Editing David Bowie (section)

==Personal life==
===Family===
[[File:Iman and David Bowie at the premiere of Moon.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A white man and a black woman|Bowie and wife [[Iman (model)|Iman]], 2009]]
Bowie married his first wife, [[Mary Angela Barnett]], on 19&nbsp;March 1970 at [[Bromley Town Hall|Bromley Register Office]] in [[Bromley]], London.<ref name="Saner" /> Their son [[Duncan Jones|Duncan]], born on 30&nbsp;May 1971, was at first known as Zowie.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=147–148}} Angie later described her and David's union as a marriage of convenience. "We got married so that I could [get a permit to] work. I didn't think it would last and David said, before we got married, 'I'm not really in love with you' and I thought that's probably a good thing," she said. Bowie said about Angie that "living with her is like living with a blow torch".<ref name="Saner">{{cite web |last=Saner |first=Emine |title=Angie Bowie: 'Why I gave up my son Zowie' |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/why-i-gave-up-my-son-zowie-7279091.html |website=[[Evening Standard]] |date=17 March 2006 |access-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308225336/https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/why-i-gave-up-my-son-zowie-7279091.html |archive-date=8 March 2021}}</ref> The couple divorced on 8&nbsp;February 1980;{{sfn|Sandford|2009|p=197}} David received custody of Duncan. After the gag order that was part of their divorce agreement ended, Angie wrote a memoir of their turbulent marriage, titled ''Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side with David Bowie''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bowie |first=Angie |author-link=Angie Bowie |title=David Bowie's first wife Angie on her fiery marriage to 'one in a million' music genius |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/david-bowies-first-wife-angie-7155221 |website=[[Daily Mirror]] |date=11 January 2016 |access-date=5 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185425/https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/david-bowies-first-wife-angie-7155221 |archive-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>

