View source for David Bowie

{{short description|English musician, actor, record producer, and arranger}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix   = [[wikipedia:Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|OAL]]
| image              = David-Bowie Chicago 2002-08-08 photoby Adam-Bielawski-cropped.jpg
<!-- NOTE: Do not replace David-Bowie Chicago 2002-08-08 photoby Adam-Bielawski-cropped.jpg unless it is with a photo under a public domain or free license (meaning NOT fair use). Any fair use photos (i.e. 'promotional photos') violate the Fair Use Policy and will be deleted. See [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Fair|Wikipedia:Fair]] use criteria -->| alt                = Bowie smiling
| caption            = Bowie in [[wikipedia:Tinley Park, Illinois|Tinley Park, Illinois]], during the [[wikipedia:Heathen Tour|Heathen Tour]], 2002
| birth_name         = David Robert Jones
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1947|1|8}}
| birth_place        = [[wikipedia:Brixton|Brixton]], [[wikipedia:London|London]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2016|1|10|1947|1|8}}
| death_place        = [[wikipedia:New York City|New York City]], U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|actor}}<!--Please do not add to this list without first discussing your proposal on the talk page. -->
| years_active       = 1962–2016
| spouse             = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|[[wikipedia:Angie Bowie|Angie Barnett]]|19 March 1970|8 February 1980|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[wikipedia:Iman (model)|Iman]]|24 April 1992}}}}
| children           = 2, including [[wikipedia:Duncan Jones|Duncan Jones]]<!-- do not name the other child, who is not notable and hence not reported in the infobox -->
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist| embed= yes
| background          = solo_singer
| instrument          = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|keyboards|saxophone|harmonica}}<!-- If you think an instrument should be listed or removed, a discussion to reach consensus is needed first -->
| genre               = {{hlist|[[wikipedia:Art rock|Art rock]]|[[wikipedia:glam rock|glam rock]]|[[wikipedia:Pop music|pop]]|[[wikipedia:Electronic music|electronic]]|[[wikipedia:Experimental music|experimental]]}}
| associated_acts     = <!--Please first check the criteria for associated acts at Template:Infobox musical artist#associated_acts before adding any artists to this field-->{{hlist|[[wikipedia:Tin Machine|Tin Machine]]|[[wikipedia:The Hype (band)|The Hype]]|[[wikipedia:The Riot Squad|The Riot Squad]]|{{nowrap|[[wikipedia:Arnold Corns|Arnold Corns]]}}|[[wikipedia:Tony Visconti|Tony Visconti]]|[[wikipedia:Carlos Alomar|Carlos Alomar]]|[[wikipedia:Iggy Pop|Iggy Pop]]|[[wikipedia:Brian Eno|Brian Eno]]|[[wikipedia:Mick Ronson|Mick Ronson]]}}
| label               = {{hlist|ISO|[[wikipedia:RCA Records|RCA]]|[[wikipedia:Virgin Records|Virgin]]|[[wikipedia:EMI Records|EMI]]|[[wikipedia:Columbia Records|Columbia]]|[[wikipedia:Deram Records|Deram]]|[[wikipedia:Mercury Records|Mercury]]|[[wikipedia:Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]]|[[wikipedia:Pye Records|Pye]]|[[wikipedia:Vocalion Records|Vocalion]]|[[wikipedia:Parlophone|Parlophone]]|[[wikipedia:Rykodisc|Ryko]]}}
| website             = {{URL|https://www.davidbowie.com/}}
}}
}}
'''David Robert Jones''' (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally as '''David Bowie''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|oʊ|i}} {{respell|BOH|ee|}}),<ref name="saybowe">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2007/01/how_to_say_bowie.shtml|title=How to say: Bowie|accessdate=16 September 2010|publisher=BBC|date=8 January 2008 }}</ref> was an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music industry and is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft having a significant impact on [[wikipedia:popular music|popular music]]. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the [[wikipedia:List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music artists of all time]]. In the UK, he was awarded ten [[wikipedia:BPI certification|platinum]] album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, and released [[wikipedia:List of artists by number of UK Albums Chart number ones|eleven number-one albums]]. In the US, he received five [[wikipedia:RIAA certification|platinum]] and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the [[wikipedia:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1996. ''[[wikipedia:Rolling Stone|Rolling Stone]]'' placed him among its list of the [[wikipedia:Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time|100 Greatest Artists of All Time]] and following his death in 2016, Bowie was dubbed "The Greatest Rock Star Ever" by the magazine.<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/thanks-starman-why-david-bowie-was-the-greatest-rock-star-ever-20160111|title=Why David Bowie Was the Greatest Rock Star Ever|work=Rolling Stone|access-date=13 February 2018}}</ref>

