David Bowie seen here in his ‘Serious Moonlight’ phase. David Robert Jones was born in Brixton, London in 1947. Aged 13 he picked up a saxophone and went on to play in The Kon-Rads, The King Bees, the Mannish Boys, and The Lower Third. That taste of the West End show-business life saw him become David Bowie in 1966. It took him three years to make any impact but in 1969 he broke through with ‘Space Oddity’. It was his link up with guitarist Mick Ronson that saw him climb up into the top rank. ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ was quickly followed by ‘Hunky Dory’ and ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’. They were the foundation of what was to become Glam rock and the albums shaped music by opening the doors to both heavy metal and punk rock. Bowie was a natural experimenter and had a chameleon quality that saw him reinvent himself and his music repeatedly throughout his career, both in music and in film. His unique vocal style was strongly influenced by his love of the work of musical theatre actor Anthony Newly. David Bowie stands as a colossus in the pantheon of great musical heroes.