David met Somali-American model Iman in Los Angeles following the Sound+Vision Tour in October 1990.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=288–289}} They married in a private ceremony in [[Lausanne]] on 24&nbsp;April 1992. The wedding was solemnised on 6&nbsp;June in [[Florence]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=304–305}} The couple's marriage influenced the content of ''Black Tie White Noise'', particularly on tracks such as "The Wedding"/"The Wedding Song" and "Miracle Goodnight".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=417–421}} They had one daughter, [[Lexi Jones|Alexandria "Lexi" Zahra Jones]], born on 15&nbsp;August 2000.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=438–440}} The couple resided primarily in New York City and London and owned an apartment in Sydney's [[Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales|Elizabeth Bay]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Dumas |first=Daisy|title=Bowie Down Under: star hooked on Sydney|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/bowie-down-under-star-hooked-on-sydney-20160115-gm6f3v.html|access-date=16 January 2016|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=16 January 2016|archive-date=6 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606215409/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/bowie-down-under-star-hooked-on-sydney-20160114-gm6f3v|url-status=live}}</ref> and Britannia Bay House on the island of [[Mustique]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Buckley |first=Christopher |title=David Bowie's House on the Island of Mustique |url=http://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/david-bowie-iman-house-mustique-island-grenadines-slideshow/all|date=31 August 1992|work=Architectural Digest|access-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330145845/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/david-bowie-iman-house-mustique-island-grenadines-slideshow|archive-date=30 March 2021}}</ref> Following Bowie's death, Iman expressed gratitude that the two were able to maintain separate identities during their marriage.<ref name="GuardianIman">{{cite web |last=Khomani |first=Nadia |title='He's not my "late" husband': Iman speaks of grief over death of David Bowie |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/dec/14/hes-not-my-late-husband-iman-talks-of-grief-over-death-of-david-bowie |website=The Guardian |access-date=7 January 2022 |date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214174307/https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/dec/14/hes-not-my-late-husband-iman-talks-of-grief-over-death-of-david-bowie |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other relationships===
[[File:TonyDanaBowie 1971 LoRes.jpg|thumb|Left to right: [[Dana Gillespie]], [[Tony Defries]] and David Bowie at ''[[Andy Warhol's Pork]]'' at [[Roundhouse (venue)|London's Roundhouse]] in 1971]]
Bowie began a personal and professional relationship with the singer [[Dana Gillespie]] in 1964 when he was 17 and she was 14.{{sfn|Cann|2010|p=43}}{{sfn|Jones|2017|pp=22, 28}} Their relationship lasted a decade; Bowie wrote the song "[[Andy Warhol (song)|Andy Warhol]]" for her, Gillespie sang backing vocals on ''Ziggy Stardust'', and Bowie and Mick Ronson produced her 1973 album ''Weren't Born a Man''. Bowie ended contact with Gillespie following his split from Angie. Gillespie looked back on her time with Bowie fondly.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cartright |first=Garth |title=Bowie, bed-hopping and the blues: the wild times of Dana Gillespie |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/12/bowie-bed-hopping-and-the-blues-the-wild-times-of-dana-gillespie |website=The Guardian |access-date=27 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812120651/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/12/bowie-bed-hopping-and-the-blues-the-wild-times-of-dana-gillespie |archive-date=12 August 2021 |date=12 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Bowie met the dancer [[Lindsay Kemp]] in 1967 and enrolled in his dance class at the [[The Dance Centre|London Dance Centre]].<ref name=Kemp>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ2UBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131|page=131|last=Thian|first=Helene Marie|chapter=Moss Garden|title=David Bowie: Critical Perspectives|editor=Eoin Devereux|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, United Kingdom|date=24 March 2015|isbn=978-1-317-75449-7|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-date=30 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830151618/https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ2UBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131|url-status=live}}</ref> They became lovers and Kemp would be critical in Bowie's artistic development.<ref>Meet Lindsay Kemp: David Bowie's muse and lover, BBC Newsnight, 12 May 2016</ref> Kemp later said: "I taught him...to express himself through his body... how to touch a public...just as important was the stillness and to make every movement count."<ref>''Lindsay Kemp, My Life & Work with David Bowie - in conversation with Marc Almond''</ref> Commenting in 1972, Bowie said that meeting Kemp was when his interest in image "really blossomed":<ref name=Kemp /> and that Kemp "lived on his emotions, he was a wonderful influence. His day-to-day life was the most theatrical thing I had ever seen, ever. It was everything I thought Bohemia probably was. I joined the circus."{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=41–42}} In January 1968, Kemp choreographed a dance scene for a BBC play, ''The Pistol Shot'', and used Bowie with a dancer, Hermione Farthingale;{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=655–656}} the pair began dating and moved into a London flat together. Bowie and Farthingale broke up in early 1969 when she went to Norway to take part in a film, ''[[Song of Norway (film)|Song of Norway]]'';<ref>{{cite news|first=Sophie|last=Heawood|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/david-bowie-has-gone-from-new-to-old--and-what-a-beautiful-thing-it-is-8443239.html|title=David Bowie has gone from new to old – and what a beautiful thing it is|work=The Independent|date=8 January 2013|access-date=8 April 2018|archive-date=26 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926000724/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/david-bowie-has-gone-from-new-to-old--and-what-a-beautiful-thing-it-is-8443239.html|url-status=live}}</ref> this affected him, and several songs, such as "[[Letter to Hermione]]" and "An Occasional Dream", reference her;{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=160–161}} and, for the video accompanying "Where Are We Now?", he wore a T-shirt with the words "m/s Song of Norway".<ref>{{cite web |last=Seale |first=Jack |title=David Bowie rocks music world with Where Are We Now? |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-08/david-bowie-rocks-music-world-with-where-are-we-now-video/ |url-status=live |work=[[Radio Times]] |date=8 January 2013 |access-date=8 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063238/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-08/david-bowie-rocks-music-world-with-where-are-we-now---video |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Bowie blamed himself for their break-up, saying in 2002 that he "was totally unfaithful and couldn't for the life of me keep it zipped".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=160–161}} Farthingale, who spoke of deep affection for him in an interview with Pegg, said they last saw each other in 1970.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=160–161}}

David and Angie had an [[open marriage]] and dated other people during it: David had relationships with the models [[Cyrinda Foxe]], [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]],<ref>Lulu 2002, p. 168.</ref> [[Bebe Buell]] and the ''Young Americans'' backing singer [[Ava Cherry]];{{sfn|Trynka|2011|p=205}}{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=178}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Feitelberg |first=Rosemary |title=Bebe Buell Details David Bowie's Early Rock 'n' Roll Days in New York |url=https://wwd.com/feature/david-bowies-beb-buell-early-rock-n-roll-days-in-new-york-city-10312467/ |website=Women's Wear Daily |access-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604140907/https://wwd.com/feature/david-bowies-beb-buell-early-rock-n-roll-days-in-new-york-city-10312467/ |archive-date=4 June 2024 |date=12 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Angie had encounters with the Stooges' members [[Ron Asheton]] and [[James Williamson (musician)|James Williamson]], the Ziggy Stardust Tour bodyguard Anton Jones,{{sfn|Trynka|2011|pp=211–212}} and the drummer [[Roy Martin (musician)|Roy Martin]], which inspired the song "Breaking Glass".{{sfn|Clerc|2021|pp=256–257}}

