🧑‍🎤John and David Bowie thread

[LordGoodgod]

Considering the recent and great posts in other threads about John's friendship with David Bowie, I thought it was worthy of having a thread devoted exclusively to their mutual admiration and many connections!



David Bowie (1983): I'll never forget something John Lennon told me. We were talking about writing, and I had always admired the way that he used to cut through bulls**t, just come straight to the point with what he wanted to say. And he said, "it's very easy, all you have to do is say what you mean, make it rhyme, and put a backbeat to it." I keep coming back to that principle as a writer.

 

[LordGoodgod]

David Bowie (1983): Yes, absolutely. I mean, it was so easy [writing 'Fame' together]. John had incredible charisma that made you cut through things. I can see the effect that he must have had on McCartney. I would imagine that McCartney sorely misses that now.


Here's David introducing and performing 'Working Class Hero' live with his band Tin Machine in 1999:

 

[Mariana Fraga]

"It's impossible for me to talk about popular music without mentioning probably my greatest mentor, John Lennon." - David Bowie


by and © Bob Gruen

 

[Ingryd Medeiros]

They where amazing together.

 

[Skylar Moody]

My favorite story about the two: When Bowie was with John, Paul & Linda McCartney and May Pang and wanted John to hear a test pressing of Young Americans.

He played it multiple times to the point where Paul was getting frustrated and asked to hear another album. Despite this, Bowie continued to play, only until John stepped in and politely requested the same thing Paul did. David got very upset and had to leave the room for a minute.

When John and May returned home that night, Bowie called John to explain his frustrations and John apologized without knowing he had offended him. John was a major influence for Bowie and I believe in this moment, John recognized it TRULY!

 

[LordGoodgod]

In 1979, David Bowie was invited to be a host/participant on BBC Radio 1's program 'Star Special', in which the chosen guest played D.J. and talked about the songs they chose. The second song of the show is John's "Remember" from Plastic Ono Band.

Listen to David talk about the song here (at 8:43)

 

[LordGoodgod]

David Bowie (1979): I think it's a really despondent track. He left his band and he was doing his first solo album. I found it rivetingly depressing, and really enjoy playing it to myself. It's called "Remember" by John Lennon. Very good piano, I think it's Billy Preston actually.

 

[LordGoodgod]

"'Across The Universe’… was a flower power sort of thing John Lennon wrote. I always thought it was fabulous, but very watery in the original, and I hammered the hell out of it. Not many people like it. I like it a lot and I think I sing very well at end of it. People say I used John Lennon on the track…but let me tell you…no one uses John Lennon. John just came and played on it. He was lovely." - David Bowie [NME, 1975]

"David told me he was going to do a version of ‘Across The Universe’ and I thought, ‘great,’ because I’d never done a good version of that song myself. It’s one of my favorite songs, but I didn’t like my version of it. So I went down and played rhythm on the track. Then he got this guitar lick, so me and him put this together in another song called ‘Fame’ which is on his next album [Young Americans] too. I had fun and it’ll be out soon." - John Lennon [Melody Maker, 1975]

 

[Good Dog Nigel]

The Story of 'Fame': John Lennon & David Bowie​

FAME – David Bowie, John Lennon & Carlos Alomar.

He got his first #1. I felt like that was like a karmic thing, you know? With me and Elton, I got my first #1 ('Whatever Gets You Thru The Night'), so I passed it on to Bowie and he got his ('Fame').

www.johnlennon.com

 

[LordGoodgod]

"After John and I had talked for hours he decided to break the ice with David, ‘Hey David, do you have another one of those sketch pads?’ ‘Certainly.’ David separated the leaves in half and gave John a bunch of pages and a pencil. They then entered into a fun sketching contest, each drawing rapid caricatures of each other." - Tony Visconti (2006)



(I grabbed this photo of John's drawing at the David Bowie Is exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, in 2018. )

 

[LordGoodgod]

The Story of 'Fame': John Lennon & David Bowie​

FAME – David Bowie, John Lennon & Carlos Alomar.

He got his first #1. I felt like that was like a karmic thing, you know? With me and Elton, I got my first #1 ('Whatever Gets You Thru The Night'), so I passed it on to Bowie and he got his ('Fame').

www.johnlennon.com

Thank you for this wonderful compilation of recollections and stories, Nigel!! It was Ava Cherry's mention in there that reminded me of the photo I had:

"David was just over the moon. He drew David a caricature of himself. And David put it in this solid gold frame. He really loved it."

I have to presume the one I saw and photographed is the one she mentions here, which would explain the inscription John gave on it! Not too sure, as it definitely wasn't in a solid gold frame anymore...! It certainly seems that between this and Tony Visconti's recollections that John and David bonded a lot through drawing. Hopefully the examples between them all survive in the relevant archives!