Michael Stipe: The Man Who Sold the World
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John Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, film producer, music video director, and visual artist. He was the lyricist and lead singer of the alternative rock band R.E.M. from their formation in 1980 until their dissolution in 2011.
Stipe is noted for the “mumbling” style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.’s visual image, often selecting album artwork and directing many of the band’s music videos. Outside the music industry, he owns and runs two film production companies, C-00 and Single Cell Pictures.
David Robert Jones known as David Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, considered by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world’s best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
