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)
London Bye Ta-Ta
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
London bye ta-ta
Strange young town
London bye ta-ta
brought me down
Don't like your new face
that's not nice
Got to go far, far
Gigi, Gigi
take me away
Gigi, Gigi
take me today
The boys in the clothes shop
sold me curry for a pound
His cardboard face is soggy,
and his sellings thorny crown
I loved her!
I loved her!
I've got to get away,
but I loved her!
Oh-oh-oh
{chorus}
Red light, green light
Make up your mind
Red light, green light
You're far too un-kind
She loves to love all beauty,
and she says the norm is funny
But she whimpers in the morning
when she finds she has no money
I loved her!
I loved her!
I've got to get away,
but I loved her!
Ahhh!
Oh-oh-oh
{chorus}
Ahh
{chorus}
Oh, London bye ta-ta
Oh, London bye ta-ta
Oh, ehh
The lyrics of David Bowie's "London Bye Ta-Ta" represents a young man's disillusionment with his new surroundings in the strange, fast-paced, and unpredictable city of London. The chorus repeats the title phrase "London Bye Ta-Ta," suggesting that the singer is saying goodbye to the city and its culture. The reference to Gigi, a character from the Broadway musical, represents the singer's yearning for an escape from the bleak reality he sees around him. He longs for a world that exists beyond the boundaries of London.
The verse "The boys in the clothes shop sold me curry for a pound" may be interpreted as a commentary on the exploitation of immigrants by London's urban economy. The cardboard face is a symbol of the deceptive and transitory nature of London's consumer culture, which promises happiness and fulfillment but ultimately results in disappointment and disillusionment.
Overall, "London Bye Ta-Ta" captures the feeling of the 1960s and the youth rebellion against the social and cultural constraints of the time.
Line by Line Meaning
London bye ta-ta
Farewell, London
Strange young town
This city is unfamiliar and full of young people
Brought me down
This city has made me sad
Don't like your new face, that's not nice
I don't like the way people here are changing
Got to go far, far, London bye ta-ta
I have to leave this place and say goodbye to London
Gigi, Gigi, take me away
I want to escape with someone named Gigi
Gigi, Gigi, take me today
Please take me away from here as soon as possible
The boys in the clothes shop sold me curry for a pound
I bought cheap food from some guys in a clothing store
His cardboard face is soggy, and his sellings thorny crown
The guy who sold me the food had a dirty and uninviting appearance
I loved her!
I had very strong feelings for this person
I've got to get away, but I loved her!
Although I need to leave, my feelings for her remain
Red light, green light, make up your mind
I'm frustrated with the indecisiveness and unpredictability of this place
Red light, green light, you're far too un-kind
This place is too harsh and unaccommodating
She loves to love all beauty, and she says the norm is funny
She appreciates beauty and rejects societal norms
But she whimpers in the morning when she finds she has no money
Despite her rejection of norms, she still struggles with financial stability
Oh, London bye ta-ta
Once again, this is a farewell to London
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DrJKintobor
on I Can't Give Everything Away
I can totally imagine this being the end theme of Sabrina Online, when Sabrina marries Richard and they drive off into the sunset...
Peter Bonney
on Diamond Dogs
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