David Bowie - (with Tin Machine) - Discography (part 2) (1967-2017)

David Bowie was born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in Brixton, London, the son of a charity’s promotions officer and a waitress. Bowie attributes his interest in music to listening to Rock & Roll singles his father brought back from America in 1953, comparing listening to Little Richards "Tutti-Frutti" to "hear[ing]God". He began learning multiple instruments and performing in Skiffle bands and solo tribute acts to Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry at a very young age. Jones went on to study art and music at Bromley Technical High School and developed an appreciation for Jazz.
Emerging on the Mod scene at the age of 15, Jones joined his first band - The Konrads. In 1963, Bowie left school with the intention of becoming a full-time musician, however at his parent’s insistence, he also took up an apprenticeship as an electrician. Bowie left the Konrads shortly after due to his bandmates limited aspirations and formed another group - the King Bees. After hiring Leslie Conn as their manager, the group released their debut single - "Liza Jane", to little success. Dissatisfied, Jones left the King Bees and formed the Manish Boys and released the single "I Pity the Fool", again to little success. Jones again disbanded his group to form a new one - the Lower Third. They released their debut single - "Youve Got a Habit of Leaving" to little success. Around this time, hoping to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees, Jones changed his name to David Bowie, after the American frontiersman Jim Bowie. The Lower Third released another single - "Cant Help Thinking About Me", again to little success. Both these singles were credited solely to Jones/Bowie, rather than the Lower Third as a band, prompting the group to disband.
After a brief engagement with the Riot Squad, Bowie formed a new backing band - the Buzz - and emerged as a solo artist proper. He released two unsuccessful singles - "Do Anything You Say" and "I Dig Everything".
In 1966, Bowie moved away from the Mod scene and released the more psychedelic "Rubber Band", followed by "The Laughing Gnome" and "Love You Till Tuesday". Bowie released his self-titled debut album in 1967. The album combined elements of Psychedelic Pop, Folk, Music Hall and Baroque Pop into a bizarre and unique sound, however it failed to chart or receive any significant praise.
In 1967, Bowie enrolled in Lindsay Kemps dance class. Kemp became a mentor to Bowie and trained him in the performing arts. Bowie found himself heavily inspired by Kemp; in particular the avant-garde performer piqued his interest in the importance of image to the artist. The following year, Kemp choreographed a dance sequence in the BBC play The Pistol Shoot featuring Bowie and Hermione Farthingale. Bowie and Farthingale began dating, living and performing together. The two created the until recently unreleased promotional film Love You Till Tuesday which featured Bowie cycling through his repertoire. They broke up less than a year later when Farthingale moved to Norway; she had a profound effect on Bowie and was referenced in multiple later songs of his. Bowie went on to occasionally star in television commercials, and performed mime as an opening act for Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Bowie had his first hit in 1969 with "Space Oddity". The psychedelic song told the story of an astronaut named Major Tom, tying into the Apollo 11 moon landing. He subsequently founded the Beckenham Arts Lab, a successful folk club, and released the song "Memory of a Free Festival" in its honor. This was followed by Bowies second self-titled album. The album had a heavier folk influence than "Space Oddity" and was a commercial failure, despite some positive reviews. Around this time, Bowie met Angela Barnett, and the two were married in less than a year.
Feeling isolated as a solo artist, Bowie set about forming a new band. The Hype featured Bowie on vocals, Mick Ronson on electric guitar, Tony Visconti on bass, and John Cambridge on drums. Each member created a character that they were to play and an elaborate costume to reflect that. However, after one disastrous concert, it was decided to retire the idea and for Bowie to remain a solo artist, with the other members acting as his backing band. Cambridge left after several heated exchanges with Bowie and was replaced by Mick Woodmansey. Bowies third album The Man Who Sold the World, released in 1970, was a stylistic departure from his usual folk and psychedelia to a heavier rock sound, complete with dark lyrics dealing with themes of mental illness, war, greed, mythology, and science fiction. Bowie subsequently embarked on his first American tour, controversially dressing in womens clothing during performances, interviews, and on the cover of the albums American edition. In America, Bowie met and was heavily influenced by Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.
