Born David Jones, he began to play in bands while working as a commercial artist. One of these bands, the Manish Boys, featured a young Jimmy Page on the guitar. The bands that Jones drifted through recorded a few singles, but nothing really came of it. In 1966, Jones changed his name to David Bowie (after the knife) to avoid confusion with another pop musician: Davy Jones of the Monkees. Bowie recorded a few singles and was signed to Deram Records where he released "The World of David Bowie."

In 1968, Bowie formed his own mime troupe called Feathers. In 1969, after Feathers broke up, Bowie started the Beckenham Arts Lab, an experimental project Bowie financed with "Man of Words, Man of Music," recorded for Mercury Records. The release included the Bowie mainstay "Space Oddity" which reached the US charts four years later at number 15.

Bowie began changing his image in 1971. He started work on a theatrical production for his show, and an outrageous character for himself to play: Ziggy Stardust, a rock star from outer space. With the release of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars," Bowie became the star that Ziggy was. He donned orange hair and space age costumes, and produced a show that other performers could only dream of doing.

With glitter rock trying to make its way across the Atlantic, Bowie was one of the only performers to emerge as a success. He began to produce recordings for such artists as Lou Reed ("Walk on the Wild Side") and Iggy and the Stooges, and wrote and produced "All the Young Dudes" for Mott the Hoople.

After the demise of Ziggy, Bowie re-emerged a new man with the recording of "Young Americans." The tracks for this album had a more soulful feel to them. Bowie trashed the extravagant look of Ziggy for blonde hair and Oxford pants. Bowie's first American # 1 came with "Fame." Co-written by John Lennon, "Fame" helped Bowie become a pop icon in America.

Acting was to be Bowie's next call as he took on the title role in Nicholas Roeg's "The Man Who Fell To Earth." Around the same time, Bowie released "Station to Station." This album became one of Bowie's highest charting albums and included the top ten single "Golden Years."

David Bowie helped Iggy Pop revive his career when he produced "The Idiot" and "Lust For Life" and toured with Pop as his pianist. In 1978 Bowie returned to the world stage as he embarked on an enormous world tour. Two years later, Bowie revisited "Space Oddity," updating the story with "Ashes to Ashes."

In 1980, Bowie turned away from recording to portray the title role in "The Elephant Man." His performance was met with critical acclaim. He collaborated with the rock group Queen on "Under Pressure" and "Cat People." When Bowie released "Let's Dance," his first album in three years, it catapulted him back to the top. The album spawned three top ten tracks including the title track, "China Girl" and "Modern Love."

After a string of unsuccessful films, Bowie focused attention on music, releasing "Sound + Vision." This retrospective revived interest in Bowie and his music as well as encouraging a tour. The set list for the tour was inspired in part by fan response to a special phone line set up to request their favorite Bowie tunes.

Bowie formed Tin Machine in 1989 with Reeves Gabriel and Hunt and Tony Sales. Hunt and Tony had worked with Bowie when he produced Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life." The self-titled release from the band featured a heavier, guitar-oriented sound that was welcomed by critics and fans.

In 1992, Bowie married super model Iman. He soon released "Black Tie White Noise," an album Bowie called his wedding present to his wife.

In 1995, Bowie once again shifted gears with the release of "Outside." The hard edged, techno/industrial influenced music spawned the single "The Heart's Filthy Lesson."