# Reality (David Bowie album)
**Reality** is a studio album by the English musician [David Bowie](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-bowie), produced by Bowie with his longtime collaborator [Tony Visconti](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-visconti) and released in 2003 on [Columbia Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-records). Written and recorded in New York, where Bowie was then living, it followed the critically acclaimed *Heathen* (2002) and was made with Bowie's touring band in mind, giving the record what Bowie described at the time as a more straightforward rock sound.[1](https://store.davidbowie.com/products/reality-2025-remaster-cd?variant=50071405232368) • [2](https://www.davidbowie.com/reality) The album reached number 3 on the UK Official Albums Chart and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/david-bowie-reality/) • [1](https://store.davidbowie.com/products/reality-2025-remaster-cd?variant=50071405232368)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 2003, Columbia Records; UK chart peak number 3, catalog number 5125552, first chart date 27 September 2003[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/david-bowie-reality/) |
| Production | Produced by David Bowie and Tony Visconti; recorded in New York[2](https://www.davidbowie.com/reality) |
| Sales | Over 1 million copies worldwide; top 5 in the UK[1](https://store.davidbowie.com/products/reality-2025-remaster-cd?variant=50071405232368) |
| Covers | Jonathan Richman's "Pablo Picasso" and George Harrison's "Try Some, Buy Some" (from *Living in the Material World*, 1973)[4](https://www.davidbowie.com/2003/2003/07/08/bowies-new-album-is-now-a-reality) |
| Noted tracks | "New Killer Star", "The Loneliest Guy", "Looking for Water", "Bring Me the Disco King"[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/880-reality/) |
| Follow-up live album | *A Reality Tour*, recorded in 2003, released on DVD in 2004 and on CD in 2010[6](https://www.mmusicmag.com/reviews/01/M_Review_DAVID-BOWIE.pdf) |
| Later reissues | Remastered for the *I Can't Give Everything Away (2002–2016)* box set with input from Tony Visconti; standalone 2025 remaster reissued on CD and LP[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gGThV4f_hg) • [8](https://store.davidbowie.com/collections/reality) |
## Background and recording
Bowie conceived *Reality* as an album for his touring band. According to the description accompanying the official 2025 remaster, he wanted to write and create a record for the musicians he was playing with live, giving it a much more straightforward rock sound, which Bowie put in his own words as a "Thrusty" sound.[1](https://store.davidbowie.com/products/reality-2025-remaster-cd?variant=50071405232368) In a 2003 interview he wondered whether the album was almost the anti-*Low*, inverting the atmospheric approach of his 1977 collaboration with [Brian Eno](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-eno).[9](https://www.pauldunoyer.com/david-bowie-interview-2003/)
**Working with Visconti.** The album was again produced with Tony Visconti, the producer of Bowie's late-1970s Berlin trilogy as well as *Heathen*, and recorded in New York in 2002.[2](https://www.davidbowie.com/reality) • [7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gGThV4f_hg) Visconti's account of the sessions describes Bowie recording at least three separate vocal passes for each song: one immediately after the rhythm section was tracked, a midway take, and a final attempt near the end of the album, with no decision made in advance about which would be kept.[10](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/david-bowie-tony-visconti) Guitarist David Torn, who played on the album, continued working with Bowie on 2013's *The Next Day*.[11](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/davids-completely-focused-on-the-space-ahead-of-him-the-hairs-on-brandons-arm-were-standing-straight-up-then-the-hairs-on-the-back-of-my-neck-went-up-we-get-new-insight-into-the-making-of-an-eerily-prophetic-david-bowie-song) Session drummer [Matt Chamberlain](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-chamberlain) appears on one track only, and, as Visconti noted, he was playing to a completely different song when his part was recorded.[12](https://www.bowiewonderworld.com/press/00/031001sosreality.htm)
## Songs and covers
The album contains eleven songs, two of them covers.[4](https://www.davidbowie.com/2003/2003/07/08/bowies-new-album-is-now-a-reality) The first is [Jonathan Richman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-richman)'s "Pablo Picasso", also recorded by [John Cale](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cale) on *Helen of Troy*; the second is "Try Some, Buy Some", written by [George Harrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-harrison) and released on Harrison's 1973 album *Living in the Material World*.[4](https://www.davidbowie.com/2003/2003/07/08/bowies-new-album-is-now-a-reality)