Angie gave birth to the couples son Duncan Jones in 1971. Shortly after, Bowie released his fourth album Hunky Dory. The album saw a retreat into the lighter, folkier sound of his first two albums but lyrically drove him forward into a kitsch aesthetic that would become the basis of the Glam Rock style. The album initially failed to chart.
In 1972, Bowie began playing a character in his live shows. The character, Ziggy Stardust, defined by his outrageous and androgynous dress, was a "crazy rock star" inspired by Iggy Pop, and intended to be an alien. Ziggy and his band - the Spiders From Mars (Ronson, Woodmansey, and Trevor Bolder) gained a significant cult following in the UK. The resulting album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, was Bowies first album to fully embody the glam rock style. It was a concept album dealing with the character of Ziggy coming to earth in its final days before the apocalypse, and acted as a satire of rock music and its culture. It was Bowies first hit album, peaking at #5 in the UK charts, where it remained for 2 years. The lead single "Starman" in particular was popular in the UK and worldwide. Hunky Dory too rose to popularity and began charting, as did the non-album single “John, I’m Only Dancing”. Ziggy and the Spiders toured America. At this time, Bowie produced and provided backing vocals for Lou Reed’s album Transformer. Bowie wrote a number of songs in America reflecting and commenting on what he observed. They resulted in the 1973 album Aladdin Sane, his first UK #1 album, which spawned the popular single "The Jean Genie". Bowie became unhealthily immersed in the character of Ziggy Stardust. This, along with tensions within the Spiders, lead to him abruptly announcing the end of the Spiders and the Ziggy character in a concert at the Hammermsith Odeon in 1973. The concert was filmed and released as ,Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture.
Bowies back catalog became highly sought after. His first four albums peaked in sales, and the older song "Life On Mars?" became a chart-topping single. In late 1973, Bowie released Pin Ups, an album of covers of older rock and roll songs. Although one of his least acclaimed albums critically, it spawned the popular single "Sorrow".
In 1974, Bowie moved to Los Angeles. Here, he began work on a new album, initially intended to be a musical adaptation of George Orwells 1984. The album, Diamond Dogs, ended up being based more around the idea of a post-apocalyptic society, and incorporated elements of R&B into the glam rock style. The album was a success and spawned the popular singles "Rebel Rebel" and "Diamond Dogs". Bowie embarked on a new tour throughout late 1974; it proved to be his most theatrical and conceptual tour to date, and involved him taking on a new character - Halloween Jack, an inhabitant of Bowies fictional post-apocalyptic world. The tour resulted in Bowie’s first live album David Live. Around this time, Bowie became addicted to cocaine and in turn developed stimulant psychosis.
Bowies interest in R&B continued and his next album, 1975s Young Americans, was purely Soul music, alienating many of his long-term fans. The album proved a commercial success however, and resulted in Bowie’s first US #1 single - "Fame". Shortly after, a reissue of "Space Oddity" became his first UK #1 single. At this time, he also received the honor of being one of the few white artists to perform on the popular African-American music show Soul Train.
In 1976, Bowie officially broke into the world of acting, starting as extraterrestrial Thomas Jerome Newton in the Science Fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth. The film, and Bowies performance therein, were met with mixed reviews and little commercial success, however the film went on to gain a significant cult following. The character of Newton became influential to the development of the next character Bowie would play through his music - the Thin White Duke. The Thin White Duke was intended to be a European living in America who wished to return home, and was often displayed as a cold and somewhat evil character. Bowie himself had become a very aggressive and paranoid man obsessed with the occult, making the line between character and actor hard to define. He overdosed multiple times and became physically frail and withered. At this time, he also engaged in some controversial public behavior - such as refusing to prematurely end a television interview after the station received breaking news on the death of Spanish dictator Franco, and making statements in favor of fascism (which he later retracted). The resulting album of the Thin White Duke phase - Station to Station - is conversely considered one of his all-time best. The album was one of Bowie’s more experimental outings - containing long, unusual, and emotionally cold and anxious songs inspired by Funk music and the German Krautrock scene, complete with lyrics referencing occultism and European romanticism. Shortly after the Station To Station tour, Bowie moved to Switzerland. Here he found his cocaine use decreasing and his sanity returning; he also began painting, being heavily interested by post-modernist art.
