David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music industry and is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft having a significant impact on popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, and released eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone placed him among its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and following his death in 2016, Bowie was dubbed "The Greatest Rock Star Ever" by the magazine.
Trevor Alfred Charles Jones is a South African composer of film and television scores. Having spent much of his career in the United Kingdom, Jones has worked on numerous well-known and acclaimed films including Excalibur, Runaway Train, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Mississippi Burning, The Last of the Mohicans, and In the Name of the Father; collaborating with filmmakers like John Boorman, Andrei Konchalovsky, Jim Henson, and Michael Mann. Although not especially well known outside the film world, he has composed for numerous films and his music has been critically acclaimed for both its depth and emotion, and he has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and three BAFTA Awards for Best Film Music.
Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, with George Lucas as executive producer, based upon conceptual designs by Brian Froud. It revolves around 16-year-old Sarah's quest to reach the center of an enormous otherworldly maze to rescue her infant brother Toby, whom Sarah wished away to Jareth the Goblin King. Most of the film's significant characters, apart from Bowie and Connelly, are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
"The Jean Genie" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released in November 1972 as the lead single to his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars − comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. According to Bowie, it was "a smorgasbord of imagined Americana", with a protagonist inspired by Iggy Pop, and the title being an allusion to author Jean Genet. One of Bowie's most famous tracks, it was promoted with a film clip featuring Andy Warhol associate Cyrinda Foxe and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Young Americans is the ninth studio album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 7 March 1975 by RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul and R&B. Initial recording sessions took place at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia with producer Tony Visconti and a variety of musicians, including guitarist Carlos Alomar, who would become one of Bowie's most frequent collaborators, and singer Luther Vandross. Later sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios and the Record Plant in New York City, including contributions from former Beatle John Lennon. Bowie would label the album's sound "plastic soul".
Low is the 11th studio album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 14 January 1977 by RCA Records. Recorded following Bowie's move to West Berlin after a period of drug addiction and personal instability, Low was the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti later termed the "Berlin Trilogy", although it was recorded primarily in France at the Château d'Hérouville.
"Golden Years" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released in November 1975 as the lead single of his tenth studio album Station to Station (1976). Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, it was recorded in September 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. It was the first track completed during the sessions, a period when Bowie's cocaine addiction was at its peak. At one stage it was slated to be the album's title track. Musically, "Golden Years" is a funk and disco song that is more reminiscent of the music on his previous album Young Americans than the rest of its parent album. The song was a commercial success, peaking at No. 8 in the UK and No. 10 in the US. The song was played sporadically throughout Bowie's 1976 Isolar Tour but regularly on the Serious Moonlight, Sound+Vision and Mini Tours.
"Fashion" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on his 1980 album Scary Monsters . It was released as the second single from the album and was accompanied, like its predecessor "Ashes to Ashes", by a highly regarded music video.
"Changes" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 and as a single on 7 January 1972. Despite missing the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, "Changes" became one of Bowie's best-known songs. The lyrics are often seen as a manifesto for his chameleonic personality, the frequent change of the world today, and frequent reinventions of his musical style throughout the 1970s. This single has been cited as David Bowie's official US debut. "Changes" was the last song Bowie performed live on stage before his retirement from live performances at the end of 2006.
"The Prettiest Star" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in March 1970.
"Cat People " is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released as the title track of the 1982 film Cat People. Recorded in July 1981, the song was written by Bowie with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. The 1981 recording has been described as one of "the finest of Bowie's recordings of the 1980s". A re-recorded version of the song, created a year and a half later, appears on the album Let's Dance (1983).
"Loving the Alien" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. It was the opening track to his sixteenth studio album Tonight. One of two tracks on the album written solely by Bowie, an edited version of the song was released as a single in May 1985, nine months after the release of lead single "Blue Jean" and eight months after the release of the album. "Loving the Alien" peaked at No. 19 in the UK Singles Chart. The song explored Bowie's "intense dislike" of organized religion. "Loving the Alien" inspired the title of Christopher Sandford's 1997 biography of Bowie and the 2018 Bowie box set release, Loving The Alien (1983-1988).
"Underground" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie for the soundtrack of the 1986 film Labyrinth. It reached No. 21 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Magic Dance" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie for the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth. It was released as a single in limited markets worldwide in January 1987. Upon Bowie's death in 2016, the single version of "Magic Dance" reached #63 on the iTunes chart in the UK.
"Time" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. Written in New Orleans in November 1972 during the American leg of the Ziggy Stardust Tour, it was recorded in London in January 1973 and released as the opening track on side two of the album Aladdin Sane that April. An edited version of the song supplanted the release of the single "Drive-In Saturday" in the United States, Canada and Japan. It was also released in France and South Africa, while early Spanish copies of David Live included a free copy of the single.
"Look Back in Anger" is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno for the album Lodger (1979). It concerns "a tatty 'Angel of Death'", and features a guitar solo by Carlos Alomar.
"As The World Falls Down" is a song written by David Bowie for the soundtrack of the 1986 film Labyrinth.
Santa Monica '72 is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust Tour. Taken from KMET FM's radio broadcast, it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years; according to author David Buckley, possessing a copy was the test of a "proper Bowie fan". The recording was issued semi-legally/officially and without Bowie's approval by the Golden Years label in 1994, with Griffin Music handling the American release in 1995.
Bowie – The Video Collection is a video album by David Bowie, released in 1993. It included most official music videos made by Bowie between 1972 and 1990.
Jareth the Goblin King is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth. Portrayed by David Bowie, Jareth is the powerful and enigmatic king of the goblins to whom protagonist Sarah Williams wishes away her baby brother Toby. Jareth gives Sarah 13 hours to retrieve the baby from his castle at the centre of an enormous labyrinth, during which time he sets obstacles in her path and tries to entice her away from her quest.
