It’s been almost 2 years since David Bowie ripped a gigantic hole in our hearts. It would have been his birthday today, and we’ve been blessed with a never-heard-before demo to remember the legend. We’ve also gone back through our archives to dig up 5 facts you might not have known about Mr David Bowie.
1. Watch it!
Everybody knows that David Bowie had different colored eyes, right? Wrong! Contrary to popular belief, his eyes were the same color. His asymmetrical stare was due to his permanently-dilated left pupil, a result of a playground fight with his childhood friend George Underwood. The two remained close though – George went on to design the artwork for Bowie’s seminal 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
2. I will never Bowie down!
Arise, Sir David… or not. Bowie turned down a knighthood in 2003, saying “I seriously don’t know what it’s for.” It’s a decision that instantly made him more rock ’n’ roll than Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney.
3. Commedia dell’arte
“I get offered so many bad movies. And they’re all raging queens or transvestites or Martians.” David Bowie has appeared in many films over the years, most famously Labyrinth, when he played the role of Jareth, the famously tight-trousered Goblin King. However, his acting highlight surely came in 2007, when he ‘appeared’ in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, providing the voice for the Lord Royal Highness.
4. Bowienet
He’s always pushed boundaries – both musical and otherwise. Way back in 1996 Bowie became the first major artist to release a single as a download as he made the track ‘Telling Lies’ available on his website. And then, as if to beat himself at his own game, two years later he launched Bowienet, his very own internet service provider.
5. The song all 80s parents got frisky to
In 1975, Chic founder Nile Rodgers auditioned to play guitar in David Bowie’s band. He didn’t get the part, but went on to produce Bowie’s 1983 album Let’s Dance, which gave the world two of his biggest hits, the title track and ‘Fame’. Bowie later described Rodgers as “the only man who could make me start a song with a chorus.” There’s definitely a compliment in there somewhere.
Check out David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance (Demo)’
