Biografía

Sexual androgyny

His distinctive and idiosyncratic singing style, wide ranging vocals and rich baritone

One permanently dilated pupil which gave him the appearance of having two different colored eyes (a condition known as Heterochromia iridum)

Known for having a different theme on almost every album

Lyrics with science fiction or fantasy themes

His eyes were both blue. However, one pupil was permanently dilated due to an incident when he was punched by a school friend, George Underwood, when he was 15, and as a result, one eye looked darker than the other. Underwood became a successful artist and remained a friend of Bowie's for the rest of his life; in fact, Underwood designed artwork for him.

Took the pseudonym "David Bowie" to keep himself from being confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees.

Declined the royal honor of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000, and turned down a knighthood in 2003.

Was one of the first artists to pay tribute to Freddie Mercury following his death in 1991 and performed at The Freddie Mercury Tribute: Concert for AIDS Awareness (1992). Bowie was also a friend of his glam-rock contemporary Marc Bolan, whose funeral he attended in 1977. Elton John revealed in an interview with T"he Evening Standard" following Bowie's death that he had been close to Bowie during their early careers, they had spent time together at music venues and gay clubs, but they had also fallen out back in the 1970s due to comments Bowie made about John to "Rolling Stone" magazine. He said they were never close again after that. Nevertheless, John performed a version of "Space Oddity" in a concert as a tribute to Bowie following his death.

Early in his career he was once snubbed by The Beatles' Apple record label.

[on whether he thinks he is a good actor] I took you in, didn't I? I rest my make-up case.

[during an interview about his new album in 1999] I have nothing to say about the new album. Can I go now?

Talking about art is like dancing about architecture.

I rate Morrissey as one of the best lyricists in Britain. For me, he's up there with Bryan Ferry.

[on receiving an honorary degree from Boston's Berklee College of Music] Any list of advice I have to offer to a musician always ends with, "If it itches, go and see a doctor.".