David Bowie (June 16, 1979) Lodger Album Advert – New Musical Express

 Black‑and‑white advertisement from NME promoting David Bowie’s new album Lodger, featuring a striking image of Bowie leaning against a tiled wall in a distorted pose that echoes the album’s themes of displacement and motion

Writer: Uncredited

(RCA Records Advertising Dept.)

Artist: David Bowie

Date: June 16, 1979

Length: 1 page advertisement

The advert announces the release of David Bowie’s album Lodger on RCA Records, the final part of his Berlin trilogy with Brian Eno. The layout features a large photograph of Bowie in a suit and mesh shirt, appearing to fall or lean sideways against a gridded bathroom wall with a sink visible below. The text beneath the image reads “Post Card – Lodger BOW LP1 – David Bowie

PUBLICATION

Publication: New Musical Express (NME)

Date: June 16, 1979

Country: United Kingdom

Section / Pages: Page 13 – Advertisement

Title: Lodger Album Advert

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

Event: Promotion for David Bowie’s album  Lodger

Era: Late 1970s Berlin trilogy period

Tone: Stylised and modernist

Photography: Black‑and‑white image of Bowie in a tilted pose against a tiled wall

Audience: NME readers and Bowie fans

PRIMARY QUOTE

"David Bowie New Album Available now."

THE STORY BEHIND IT

Released in May 1979, Lodger was David  Bowie’s final collaboration with Brian Eno in  the Berlin trilogy, following Low and “Heroes.”  The album explored themes of travel, identity,  and alienation through a mix of experimental  rock and world music influences. 

This advert appeared in NME as part of RCA’s UK campaign to promote the album, using a  distorted photographic image to mirror the  record’s conceptual and visual style.  The design echoes the album cover  photography by Brian Duffy, which depict s Bowie as a fallen traveller in a foreign room.

WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS

Event: Advertisement for David Bowie’s album Lodger

Era: 1979

Tone: Artistic and enigmatic

Photography: Avant‑garde portrait of Bowie in a bathroom‑like setting

Audience: Music press readers and record  buyers

"Post Card – Lodger BOW LP1."

CONTEXT AND NOTES

This advert captures the visual and conceptual aesthetic of Bowie’s Lodger period — fragmented, restless, and international. The use of  multiple languages and the postcard motif  reflect the album’s themes of transience and  global identity. Appearing in NME at the height of Bowie’s artistic experimentation, it  illustrates how his music and imagery were  inseparable in defining his late‑1970s persona

RELATED MATERIAL

• David Bowie – Lodger Album (1979)

• Brian Eno – Berlin Trilogy Collaborations (1977–1979)

• NME – RCA Promotional Adverts Archive 1979

Additional related entries can be found via the  tag index at the foot of the page.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non‑commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference.  No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.

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