David Bowie obituary
Level 2 l Intermediate
1 Quick quiz
Do the quiz. Then, scan the article to check your answers.
1. David Bowie was ... 3. Put the following David Bowie albums in order of
their release (one per decade).
a. & a British singer, songwriter and actor.
" Blackstar
b. & a British painter and actor.
" David Bowie
c. & an American musician and artist.
" Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
2. What do these people have in common?
" Young Americans
" Ziggy Stardust
" Black Tie White Noise
" the Thin White Duke
Key words
2
Match the key words with the definitions below. Then, find them in the article to read them in context. The
paragraph numbers are given to help you.
ambition benefit breakthrough broody chart fundraising
gifts go solo heyday persona single trailblazer tribute triumph
1. someone who is the first to do something or to discover something _________________________ (para 2)
2. the feeling that you want very much to become successful, rich and famous _________________________
(para 4)
3. start to do something alone rather than with others _________________________ (para 4)
4. a time when you begin to be successful at something _________________________ (para 5)
5. thinking and worrying about something a lot _________________________ (para 6)
6. natural ability to do some things well _________________________ (para 6)
7. a musical record with only one song or piece of music on each side _________________________ (para 8)
8. a list showing the music that people have bought the most copies of in the previous week
_________________________ (para 10)
9. a role or character adopted by a performer _________________________ (para 11)
10. a great success _________________________ (para 12)
11. the period of time when a person, idea or object is most successful or popular _________________________
(para 15)
12. the activity of trying to persuade people or organizations to give money for a specific purpose, especially for a
charity _________________________ (para 16)
13. something you do to show respect for someone _________________________ (para 17)
14. an event organized to make money for people or a charity _________________________ (para 20)
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / David Bowie obituary / Intermediate
"
OCOPIABLE
FROM WEBSITE
PHOT
"
CAN BE DOWNLOADED
 David Bowie obituary
Level 2 l Intermediate
planet Earth. The hit single Starman brought
David Bowie obituary
instant success for the album.
Adam Sweeting
9 Everything Bowie touched turned to gold. He had
11 January, 2016
his first UK number 1 album with Aladdin Sane
1 Until the end, David Bowie, who has died of
(1973), which included the hit singles The Jean
cancer, was still full of surprises. His latest album,
Genie and Drive-in Saturday. But Bowie was
Blackstar, appeared on his 69th birthday on 8
already planning his next career moves.
January 2016 and proved that he hadn t lost his
10 His increasing interest in funk and soul music
gift for making dramatic statements as well as
could be heard on the album Young Americans
challenging, disturbing music.
(1975), which gave him a US chart-topper with
2 Throughout the 1970s, Bowie was a trailblazer
Fame (with John Lennon as a guest vocalist).
of musical trends and pop fashion. He became
11 With the album Station to Station (1976), Bowie
a singer-songwriter, a pioneer of glam-rock, then
introduced a new persona, the Thin White Duke.
got into what he called  plastic soul , before
This persona was the same as his role as a sad
moving to Berlin to create innovative electronic
space traveller in Nicolas Roeg s film The Man
music. His ability to mix brilliant changes of sound
Who Fell to Earth.
and image is unique in pop history.
12 Bowie s relationship with his wife had been
3 Bowie was born David Robert Jones in south
suffering under the pressures of success and
London. In 1953, the family moved to Kent,
the couple divorced in 1980. This was a year of
where David showed talent for singing and
further creative triumph, bringing a fine album,
playing the recorder. Later, he studied art, music
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and its
and design.
chart-topping single, Ashes to Ashes, followed by
4 At 15, David formed his first band, the Kon-rads. a period playing the title role in The Elephant Man
on the Broadway stage.