== Religion ==

Over the years, Bowie made numerous references to religions and to his evolving spirituality. Beginning in 1967, he became interested in [[wikipedia:Buddhism|Buddhism]] and considered becoming a Buddhist monk.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thurston Moore Reflects on David Bowie |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/62878-thurston-moore-reflects-on-david-bowie/ |accessdate=24 September 2019 |publisher=Pitchfork |date=12 January 2016}}</ref> After a few months' study at Tibet House in London, he was told by a [[wikipedia:Lama|Lama]], "You don't want to be Buddhist.{{nbsp}}... You should follow music."<ref name="newsday.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/stardust-memories-without-tibet-house-david-bowie-never-may-have-gotten-ziggy-with-it-now-the-pop-star-returns-the-favor-by-performing-at-the-annual-benefit-concert-1.396658|title=Stardust Memories – Without Tibet House, David Bowie never may have gotten Ziggy with it. Now the pop star returns the favor&nbsp;...|work=[[wikipedia:Newsday|Newsday]]|accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref> By 1975, Bowie admitted, "I felt totally, absolutely alone. And I probably was alone because I pretty much had abandoned God."<ref name=Arena1993/> In his will, Bowie stipulated that he be [[wikipedia:Cremation|cremated]] and his ashes scattered in [[wikipedia:Bali|Bali]] "in accordance with the Buddhist rituals".<ref name="lifetimeinterest">{{cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |last2=McNulty |first2=Bernadette |title=David Bowie's lifetime interest in Buddhism to culminate in Bali scattering of his ashes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/12131199/Bowie-wanted-ashes-scattered-in-Bali.html |accessdate=24 September 2019 |publisher=The Telegraph |date=30 January 2016}}</ref>

After Bowie married Iman in a private ceremony in 1992, he said they knew that their "real marriage, sanctified by God, had to happen in a church in Florence".<ref name=PJ>{{cite web |last=Johnson|first=Bridget|url=https://pjmedia.com/faith/2016/1/14/why-david-bowie-knelt-and-said-the-lords-prayer-at-wembley-stadium/|title=Why David Bowie Knelt and Said the Lord's Prayer at Wembley Stadium|work=[[wikipedia:PJ Media|PJ Media]]|date=13 January 2016|accessdate=18 January 2016}}</ref> Earlier that year, he knelt on stage at [[wikipedia:The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert|The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert]] and recited the [[wikipedia:Lord's Prayer|Lord's Prayer]] before a television audience.<ref name="LA Times Mercury"/><!-- Per source: "with the potential to reach 1 billion viewers". -->{{efn|Asked why he knelt and prayed, Bowie said he had a friend who was dying of AIDS. "He was just dropping into a coma that day. And just before I went on stage something just told me to say the Lord's Prayer. The great irony is that he died two days after the show".<ref name=Arena1993/>}} In 1993, Bowie said he had an "undying" belief in the "unquestionable" existence of God.<ref name=Arena1993/> In a separate 1993 interview, while describing the genesis of the music for his album ''[[wikipedia:Black Tie White Noise|Black Tie White Noise]]'', he said " … it was important for me to find something [musically] that also had no sort of representation of institutionalized and organized religion, of which I'm not a believer, I must make that clear."<ref>[[wikipedia:Simon Bates|Simon Bates]] radio interviews, [[wikipedia:BBC Radio 1|BBC Radio 1]], 29–31 March 1993</ref> Interviewed in 2005, Bowie said whether God exists "is not a question that can be answered.{{nbsp}}... I'm not quite an atheist and it worries me. There's that little bit that holds on: 'Well, I'm ''almost'' an atheist. Give me a couple of months.{{nbsp}}... I've nearly got it right.{{'"}}<ref name="DeCurtis2005">{{cite book|last=DeCurtis|first=Anthony|title=In Other Words: Artists Talk About Life And Work|url=https://archive.org/details/inotherwordsarti0000decu|url-access=registration|accessdate=14 May 2012|date=5 May 2005|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-634-06655-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/inotherwordsarti0000decu/page/262 262]–263}}</ref>

