2. DAVID BOWIE
was an English singer,
songwriter and actor.
He was a figure in
popular music for over
five decades. He was
an innovator
particularly due to his
work at the 70’s.
3. Born in 1947 and raised in Brixton,
South London, Bowie developed an
interest in music as a child,
eventually studying art, music and
design before starting a professional
career as a musician.
In 1953, Bowie moved with his
family to Bromley, where, two years
later, he started attending Burnt Ash
Junior School. His voice was
considered “average" by the school
choir. After taking his eleven-plus
exam at the conclusion of his Burnt
Ash Junior education, Bowie went to
Bromley Technical High School.
4. He was introduced to modern
jazz, showing great enthusiasm
for players like Charles Mingus
and John Coltrane. That was
when his mother gave him a
saxophone. In 1961 he started
receiving lessons from a local
musician.
A year later, Bowie received a
serious injury at school when a
friend of his called Underwood
punched him in the left eye
during a fight over a girl. After a
series of operations during a four-
month hospitalisation, his doctors
determined that the damage could
not be fully repaired and Bowie
was left with faulty eye sight.
Despite their altercation,
Underwood and Bowie remained
good friends, and Underwood
went on to create the artwork for
Bowie's early albums.
5. "Space Oddity" became his first top-
five entry on the UK Singles Chart after
its release in July 1969. After a period
of experimentation, he re-emerged in
1972 during the glam rock era. His
albums The Rise and Fall of Ziggy
Stardust and the Spiders from Mars won
him great popularity. In 1975, Bowie's
style changed radically. Then, he made
great success with his number-one
single "Fame" and the album Young
Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the
cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and
released Station to Station. The
following year he released the album
Low (1977), that would come to be
known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes"
(1977) and Lodger (1979) followed. Each
album reached the UK top five and
received lasting critical praise. He
remained musically active until he died
of liver cancer two days after the
release of his final album, Blackstar
(2016).