It was clear that David s talents and ambition
meant that he should go solo. David took the
13 He achieved a number 1 single with his 1981
name Bowie to avoid confusion with Davy Jones
partnership with Queen, Under Pressure, and
of the Monkees.
became increasingly involved with different
media. He appeared in the German movie
5 Bowie s first album, released in June 1967, was
Christiane F (1981) and wrote music for the
titled simply David Bowie. In July 1969, Bowie
soundtrack. He had another chart hit with Cat
released Space Oddity, the song that would give
People (Putting Out Fire) from Paul Schrader s
him his first commercial breakthrough. Timed to
movie Cat People (1982).
coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing, it was a
top five UK hit.
14 1983 was the year in which he put his energy into
the album Let s Dance and follow-up concerts.
6 In March 1970, Bowie married art student, Angela
Let s Dance turned Bowie into a crowd-friendly
Barnett. The Man Who Sold the World was
global rock star, with the album and its singles
released in the US in late 1970 and in the UK the
Let s Dance, China Girl and Modern Love all
following year. With its daring songwriting and
becoming huge international hits.
broody, hard-rock sound, it was the first album to
really show his writing and performing gifts. The
15 This was the heyday of MTV and Bowie s talent
album s themes included immortality, insanity,
for eye-catching videos increased his popularity,
murder and mysticism, which showed that Bowie
while the six-month Serious Moonlight tour
was a songwriter who was thinking outside of
drew massive crowds. It was to be the most
pop s usual boundaries.
commercially successful period of his career.
7 He followed it with 1972 s Hunky Dory, a mix of 16 At the 1985 Live Aid famine relief concert at
wordy, elaborate songwriting. It was an excellent Wembley Stadium, Bowie was one of the best
collection that met with only moderate success performers. In addition, that year, he teamed up
but that all changed with The Rise and Fall of with Mick Jagger to record the fundraising single
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars later Dancing in the Street, which quickly went to
that year. number 1.
8 This time, Bowie appeared as a science-fiction 17 A few days after his appearance at the Freddie
character  an intergalactic glam-rock star visiting Mercury tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / David Bowie obituary / Intermediate
"
OCOPIABLE
FROM WEBSITE
PHOT
"
CAN BE DOWNLOADED
 David Bowie obituary
Level 2 l Intermediate
April 1992, Bowie married the Somalian model 22 He saw the medical emergency as a warning and
Iman and the couple bought a home in New York. started to slow down. In February 2006, he was
given a Grammy lifetime achievement award. He
18 For the album Black Tie White Noise (1993), he
was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
included elements of soul, electronica and hip
in 1996.
hop. It topped the UK album chart and gave him
a top 10 single, Jump They Say. 23 The Next Day (2013) was his first album of new
material in a decade. It included the single Where
19 New media and technology influenced his
Are We Now?, which gave him his first UK top 10
recordings, too. His 1999 album Hours&
hit since 1993. The album went to the top of the
was based around music he had written for a
charts in Britain and around the world. In 2014,
computer game called Omikron, in which Bowie
Bowie was given the Brit Award for Best British
and Iman appeared as characters. The birth of
Male, making him the oldest person to get
Bowie and Iman s daughter, Alexandria, followed
the award.
in August 2000.
24 He is survived by Iman, their daughter,
20 As an adopted New Yorker, Bowie was the
Alexandria, his stepdaughter, Zulekha, and his
opening act at the Concert for New York City in
son, Duncan, from his first marriage.
October 2001, where he joined Paul McCartney,
Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, the Who and Elton John 25 " David Bowie (David Robert Jones), singer,
in a benefit show six weeks after the 9/11 attacks. songwriter and actor, born 8 January, 1947; died
10 January, 2016
21 During his Reality tour in 2004, Bowie had chest
pains while performing in Germany and needed
© Guardian News and Media 2016
emergency surgery in Hamburg.
First published in The Guardian, 11/01/16
Biographical information
3
Answer the questions about David Bowie s life with information from the article.
1. Where was David Bowie born and in what year?
2. What was Bowie s birth name?
3. Why did he change his name?
4. What did he study at college?
5. What was the name of his first band?
6. What style of music is he most connected with?
7. How many times was he married?
8. How many children did he have?
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / David Bowie obituary / Intermediate
"
OCOPIABLE
FROM WEBSITE
PHOT
"
CAN BE DOWNLOADED
 David Bowie obituary
Level 2 l Intermediate
4 Collocations
Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make expressions from
the text.
