Dave Grohl once picked his favourite David Bowie song
Dave Grohl grew up admiring David Bowie and lived every Bowie fan’s dream by sharing a stage with the singer at Madison Square Garden. To grace the stage alongside the Starman as anything approaching his contemporary was a true pinch-yourself moment for the Foo Fighters leader.
Following the performance at the legendary New York arena, which also featured appearances from The Cure’s Robert Smith, Lou Reed, and Billy Corgan, as part of the ‘Space Oddity’ singer’s birthday celebrations, Grohl struck up a friendship with Bowie. He even tried and failed to convince his hero to collaborate with him, but the project wasn’t appealing to the legendary late English megastar.
The Foos frontman had been tasked with making the soundtrack for a blockbuster film and felt Bowie would be an A-list addition, but unsurprisingly, he wasn’t interested in participating. Despite his refusal, Grohl still looked up to him similarly to how he did as a teenager.
Writing on his Instagram page, Grohl once explained: “David Bowie provided an indelible addition to the soundtrack of my life from an early age. His first live album, David Live was on regular rotation in my living room when I was a kid, and his classic track’ Suffragette City’ was quite a hit at the backyard parties I played with my nerdy high school band in the early ’80s (I sang the ‘Hey Man!’ background vocals with the best pre-pubescent shriek I could possibly squeeze out of my skinny little neck).”
Despite his comments about ‘Suffragette City’ soundtracking a pivotal part in his life, it’s not Grohl’s favourite Bowie effort. Instead, he chose the John Lennon collaboration ‘Fame’ from Young Americans, which the Foo Fighters singer believes is an unusual choice.
He told Uncut: “I’d like to pick one that not everyone else is going to pick. I Love ‘Fame’, it’s fucking amazing. The drums, the vocals, the arrangement, the performance. That song is fucking slimy. I think it’s classic Bowie – the guitar tones just sound dirty, it sounds like a fucking garage band and could have been a Sub Pop single.”
Grohl added: “There’s also ‘Hello Spaceboy’. We [Foo Fighters] played it with him at his 50th birthday party, at Madison Square Garden. Fuck man, the four of us onstage with his band – it was so fucking brutal. But for classic Bowie I’d have to say ‘Fame’.”
Fortunately for Grohl, he’s had the opportunity to perform alongside almost every one of his musical heroes, such as Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page, but judging by his remarks, the appearance alongside Bowie at Madison Square Garden is a sacred memory. Watch footage of Grohl making his childhood dream become a reality.
