Nakhodka, and from there on the Trans-Siberian Railway. On April 30, 18 days after leaving, Bowie arrived in Moscow for three days. Then he attended the May Day parade, visited the Armory Chamber and GUM. Bowie's second trip to Moscow, now together with Iggy Pop, took place in early April 1976. Then the border guards confiscated his Nazi literature, which was prohibited from import. The third trip took place in June 1996, this time with a concert at the State Kremlin Palace. Before the press conference, a fan meeting was organized with Bowie in his room. Fans told him about the poor acoustics in the Kremlin and the high cost of tickets. Bowie immediately gave them to those who did not have enough money. On June 18, the concert took place and David was terribly dissatisfied with it - because of the seated audience and the strange organization of the hall. Then he promised that he would never come to Russia again.

13. In 2000, as a result of a survey in which over 190 thousand people took part, jointly with Queen song"Under Pressure" was ranked tenth on the list of the best songs of the millennium.

14. From contemporary performers Bowie preferred the work of Rufus Wainwright, Placebo, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Arcade Fire.

15. In 2009, German scientist Peter Jaeger discovered a new rare species of spider and decided to name it after Bowie. A representative of the species, called Heteropoda davidbowie, was discovered by a researcher in Malaysia. According to the arachnologist, he was inspired by the Glass Spider tour and the song Ziggy Stardust.