David Bowie (1947

Talk to David Bowie

Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI

Biography

David Robert Jones, known as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as among the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie received particular acclaim for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft have had a significant impact on popular music.

In Their Own Words (5)

Do you remember, your President Nixon?Do you remember, the bills you have to pay?Or even yesterday?

Young Americans , 1975

(Hey man) oh leave me alone you know(Hey man) oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta(Hey man) I gotta straighten my faceThis mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place.

Suffragette City , 1972

You've got your mother in a whirlShe's not sure if you're a boy or a girl.Hey babe, your hair's alright.Hey babe, let's go out tonight.You like me, and I like it all.We like dancing and we look divine.You love bands when they're playing hard.You want more and you want it fast.

Rebel Rebel , 1974

Ground Control to Major Tom.Ground Control to Major Tom.Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

Space Oddity , 1969

Oh don't lean on me man, cause you can't afford the ticketBack from Suffragette CityOh don't lean on me man'Cause you ain't got time to check itYou know my Suffragette CityIs outta sight...she's all right ...Ah wham, bam, thank you ma'am!

Suffragette City , 1972

Timeline

The story of David Bowie, told in moments.

1947 Birth

Born David Robert Jones in Brixton, south London. His half-brother Terry introduces him to jazz and Buddhism. A schoolyard fight at 15 permanently dilates his left pupil. One eye appears blue, the other brown.

A schoolyard fight permanently changed your eyes. Did that make you feel different or just look different? What did your half-brother Terry give you besides jazz and Buddhism?

1969 Event

"Space Oddity" releases five days before the Apollo 11 moon landing. Major Tom, floating helplessly in a tin can. The BBC plays it during its lunar coverage. Bowie goes from obscurity to the British top five in a week.

Space Oddity released five days before the moon landing. Luck or planning? Is Major Tom floating alone your self-portrait?

1972 Event

Ziggy Stardust. The album and the character arrive together. Red mullet hair, kabuki makeup, platform boots, androgyny as performance art. He tells an interviewer he's bisexual. It's 1972. He makes otherness look like the only option worth choosing.

Ziggy Stardust. Was the character a mask or the real you? Telling an interviewer you re bisexual in 1972. Were you terrified?

1977 Event

Moves to West Berlin. Records Low and Heroes with Brian Eno in Hansa Studios, 500 yards from the Wall. The Berlin Trilogy. Electronic, ambient, fractured. "Heroes" is about two lovers kissing by the Wall. It becomes an anthem for German reunification twelve years later.

500 yards from the Berlin Wall, recording Heroes. Did you feel history in the studio? Was the Berlin Trilogy running away from fame or running toward something new?

1983 Life

Let's Dance. Produced by Nile Rodgers. The biggest-selling album of his career. "Modern Love," "China Girl," "Let's Dance." He fills stadiums. He's wealthy, mainstream, and bored by it. He spends the next decade trying to get lost again.

Let s Dance made you rich and bored. Was mainstream success a trap? Did you spend the next decade deliberately trying to get lost?

2016 Event

Releases Blackstar on his 69th birthday. Dark, jazzy, cryptic. "Look up here, I'm in heaven." He's had liver cancer for 18 months. Nobody outside his inner circle knows.

Releasing Blackstar while secretly dying. Was that the final performance? Look up here, I m in heaven. Were those lyrics a goodbye?

2016 Death

Dies in New York. Two days after Blackstar. Two days after his birthday. He's turned his own death into a final work of art. 100 million records sold. 26 studio albums. The chameleon goes still.

Two days after your birthday, two days after Blackstar. Did you time it? 26 albums, 100 million records. Was the chameleon act exhausting or liberating?