DAvid Bowie 

January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016 

 
“The only way to sum up his various costumes and personas is to say they can’t be 

summed up — that their cumulative effect is to represent the full spectrum of human 

expression and suggest that spectrum can be singularly inhabited by one person, or by 

implication any of us.” 

● His solo career lasted for fifty years, from 1966 until he died of liver cancer in 2016. 

● He was often called a musical chameleon because of his different personas (Ziggy 

Stardust, Aladdin Sane, The Thin White Duke, etc.) and genre fluidity.  

● Started the glam rock trend and the concept of the larger than life rock star. 

Early Timeline 

● January 8, 1945:​ born in Brixton, London, England 

● His first musical love was Little Richard 
● 1958-1963:​ Attended Bromley Technical High School  
○ Described as quiet, mostly kept to himself 
○ First band was a student band called the Kon-Rads 
● 1959:​ Gifted his first real saxophone and started taking lessons outside of school 
● His brother gave him a copy of Jack Kerouac’s O
​ n the Road ​and he became a huge fan 
of the Beat movement. He used to go to Trafalgar Square on the weekends and try to 
talk to the beatniks, but he would pester them so much that they had to chase him 
away.  
● 1963:​ Bowie left school early and started his first real band called the King Bees 
● After they broke up he joined The Manish Boys 
● Then he joined the Lower Third after the Manish Boys broke up 
● December 31, 1965:​ Played his last show under the stage name Davey Jones after 
hearing about the Monkees singer of the same name.  
● February 1966:​ The Lower Third break up. 
● June 1,1967: ​Self titled debut album is released. 
 

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Space Oddity 

● Released on July 11, 1969, five days before the landing of the Apollo 11. 

● Inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s landmark film ​2001: A Space Odyssey. 

“What would it mean to treat popular musicians as performance artists?” -Simon Frith, 

Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music 

● Bowie’s concerts were performances.  

● Everything was contrived to give off an image and play a character.  

● They were supposed to be artificial and were created to be deconstructed the same 

way you would deconstruct a play.  

Ziggy Stardust 

● The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars​ was released in 1972, 

and it was Bowie’s first hit record.  

● It put him on the map as an innovator. 

● Ziggy was described as an omnisexual androgynous alien.  

● Combination of mime, theater, and music. 

Impact on the LGBT Community and Culture 

● 1972:​ Came out as gay in an issue of ​Melody Maker 
● 1976:​ Came out as bisexual 
● 1983:​ Came out as heterosexual 
● Paved the way for sexual diversity in popular culture. 
● Artists like Pet Shop Boys, Boy George, Adam Lambert, and Lady Gaga wouldn’t have 
been possible without him.  
● Bowie has been a lifeline for LGBT kids all over the world since the 1960’s, showing that 
it’s okay to be different and an outsider. 
 
 
 
 
   

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For Further listening: 
 
David Bowie ​(1967) ​Let’s Dance (​ 1983) 
The Man Who Sold the World (​ 1970) T
​ onight (​ 1984) 
Hunky Dory ​(1971) N
​ ever Let Me Down (​ 1987) 
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust Tin Machine (​ 1989) 
and the Spiders from Mars (​ 1972) T
​ in Machine II ​(1991)   
Aladdin Sane ​(1973) ​Black Tie White Noise ​(1993) 
Pin Ups (​ 1973) ​Outside (​ 1995)   
Diamond Dogs (​ 1974) E
​ arthling (​ 1997) 
Young Americans (​ 1975) H
​ ours (​ 1999) 
Station to Station ​(1976) H
​ eathen ​(2002) 
Low (​ 1977) ​Reality (​ 2003) 
Heroes (​ 1977) T
​ he Next Day (​ 2013) 
Lodger (​ 1979) B
​ lackstar ​(2016) 
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) ​(1980)   
 
 
For further viewing:  
The Man Who Fell to Earth ​(1976) 
Just a Gigolo ​(1978) 
Baal (​ 1982) 
The Hunger (​ 1983) 
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (​ 1983) 
Absolute Beginners ​(1986) 
Labyrinth ​(1986) ← (my personal favorite!!) 
The Last Temptation of Christ ​(1988) 
The Linguini Incident ​(1991) 
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me ​(1992) 
Basquiat ​(1996) 
Il mio West (​ 1998) 
B.U.S.T.E.D (​ 1999) 
Mr. Rice’s Secret ​(1999) 
The Hunger (​ TV Series 1999-2000) 
The Prestige (​ 2006) 
August ​(2008) 
Twin Peaks: Missing Pieces ​(2014) 
 

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