David Bowie 1947-2016

Legendary British music icon, painter and actor

Jan 8, 1947: David Jones born in Brixton, London, UK

1960: Learns saxophone. Begins singing with his first band at age 15

Mid-60s: Changes name to Bowie

Jul 1969: Space Oddity becomes British top five hit

Alter egos: Live show The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – with Bowie wearing flamboyant costumes and bright orange hair – catapults him
to stardom in 1972. Bowie becomes Aladdin Sane with his sixth album (1973), then The Thin White Duke in Station to Station (1976)

Acting career: Plays an alien in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), lead role in Just a Gigolo (1978), The Elephant Man on Broadway (1980s), and Pontius Pilate in Scorsese’s The
Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Recent years: Bowie keeps a low profile after undergoing heart surgery in 2004. His last live performance is in New York in 2006. He reemerges in 2013 with The Next Day. Album
generates a social media firestorm

Jan 8, 2016: He releases Blackstar on his 69th birthday

Jan 10: David Bowie dies at the age of 69 from cancer

Picture: Associated Press