David Bowie — Legacy, Awards and Tributes David Bowie, stage name of David Robert Jones, (London, January 8, 1947 – New York, January 10, 2016), was a British singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. Sometimes referred to as the "chameleon of rock" for his ability to constantly reinvent his image, he was an important figure in popular music for five decades. He is considered one of the most innovative and influential popular musicians of all time, especially for his work in the 1970s and 1980s, and is distinguished by his characteristic vocals and the intellectual depth of his work. Bowie is generally considered one of the most influential musicians of all time. His songs and innovative performances brought a new dimension to popular music in the early 1970s, strongly influencing both its immediate forms and its later development. A pioneer of glam rock, according to several critics, Bowie created the genre alongside Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld; London, September 30, 1947 – London, September 16, 1977), was a musician, singer, and songwriter. He was one of the pioneers of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. According to several authors, for example, by incorporating androgynous personas like Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane into the glam rock era of the 1970s, Bowie created an independent teenage class at the time and also aided movements such as gay liberation. In that era, his persona helped create new trends that still interest people today. According to Alexis Petridis of The Guardian, in 1980 Bowie was "the most important and influential artist since the Beatles." His influence was far-reaching due to his constant reinvention, leading him to be nicknamed the "chameleon of rock." Joe Lynch of Billboard argued that Bowie "influenced more musical genres than any other rock star," from glam rock, folk rock, and hard rock, to electronic music, industrial rock, and synth-pop, even hip hop and indie rock. In The New York Times, Jon Pareles said that Bowie "transcended music, art and fashion" and introduced his audience to Philadelphia funk, Japanese fashion, German electronic music and drum and bass. Biographer Thomas Forget said in 2002: "Because he succeeded in so many different musical styles, it is almost impossible to find a popular artist today who has not been influenced by David Bowie." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph stated that Bowie had "one of the supreme careers in popular music, art and culture of the 20th century" and "he was too inventive, too volatile, too strange for anyone but his most devoted fans to keep up with him." Bowie's songs and stage presence earned him the credit for "bringing sophistication to rock," and critics frequently recognized the intellectual depth of his work. BBC arts editor Will Gompert compared Bowie to Pablo Picasso, writing that he was "an innovative, visionary, and restless artist who synthesized complex avant-garde concepts into beautifully coherent works that touched the hearts and minds of millions." The Man Who Sold the World (1970), for example, influenced elements of goth rock, darkwave, and science fiction in bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Gary Numan, John Foxx, and Nine Inch Nails. Bowie released albums like Diamond Dogs (1974), whose heavy sound and urban chaos themes anticipated the punk revolution of bands like The Germs and Sex Pistols. By inspiring the early artists of the movement, Bowie became "one of the most seminal influences on punk," in the words of biographer Michael Campbell. In 1976, the acclaimed Station to Station exerted enormous influence on post-punk, particularly on Magazine. Magazine is a British rock band, formed in Manchester, by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. They were one of the pioneers of post-punk. Their first album, Real Life, was released to critical acclaim in early 1978. The following year, "Heroes" (1977) from the 'Berlin Trilogy' served as the basis for John Lennon and Yoko Ono to produce their last album together, Double Fantasy (1980). Awards received by David Bowie Bowie's commercial success in 1969 with "Space Oddity" earned him a Special Ivor Novello Award for Originality. The Ivor Novello Awards are named in honor of the Welsh artist Ivor Novello. The Ivor Awards are presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy, formerly called the British Academy of Composers, Writers and Authors, since 1955. The Ivors are recognized worldwide as the leading platform for recognizing and rewarding the talents of composers and lyricists from Great Britain and Ireland. The Ivors remain the only awards ceremony on the music calendar that is not influenced by publishers and record labels, but judged and presented by the songwriting community. Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, playwright, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British performers of the first half of the 20th century. For his performance in The Man Who Fell to Earth, he won the Saturn Award for Best Actor. The Saturn Award for Best Actor is presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to honor performances in the genre in film, television and video. The Saturn Awards were conceived by historian Dr. Donald A. Reed, who believed that science fiction, fantasy, and horror films never received the recognition they deserved. In the following decades, Bowie received six Grammy Awards and four Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist twice; the Outstanding Contribution to Music award in 1996; and the Brits Icon award for his "lasting impact on British culture," awarded posthumously in 2016. In 1999, Bowie was appointed Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government and received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. He refused the royal honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000 and rejected a knighthood in 2003. Bowie later stated: "I would never intend to accept something like that. I really don't know what it's for. That's not what I've worked for my life." During his lifetime, Bowie sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musical artists. In the UK, he received nine platinum, eleven gold, and eight silver records, and in the US, five platinum and nine gold records. Since 2015, Parlophone has remastered Bowie's catalog through the "Era" box set series, beginning with Five Years (1969–1973). Bowie was announced as the best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century in 2022. Rolling Stone's 2020 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list includes *The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars* at number 40, *Station to Station* at number 52, *Hunky Dory* at number 88, *Low* at number 206, and *Scary Monsters* at number 443. In the same magazine's 2021 revision of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, Bowie's songs include "Heroes" at number 23 and "Life on Mars?" "Space Oddity" at number 105, "Changes" at number 189, "Young Americans" at number 200, "Station to Station" at number 400, and "Under Pressure" at number 429. Four of his songs are included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. In the BBC's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie came in 29th place. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 39th on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013. A 2013 BBC History poll named Bowie the best-dressed Briton in history. Days after Bowie's death, Rolling Stone contributor Rob Sheffield proclaimed him "the greatest rock star of all time." The magazine also listed him as the 39th greatest songwriter of all time. In 2022, Sky Arts ranked him as Britain's most influential artist of the last 50 years. He came in 32nd on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. Tributes In 2008, the Heteropoda davidbowie spider was named in honor of Bowie. In 2011, his image was chosen by popular vote for the £10 million note of the local currency of his birthplace, the Brixton Pound. In 2015, a main-belt asteroid was named 342843 Davidbowie. In 2016, Belgian amateur astronomers from the MIRA Public Observatory created a "Bowie asterism" of seven stars that were in the vicinity of Mars at the time of Bowie's death; the "constellation" forms the lightning bolt on Bowie's face on the cover of his album Aladdin Sane. In March 2017, Bowie appeared on a series of UK postage stamps. In 2018, a statue of Bowie was unveiled in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, the town where he launched Ziggy Stardust. The statue depicts an image of Bowie in 2002, accompanied by various characters and visuals from his career, with Ziggy Stardust in front. Rue David Bowie in Paris is located near the Gare d'Austerlitz. Alex