64 Fun Facts About David Bowie

Bowie was born with which surname?

He was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, south London, on 8 January 1947, and only adopted the stage name Bowie in September 1965.

Why did the young singer switch from performing as Davy Jones in the mid-1960s?

He took the name from the 19th-century American pioneer James Bowie and the knife he popularised.

Bowie's permanently dilated pupil was the result of what?

His friend George Underwood punched him in the left eye in 1962; Underwood later designed the artwork for Bowie's early albums.

What is the medical name for Bowie's eye condition, a permanently dilated pupil?

Anisocoria means unequal pupil sizes; the 1962 punch paralysed the muscles of his left pupil, leaving it permanently dilated and giving him faulty depth perception.

Which of Bowie's older relatives introduced him to modern jazz, Buddhism, Beat poetry and the occult?

Terry had schizophrenia and lived alternately at home and in psychiatric wards.

Space Oddity was released as a single on 11 July 1969, five days before what event?

The BBC used it as background music during its coverage of the Moon landing.

In which 1983 film did Bowie play a vampire opposite Catherine Deneuve?

In Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983) Bowie played John Blaylock, the rapidly ageing vampire lover of Catherine Deneuve's Miriam; Susan Sarandon co-starred.

Which astronaut's 2013 cover of Space Oddity produced the first music video filmed in space?

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded his Space Oddity cover aboard the International Space Station in May 2013; Bowie's original topped the UK chart on reissue in 1975.

Bowie wrote the Hunky Dory song Kooks for whom?

Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones was born on 30 May 1971 and grew up to direct the film Moon.

Who were the three members of the Spiders from Mars?

Mick Ronson (guitar), Trevor Bolder (bass) and Woody Woodmansey (drums) were Bowie's band from 1972 to 1973; Ronson had already played on The Man Who Sold the World.

Bowie's July 1972 Top of the Pops performance of which song cemented his UK breakthrough?

Starman, performed on Top of the Pops on 6 July 1972 with Bowie's arm draped round Mick Ronson, sent the single to UK number ten and the Ziggy Stardust album up the chart.

Where and when did Bowie abruptly 'retire' Ziggy Stardust on stage?

On 3 July 1973 at London's Hammersmith Odeon, Bowie announced 'the last show that we'll ever do'; D. A. Pennebaker's film of it went on general release in 1983.

Which 1973 album was Bowie's first UK number one?

Aladdin Sane topped the UK chart in May 1973; Bowie called it 'Ziggy goes to America', and it yielded The Jean Genie and Drive-In Saturday.

Which song did Bowie write and produce for Mott the Hoople in 1972?

Bowie gave Mott the Hoople All the Young Dudes and produced their 1972 album of that name; the single reached UK number three. That year he also co-produced Lou Reed's Transformer.

Diamond Dogs grew partly from a plan to set which novel to music?

Bowie wanted to stage Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four but the author's widow refused the rights, so songs like 1984 and Big Brother went into Diamond Dogs (1974).

Fame, Bowie's first US number one, was co-written with which Beatle?

John Lennon co-wrote Fame with Bowie and Carlos Alomar at New York's Electric Lady Studios in January 1975; it topped the Billboard Hot 100 that September.

On which US TV show did Bowie mime Fame and Golden Years in 1975?

Bowie mimed Fame and Golden Years on Soul Train in November 1975, at the height of his Young Americans 'plastic soul' period.

Which persona did Bowie adopt for the 1976 album Station to Station?

The Thin White Duke, a gaunt figure in white shirt and black waistcoat, fronted Station to Station (1976) and its world tour, the peak of Bowie's cocaine years in Los Angeles.

In The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Bowie played an alien named what?

Bowie played Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien seeking water for his dying planet, in Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth, his first major film role.

Which Iggy Pop song, co-written by Bowie, did Bowie re-record for Let's Dance?

China Girl was written by Bowie and Iggy Pop for Pop's 1977 album The Idiot; Bowie's own version reached UK number two in 1983.

Which three albums make up the Berlin Trilogy?

Low and 'Heroes' (both 1977) and Lodger (1979) form the Berlin Trilogy, all made with Brian Eno and co-producer Tony Visconti.

Which Bowie album was recorded entirely at Berlin's Hansa Studios, with Robert Fripp on guitar?

'Heroes' (1977) was the only Berlin Trilogy album made wholly in the city, at Hansa Tonstudio beside the Wall, with Robert Fripp on guitar; Low was mostly recorded in France and Lodger in Switzerland and New York.

Two days after Marc Bolan's TV show in 1977, Bowie recorded a Christmas duet with whom?

Bowie taped Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy with Bing Crosby on 11 September 1977 for Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas; Crosby died five weeks later.

