Six years without David Bowie
The artist, who died in 2016, would have turned 75 this Saturday. Check out ten interesting facts about the chameleon of rock.
Deutsche Welle (DW) David Bowie, whose 75th birthday is this Saturday (January 8th), was already a legend during his lifetime. Almost a dozen biographies have been published about the pop visionary, and almost no secrets about him await discovery, but there are unusual facts that few people know. One of them was the difficulty the artist faced buying bread in Berlin. Here are ten curiosities about the chameleon of rock.
1. The role of drugs
David Bowie was an eclectic artist who assumed various alter egos throughout his career: whether as Aladdin Sane or The Thin White Duke, everything went well, only Ziggy Stardust caused serious problems for the singer. Drug use meant that at some point Bowie was no longer able to distinguish between himself and the figure he represented: "It became very dangerous. I really doubted my sanity," states his biography. Bowie: Loving the Alien, by Christopher Sandford.
2. Option for Berlin
Fascinated by artists from the Weimar Republic era, such as Bertolt Brecht or the painters of the "Brücke," Bowie decided to move to Berlin in 1976—incidentally, also to get away from drugs after years of excess. Although West Berlin was considered the heroin capital of Europe at the time, Bowie actually managed to overcome his addiction during his stay in the city.
3. Hungry tenant
Iggy Pop was Bowie's flatmate in the Berlin neighborhood of Schöneberg – but only temporarily. It's said that Bowie grew tired of the punk icon, who constantly helped himself to food from the refrigerator. Iggy Pop then moved to the back of the building.
4. Confusion at the bakery
When Bowie once ordered bread at a Berlin bakery, the saleswoman asked: "Rye, wheat, wholemeal, spelt, oat, four-grain, sliced, round, half, or whole?" The singer asked his friend Edgar Froese for help, who later recounted this incident in his biography. Tangerine Dream − Force MajeureAnd he asked her, "Please explain to her that I don't want to buy the bakery, but only bread."
5. Valuable recording
Speaking of bread: in 1963, Bowie, who at the time still used his original name, David Jones, recorded the song I Never Dreamed At the tender age of 16, he formed his band, The Kon-Rads. The band was hoping for a recording contract, which unfortunately never materialized. The sensation was even greater when the only recording of the song resurfaced in 2018: David Hadfield, who had previously been the drummer for The Kon-Rads, discovered it in a bread basket during a move. At an auction that same year, it fetched just under £40 (€45 at the time) – more than four times the estimated value.
6. Advocate for long hair
Since his career as a musician with the Kon-Rads didn't work out, Bowie tried his hand at activism. At 17, he founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long Hair in Men. Among its demands: men with long hair should be called "darling" and offered to have their bags carried.
7. Unordained Knight
Whether actors like James Bond or musicians like the Beatles, many British celebrities have been decorated or honored with medals by the royal family. Except for Bowie, who rejected the title of "Commander of the Order of the British Empire" in 2000, as well as knighthood in 2003: "I really don't know what it's for. It's not what I've worked for my whole life."
8. Individualist
Bowie certainly wasn't someone who said "yes" to everything. As artistic director, filmmaker Danny Boyle (Who wants to be a millionaire?) asked the singer in 2012 to perform Heroes at the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games. But Bowie refused.
9. Visionary
For a visionary like Bowie, the internet was already not new territory in the 1990s: in 1996, he made three versions of the song available. Telling lies The song was downloaded from their website. It was downloaded 300 times. How long do you think that would have taken with a conventional modem back then?
10. Music to convince the editor
Do you remember Brad Pitt's brutal fight in the basement in... Fight ClubThe film was based on a book by Chuck Palahniuk, who once said in the magazine... Rolling Stone that the novel would never have been published without Bowie. To reach editor Gerald Howard, who was surrounded by other young authors in a hotel bar, Palahniuk threw ten dollars in coins into the jukebox and selected the song. Young americansBowie's song sold 40 consecutive times. While the angry competitors quickly withdrew, Palahniuk managed to sell his... Fight Club and other books for the publisher. By the way, Gerald Howard can't remember the infinite loop on the jukebox.
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