David Bowie’s death, nearly 10 years ago, was one of the most shocking losses in rock history. Bowie had just released a stunning new record, Blackstar, and had appeared at the opening of his off-Broadway musical, Lazarus. Rumors had been flying for years about the precarious state of his health, but he was a fiercely private person and nobody knew whether they were true or just fevered speculation. When the news broke of his death on Jan. 10, 2016, fans across the globe grieved and paid tribute to the legend.But not all Bowie fans are created equal. Take our quiz to see where you fall on the spectrum.
Zero to 30 percent correct: You’re an absolute beginner, but you’re absolutely sane. And with eyes completely open, you can explore this vast Bowie catalog and discover wonders far beyond “Let’s Dance,” “Heroes,” and “Fashion.” You’ll learn there basically isn’t a bad album in the Seventies, even if the first one of the decade (The Man Who Sold the World) and the last one (Lodger) don’t quite stand up to the staggering brilliance of all the ones that came in between. You’ll also find that the Eighties get off to a very strong start with Scary Monsters and Let’s Dance, then quickly falls off a cliff thanks to Tonight and Never Let Me Down, where he very much let us all down. There are scattered moments of greatness in the Nineties like “Hallo Spaceboy,” “I’m Afraid of Americans,” and “Thursday’s Child.” But things don’t really get back on track until the 2000s, when he reunites with producer Tony Visconti and churns out the painfully underappreciated Heathen and Reality. Anyway, you have a lot to delve into. Enjoy.
31 to 60 percent correct: Very nice work. This wasn’t an easy quiz, and you handled it quite well. If you want to take a deeper dive, we recommend Bowie: A Biography, by Marc Spitz, Starman, by Paul Trynka, and Strange Fascination: David Bowie:The Definitive Story, by David Buckley. Bowie died before he could release a memoir of his own, but we hope that one day close family members like Iman, Duncan Jones, and Alexandria will share memories of Bowie with the public. The same goes for his longtime close assistant and dear friend Coco Schwab. Of course, odds are high that they’ll respect Bowie’s wishes and keep their stories private, which is quite understandable.
61 to 100 percent correct: Amazing. You took a fantastic voyage through Bowie’s life and work and came out an absolute expert. We applaud you. If you want to learn even more, check out The Complete David Bowie, by Nicholas Pegg. It’s a reference book that goes through every album, song, and tour in exhaustive detail. There’s no other Bowie book out that compares to it in terms of detail and obsession. If you memorize that book, there’s no Bowie quiz on Earth you won’t be able to ace.
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