“Odd for me to sing”: Why David Bowie grew tired of playing ‘Rebel Rebel’ live
No part of David Bowie was ever about keeping things stagnant. He was known to switch things up on every album he released, and even if it was a strange experiment, he never claimed to leave his fans bored whenever he went into the studio. Even if there were some highlights to be found across every piece of his discography, Bowie himself realised that a handful of his best moments are best left in the past.
Granted, Bowie has always been somewhat critical of his work, going back to his debut. While the idea of one of the greatest musical chameleons of all time accidentally becoming known as a sideshow performer feels like a nightmare, seeing him transform himself into different characters helped him reinvent every aspect of his personality.
Compared to a band like The Beatles, who adopted a persona on Sgt Pepper, every single one of Bowie’s albums felt like being introduced to a new character all over again. It may not have always been the easiest person to get along with, but whether that was the glammified rockstar Ziggy Stardust, the chilling cleanliness of ‘The Thin White Duke’, or the short-haired industrial rocker on Earthling, Bowie made it a point to move on after every one of them.
Because if someone isn’t capable of leaving those personas behind, it’s a lot easier to find yourself typecast in that role. Bowie might have tried to go full-on pop with Let’s Dance, but the thought of him trying to write another version of ‘Modern Love’ in the age of grunge made absolutely no sense.
Even when he was in his prime, though, it was easy to see when he started to get tired of his own personas. ‘The Starman’ may forever be known as the person who ushered glam rock into the public consciousness, but despite still being able to make knockout choruses on Diamond Dogs, there are moments where Bowie either feels creatively stifled or is making music because he has to.
While ‘Rebel Rebel’ is still one of the foundational pieces of that era, Bowie admitted that it was far from his favourite song to perform live as he began reinventing himself, saying, “Only infrequently have I written things for a particular generation, things like ‘Rebel Rebel’. Those kinds of songs are odd for me to sing now. It felt odd then, and it feels odder now. The ones that are generationally message-oriented, like ‘Rebel Rebel’, I feel very uncomfortable with, and I find I’m throwing them away a bit. I hope it won’t show.”
It’s not like the recording is exactly the most timeless piece of art he created, either. While it’s nice to hear Bowie try to become a lead guitarist in his own right, the riff and chords feel a lot closer to a Rolling Stones song than anything connected with Bowie, which may explain why it’s more firmly stamped in the 1970s than something like ‘Life on Mars?’ or ‘Changes’.
Still, the tune’s message is among the best of Bowie’s career and addresses problems that are relevant to this day. Many people have come to this music to feel less alone in the world, but even if they are different from everyone else around them, ‘Rebel Rebel’ will always remind people that it’s okay to go against the norm.
