10 Years In David Bowie’s Youth For You To Compare

Since his departure early this year, the world has been weeping still to this day, for the death of one of the greatest star in the music industry: David Bowie. As a white, redhead boy living in London, his life was not easy. But even with the odds against him, Bowie managed to keep his head not just above the level of water, but up with the stars above.

As a memoir to the deceased Ziggy Stardust, we present now a compilation of the Bowie we remember: Crazy, full of life and young. Here are ten years of Bowie, from 1965 to 1975. And just like the man himself once said, “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”

1965 – Age 18

On 1965, his adult life was just beginning, and so was his stage name. He changed his name from David Jones to David Bowie. ¿The reason? Well, he wanted to avoid confusion with another singer, from the band “The Monkees”. “Bowie” came after the frontiersman Jim Bowie, inventor of the famous combat knife. Not to mention that “David Jones” is a name too common for someone as extravagant as Bowie.

1966 – Age 19

It was a tough time for Bowie. At age 19, he moved to another unsuccessful band called “The Buzz”, which he used to release a fifth single, “Do Anything you say”. He would later join the Riot Squad.

1967 – Age 20

Starting in his twenties, he released his self-titled debut album, “David Bowie”. The songs were a combination of pop, psychedelia and music hall. Even though the album failed, it was not all dark for Bowie, for in that same year, he received his first letter from a U.S fan. He replied immediately, without “wiating”. Yeah, that’s a word that means “waiting” in English.

1968 – Age 21

After the failure in the reception of his album, he stepped down for a two-year break. He started his own troupe of mimes, called Turquoise, later to be changed to Feathers, with his dancing partner Lindsay Kemp.

“He lived on his emotions, he was a wonderful influence. His day-to-day life was the most theatrical thing I had ever seen, ever. It was everything I thought Bohemia probably was. I joined the circus.” – David Bowie, commenting about Kemp.

1969 – Age 22

Now, this was the year for him. For everyone, to be honest. We know this was the year when mankind landed on the moon for the first time. And the song that covered it? A hit song from the U.K: Space Oddity.

Meanwhile, Bowie was on a mime tour, with a duo called Tyrannosaurus Rex, and appearing in an ice-cream commercial, directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner).

1970- Age 23

And so, we enter the seventies, remembered by the long jeans and an unforgettable album: The Man Who Sold the World, a record where the acoustic guitar of Space Oddity came to an end. It is an album themed with madness: schizophrenia, paranoia, and delusion.

And in his personal life, he was marrying his first wife, Angie Barnett.

1971 – Age 24

After one year of married life, he had his first son. A baby with the name Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones. Bowie said the name came from the greek Word “zoe”, meaning “life”. He then wrote the song Kooks for him, since he had a “kooky name”.

1972 – Age 25

One thing we know and love about Bowie is his display of characters he creates and performs. And none other was as famous as Ziggy Stardust in 1972, for his conceptual album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spider of Mars”, his fifth studio album. This would be his catapult to international stardom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkfjQrlXo1g

1973 – Age 26

The U.S remembers this year for the album Aladdin Sane. Well, all the world, of course. But why the states? The song “Jean Genie” would be considered by many American critics as the best song in Bowie’s musical career.

Also, the 1973 tours had some of the most shocking moments in his career, such as giving oral sex to a guitar.

1974 – Age 27

The album and tour for “Diamond Dogs” made it’s debut when he was only 27. This conceptual album would be inspired by dystopian futures, like in George Orwell’s novel, 1984.
He also showed some of his best dance moves, as he was preparing the beginning of his new persona, The Thin White Duke, for 1976.

1975 – Age 28

And just before we reach the end of his youth, the Thin White Duke would start working on the sessions for the album “Young Americans”, adding what he would call a “Plastic Soul” to the mix. His famous song was actually co-written with John Lennon.