David Bowie- Rock's one-man cult of personality
By Frank-John Hadley
No one in the annals of rock
has shown a sharper eye for public
image than has
David Bowie. To a massive applause and sometimes a collective yawn, the
singer's
paraded forth a dizzying array of personae over his long and remarkable
career. With
his uncanny knack for media manipulation and ability to create
provacative music,
this member of rock elite has continued to point mainstream rock in new
directions.
Young David Jones, born in Brixton, London, in 1947, first aspired to
rock stardom
upon hearing his father's Little Richard 45s. Bored with suburban life
and craving
individuality, he was dyeing his hair blonde and wearing make-up by his
mid-teens.
After studying alto sax with jazzman Ronnie Ross, he sang on the local
semi-pro r&b
scene with, among other bands, the Manish Boys and the Lower Third.
Renaming himself
David Bowie after another Davy Jones joined the Monkees, the
mod-turned-hippie had
several singles and an album under his belt by mid-1967. It wasn't
until the single
"Space Oddity" in '69, though, that he started getting noticed.
Determined not to be a one-hit-wonder, Bowie busied himself with
songwriting, always
a strong suit, and worked up an outrageous spaceman image that debuted
at a London
show in early 1970. Bowie's stock rose as a glam rocker with the
release of the next
years Hunky Dory and the single "Changes." In early 1972, Bowie
tok a
decisive step in his quest for popularity by telling Melody
Maker that he was
bisexual. Before long, his futuristic makeover as Ziggy Stardust--red
spiky hair,
body-tight spacesuit, red boots--for a Royal Festival Hall concert
propelled him to
international stardom.
In the summer of 1973, Bowie "retired" Ziggy before emerging the next
year with a
touring theatrical spectacle called "The Year of the Diamond Dogs."
Chameleon-like
Bowie, however, ditched his glam mannerisms in the middle of an
American tour and
introduced the casually dressed, white soul-man persona that became The
Thin White
Duke. Bowie's interest in bringing r&b and soul music to the white rock
mainstream
resulted in smash hits such as Station to Station (Virgin) and
hit singles
like "Fame" (with John Lennon).
A move from Los Angeles back to Europe in 1976 saw Bowie collaborating
with ex-Roxy
Music synth player Brian Eno on three avant-pop music studio recordings
that failed
to register with his legions of followers. Bowie plowed back into
mainstream with
the conventional rock of 1980's Scary Monsters (Virgin).In 1983,
the
worldwide smash single and album Let's dance (Virgin) found the
fabulously
wealthy pop icon comfortable with a clean-cut image that he's
maintained ever since.
Bowie the renaissance man has expanded his creativity into other arts.
He's a
talented painter and his work on music videos is widely acclaimed. And
he's no
stranger to acting, on stage (The Elephant Man) or on the big
screen (The
Man Who Fell to Earth, Labyrinth, The Last Temptation of
Christ).
The past few years, Bowie has been a leading driver on the information
superhighway,
taking an active role in his own website, which inclues
an internet
radio station.
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