Outside cover art

  Studio Album · No. 20

Outside Songwriting Credits by David Bowie

1995 Arista Records 14 tracks 75 min

Produced by David Bowie, Brian Eno  ·  Engineered by David Richards, Kevin Metcalfe

Arista Records Art RockIndustrial RockExperimental RockElectronica
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 14 of 14 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 14 / 14 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 14 tracks with documented writers, by whether David Bowie carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
14 trackswritten by David Bowie 0 tracksoutside writers
David Bowie's roles on this album

Share of the 14 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

14
Tracks
7
Lyricists
2
Producers
1.1 million
Worldwide Copies Sold
1995
Released
Data Insight

David Bowie wrote all the lyrics and built the album's non-linear murder-mystery narrative around recurring characters, while the music grew out of improvised studio sessions co-composed with Brian Eno, who shared production duties and reunited with Bowie for the first time since the Berlin Trilogy. Guitarist Reeves Gabrels and other band members including Kevin Armstrong and Mike Garson contributed to individual compositions, several of which were credited to the full ensemble. The pair used Eno's Oblique Strategies cards and role-playing prompts to generate material before Bowie shaped the results into songs.

David Bowie's Outside, released September 25, 1995 on Arista Records, is a sprawling industrial-art-rock concept album co-written and co-produced with Brian Eno, their first collaboration since the Berlin Trilogy sixteen years earlier, and subtitled 'The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle.' Structured as a non-linear murder mystery narrative set in 1999, with Bowie voicing multiple characters including Detective Nathan Adler, the album's sixteen tracks blend post-industrial noise rock, ambient passages, and art-pop in ways that directly influenced Nine Inch Nails and mid-90s alternative rock. Bowie and Eno co-wrote the majority of the album, with guitarist Reeves Gabrels, keyboardist Mike Garson, and drummer Sterling Campbell contributing to the dense textural sound. 'Hallo Spaceboy', remixed by the Pet Shop Boys, reached the UK top ten. Outside represents Bowie's most ambitious collaborative writing project since the Berlin Trilogy, with Eno's influence most heard in the dissonant ambient passages between the more structured songs.

Track Listing & Credits 14 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Leon Takes Us Outside
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
2
Outside
David BowieKevin Armstrong David BowieKevin Armstrong David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
3
The Hearts Filthy Lesson #35
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
4
A Small Plot of Land
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
5
Hallo Spaceboy #12
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
6
The Motel
David Bowie David Bowie David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
7
I Have Not Been to Oxford Town
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
8
No Control
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
9
The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty)
David BowieBrian EnoReeves Gabrels David BowieBrian EnoReeves Gabrels David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
10
Wishful Beginnings
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
11
We Prick You
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
12
I'm Deranged
David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian EnoReeves GabrelsMike GarsonErdal KızılçaySterling Campbell David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
13
Thru' These Architects Eyes
David BowieReeves Gabrels David BowieReeves Gabrels David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)
14
Strangers When We Meet #39
David Bowie David Bowie David BowieBrian Eno David Bowie (Vocals, Multi-Instrumentalist)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 7 contributors

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Frequently Asked Questions Outside

Who produced David Bowie's Outside?
Outside was produced by David Bowie, Brian Eno, and David Richards. It marked Bowie's first studio collaboration with Eno since the Berlin Trilogy albums of the late 1970s.
What is the concept behind David Bowie's Outside?
Outside is a non-linear concept album built around a murder-mystery narrative Bowie titled 'The Nathan Adler Diaries.' Its full title is '1. Outside,' and the story follows a detective investigating an art-crime killing, with Bowie writing spoken-word interludes voicing different characters.
How did David Bowie and Brian Eno write the songs on Outside?
Bowie and Eno generated most of the music through improvised studio sessions, using Eno's Oblique Strategies cards and character role-playing prompts to spark ideas. Bowie wrote all the lyrics and shaped the improvisations into finished songs, with several tracks co-credited to the wider band.
What was the lead single from David Bowie's Outside?
'The Hearts Filthy Lesson' was the lead single, released in September 1995. It reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart and number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.
How did the 'Hallo Spaceboy' single from Outside perform?
'Hallo Spaceboy' was released in February 1996 as a remix featuring the Pet Shop Boys. It became the album's highest-charting single in the UK, reaching number 12.
Who played guitar on David Bowie's Outside?
Reeves Gabrels was the principal guitarist on Outside and co-wrote several of its songs. Pianist Mike Garson, who had played with Bowie since the 1970s, also featured prominently across the album.
How did David Bowie's Outside perform on the charts?
Outside reached number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and number 21 on the US Billboard 200. It was certified Silver in the UK.

Sources