In 1983, Bowie briefly dated the New Zealand model [[Geeling Ng]], who starred in the video for "China Girl".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=61}} While filming ''The Hunger'' the same year, Bowie had a sexual relationship with his co-star Susan Sarandon, who stated in 2014 "He's worth idolising. He's extraordinary."<ref>{{cite web|last=Hickey|first=Shane|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/26/susan-sarandon-past-sexual-relationship-david-bowie|title=Susan Sarandon reveals past sexual relationship with David Bowie|work=The Guardian|date=26 July 2014|access-date=7 January 2023|archive-date=18 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118125140/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/26/susan-sarandon-past-sexual-relationship-david-bowie|url-status=live}}</ref> Between 1987 and 1990, Bowie dated the Glass Spider Tour dancer Melissa Hurley. The two began their relationship at the end of the tour when she was 22 years old. Bowie's Tin Machine collaborator [[Kevin Armstrong (guitarist)|Kevin Armstrong]] remembered her as "a genuinely kind, sweet person".{{sfn|Trynka|2011|pp=414–415, 422}} She inspired the song "Amazing" on ''[[Tin Machine (album)|Tin Machine]]'' (1989).{{sfn|Clerc|2021|p=391}} They announced their engagement in May 1989 but never married; Bowie broke the relationship off during the latter half of the Sound+Vision Tour, primarily due to the age difference—he was 43 at the time. He later spoke of Hurley as "such a wonderful, lovely, vibrant girl".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=584–588}}{{sfn|Trynka|2011|pp=414–415, 422}}

====Coco Schwab====
Corinne "Coco" Schwab was Bowie's personal assistant for 43 years, from 1973 until his death in 2016. Originally a receptionist at the London office of MainMan, Schwab assisted in extracting Bowie from MainMan's financial grip, after which he invited her to be his personal assistant.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=367–372}}<ref name="CocoTelegraph" /> Bowie referred to Schwab as his best friend and credited her for saving his life in the 1970s by helping him quit his drug addiction;<ref name="CocoTelegraph" /> he dedicated the 1987 song "[[Never Let Me Down (David Bowie song)|Never Let Me Down]]" to her.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=192–193}} Schwab maintained close guard of him and did not get along with Angie, who later blamed Schwab for the downfall of her and Bowie's marriage.<ref name="CocoTelegraph" /> Bowie left $2&nbsp;million to Schwab in his will.<ref name="CocoTelegraph">{{cite web |last=McNulty |first=Bernadette |title=David Bowie's PA Coco Schwab: the woman who saved his life |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/david-bowies-pa-coco-schwab-the-woman-who-saved-his-life/ |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=30 January 2016 |access-date=7 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130163005/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/david-bowies-pa-coco-schwab-the-woman-who-saved-his-life/ |archive-date=30 January 2016 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Sexuality===
Bowie's sexuality has been the subject of debate.<ref name="SlateLowder">{{cite web |last=Lowder |first=J. Bryan |title=Was David Bowie Gay? |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/01/was-david-bowie-dead-at-69-gay-the-glam-rocker-had-a-complicated-relationship-with-queerness.html |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324201121/https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/01/was-david-bowie-dead-at-69-gay-the-glam-rocker-had-a-complicated-relationship-with-queerness.html |archive-date=24 March 2023 |date=11 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYTRogers">{{cite web |last=Rogers |first=Katie |title=Was He Gay, Bisexual or Bowie? Yes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/style/was-he-gay-bisexual-or-bowie-yes.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331105944/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/style/was-he-gay-bisexual-or-bowie-yes.html |archive-date=31 March 2023 |date=13 January 2016 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> While married to Angie,<ref name="BillboardWalters">{{cite magazine |last=Walters |first=Barry |title=David Bowie, Sexuality and Gender: A Rebel Who Changed the Face of Music |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/features/david-bowie-sexuality-gender-rebellion-changing-music-6843021/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108134330/https://www.billboard.com/music/features/david-bowie-sexuality-gender-rebellion-changing-music-6843021/ |archive-date=8 November 2022 |date=14 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> he famously declared himself gay in a 1972 interview with ''[[Melody Maker]]'' journalist Michael Watts,<!-- EDITORS: Bowie makes different declarations in different interviews. Please treat each on its own as it comprises the narrative. --><ref>{{cite news|last=Watts|first=Michael|title=On the cusp of fame, Bowie tells Melody Maker he's gay – and changes pop for ever|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jan/22/popandrock.davidbowie|access-date=11 August 2012|newspaper=The Observer|date=22 January 2006|archive-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707111030/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jan/22/popandrock.davidbowie|url-status=live}}</ref> which generated publicity in both Britain and America;{{sfn|Cann|2010|pp=239–240}} Bowie was adopted as a gay icon in both countries.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=351–360}} According to Buckley, "If Ziggy confused both his creator and his audience, a big part of that confusion centred on the topic of sexuality."{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=140}} He affirmed his stance in a 1976 interview with ''[[Playboy]]'', stating: "It's true—I am a [[bisexual]]. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me."<ref name="playboy">{{cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/david-bowie-interview/index.html?page=2|title=Interview: David Bowie|date=September 1976 |work=[[Playboy]] |access-date=14 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801045250/http://www.playboy.com/articles/david-bowie-interview/index.html?page=2|archive-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> His claim of bisexuality has been supported by Angie.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/angie-bowie-i-didnt-care-about-davids-lovers-as-long-as-they-realised-i-was-the-queen-m7t93x6w9 | title=Angie Bowie: 'I didn't care about David's lovers as long as they realised I was the queen' | work=[[The Times]] | first=Will | last=Hodgkinson | date=19 May 2017 | access-date=10 April 2023 | archive-date=10 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410093518/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/angie-bowie-i-didnt-care-about-davids-lovers-as-long-as-they-realised-i-was-the-queen-m7t93x6w9 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1983, Bowie told ''Rolling Stone'' writer [[Kurt Loder]] that his public declaration of bisexuality was "the biggest mistake I ever made" and "I was always a closet heterosexual".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Loder |first=Kurt |title=David Bowie: Straight Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-bowie-straight-time-69334/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408113353/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-bowie-straight-time-69334/ |archive-date=8 April 2023 |date=12 May 1983 |url-status=live}}</ref> On other occasions, he said his interest in homosexual and bisexual culture had been more a product of the times and the situation in which he found himself than of his own feelings.{{efn|In 1993, Bowie recalled having read ''[[City of Night]]'' in the 1960s, and it connected with his loneliness. "And that led me a merry dance in the early Seventies, when [[gay club]]s really became my lifestyle and all my friends were gay".{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=185}}}}{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=106}} ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' asked Bowie in 2002 whether he still believed his public declaration was his biggest mistake. After a long pause, he said, "I don't think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners nor be a representative of any group of people." Bowie said he wanted to be a songwriter and performer rather than a headline for his bisexuality, and in "[[Puritans#Terminology|puritanical]]" America, "I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do."<ref>{{cite news |last=Collis |first=Clark |title=Dear Superstar: David Bowie |work=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |date=August 2002 |access-date=16 September 2010 |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=366 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510103103/http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=366 |archive-date=10 May 2008}}</ref>