Critics singled out several originals. In his review for Pitchfork, the critic [Eric Carr](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-carr) called "New Killer Star", the album's opener, its finest moment, and described "The Loneliest Guy" as nearly a cappella, with bare hints of strings and stray piano chords, a song whose mournful delivery makes no easy reading possible.[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/880-reality/) The closing "Bring Me the Disco King", built on brushed drums and film-noir piano, was highlighted by Apple Music's editorial notes as the album's final left turn.[13](https://music.apple.com/us/album/reality/1676545706) The Guardian's review praised the rocking archness of "New Killer Star" and the haunted mood of "Bring Me the Disco King".[14](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/12/popandrock.shopping8)
## Release and chart performance
Bowie previewed the album on 8 September 2003 at the Riverside Studios in London, performing its eleven songs before an audience of a few hundred people; the concert was filmed and broadcast live to cinemas in Europe and Asia, with a delayed broadcast in North America, and the album went on sale a week later.[15](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/04/18/selection-albums-alexandre-scriabine-ophelie-gaillard-david-bowie-tunde-adebimpe-werenoi-salif-keita_6597460_3246.html)
On the UK Official Albums Chart, *Reality* entered at its peak of number 3 on 27 September 2003 and spent five weeks on the chart, falling to 17, 35, 56, and 81 in successive weeks. It also peaked at number 3 on the Scottish and physical albums charts.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/david-bowie-reality/) The album later returned to chart in 2014, reaching number 10 on the Official Record Store Chart and number 42 on the Independent Albums Chart.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/david-bowie-reality/) Worldwide, it has sold over 1 million copies.[1](https://store.davidbowie.com/products/reality-2025-remaster-cd?variant=50071405232368)
Sources differ on the album's ordinal in Bowie's catalog: AllMusic and the official Bowie channel describe it as his 24th studio album, while the Guardian and Bowie's own album page call it his 26th.[16](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reality-mw0000449983) • [7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gGThV4f_hg) • [14](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/12/popandrock.shopping8) • [2](https://www.davidbowie.com/reality)
## Reception
Contemporary reviews were broadly favorable. Kitty Empire, writing in [The Observer](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-observer), called *Reality* a genuine return to form for Bowie, noting its powerful sense of place and reflective lyrics.[17](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/sep/14/features.review137) Caroline Sullivan's Guardian review found the album touching, intelligent, and listenable, a mix of classic rock, ambient duskiness, and the electronic touches Bowie had embraced since the 1990s, while declining Bowie's own claim that it stood alongside *Low*.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/12/popandrock.shopping8) Pitchfork's review emphasized how relaxed the album sounds, judging that its original material overshadows its covers, with the Harrison cover "Try Some, Buy Some" its weakest point and "Pablo Picasso" a substantial improvement among the covers.[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/880-reality/) AllMusic placed the album alongside its predecessor, arguing that the two records made the case that the 2000s could have become the second-best decade of Bowie's career.[16](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reality-mw0000449983) Metacritic's summary of critic reviews quotes Uncut's judgment that the album was neither a calculated trip to Bowie's past nor a ride to current pop trends, but had an energy all its own.[18](https://www.metacritic.com/music/reality/david-bowie/critic-reviews)
