David Bowie’s Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Downloads revealed!
The music world was in mourning on January 11, 2016 following the announcement of the death of rock legend David Bowie.
From his humble beginnings as David Jones in Brixton, south London, to worldwide megastardom, David Bowie was never far from the charts.
In recognition of his hugely successful career, spanning six decades, we count down David Bowie's Digital Top 40, the most downloaded songs from his impressive chart history. View David Bowie's complete Official UK Chart history here.
Life On Mars
It's perhaps no surprise that Life On Mars is Bowie's most downloaded song in the UK. Originally featuring on 1971 album Hunky Dory, it wasn't until Bowie found success with his Ziggy Stardust album that Life On Mars got some recognition. It finally became a single in 1973 and reached Number 3.
Life On Mars found new fans when it was featured in a BBC drama of the same name. The show's follow-up, Ashes To Ashes, was also named after a Bowie hit (Number 9 on this countdown).
Under Pressure
This 1981 Number 1 was a true megastar collaboration, bringing together David and fellow UK rock legends Queen, with David and lead singer Freddie Mercury locked in a powerful vocal face-off. The talented pair even improvised some of the lyrics during the recording.
Under Pressure was heavily sampled for Vanilla Ice's 1990 Number 1 Ice Ice Baby.
Heroes
Despite originally missing the Top 20 upon original release in 1977, Heroes has found new fans in the digital age. Bowie's uplifting anthem was covered by 2010's X Factor finalists – including One Direction – for a charity single, taking it to Number 1, and was adopted as theme song by Team GB during their 2012 London Olympics campaign.
Let's Dance
Bowie's most recent solo Number 1 in 1983 – he'd go on to top the charts with Mick Jagger on a cover of Dancing In The Street in 1985 – spent three weeks at the summit. It's also his best selling single in the UK.
Space Oddity
The song that started it all, Space Oddity was Bowie's debut chart hit back in 1969. The haunting track also scored another first for David – when re-released in 1975, it became his very first chart-topper. Four more would follow.
David Bowie's Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Downloads
| TRACK | PEAK POSITION | YEAR | |
| 1 | LIFE ON MARS | 3 | 1973 |
| 2 | UNDER PRESSURE (WITH QUEEN) | 1 | 1981 |
| 3 | HEROES | 24 | 1977 |
| 4 | LET'S DANCE | 1 | 1983 |
| 5 | SPACE ODDITY | 1 | 1969/1975 |
| 6 | STARMAN | 10 | 1972 |
| 7 | CHANGES | N/A | 1972 |
| 8 | ASHES TO ASHES | 1 | 1980 |
| 9 | WHERE ARE WE NOW | 6 | 2013 |
| 10 | REBEL REBEL | 5 | 1974 |
| 11 | PEACE ON EARTH/LITTLE DRUMMER BOY | 3 | 1982 |
| 12 | MODERN LOVE | 2 | 1983 |
| 13 | CHINA GIRL | 2 | 1983 |
| 14 | THE JEAN GENIE | 2 | 1972 |
| 15 | SOUND AND VISION | 3 | 1977 |
| 16 | ZIGGY STARDUST | N/A | 1972 |
| 17 | ALL THE YOUNG DUDES | N/A | 1995 |
| 18 | DANCING IN THE STREET (WITH MICK JAGGER) | 1 | 1985 |
| 19 | MAGIC DANCE E.P. | N/A | 1986 |
| 20 | ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS | 2 | 1986 |
| 21 | THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD | 39* | 1971 |
| 22 | GOLDEN YEARS | 8 | 1975 |
| 23 | YOUNG AMERICANS | 18 | 1975 |
| 24 | OH YOU PRETTY THINGS | N/A | 1971 |
| 25 | QUEEN BITCH | N/A | 1971 |
| 26 | SUFFRAGETTE CITY | N/A | 1972 |
| 27 | FASHION | 5 | 1980 |
| 28 | SORROW | 3 | 1973 |
| 29 | THE LAUGHING GNOME | 6 | 1973 |
| 30 | CAT PEOPLE (PUTTING OUT FIRE) | 26 | 1982 |
| 31 | FAME '90 E.P. | 28 | 1990 |
| 32 | AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN | N/A | 1986 |
| 33 | LIVE EP (WITH ARCADE FIRE) | N/A | 2005 |
| 34 | JOHN I'M ONLY DANCING | 12 | 1972 |
| 35 | MOONAGE DAYDREAM | N/A | 1972 |
| 36 | WILD IS THE WIND | 24 | 1981 |
| 37 | ROCK 'N' ROLL SUICIDE | 22 | 1974 |
| 38 | FIVE YEARS | N/A | 1972 |
| 39 | KOOKS | N/A | 1971 |
| 40 | DRIVE IN SATURDAY | 3 | 1973 |
*Released as double-A side with Strangers When We Meet in 1995.
©2016 Official Charts Company . All rights reserved.
Main image: REX
Relive David Bowie's incredible chart career in our gallery of his album artwork below:
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M
maidenfan
cant believe my idol david bowie has passed away ive got everyone of his albums but im sorry to say blackstar is his worst album, but he has left me with so many memories so i can't complain, first lemmy now david music will now be poorer
Jamie Crampton
Pretty sure Changes was a "triple a-side" with Space Oddity and Velvet Goldmine in 1975.
R
RockGolf
Compare & contrast to the list of David Bowie's top 20 US (including rock charts) & UK hits.
http://www.sporcle.com/games/rockgolf/bowie_hit_singles
Also, last time I checked, almost 40 Bowie tracks were in the iTunes top 200 in the UK. Several were the same track on 2 or more albums, but it looks likely that we'll see 5 or more tracks in the actual top 40 if this continues. Maybe "Changes" will finally debut on the UK charts.