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Singer David Bowie is a musical icon that has produced 33 albums and acted in 17 movies.  Since his debut in the music industry in the 1960s, Bowie has sold more than 130 million albums around the world.

This legend’s life began in 1947 in the United Kingdom. At the age of 13, Bowie learned to play the saxophone and developed an interest in music. When Bowie finished high school he decided to focus on his music and joined many bands as a saxophone player.

A few years later, he started singing and became the lead singer for the groups, The King Bees and The Manish Boys. At that time he was using the name Davy Jones which he decided to change in 1966 to David Bowie since he had the same name as the lead singer of The Monkees.

Bowie’s first album was launched in 1967, but it was not a hit and the singer decided to explore other avenues. Between 1966 and 1969, the artist turned to Buddhism and dabbled in other forms of art such as mime. In 1969, Bowie made a comeback to the music scene and signed with Mercury Records. He released the album Man of Words, Man of Music. His single Space Oddity was at the top of the charts in the United Kingdom.  Bowie had made a commercial breakthrough. In 1970, Bowie launched the record The Man Who Sold the World.  Although the record is now considered to have paved the way for heavy metal music, it did not have commercial success. Shortly after this album, Bowie married Angela and had a son. The year after he released an album that had more of a pop sound entitled Hunky Dory.

In 1972, David Bowie caught the attention of fans when he assumed a new identity, which was that of a bisexual androgynous alter ego named Ziggy Stardust. The artist was flamboyantly displaying his bisexuality. He had orange hair and feminine clothing.  Along with his band, Bowie launched The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and it was a turning point in his career. The album was a huge success in the United States and Britain. The same year, Bowie decided to re-do his first album calling it Space Oddity, which was his first hit single. Bowie diversified himself and started his career as a producer during that period. He produced albums for Iggy Pop, The Stooges, Lou Reed, and many others.

Between 1973 and 1974, Bowie released the albums Aladdin Sane, Pin Ups and Diamond Dogs. All three records marked the artist’s move from “glam rock” to “plastic soul”. In 1974, a double album was released entitled David Live, which had Bowie’s best performances on tour.  The 1970s were very prosperous for Bowie. In 1975, he released his plastic soul record Young Americans. It received critical acclaim in Britain and the United States. The single Fame, which was co-written with John Lennon, was one of Bowie’s biggest hits.

Despite the fame, Bowie’s drug addiction caused problems for him in 1976. He changed his persona and used the name Thin White Duke, which reflected his paranoid state of mind at that time. The same year he launched the album Station to Station, which had the hit single Golden Years.  The singer then moved to Los Angeles where he got his first movie role in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). The year after, Bowie’s performance as an extra-terrestrial earned him a best actor award given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Shortly after that, Bowie moved to Berlin, where he met producer Brian Eno who helped him direct many albums that followed.

During the time that Bowie resided in Germany he developed a love for painting and electronic music. In 1977, he launched his first electronic pop album Low, as well as the record Heroes. The record Lodger followed in 1979, and Bowie also got the starring role in the movie Just a Gigolo. A few months later he separated from his wife Angela.  There were rumours that his wife had been unfaithful with many other men including, Mick Jagger, lead singer of the group the Rolling Stones.

David Bowie brought positive changes to his career in the eighties.  In 1980, he released Scary Monsters which had the singles Fashion, It’s No Game and Ashes to Ashes. In 1982, Bowie played in the movie The Hunger opposite Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. Shortly after he collaborated with Queen and recorded the song Under Pressure.

In 1983, Bowie signed with EMI Records and launched the successful album Let’s Dance. The record was one of Bowie’s greatest commercial successes in his career. The singles Let’s Dance and China Girl were very popular and Bowie then did an international tour. The record Tonight came out in 1984, and had the hit song Blue Jean. However, the album did not have the success anticipated, and while it seemed that his career was headed downhill, he still received a Grammy nomination in 1985 for his tour Serious Moonlight. The same year Bowie did a duet with Mick Jagger singing Dancing in the Street. Bowie also focused on his acting career in the 1980s. He played in the movies Into the Night (1985), Absolute Beginners (1986), Labyrinth (1986), opposite Jennifer Connelly, and in the Martin Scorsese movie, The Last Temptation of Christ.

In 1987, Bowie launched the album Never Let Me Down, which got a lot of criticism despite its commercial success. Between 1987 and 1993, Bowie did some compilations and was enjoying the height of his career. In 1988, there was a movie Velvet Goldmine, on the big screen, which told the story of the alleged relationship between David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Bowie formed the group Tin Machine in 1989 with three of his musician friends: Reeves Gabrels, Hunt Sales and his brother, Tony Bowie. The band got mixed reviews and dissolved in 1991 after producing two eponymous albums.

At the beginning of the nineties, David Bowie played in the movies The Linguini Incident and Twin Peak: Fire Walk With Me.  In 1992, Bowie got the attention of the tabloids when he married Somalian model, Iman Abdulmajid,. They had a baby girl together named Zahra. In 1993, Bowie plunged back into his music and produced the album Black Tie White Noise. Two more discs were released in 1995: Outside and The Buddha of Suburdia. He was not able to re-capture the popularity and success that he had in the seventies.  In 1996, he was cast to play Andy Warhol in the movie Basquiat. In 1997, the singer did a more techno sounding album named Earthling, and two years later the album, Hours...

Between 2002 and 2003, Bowie did the albums Heathen and Reality, as well as his last live album: Serious Moonlight: Live. In 2006, the singer decided to step out of the spotlight, but continued performing for special events. At the beginning of 2008, Bowie starred in the movie August opposite Josh Hartnett and Naomi Harris.