David Bowie was one of the most trendsetting artists of the 20th century. He also alternated between being open about some things in his life, like his love of acting, and being rather elusive about certain things, like his private life.
Check out the following facts about the musical icon.
Bowie Shared a Birthday With Elvis
David Bowie was born on January 8, 1947, twelve years later than Elvis Presley. The coincidence may have influenced Bowie’s interest in music as a boy. David Bowie loved Elvis’s music and said of the legendary singer, “He was a major hero of mine. And I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him meant something.”
David Bowie Changed His Name To Avoid Confusion With Davy Jones
Bowie was born David Robert Jones, a name he changed when he turned 18 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones, the frontman of the Monkees. He picked “Bowie” because of the Bowie knife, although he didn’t pronounce his name like the knife.
Bowie Didn’t Have Heterochromia
Many people think David Bowie had two differently colored eyes, a harmless condition known as heterochromia. However, that’s not true. Bowie got his mesmerizing eyes, which contributed to his on-stage appeal, due to a fistfight with his mate George Underwood. What caused the fight between the two teenagers? Well, it was a girl, of course.
Peter Frampton Was a Childhood Friend of David Bowie
Peter Frampton of Frampton Comes Alive! fame went to school with David Bowie and later recalled jamming with him to Buddy Holly songs. Moreover, Frampton’s father was David Bowie’s art teacher, and the three men became fast friends.
“Space Oddity” Was Released Nine Days Before the Moon Landing
Bowie recorded “Space Oddity” on June 20, 1969. He then released it on July 11, nine days before Apollo 11’s module landed on the moon. While Bowie’s producer, Tony Visconti, thought this coincidence would make the song a gimmick to cash on the unprecedented event, the song was universally beloved. After its reissue in 1973, “Space Oddity” was Bowie's first US top 20 single.
David Bowie’s Half-Brother Inspired Him To Become an Artist
The musical genius that was David Bowie may have emerged as an artist without the existence of his half-brother, Terry Burns. However, Terry was the person who exposed Bowie to West End clubs and jazz and soul records that helped him get “the greatest serviceable education” that he could have had. Unfortunately, Terry Burns suffered from schizophrenia and died by suicide in 1985.
Ziggy Stardust Wasn’t Bowie’s First Alter Ego
Although Ziggy Stardust was Bowie's most famous alter ego, it wasn’t the first time he decided to become someone else. In 1967, Bowie re-invented himself as the Laughing Gnome for the song of the same name that he sang in a Chipmunks-style voice. Fans consider this one of his worst songs, so it’s a good thing the Laughing Gnome didn’t last.
Bowie Was Afraid a Wizard Would Steal His Urine
During the most drug-fueled period of his life, Bowie became the Thin White Duke. He was struggling with addiction and emotional upheaval. He also started believing some strange things, including the fact that “another wizard” could use his urine to bewitch him. He kept his urine in the fridge in a jar to avoid such an unlikely fate.
David Bowie Foretold the Rise of the Internet
In 1999, David Bowie was one of the first people to know that the internet, then mostly referred to as the World Wide Web, was here to stay. At a time when most people were still using dial-up to get online, Bowie saw the enormous potential of the internet, saying, “The potential of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable.”
Bowie Was a Music Streaming Pioneer
Similar to how he embraced the internet and recognized its potential, Bowie was a music streaming pioneer. In 1996, he was the first artist to make a single available only via internet download. The single was “Telling Lies” and took 11 minutes to download over a dial-up connection.
David Bowie Created His Own Social Media Before There Was Social Media
In 1998, David Bowie created his own internet provider called BowieNet. For $19.95 a month, BowieNet users could access the internet starting with Bowie’s landing page. They also received a unique @davidbowie.com email address. More impressively, Bowie used BowieNet as his own social media, participating in message boards and hosting real-time chats.
Bowie Voiced a Character on Spongebob Squarepants in 2007
David Bowie lent his voice to Lord Royal Highness during the “Atlantis SquarePantis” episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. Lord Royal Highness was the emperor of the Atlanteans who preserved the world’s oldest bubble. However, he didn’t sing during the episode.