Buckley wrote that Bowie "mined sexual intrigue for its ability to shock".{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=141}} According to Mary Finnigan—a brief girlfriend of Bowie's in 1969{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=182–183}}—David and Angie "created their bisexual fantasy".{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=48}} Sandford wrote that David "made a positive fetish of repeating the quip that he and his wife had met while 'fucking the same bloke'&nbsp;... Gay sex was always an anecdotal and laughing matter".{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=48}} The BBC's Mark Easton stated in 2016 that Britain was "far more tolerant of difference", and that [[gay rights]] and [[gender equality]] would not have "enjoyed the broad support they do today without Bowie's androgynous challenge all those years ago".<ref name="easton">{{cite web |last=Easton |first=Mark |title=Bowie: the creative force who changed Britain |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35290677 |url-status=live |work=BBC News |date=12 January 2016 |access-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130043855/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35290677 |archive-date=30 November 2017}}</ref>

===Spirituality and religion===
Beginning in 1967 from the influence of his half-brother,{{sfn|O'Leary|2015|loc=chap. 4}} Bowie became interested in Buddhism and, with commercial success eluding him,{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=83}} he considered becoming a Buddhist monk.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thurston Moore Reflects on David Bowie |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/62878-thurston-moore-reflects-on-david-bowie/ |access-date=24 September 2019 |website=Pitchfork |date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308223038/https://pitchfork.com/news/62878-thurston-moore-reflects-on-david-bowie/ |archive-date=8 March 2021}}</ref> Biographer [[Marc Spitz]] states that the religion reminded the young artist that other goals in life existed outside fame and material gain and one can learn about themselves through meditation and chanting.{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=83}} After a few months' study at Tibet House in London, he was told by his [[Lama]], [[Chime Rinpoche]], "You don't want to be Buddhist.{{nbsp}}... You should follow music."{{sfn|Cann|2010|pp=113–114}} By 1975, Bowie admitted, "I felt totally, absolutely alone. And I probably was alone because I pretty much had abandoned God."<ref name="Arena1993">{{cite magazine |last=Parsons |first=Tony |title=Bowie, what is he like? |url=https://exploringdavidbowie.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/bowie-what-is-he-like/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Arena (magazine)|Arena]] |volume=Spring/Summer 1993 |access-date=31 January 2016 |via=Exploring David Bowie |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725111353/https://exploringdavidbowie.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/bowie-what-is-he-like/ |archive-date=25 July 2018}}</ref>

