“I felt like a right c***”: David Bowie’s embarrassing encounter with Elvis Presley
No matter who you are, a positive first impression is vital. Even the late David Bowie tried to ensure he was on his best behaviour when meeting somebody new for the first time. The last thing he wanted to do was be viewed as a rock ‘n’ roll cliché, but sadly, he didn’t always succeed in this mission.
Although rockstars are expected to be larger-than-life figures who ooze extravagance, there’s also a time and a place for such displays. When Bowie was on stage, this was when he had a license to turn his persona up to 11. However, during his Ziggy Stardust era, the lines between Ziggy and Bowie became incredibly blurred, meaning he could never blend into the background.
During Bowie’s time as Ziggy, he had his first encounter with Elvis Presley, which he’d later regret. Although Elvis was ‘The King’, his star had undoubtedly faded, and the new generation had more interest in contemporary artists like Bowie.
The English star grew up admiring Presley, and in 1971, he finally had the opportunity to witness him perform at Madison Square Garden in New York. Seeing one of the most iconic figures in musical history at the world’s most iconic venue was not an opportunity that Bowie took for granted, and it was never his intention to make Elvis feel like the supporting act at his own headline show.
Bowie was still relatively new to fame and not used to being in the limelight. In his later years, he learned how to camouflage with the rest of the crowd but had yet to possess this skill upon seeing Presley. Instead, he naively attended the performance in full Ziggy Stardust mode.
“I came over for a long weekend,” Bowie once remembered of the regretful night. “I remember coming straight from the airport and walking into Madison Square Garden very late. I was wearing all my clobber from the Ziggy period and I had great seats near the front.”
He added: “The whole place just turned to look at me and I felt like a right c***. I had brilliant red hair, some huge padded space suit and those red boots with big black soles. I wished I’d gone for something quiet, because I must have registered with him. He was well into his set.”
It was a silly error on Bowie’s behalf, which he’d learn not to repeat. Due to his immense popularity, the audience naturally shifted their attention to Ziggy and away from Elvis. While it was never Bowie’s intention to become the star of the show, he was riddled with guilt for creating a red-haired bollard between Presley and the Madison Square Garden crowd.
However, Presley never said anything about the incident to Bowie, and years later, they almost worked together. Bowie wrote the track ‘Golden Years‘ with Elvis in mind, which he later recorded for Station To Station after Presley had rejected it. They shared a manager at RCA Records, who initiated the idea, but ultimately, Elvis had other plans for his artistry.
In 2002, Bowie explained: “There was talk between our offices that I should be introduced to Elvis and maybe start working with him in a production-writer capacity. But it never came to pass. I would have loved to have worked with him. God, I would have adored it.”
It could have been the perfect musical marriage if Bowie had the opportunity to work with Presley as a producer and writer. Not only could this have helped fire Elvis back to the top of the charts, but Bowie would have also been able to make it up to his hero after their rocky start.