He Loved To Read
Bowie was such an avid reader that he often devoured one book daily. A 2013 exhibition, “David Bowie Is,” included Bowie’s favorite 100 books curated by the Art Gallery of Ontario. The books ran the gamut from classics to obscure books and showed the artist’s love of reading.
Bowie’s Fans Wanted To Build a Lightning Bolt Sculpture to Honor Him
After David Bowie’s passing in January 2016, his fans wanted to honor him with a giant lightning bolt sculpture lifted from his Aladdin Sane cover art. The sculpture was slated for Bowie’s hometown, Brixton, South London. However, the cost proved prohibitive, especially for crowdfunding, and the sculpture never came to be.
A Fan Bought a Lock of His Hair for $18,750
In June 2016, a lock of Bowie’s hair, cut in 1983 by the wig mistress of Madame Tussauds, went up for auction at Heritage Auctions. Organizers hoped to sell the piece, including a picture of Bowie, for $4,000. However, David Bowie’s lock of hair ended up fetching $18,750, more than four times that amount.
Bowie’s First Recorded Song Ended Up in a Bread Box
David Bowie’s first recorded song was “I Never Dreamed.” He was just 16 when he recorded it in 1963 and was part of a band called The Konrads. The band’s drummer and manager, David Hadfield, found the tape recording in a bread box during the 1990s.
Elton John and David Bowie Were Friends as Teenagers
As teenagers, Elton John, then Reginald Kenneth Dwight, and David Bowie, then David Jones, were great buddies who enjoyed hanging out and talking about music. However, after Bowie called Elton John “rock ‘n’ roll’s token queen” in a Rolling Stone interview during the 1970s, their friendship cooled off.
Bowie Founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Long-Haired Men
Bowie was just 17 years old when he decided to do something about the treatment he and his fellow long-haired Londoners were subjected to on the city’s streets. He founded The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men to unite “those who wear their hair long” and make them “stand up for their curls.”
Elon Musk Launched a Tesla Into Space With “Life on Mars” Playing on the Stereo System
When Elon Musk launched a Tesla Roadster into space in 2018, he made more than one reference to David Bowie’s music. He named the dummy “Starman,” referencing Bowie’s song from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Starman listened to “Life on Mars” during its trek, replacing “Space Oddity,” which was Musk’s first choice.
There Is a Ziggy Stardust Barbie
For the 50th anniversary of “Space Oddity,” in 2019, Mattel released a Barbie doll dressed as Ziggy Stardust, Bowie’s most famous alter ego. The doll was a collector item and sold for $50 in the US.
David Bowie Turned Down a Knighthood
David Bowie didn’t need formal recognition for his incredible career. He refused a knighthood from his home country in 2003. By then, he had already turned down a CBE, saying he “seriously didn’t know what it was for.”
Bowie and Iman Were Characters in a Video Game
Bowie had always been a geek, and when he had the opportunity to become a video-game character, he jumped right in. He played two characters in Omikron, including Boz, a cyber creature that lived in computer networks. His other character was in a virtual band performing in bars around Omikron. His wife, Iman, also appeared in the game as a character players could reincarnate as.
David Bowie Was an Accomplished Painter and Sculptor
Most Bowie fans only know him as a painter from the cover of Outside, which features his self-portrait. However, David Bowie was an accomplished painter and sculptor whose art appeared in various exhibitions. In addition, he was an enthusiastic art collector.
Bowie Loved Little Richard
David Bowie drew great inspiration from Little Richard, the flamboyant rocker he first set eyes on when he was 15. The artist used Little Richard as inspiration when he made Let’s Dance to achieve the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll sound.
David Bowie Loved Boxing
Duncan Jones, Bowie’s son, was the one who shared his dad's love of heavyweight boxing with the world. Jones talked about how much his father enjoyed watching boxing matches, especially if “there was a Brit with a title on the line.”