After Bowie married Iman in a private ceremony in 1992, he said they knew that their "real marriage, sanctified by God, had to happen in a church in Florence".<ref name=PJ>[https://www.moredarkthanshark.org/eno_int_hello-jun92.html THE WEDDING OF DAVID BOWIE AND IMAN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025161012/https://www.moredarkthanshark.org/eno_int_hello-jun92.html |date=25 October 2021 }}. Hello!, 13 June 1992</ref> Earlier that year, he knelt on stage at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recited the Lord's Prayer before a television audience.<ref name="LA Times Mercury"/><!-- Per source: "with the potential to reach 1 billion viewers". -->{{efn|Asked why he knelt and prayed, Bowie said he had a friend who was dying of AIDS. "He was just dropping into a coma that day. And just before I went on stage something just told me to say the Lord's Prayer. The great irony is that he died two days after the show".<ref name=Arena1993/>}} In 1993, Bowie said he had an "undying" belief in the "unquestionable" existence of God.<ref name=Arena1993/> In a separate 1993 interview, while describing the genesis of the music for his album ''Black Tie White Noise'', he said "it was important for me to find something [musically] that also had no sort of representation of institutionalized and organized religion, of which I'm not a believer, I must make that clear."<ref>[[Simon Bates]] radio interviews, [[BBC Radio 1]], 29–31 March 1993</ref> Interviewed in 2005, Bowie said whether God exists "is not a question that can be answered.{{nbsp}}... I'm not quite an [[atheist]] and it worries me. There's that little bit that holds on: 'Well, I'm ''almost'' an atheist. Give me a couple of months.{{nbsp}}... I've nearly got it right.{{'"}}<ref name="DeCurtis2005">{{cite book|last=DeCurtis|first=Anthony|title=In Other Words: Artists Talk About Life And Work|url=https://archive.org/details/inotherwordsarti0000decu|url-access=registration|access-date=14 May 2012|date=5 May 2005|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-634-06655-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/inotherwordsarti0000decu/page/262 262–263] }}</ref> He had a tattoo of the [[Serenity Prayer]] in Japanese on his calf.{{sfn|Morley|2016|p=437}}

Bowie stated that "questioning [his] spiritual life [was] always&nbsp;... germane" to his songwriting.<ref name="DeCurtis2005"/> The song "Station to Station" is "very much concerned with the [[Stations of the Cross]]"; the song also specifically references [[Christian Kabbalah|Kabbalah]]. Bowie called the album "extremely dark{{nbsp}}... the nearest album to a [[magick]] treatise that I've written".{{efn|He later said he was influenced by his cocaine addiction and the "psychological terror" from making ''The Man Who Fell To Earth'', marking "the first time I'd really seriously thought about Christ and God&nbsp;... I very nearly got suckered into that narrow [view of] finding the Cross as the salvation of mankind".{{sfn|Egan|2015|p=116}}}}<ref name="Cavanaugh">{{cite magazine|last=Cavanagh|first=David|title=ChangesFiftyBowie|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=February 1997|issue=125|pages=52–59}}</ref> ''Earthling'' showed "the abiding need in me to vacillate between atheism or a kind of [[gnosticism]]{{nbsp}}... What I need is to find a balance, spiritually, with the way I live and my demise."<ref name="Cavanaugh" /> ''Hours'' boasted overtly Christian themes, with its artwork inspired by the [[Pietà]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=433–437}} ''Blackstar''{{'s}} "[[Lazarus (David Bowie song)|Lazarus]]" began with the words, "Look up here, I'm in Heaven" while the rest of the album deals with other matters of mysticism and mortality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clement|first=Olivia|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/look-up-here-im-in-heaven-poignant-lyrics-to-bowies-lazarus-signal-his-farewell-378793|title='Look Up Here, I'm in Heaven' – Poignant Lyrics to Bowie's 'Lazarus' Signal His Farewell|magazine=[[Playbill]]|date=11 January 2016|access-date=18 January 2016|archive-date=27 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927224655/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/look-up-here-im-in-heaven-poignant-lyrics-to-bowies-lazarus-signal-his-farewell-378793|url-status=live}}</ref>