Bowie developed an interest in music from an early age. He studied art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. "Space Oddity", released in 1969, was his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of Bowie's single "Starman" and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted towards a sound he characterised as "plastic soul", initially alienating many of his UK fans but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. In 1977, he again changed direction with the electronic-inflected album Low, the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that came to be known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes" (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had three number-one hits: the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and "Under Pressure" (a 1981 collaboration with Queen). He achieved massive commercial success in the 1980s starting with Let's Dance (1983). Between 1988 and 1992, he fronted the hard rock band Tin Machine before resuming his solo career in 1993. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He also continued acting; his roles included Major Jack Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He remained musically active until his death from liver cancer at his home in New York City. He died two days after both his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum, eleven gold and eight silver album certifications, and released 11 number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone ranked him among the greatest artists in history. As of 2022, Bowie was the best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie
Studio albums
David Bowie (1967)
David Bowie/Space Oddity (1969)
The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
Hunky Dory (1971)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
Aladdin Sane (1973)
Pin Ups (1973)
Diamond Dogs (1974)
Young Americans (1975)
Station to Station (1976)
Low (1977)
"Heroes" (1977)
Lodger (1979)
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
Let's Dance (1983)
Tonight (1984)
Never Let Me Down (1987)
Black Tie White Noise (1993)
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
Outside (1995)
Earthling (1997)
Hours (1999)
Heathen (2002)
Reality (2003)
The Next Day (2013)
Blackstar (2016)
Gospel According to Tony Day
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The gospel according to tony day
The gospel according to tony day
If I find a girl he'll take her away
Rotten tony!
The gospel according to brendan o'lear
The gospel according to brendan o'lear
If I buy him a scotch, he'll buy me a beer
Tight fist, friends
The gospel according to pat hewitt
The gospel according to pat hewitt
The gospel according to pat hewitt
If it's written on a sweater then I'd better not, you do it
Ah
Got to, got to
Your mind, blow I
Blow it
The gospel according to marianne brent
The gospel according to marianne brent
The gospel according to marianne brent
She'll be mine if I pay the rent
Good old marianne, who needs friends, oh
That's the fucking time, take a look at my life and you'll see
Take a quick, butchers, rotten mary down the oak
Wouldn't give me two pence for him
The lyrics to David Bowie's "The Gospel According To Tony Day" are a study of four different people and their seemingly flawed belief systems. The repetition of the phrase "The gospel according to" suggests that the individual referenced places their own personal beliefs above all else, as if they are preaching from their own gospel. The first verse mentions Tony Day and suggests that he is a man who would take away any girl the singer found, labeling him as rotten. The second verse focuses on Brendan O’lear and his tight fist when it comes to buying a drink. The third verse has a reference to a sweater with a warning not to touch it, indicating that Pat Hewitt is overly possessive. The final verse mentions Marianne Brent, who will be the singer's if he pays the rent, implying that she is only interested in a man with financial stability.
The lyrics are structured in a way that suggests that each of these individuals places their own desires and personal beliefs above conventional social norms that would typically govern human interaction. The chorus of "The gospel according to" serves to emphasize this idea, emphasizing how each character goes about living their life however they please, even if it brings others down. The use of profanity, particularly in the final lines, suggests that the singer harbors resentment towards these individuals and their self-centered ways.
Line by Line Meaning
The gospel according to tony day
Tony Day's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to tony day
Tony Day's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to tony day
Tony Day's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
If I find a girl he'll take her away
Tony Day is known for stealing other people's romantic interests
Rotten tony!
