David Bowie is a music artist.
David Robert Jones ( 8 January 1947 -- 10 January 2016 ) , known professionally as David Bowie ( [ ˈboʊi ] ) , was an English singer , songwriter and actor . In 1975 , Bowie 's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterised as `` plastic soul '' , initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single `` Fame '' and the album Young Americans . After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s , Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single `` Ashes to Ashes '' , its parent album Scary Monsters and Super Creeps , and `` Under Pressure '' , a 1981 collaboration with Queen .