"Questioning [his] spiritual life [was] always&nbsp;... germane" to Bowie's songwriting.<ref name="DeCurtis2005"/> The song "[[wikipedia:Station to Station (song)|Station to Station]]" is "very much concerned with the [[wikipedia:Stations of the Cross|Stations of the Cross]]"; the song also specifically references [[wikipedia:Christian Kabbalah|Kabbalah]]. Bowie called the album "extremely dark{{nbsp}}... the nearest album to a [[wikipedia:Magick (Thelema)|magick]] treatise that I've written".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cavanagh|first=David|title=ChangesFiftyBowie|journal=[[wikipedia:Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=February 1997|pages=52–59}}</ref><!-- Cites previous 2 sentences. -->{{efn|He later said he was influenced by his cocaine addiction and the "psychological terror" from making ''The Man Who Fell To Earth'', marking "the first time I'd really seriously thought about Christ and God&nbsp;... I very nearly got suckered into that narrow [view of] finding the Cross as the salvation of mankind".<ref>{{cite book|last=Egan|first=Sean|title=Bowie on Bowie: Interviews and Encounters|publisher=Souvenir Press Ltd|year=2015|isbn=978-1569769775|page=116}}</ref> }} ''[[wikipedia:Earthling (album)|Earthling]]'' showed "the abiding need in me to vacillate between [[wikipedia:atheism|atheism]] or a kind of [[wikipedia:gnosticism|gnosticism]]{{nbsp}}... What I need is to find a balance, spiritually, with the way I live and my demise."<ref name=Q97X>{{Citation | last=Cavanagh | first=David | title=ChangesFiftyBowie | journal=[[wikipedia:Q (magazine)|Q magazine]] |date=February 1997 | pages=52–59}}</ref> Released shortly before his death, "[[wikipedia:Lazarus (David Bowie song)|Lazarus]]"—from his final album, ''[[wikipedia:Blackstar (album)|Blackstar]]''—began with the words, "Look up here, I'm in Heaven" while the rest of the album deals with other matters of mysticism and mortality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clement|first=Olivia|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/look-up-here-im-in-heaven-poignant-lyrics-to-bowies-lazarus-signal-his-farewell-378793|title='Look Up Here, I'm in Heaven' – Poignant Lyrics to Bowie's 'Lazarus' Signal His Farewell|website=[[wikipedia:Playbill|Playbill]]|date=11 January 2016|accessdate=18 January 2016}}</ref>

== Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi ==

Following the passing away of Davide Bowie on January 10th 2016, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi wrote a tribute which was published on The Tablet on Jan 13 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/2947/david-bowie-how-the-man-who-sold-the-world-never-stopped-searching-for-god|title=David Bowie: how the man who sold the world never stopped searching for God}}</ref>.

=== Station to Station ===
'''''Station to Station''''' is the 10th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 by [[w:RCA Records|RCA Records]]. In an album that reflected his darkest years Bowie, who five years previously in one of his lyrics had entrusted salvation to aliens, dedicated himself to the Stations of the Cross. He prayed, in the depths of his addictions and lacerating questions: “Lord, I kneel and offer you my word on a wing / And I’m trying hard to fit among your scheme of things.”

David Bowie wore for many years a small silver crucifix.

=== Loving the Alien ===
Bowie sought to understand the meaning of prayer in '''''Loving the Alien''''', a track from the album [[w:Tonight_(David_Bowie_album)|Tonight]], released in 1984. He asks if our invocations to God hid truth within them, if religion was not believing – once again – only in an alien: “And your prayers they break the sky in two / You pray ’til the break of dawn.”

=== Bus Stop ===
The references in Bowie’s art and music to spirituality, often in anguish and torment, are more than can be counted, and were never excluded from his life. “I’m a young man at odds / With the bible / But I don’t pretend faith never works / When we’re down on our knees / Prayin’ at the bus stop,” he wrote in '''''Bus Stop''''', one of the tracks on the album [[w:Tin_Machine_(album)|Tin Machine]] released in 1989.

=== I would be your slave ===
The arrival of Jesus on earth left Bowie with a mix of hope and incredulity. Yet he never abandoned that part of his soul, he never ceased asking for a sign from God: “Open up your heart to me / Show me who you are / And I would be your slave … Give me peace of mind at last / Show me all you are / Open up your heart to me” ('''''I Would Be Your Slave''''' from the album [[w:Heathen_(David_Bowie_album)|Heathen]] released in 2002).