In late 1976, Bowie moved to West Germany, living in an apartment with Iggy Pop. While there, Bowie quit cocaine and overcame his psychosis. Here, the two met Brian Eno and began writing and recording. These sessions resulted in two albums. The first was Bowies Low, his most experimental to date, which contained pop songs on its A-side and more experimental songs inspired by Enos forays into Ambient music on its B-side. Low received negative reviews on its release, despite being retrospectively acclaimed, and spawning the popular single "Sound and Vision". The second album was Iggys The Idiot, featuring songs written by Iggy and Bowie and performed by Iggy on vocals and Bowie and his band backing him. The Idiot is considered an early example of Post-Punk. Iggy released his second solo album - Lust for Life shortly after. It contained less creative input from Bowie, although he still played piano on all tracks. Bowies next album - "Heroes", was also released in this year. Like Low, Heroes contained an A-side of art-pop songs an a B-side of more experimental and ambient compositions, however it was more conceptual than the earlier record, hoping to act as a zeitgeist for the culture of the Cold War. The title track, although only peaking at #24 in the UK, proved to be one of Bowies most popular songs. He subsequently embarked on the Isolar II world tour; the first tour in some time where he had not been hindered by his drug problems. It resulted in his second live album - Stage.
n 1979, Bowie released the third and final album in his "Berlin trilogy" - Lodger. The album was heavily inspired by the New Wave scene, and ironically incorporated elements of various "world music" genres in an effort to parody Western racism and imperialism. It contained the popular singles "Boys Keep Swinging" and "DJ". Bowie had his second leading role in a feature film this year in the German Drama film Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo [Just a Gigolo]. The film, and Bowies performance in particular, was widely panned, and eventually pulled from cinemas. Bowie subsequently moved back to the UK. He and Angela filed for divorce after ten years of marriage.
In 1980, Bowie released Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). The album drew on post-punk and New Wave, as well as the then-new New Romantic scene. Scary Monsters produced the chart-topping single "Ashes to Ashes". The song resurrected the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity" and was known for its experimental and boundary-pushing music video.
Bowie spent the next three months starring in the Broadway play The Elephant Man. He played John Merrick, a character based on the historical Joseph Merrick, known for his disfigured appearance. At the same time, Bowie collaborated with Queen on "Under Pressure", his third UK #1. In 1981, he provided the soundtrack for Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo [We Children From Bahnhof Zoo], composed mostly of material from his Berlin albums. He went on to star in a television adaptation of Bertolt Brechts play Baal; he also reinterpreted and performed songs from the play, resulting in an EP of the same name. He then created the theme song for the film Cat People - "Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)", a minor hit for him. Another hit came with a medley of "Peace On Earth" and "Little Drummer Boy" taken from a three-year-old televised performance in collaboration with Bing Crosby.
In 1983, Bowie starred in two more films - The Hunger, where he played John the vampire; and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, where he played POW Jack Celliers. His next album, Lets Dance, saw him move away from his experimental past and towards a more radio-friendly Dance-Pop sound. The title song was another #1 hit, with "China Girl" and "Modern Love" also charting high. The next year, Bowie released another pop album, Tonight. It was the first Bowie album in a long while to receive lukewarm reviews (with Bowie himself going on to say he disliked it); it did however spawn the popular single "Blue Jean". Bowie performed at the Live Aid concert and released the charity single "Dancing In the Street" in collaboration with Mick Jagger. The song was critically panned but reached #1. He also collaborated on the single "This Is Not America" with the Pat Metheny Group, which acted as the theme song for The Falcon and the Snowman, and composed the eponymous theme song to the film Absolute Beginners, in which he also had a minor role.
In 1986, Bowie starred in the childrens fantasy film Labyrinth as Jareth the goblin king, and collaborated with Trevor Jones on the films soundtrack. He returned to a more rock-influenced sound on 1987’s Never Let Me Down. Similar to Tonight, the album was poorly received and has been retrospectively criticized by Bowie. It was commercially successful however, resulting in the popular single "Day-In-Day-Out". The next year, he played Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ.
