David Bowie: The Starman

David Bowie has passed away at the age of 69 following an 18-month battle with cancer.

In the wake of today’s news and to celebrate the life of the British music legend, here are the interviews, the stories behind the songs and the essential guides to his classic albums – all from the TeamRock archives.

“David Bowie was an absolute idol to me when I was a kid. Without him, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. He was a big part of what made me want to be in a band,” says Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott.

Joe Elliott: Bowie turned my world from black-and-white to colour

“Bowie in person had this way of making you feel, if not important, at least not insignificant. Which is, of course, exactly what his music did for a generation of teenagers who felt themselves misfits, freaks and outsiders as the 70s put into action elements of what the 60s had boasted it was doing,” remembers Chris Roberts…

David Bowie: the smartest guy in the room

He was many things to many people during a career that spanned over 50 years. And there were times when David Bowie’s music branched into the progressive world. Sid Smith chooses Bowie’s most fascinating tunes…

David Bowie's Proggiest Moments

There are few artists able to straddle both commercial and artistic worlds as convincingly as David Bowie managed to do during a recording career that stretched just over 50 years. Sid Smith pays tribute.

David Bowie - The Man Who Fell From Earth

Metal Hammer’s Jonathan Selzer looks at David Bowie’s far-reaching influence…

How David Bowie influenced metal

From The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars to Diamond Dogs, here’s our guide to David Bowie’s essential albums.

David Bowie: The Buyer's Guide

David Bowie began 1977 celebrating his 30th birthday in a nightclub drinking with Iggy Pop. He ended it on American television crooning Christmas songs with Bing Crosby. Along the way, he helped change music forever…

David Bowie: 1977, back from the abyss and changing music forever...

The inside story behind Bowie’s 1973 album, Aladdin Sane…

Aladdin Sane: Ziggy Stardust Goes To America

“David Bowie is the artist who has influenced me the most. All the guitarists he chose to work with were unique and truly innovative and it had always been a dream of mine to play guitar next to him. And in 1996, that dream came true,” says Hotei. Here, he selects his 10 favourite Bowie riffs.

The 10 best David Bowie riffs according to Hotei

One afternoon in July 1977, David Bowie was looking out of the window of Hansa Studio in Berlin when he noticed a couple kissing near the Berlin Wall. That stolen moment inspired what is arguably one of Bowie’s finest songs…

The Story Behind The Song: Heroes by David Bowie

Once deemed a pretentious grand folly by the less imaginative, Bowie’s first real post-Spiders album, Diamond Dogs, is now recognised as a moody masterpiece of visionary rock…

David Bowie's Diamond Dogs – 40th Anniversary

David Bowie tells Bill Demain about his songwriting process and the stories behind Heroes, Fame and Rebel Rebel…

David Bowie On Songwriting

“David and the band were all wearing costumes, and I hadn’t really seen that kind of thing before,” remembers Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks. This is the story of how one gig spawned glam rock.

David Bowie: The Gig That Invented Glam

Here’s the story behind his classic 1971 album, Hunky Dory.

David Bowie: The Making Of Hunky Dory