Which composer adapted the Berlin Trilogy albums into three of his symphonies?

Philip Glass based his Symphony No. 1 (1992), No. 4 (1996) and No. 12 (2019) on Low, 'Heroes' and Lodger respectively.

Bowie narrated a 1978 recording of which classical work?

Bowie narrated Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra; RCA released it in 1978, the year of his Isolar II tour.

Bowie recruited regulars from which London club, including Steve Strange, for the Ashes to Ashes video?

Bowie visited the Blitz club in Covent Garden and picked Steve Strange and three other regulars for the 1980 Ashes to Ashes video, giving the New Romantics international exposure.

In 1980-81 Bowie played which role on Broadway, without stage make-up?

Bowie played John Merrick in The Elephant Man, opening in Denver in July 1980 and running on Broadway from September 1980 to January 1981, portraying the deformity through posture alone.

Under Pressure, Bowie's 1981 one-off with Queen, was recorded at which studio?

Queen and Bowie improvised Under Pressure at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, in July 1981, where Queen were recording Hot Space; it topped the UK chart that November.

Which rapper had to settle with Bowie and Queen for sampling Under Pressure uncredited?

Vanilla Ice lifted the Under Pressure bassline for Ice Ice Baby (1990); after a threatened lawsuit he settled and Bowie and Queen were given songwriting credits.

Who co-produced Let's Dance, Bowie's biggest commercial success?

Chic's Nile Rodgers co-produced Let's Dance with Bowie at New York's Power Station in December 1982; its title track topped both the UK and US charts in 1983.

Which then-unknown Texas guitarist played lead on Let's Dance?

Stevie Ray Vaughan, spotted by Bowie at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival, played the blues lead lines on Let's Dance months before his own debut album Texas Flood appeared.

Bowie's Live Aid-era duet with Mick Jagger was a cover of which Martha and the Vandellas song?

Bowie and Jagger recorded Dancing in the Street in one session in June 1985; the video premiered during Live Aid and the single topped the UK chart for four weeks.

What was the name of Bowie's Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986)?

Bowie played Jareth the Goblin King in Jim Henson's Labyrinth and wrote five songs for it; the film grossed only $12.9 million in the US on a $25 million budget.

Which former Monty Python member wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth?

Terry Jones wrote the Labyrinth screenplay, though it was heavily reworked by others; George Lucas was executive producer and Jennifer Connelly played Sarah.

What was the name of the hard rock band Bowie fronted from 1988 to 1992?

Tin Machine's rhythm section, Tony and Hunt Sales, had played on Iggy Pop's Lust for Life; guitarist Reeves Gabrels stayed with Bowie through the 1990s.

At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, who sang Mercury's part opposite Bowie on Under Pressure?

Annie Lennox took Freddie Mercury's part on Under Pressure with Bowie at Wembley on 20 April 1992; later in his set Bowie knelt and recited the Lord's Prayer.

Bowie married supermodel Iman in 1992 in which country?

Bowie and Iman married in a civil ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 April 1992, with a church blessing in Florence that June; flying on to Los Angeles, they landed as the 1992 riots began.

Which industrial band did Bowie choose as his tour partner for the 1995 Outside Tour?

Nine Inch Nails co-headlined the North American leg of the Outside Tour in autumn 1995, the sets overlapping as Bowie's band took over from Trent Reznor's.

Bowie Bonds, the first modern celebrity bonds, were bought in 1997 for $55 million by which company?

Prudential Insurance bought the entire $55 million issue of ten-year Bowie Bonds in 1997; the securities paid 7.9% and were backed by royalties from his pre-1990 catalogue.

In which 1996 film did Bowie play Andy Warhol?

In Julian Schnabel's Basquiat (1996) Bowie played Andy Warhol, wearing Warhol's own wig and jacket, opposite Jeffrey Wright as the painter.

Which inventor did Bowie play in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006)?

Bowie played the inventor Nikola Tesla in The Prestige; Christopher Nolan said Bowie was his only choice and flew to persuade him after he first declined.

Bowie's 2004 touring career ended after he suffered chest pain at a festival in which country?

At the Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel, Germany, on 25 June 2004 Bowie left the stage with chest pain; an emergency angioplasty in Hamburg ended the A Reality Tour and his touring career.

Who collected Bowie's 2014 Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist on his behalf?

Kate Moss accepted the 2014 British Male Solo Artist award for Bowie, wearing one of his Ziggy-era Kansai Yamamoto costumes; The Next Day was his first UK number one since 1993.

Blackstar was released on Bowie's 69th birthday, how many days before his death?

Blackstar came out on 8 January 2016 and Bowie died on 10 January, two days later; producer Tony Visconti called the album 'his parting gift' to fans.

