Dave Grohl recalls mortifying time he criticised David Bowie for his “imperfections”
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has recalled a time that he accidentally criticised David Bowie to his face only moments after meeting him in a studio.
The rock icon shared the story with Angela Hartnett OBE and Nick Grimshaw on an upcoming episode of their podcast Dish From Waitrose, reminiscing that he first saw Bowie perform at a British festival and found him to be “otherworldly”.
Grohl recalled, “I had just seen him perform at a, like a V Festival – or something like that.”
He went on, likely confirming it was the Phoenix Festival held in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1996, “It was like Prodigy, David Bowie, and we happened to be on the bill. I was standing in the photo pit and he was right there, he was right above me, singing. It was otherworldly. I mean, it was like a religious experience. I was just like, ‘He’s an angel, this is amazing’.”
However, his exact feelings in the moment didn’t quite translate well to the first time he came across the icon in real life.
Upon meeting him in the studio, Grohl addressed Bowie and told him, “I just saw you, like, it was such a trip to see you in human form right there, right in front of me.”
Curious, Bowie asked him, “What did you think? What did you feel?” and Grohl found himself floundering for a response: “I’m like, oh fuck,” he shared.
In a panic, he recounted, “The first thing to come out of my mouth, like an idiot, I said, ‘Well, the first thing I noticed was all of your imperfections’. I backpedalled so fast. I don’t know how I got out of that one. But I was like, what did I just… I would never say that to anybody. Isn’t that horrible?”
Despite this awkward blunder, he was still able to enjoy experiencing Bowie perform in the studio, sharing, “I swear to God, he’s one take — his voice, it’s the voice, there’s no effect. It’s just exactly like this. You get chills. You’re like, ‘Oh my God, that’s the most reassuring, beautiful thing, this is real’.”
Recently, Grohl made a rare political statement and admitted, “It’s hard not to feel political living in America, where we’re deeply divided. And there’s injustice, and there’s so much hate and fear, and it’s such a drag.”
Foo Fighters’ new album, Your Favourite Toy, will be released on April 24th.
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