## Tour and aftermath
Bowie toured the album extensively on the Reality tour. Shows recorded during the 2003 tour became the live album *A Reality Tour*, released on DVD in 2004 and issued on CD in 2010, by which point it was Bowie's first album release in seven years.[6](https://www.mmusicmag.com/reviews/01/M_Review_DAVID-BOWIE.pdf) During the tour Bowie suffered a heart attack onstage.[19](https://www.nationalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/202605.pdf) *Reality* proved to be his last studio album for a decade, until *The Next Day* in 2013.[20](https://www.grammy.com/news/interview-the-next-day-with-tony-visconti/)
## Reissues
*Reality* was remastered for the 2025 box set *I Can't Give Everything Away (2002–2016)*, which collects Bowie's four final studio albums, *Heathen*, *Reality*, *The Next Day*, and *[Blackstar](https://www.edgepedia.org/blackstar-album)*, with newly remastered versions made with input from Tony Visconti; the set also includes a resequenced remaster of the *A Reality Tour* live album.[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gGThV4f_hg) • [21](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-31-best-reissues-of-2025) A standalone 2025 remaster followed on CD and LP through the official Bowie store, alongside a remastered *A Reality Tour Live* on 3LP and 2CD.[8](https://store.davidbowie.com/collections/reality) In July 2026, standard reissues of the four late-period albums, including *Reality*, were released on CD and vinyl by [Parlophone](https://www.edgepedia.org/parlophone) and Rhino.[22](https://shop.warnermusic.it/products/reality-cd-david-bowie)
## References
1. [Reality (2025 Remaster) CD – David Bowie, official store](https://store.davidbowie.com/products/reality-2025-remaster-cd?variant=50071405232368)
2. [Reality – David Bowie, davidbowie.com](https://www.davidbowie.com/reality)
3. [REALITY – David Bowie, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/david-bowie-reality/)
4. [Bowie's New Album Is Now A Reality – David Bowie, 2003](https://www.davidbowie.com/2003/2003/07/08/bowies-new-album-is-now-a-reality)
5. [David Bowie: Reality Album Review, Pitchfork (Eric Carr, 2003)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/880-reality/)
6. [A Reality Tour review, M Music & Musicians Magazine](https://www.mmusicmag.com/reviews/01/M_Review_DAVID-BOWIE.pdf)
7. [Tony Visconti reveals how David Bowie made 'Reality', official YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gGThV4f_hg)
8. [Reality collection, David Bowie official store](https://store.davidbowie.com/collections/reality)
9. [David Bowie Interview 2003 – Paul Du Noyer](https://www.pauldunoyer.com/david-bowie-interview-2003/)
10. [David Bowie and Tony Visconti: Recording Reality, Sound on Sound / BowieWonderworld](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/david-bowie-tony-visconti)
11. [MusicRadar interview with David Torn](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/davids-completely-focused-on-the-space-ahead-of-him-the-hairs-on-brandons-arm-were-standing-straight-up-then-the-hairs-on-the-back-of-my-neck-went-up-we-get-new-insight-into-the-making-of-an-eerily-prophetic-david-bowie-song)
12. [David Bowie and Tony Visconti: Recording Reality, BowieWonderworld press archive](https://www.bowiewonderworld.com/press/00/031001sosreality.htm)
13. [Reality – Album by David Bowie, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/reality/1676545706)
14. [David Bowie, Reality, The Guardian (Caroline Sullivan, 2003)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/12/popandrock.shopping8)
15. [Le Monde, Sélection albums (April 2025)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/04/18/selection-albums-alexandre-scriabine-ophelie-gaillard-david-bowie-tunde-adebimpe-werenoi-salif-keita_6597460_3246.html)
16. [David Bowie: Reality Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reality-mw0000449983)
17. [Going through the emotions, The Observer (Kitty Empire, 2003)](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/sep/14/features.review137)
18. [Critic Reviews for Reality, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/reality/david-bowie/critic-reviews)
19. [National Review, May 2026 issue](https://www.nationalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/202605.pdf)
20. [Interview: The Next Day With Tony Visconti, GRAMMY.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/interview-the-next-day-with-tony-visconti/)
21. [The 31 best rock reissues and deluxe editions of 2025, Louder Sound](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-31-best-reissues-of-2025)
22. [Reality – CD – David Bowie, Warner Music Italy Shop](https://shop.warnermusic.it/products/reality-cd-david-bowie)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical practice and theory › Popular music genres › Rock works, labels, discographies, awards, and infrastructure › Rock studio albums › 2000s onward rock albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license