1. guest a. statements
2. science-fiction b. vocalist
3. instant c. breakthrough
4. dramatic d. character
5. commercial e. success
Bowie s first ______________________ ______________________ (1) came with the song Space Oddity in 1969.
Well known for his different personas and ______________________ ______________________ (2), in 1972,
Bowie presented himself as a ______________________ ______________________ (3) named Ziggy Stardust,
an intergalactic glam-rock star visiting planet Earth.
The song Starman brought ______________________ ______________________ (4) for the album titled The
Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
He first topped the US charts with Fame, which featured John Lennon as a ______________________
______________________ (5).
6. famine f. hits
7. opening g. emergency
8. hit h. relief
9. medical i. single
10. international j. act
The 1980 album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) included the ______________________
______________________ (6) Ashes to Ashes.
His next album Let s Dance, with its ______________________ ______________________ (7), turned Bowie into
a crowd-friendly global rock star.
He was one of the most outstanding performers at the Live Aid ______________________
______________________ (8) concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985.
Six weeks after the 9/11 attacks in New York, Bowie was the ______________________
______________________ (9) at a benefit concert for the victims of the attack.
After a ______________________ ______________________ (10) on stage in Germany in 2004, Bowie started to
slow down and reduce his work.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / David Bowie obituary / Intermediate
"
OCOPIABLE
FROM WEBSITE
PHOT
"
CAN BE DOWNLOADED
 David Bowie obituary
Level 2 l Intermediate
5 Word fields
a. Complete the word wheels with words from the article that the author used to describe Bowie s music
and songwriting, and his styles of music.
Words describing
Bowie s music
Bowie s
styles
songwriting
b. Use some of the words to talk about other musicians.
6 Discussion
We all know that music is strongly connected with memories.
" Do you connect any of Bowie s music with particular memories or periods of your life?
" What music do you connect with your childhood and youth?
7 Webquest
See photos of some the David Bowie s key looks (including Ziggy Stardust) here:
www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2016/jan/11/david-bowie-key-looks-pictures
See pictures from his life and career here:
www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2016/jan/11/david-bowies-life-and-career-in-pictures
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / David Bowie obituary / Intermediate
"
OCOPIABLE
FROM WEBSITE
PHOT
"
CAN BE DOWNLOADED
 David Bowie obituary
Level 2 l Intermediate
KEY
1 Quick quiz 4 Collocations
1. a 1. b
2. They are personas created by David Bowie. 2. d
3. David Bowie (1967) 3. e
Young Americans (1975) 4. a
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980) 5. c
Black Tie White Noise (1993)
Blackstar (2016) 1. commercial breakthrough
2. dramatic statements
2 Key words 3. science-fiction character
4. instant success
1. trailblazer 5. guest vocalist
2. ambition
3. go solo 6. h
4. breakthrough 7. j
5. broody 8. i
6. gifts 9. g
7. single 10. f
8. chart
9. persona 6. hit single
10. triumph 7. international hits
11. heyday 8. famine relief
12. fundraising 9. opening act
13. tribute 10. medical emergency
14. benefit
5 Word fields
3 Biographical information
Bowie s songwriting: challenging, disturbing,
1. in South London; in 1947 innovative, daring, broody, wordy, elaborate
2. David Robert Jones
Bowie s music styles: glam-rock, plastic soul,
3. to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the pop
electronic, electronica, hard rock, funk, soul, hip hop
group the Monkees
4. art, music and design
5. the Kon-rads
6. glam-rock
7. twice, to Angela Barnett and to Iman
8. two of his own, Duncan and Alexandria, and a
step-daughter, Zulekha
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / David Bowie obituary / Intermediate
"
OCOPIABLE
FROM WEBSITE
PHOT
"
CAN BE DOWNLOADED