An exclamation of disgust or disapproval towards Tony Day's behavior
The gospel according to brendan o'lear
Brendan O'lear's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to brendan o'lear
Brendan O'lear's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to brendan o'lear
Brendan O'lear's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
If I buy him a scotch, he'll buy me a beer
Brendan O'lear is cheap and will only reciprocate kindness if he stands to gain something
Tight fist, friends
A phrase to describe someone who is stingy with their money, even towards their friends
The gospel according to pat hewitt
Pat Hewitt's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to pat hewitt
Pat Hewitt's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to pat hewitt
Pat Hewitt's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
If it's written on a sweater then I'd better not, you do it
Pat Hewitt is unwilling to do anything that might make her look foolish or draw attention to herself
Ah
An exclamation used to express a range of emotions or reactions, such as surprise, satisfaction, or realization
Got to, got to
An expression of excitement, enthusiasm, or determination
Your mind, blow I
A phrase that suggests the artist is about to blow the listener's mind with something amazing or unexpected
Blow it
An exhortation to someone to continue with what they are doing or to do something well
The gospel according to marianne brent
Marianne Brent's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to marianne brent
Marianne Brent's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
The gospel according to marianne brent
Marianne Brent's opinions or beliefs, which may or may not be true or worthwhile
She'll be mine if I pay the rent
Marianne Brent is willing to be in a romantic relationship as long as the artist can provide material security
Good old marianne, who needs friends, oh
An ironic expression that suggests Marianne Brent may not be a good friend, despite the singer's affection for her
That's the fucking time, take a look at my life and you'll see
An expression of frustration or dissatisfaction with one's life or circumstances
Take a quick, butchers, rotten mary down the oak
An invitation to look at or inspect something or someone in a critical or negative way
Wouldn't give me two pence for him
An expression of contempt or disregard towards Mary, suggesting that the singer does not value or respect them
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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Charlie
One of Bowie's most underappreciated songs. This song has always fascinated me.
Heath St John
I've always found this 'song' mysteriously hypnotic, in its irredeemably squalid way. 'Sung' like an early morning rant, by a lean, unshaven man, as he quickly strides down an echoy, musty, crooked black-matted bedsit corridor, grimly resigned to marching his rain-drenched way to an unsheltered 'bus stop, on his way to work.
The instrumental part suggests to me an authentic, if imaginatively misconceived, rendering of the type of sound an experimenting, rudely primitive, ancient British tribe should have discovered existing inside a dewy, hollow, moss-covered log, casually stumbled over in a woodland, sometime before; the voice of its ancient mind able to speak the wisdom of its mystical folklaw only when, once in a millennium, its discoverer shares their breath with its flaky, damp interior.
A great example of how an arrangement, a delivery, and a perfectly contrived atmosphere can turn a song which, whilst on paper reads like rubbish, into a dominant capturing of a now-historical period.
The common bluntness, and the whiplashed-clippedness of "Pat Hewitt" 's and "Marion Brent" 's names represent, in their denominations, all the drudgery and toil they were born to endure, not only by their lives' station, but by the baptismal font's water, as soon as it splashed those ! names on their foreheads.
Heath St John
@Sir Jelly Beans 1st Again, very complimentary. Thanks very much.
Sir Jelly Beans 1st
@Heath St John your analysis of the way he sharply pronounces certain names is spot on. A sort of disdain in a way . Very descriptive
Heath St John
@Sir Jelly Beans 1st My gosh, I can 'see' that man now that I've played it again, leaving his bedsit, cynically raising his eyes, as he thinks of the life-'philosophies' he's going to encounter again, at the small, suburban admin' department to which he's going, yet again, half-way between his five-days out-of-seven countdown, from secretary Marion Brent, as the rain drips down those stained glass windows on the original warped front door, as he leaves.
There was an episode of 'Rising Damp' when he bought a delapidated MG, I think, to impress Miss. Jones; I can see the shabby Mk.111 Zephyr in the garage, full of half-empty paint cans, now.
Thanks again for reminding me.
(Must play it again).
Heath St John
@Sir Jelly Beans 1st Hello. How unexpected ! Thanks.
I was 'on' nothing more than fascinatiion when I wrote that; which I'd entirely forgtten. (Embarrassingly I'm reminded of 'The Critics', with Irene Handle and Peter Sellers, from 1959, which is on 'You Tube'; I'm sure you'll find it very funny).
Of course, I can hear D.Jones saying, "What a lot of *****", etc; but so what ? What should that have mattered ? Did he ever ask your opinion of his ! work ?
You've expressed yourself; I, myself ; go ahead and give me your impressions of the song; I'd be curious to hear what thoughts it's given to you. It's the expressing, isn't it ?, that's important ?
Have you ever watched 'Rising Damp' ? Now that you bring it to my attention, again, it's that sort of musty ambience, all Victorian gothic on the outside, and all 1968-bedsit on the inside, that it picturizes, for me.
You've encouraged me to listen to it again, right now.
Thanks again.
Sir Jelly Beans 1st
What an excellent Analysis. I enjoyed that and I agree
Mats Hansson
We love you David.
Andy Burns
You can see where the band Blur took some influence here
Danny Fenris
Blimey - surely the first drop of the "fuck" bomb on a mainstream (sort of) pop LP. 1967!