David Bowie Biography

Fast Facts

• Was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996
• Honored as a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, but declined the royal honor of Commander of the British Empire in 2000 and a knighthood in 2003
• Was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013
• Had two children, a daughter named Alexandria Jones with his wife of over 20 years, international model Iman, and a son named Duncan Jones with his first wife, Angela Bowie
• Started playing saxophoen at the age of 13
• Strongly influenced by dancer and mime Lindsay Kemp and by folk rock and psychedelia in the late 1960s
• Quote: "[on John Lennon] "I remember asking him once what he thought of glam rock and he said 'It's just f***ing rock and roll with lipstick․' Which was very succinct, but not all that accurate․""
• Quote: "I never really felt like a rock singer or a rock star or whatever․ Now I realize that from 1972 through to about 1976, I was the ultimate rock star․ I couldn't have been more rock star․"
• Was a pioneer of the glam rock era of the 1970s, performing as his flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust
• His music was notable for his often experimental collaborations - on "Young Americans" with a young Luther Vandross; on "Fame" with John Lennon; on "Let's Dance" with Stevie Ray Vaughan; and on the Outside Tour with Nine Inch Nails in 1995
• Often reinventing himself, his musical career covered glam rock, soul, minimalism, industrial, adult contemporary, jungle and jazz
• Co-wrote his song "Fame" with fellow singer John Lennon
• Starred on Broadway in "THe Elephant Man" in 1980
• Was the first major recording artist to release a song exclusively on the internet