In 1989, nearly 20 years since his last attempt at forming a band, Bowie formed Tin Machine with himself on lead vocals, Reeves Gabrels on guitar, Tony Sales on bass, and Hunt Sales on drums. Tin Machines self-titled debut album was a Hard Rock album with simple, straightforward lyrics dealing with the kinds of egalitarian, anti-racist political views Bowie had expressed through more satirical and abstract means in Lodger and Lets Dance. Tin Machine sold well but was critically panned; in particular, fans and critics were unwilling to accept Bowie as a member of a band. Bowie himself became frustrated with Tin Machine, and embarked on the solo Sound + Vision tour. At the same time, he starred in the American comedy film The Linguini Incident.
Tin Machine re-converged and recorded their second album - Tin Machine II. The album was much lighter than their previous attempt, but did not fare any better critically. Its release was postponed due to a dispute about its artwork which depicted male genitals. Shortly after the release of the live album Oy Vey Baby, Tin Machine broke up. In 1992, Bowie played a supporting role in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, a big screen prequel to the popular Twin Peaks TV series. He performed at the late Freddie Mercurys tribute concert, and was remembered as one of the stand-out acts of the night. Shortly after the concert, Bowie married Iman, a Somali-born model, and the two moved to New York.
In 1993, Bowie released the solo album Black Tie White Noise. Adopting more of an electronic influence, the album was his first since Lets Dance to receive positive reviews; it also spawned the popular single "Jump They Say ". He continued down the electronic path with The Buddha of Suburbia, the soundtrack to the TV series of the same name.
Nearly 20 years since his last concept album, Bowie began work on a series of releases based around a science fiction/crime story he had written. 1995s 1.Outside was intended to be the first installment, although Bowie cancelled the project shortly after its release. The album was darker and more aggressive than any of his output in some time, sporting a heavy Industrial Rock influence. After embarking on a tour with Nine Inch Nails, Bowie held a 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, joined by Lou Reed and several contemporary Alternative Rock bands. Shortly after this, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1997, Bowie released Earthling, his most electronic album to date, heavily indebted to Drum and Bass. The album was a critical and commercial success, with the single "Im Afraid of Americans" and its remixes receiving heavy rotation. This same year, he created the "Bowie bonds", early examples of celebrity bonds where he invested in asset-backed securities for his pre-1990 back-catalog. He also collaborated with Robert Goodale and Ron Roy to create the internet service provider BowieNet, and starred in the Western film Il mio west [Gunslingers Revenge].
In 1999, Bowie starred in the crime film Everybody Loves Sunshine, and in a TV mini-series adaptation of The Hunger. He created the soundtrack for the video game Omikron and re-recorded parts of it, along with some new material, for the album Hours.... Hours signaled a return to rock for Bowie, and received mixed reviews.
In 2000, he starred in the fantasy film Mr. Rices Secret. This same year, Bowie and Iman had their first and only child together (Bowies second overall), Alexandria Jones. Bowie began work on a new album, Toy, which would see him reworking some of his earliest songs (many of which appeared on his debut album). The album was never released (a bootleg version appeared in 2011), but original songs recorded at the same time were released as Heathen. Heathen was positively received, with many interpreting it as a concept album dealing with the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.
In 2002, Bowie was appointed artistic director of the Meltdown festival, where he also performed. His album Reality was released the next year to positive reviews. The Reality tour sold more tickets than any other in 2004, and resulted in the live album A Reality Tour. Among the venues Bowie performed at on this tour was the New York Tibet House, which he chose to show support for the Tibetan sovereignty movement. After suffering a heart attack, Bowie temporarily retired from the public eye. He returned to the stage in 2005, performing alongside Arcade Fire at the Fashion Rocks event, but made only sporadic concert appearances since. In 2006, Bowie received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and BowieNet was shut down. In 2008, he acted in the short film August.
Bowie made his return to music in 2013 with the chart-topping single "Where Are We Now?", followed by the critically-acclaimed album The Next Day. Around this time, he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, but chose not to make this public. He passed away on 10 January 2016, shortly after the release of his final album, Blackstar. A return to his earlier avant-garde experimentation, Blackstar carried a heavy Jazz influence and featured dark lyrics alluding to his illness and impending death. Visconti confirmed that Blackstar was intended as a "parting gift" to fans. It was critically acclaimed and topped UK and US charts.