Blackstar was recorded in secret in New York with what kind of musicians?

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin's group had impressed Bowie and Visconti at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village.

Bowie's final public appearance was at the opening night of which musical in December 2015?

Lazarus, which Bowie wrote with Irish playwright Enda Walsh, opened at the New York Theatre Workshop on 7 December 2015; its title song also appears on Blackstar.

With which illness had Bowie been privately diagnosed in mid-2014?

Bowie had been diagnosed with liver cancer about eighteen months before his death, a fact known only to a few; he recorded Blackstar in New York through early 2015 regardless.

Who photographed the lightning-bolt cover of Aladdin Sane?

Brian Duffy photographed the Aladdin Sane cover in early 1973 at his London studio; make-up artist Pierre Laroche painted the red-and-blue lightning bolt across Bowie's face.

Bowie's only competitive Grammy in his lifetime, won in 1985, was in which category?

Jazzin' for Blue Jean, Julien Temple's 21-minute film for the single Blue Jean, won Best Short Form Music Video at the 1985 Grammys; Bowie's 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award was non-competitive.

Which city inaugurated a Rue David Bowie on his birthday in January 2024?

Paris inaugurated Rue David Bowie, near the Gare d'Austerlitz in the 13th arrondissement, on 8 January 2024, which would have been his 77th birthday.

Bowie voiced two characters in which 1999 video game, his only game appearance?

In Quantic Dream's Omikron: The Nomad Soul (1999) Bowie voiced Boz and the singer of the in-game band The Dreamers, and wrote the soundtrack with Reeves Gabrels.

Which 1967 Bowie novelty single flopped, then reached UK number six on its 1973 reissue?

The Laughing Gnome, with its speeded-up gnome vocals, sank in 1967 but reached UK number six when Deram reissued it in 1973 to cash in on Ziggy-mania.

Bowie and Iman's daughter Alexandria 'Lexi' Zahra Jones was born in which year?

Alexandria Zahra Jones was born in New York on 15 August 2000, eight years into the marriage; Bowie said he was 'naming the children the night we met'.

Bowie's 1999 record Hours holds what distinction in internet history?

Hours was the first complete album by a major artist sold as an online download, two weeks before its CD release in October 1999; his 1996 single Telling Lies had pioneered downloadable singles.

Bowie's catalogue-owning company Jones/Tintoretto was named after a painter of which era?

Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti, 1518-1594) was a master of the 16th-century Venetian school; Bowie, a keen art collector, named Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment after him.

Where in London was Bowie's first solo art show, New Afro/Pagan and Work, held in 1995?

The show ran at The Gallery in Cork Street, Mayfair, in April 1995; that year's Outside cover was one of his self-portraits, and he had joined the editorial board of Modern Painters in 1994.

Bowie took part in a 1998 art-world prank built around which invented painter?

Bowie's company 21 Publishing issued William Boyd's fake biography of Nat Tate, and Bowie hosted the launch in Jeff Koons's Manhattan studio on 1 April 1998; the hoax was exposed within a week.

Where did Bowie's will ask for his ashes to be scattered?

Bowie's will asked for cremation and for his ashes to be scattered in Bali in a Buddhist ceremony; there was no funeral, and fans gathered at his Brixton mural and his Lafayette Street apartment.

The V&A's David Bowie Is exhibition drew roughly how many visitors over its 2013-2018 world tour?

It ended at the Brooklyn Museum; the David Bowie Centre opened at the V&A East Storehouse in September 2025.

Who plays Bowie in the 2020 biopic Stardust, which his son Duncan Jones publicly opposed?

Johnny Flynn played Bowie in Stardust (2020), which followed his 1971 US promo trip; the estate refused music rights and Duncan Jones disowned it.

What kind of creature is Heteropoda davidbowie, named in his honour in 2008?

Heteropoda davidbowie is a yellow-haired huntsman spider from Malaysia, named by arachnologist Peter Jäger in 2008; he also has asteroid 342843 Davidbowie.

Which Bowie song did Nirvana cover on MTV Unplugged in 1993?

Nirvana performed The Man Who Sold the World, the title track of Bowie's 1970 album, on MTV Unplugged in New York in November 1993; Bowie praised Kurt Cobain's version.

Which director's Moonage Daydream was the first posthumous Bowie film approved by his estate?

Brett Morgen spent five years assembling Moonage Daydream from the estate's archive; it premiered at Cannes in May 2022, narrated entirely by Bowie's own voice.

Which charity got part of the proceeds from Bowie's 1997 pay-per-view 50th birthday concert?

Part of the pay-per-view proceeds from the 9 January 1997 Madison Square Garden show went to Save the Children; Bowie also backed War Child and Keep a Child Alive.