Editing David Bowie (section)

===1980–1988: New Romantic and pop era===
''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]'' (1980) produced the number one single "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]", featuring the textural guitar-synthesiser work of [[Chuck Hammer]] and revisiting the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity". The song gave international exposure to the underground [[New Romantic]] movement when Bowie visited the London club "Blitz"—the main New Romantic hangout—to recruit several of the regulars (including [[Steve Strange]] of the band [[Visage (band)|Visage]]) to act in the accompanying video, renowned as one of the most innovative of all time.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=27–30}} While ''Scary Monsters'' used principles established by the Berlin albums, it was considered by critics to be far more direct musically and lyrically. The album's hard rock edge included conspicuous guitar contributions from Fripp and [[Pete Townshend]].{{sfn|Carr|Murray|1981|pp=108–114}} Topping the UK Albums Chart for the first time since ''Diamond Dogs'',{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=204}} Buckley writes that with ''Scary Monsters'', Bowie achieved "the perfect balance" of creativity and mainstream success.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=321–322}}

Bowie paired with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] in 1981 for a one-off single release, "[[Under Pressure]]". The duet was a hit, becoming Bowie's third UK number-one single.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=291}} Bowie was given the lead role in the [[BBC]]'s 1982 televised adaptation of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s play ''[[Baal (play)|Baal]]''. Coinciding with its transmission, a five-track [[EP]] of songs from the play was released as ''[[Baal (EP)|Baal]]''.{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 4}} In March 1982, Bowie's [[Cat People (Putting Out Fire)|title song]] for [[Paul Schrader]]'s film ''[[Cat People (1982 film)|Cat People]]'' was released as a single. A collaboration with [[Giorgio Moroder]], it became a minor US hit and charted in the UK top 30.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=208, 211–212}}{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=57}} The same year, he departed RCA, having grown increasingly dissatisfied with them,{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=397–401}} and signed a new contract with [[EMI America Records]] for a reported $17&nbsp;million.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=334–338}} His 1975 severance settlement with Defries also ended in September.{{sfn|Doggett|2012|p=389}}

[[File:Bowie 1983 serious moonlight.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|right|alt=A man with blonde hair and a white suit holding a microphone|[[Serious Moonlight Tour]], 1983]]
Bowie reached his peak of popularity and commercial success in 1983 with ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Mick |title=David Bowie interview from 1996: 'I have done just about everything that it's possible to do' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/david-bowie-interview-from-1996-i-have-done-just-about-everythin/ |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=11 January 2016 |access-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111023653/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/david-bowie-interview-from-1996-i-have-done-just-about-everythin/ |archive-date=11 November 2017}}</ref> Co-produced by [[Chic (band)|Chic]]'s [[Nile Rodgers]], the album went platinum in both the UK and the US. Its three singles became top 20 hits in both countries, where its [[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|title track]] reached number one. "[[Modern Love (David Bowie song)|Modern Love]]" and "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]" each made number two in the UK, accompanied by a pair of "absorbing" music videos that Buckley said <blockquote>activated key archetypes in the pop world... 'Let's Dance', with its little narrative surrounding the young [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] couple, targeted 'youth', and 'China Girl', with its bare-bummed (and later partially censored) beach lovemaking scene... was sufficiently sexually provocative to guarantee heavy rotation on MTV.{{sfn|Buckley|2000|p=344}}</blockquote> Then-unknown Texas blues guitarist [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]] guested on the album, featuring prominently on the title track.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=340–341}}{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=400–404}} ''Let's Dance'' was followed by the six-month [[Serious Moonlight Tour]], which was extremely successful.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=576–582}} At the [[1984 MTV Video Music Awards]] Bowie received two awards including the inaugural [[Video Vanguard Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1984/|title=1984 Video Music Awards|publisher=MTV|access-date=17 August 2016|at=Select "Winners", and then "View all nominees" under the relevant category|archive-date=6 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206065340/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1984/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[Tonight (David Bowie album)|Tonight]]'' (1984), another dance-oriented album, found Bowie collaborating with Pop and [[Tina Turner]]. Co-produced by [[Hugh Padgham]], it included a number of cover songs, including three Pop covers and the 1966 [[Beach Boys]] hit "[[God Only Knows]]".{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 5}} The album bore the transatlantic top 10 hit "[[Blue Jean]]", itself the inspiration for the [[Julien Temple]]-directed short film ''[[Jazzin' for Blue Jean]]'', in which Bowie played the dual roles of romantic protagonist Vic and arrogant rock star Screaming Lord Byron.<ref>{{cite web |last=Elder |first=Sean |title=David Bowie: The Man Who Showed the World |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2014/11/21/david-bowie-man-who-showed-world-283172.html |website=[[Newsweek]] |date=9 November 2014 |access-date=16 November 2019 |archive-date=16 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116181450/https://www.newsweek.com/2014/11/21/david-bowie-man-who-showed-world-283172.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The short won Bowie his only non-posthumous [[Grammy Award]] for [[Best Short Form Music Video]].<ref name=59thGA/> In early 1985, Bowie's collaboration with the [[Pat Metheny Group]], "[[This Is Not America]]", for the soundtrack of ''[[The Falcon and the Snowman]]'', was released as a single and became a top 40 hit in the UK and US.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=165–166}} In July that year, Bowie performed at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] for [[Live Aid]], a multi-venue benefit concert for Ethiopian famine relief.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |title=Flashback: David Bowie Triumphs at Live Aid in 1985 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flashback-david-bowie-triumphs-at-live-aid-in-1985-20160126 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=26 January 2016 |access-date=5 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127202419/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flashback-david-bowie-triumphs-at-live-aid-in-1985-20160126 |archive-date=27 January 2018}}</ref> Bowie and Mick Jagger duetted on a cover of [[Martha and the Vandellas]]' "[[Dancing in the Street]]" as a fundraising single, which went to number one in the UK and number seven in the US; its video premiered during Live Aid.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-best-collaborations-of-all-time-20110810|title=Readers Poll: Best Collaborations of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=10 August 2011|access-date=31 March 2025}}</ref>

[[File:David Bowie (1987).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|alt=A man sitting on a high-wire chair holding a microphone|Bowie performing during the [[Glass Spider Tour]], 1987]]

Bowie took an acting role in the 1986 film ''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]'', and his [[Absolute Beginners (David Bowie song)|title song]] rose to number two in the UK charts. He also worked with composer [[Trevor Jones (composer)|Trevor Jones]] and wrote five original songs for the 1986 film ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'', which he starred in.{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 5}} His final solo album of the decade was 1987's ''[[Never Let Me Down]]'', where he ditched the light sound of his previous two albums, instead combining pop rock with a harder rock sound.{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 6}} Peaking at number six in the UK, the album yielded the hits "[[Day-In Day-Out]]", "[[Time Will Crawl]]" and "[[Never Let Me Down (David Bowie song)|Never Let Me Down]]". Bowie later described it as his "nadir", calling it "an awful album".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McNair |first=James |title=Tumble & Twirl |magazine=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |page=101}}</ref> He supported the album on the 86-concert [[Glass Spider Tour]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=584–588}} The backing band included Peter Frampton on lead guitar. Contemporary critics maligned the tour as overproduced, saying it pandered to the current [[stadium rock]] trends in its special effects and dancing,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fyfe |first=Andy |title=Too Dizzy |magazine=Mojo Classic |date=January 2007 |issue=60 Years of Bowie |pages=88–91}}</ref> although in later years critics acknowledged the tour's strengths and influence on concert tours by other artists, such as [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[Madonna]] and [[U2]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=584–588}}