From James Bond to Dave Grohl: The most famous rejections of David Bowie
Although he is widely remembered for his generally affable persona that delivered many fascinating takes over the years, David Bowie could also be a prickly son of a gun when he wanted to. Over the course of his career, anecdotes exist of him surprising people, either with his outlandish comments, actions, or reactions that somehow went against the robust character he cultivated in the media.
From flashing his “notorious” member in a coke-fuelled haze at an unsuspecting Debbie Harry to his dalliance with Fascism when ‘The Thin White Duke’ came around, it was almost a prerequisite of Bowie’s character to surprise. When it came to his music, he did this continuously from the moment he recorded and released 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, right until his last offering, 2016’s Blackstar. Therefore, it was only natural that this would carry on outside the music in its most compelling and incendiary moments.
One area where Bowie really made a name for himself was in the list of potential collaborators he rejected. From prominent musicians to exciting acting roles and even archaic titles that would have strengthened his legacy in the eyes of some, Bowie stuck to his guns across his career and spurned opportunities that most would bite the hand off. This led to a string of famous figures leaving his doorstep with their tails between their legs.
He was keen to collaborate but he also always had his own singular vision, in many ways, that is the height of his artistry. Without further ado, join us as we list the most famous rejections of David Bowie.
The most famous rejections of David Bowie:
Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters
When Dave Grohl’s outfit, Foo Fighters, were invited to be one of the special guests at Madison Square Garden to mark The Thin White Duke’s 50th in 1997, the former Nirvana man was delighted. He had grown up with Bowie as one of his idols. Even more unbelievably for him, after that momentous occasion, the pair kept the communication flowing until Bowie died in 2016. This warm relationship made Grohl feel he could ask his hero to collaborate with him in 2014 when he needed a different vocal flavour for a film’s soundtrack.
However, Grohl was naive in his thoughts. Initially, the ‘Starman’ politely turned him down and explained that he had watched the movie and that it was “not his thing”. Undeterred by Bowie’s polite way of saying no, their correspondence continued until the ‘Life on Mars’ singer finally put an end to proceedings by telling Grohl: “All right, now that’s settled, then fuck off.”
Instantly, Grohl was sent into a state of panic, distraught that his hero hated him. However, he soon realised that Bowie was joking in telling him to get lost. He recalled: “With every muscle in my body loosening from the crippling anxiety of the past few minutes, I sunk back into my living room chair, born again. Hallelujah! I could finally breathe knowing that David Bowie did not actually wish me to ‘fuck off’ (or maybe he did, but in the nicest way possible, and even that was an honour).”
Coldplay collaboration
Coldplay are a huge band, but not too big for David Bowie. In 2016, the group revealed that they had sent a letter to Bowie asking him to collaborate with them on a song, but he wasn’t a fan of it at all. Coldplay drummer Will Champion told NME that he responded bluntly: “It’s not a very good song, is it?”. Champion continued: “He was very discerning – he wouldn’t just put his name to anything. I’ll give him credit for that!”
Elsewhere, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has put a slightly different spin on the tale. Going into more detail about being spurned by Bowie, he said: “He called me and said, ‘It’s not one of your best'”. He’s also claimed that he has now forgotten the song in question because it was truly awful.
Red Hot Chili Peppers producer
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have achieved a lot in their time, but having David Bowie produce their work is not one of them. As their fans will know, they repeatedly asked the Londoner to produce them, but he always turned them down. When speaking to Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones during his radio show Jonesy’s Jukebox in 2016, frontman Anthony Kiedis explained what went down.
He recalled: “Every record we ever made, we had the band discussion: ‘Who should we get to produce this record?’ ‘I don’t know, we have to try someone new. Let’s get David Bowie! So, in the beginning, we would call him, and he would say no, respectfully. Then, later, we would write long e-mails explaining everything and why it was time for us to really get our ships on – and he always respectfully declined… For two minutes, I was heartbroken, and then I would hear Chad Smith play drums, and I’d be like, ‘We’re good, we can go do something else.'”
He continued: “We asked him to produce By the Way, as we were writing By the Way, and then we asked him again for our next record, which was Stadium [Arcadium]. He said no to us like two or three times, but his mate [Brian] Eno, who we’ve also been asking our entire career to please produce a record for us, has said no eight times. All good. You gotta ask. And by the way, “no” is a reasonable answer. It’s one of a couple of answers you could get, and it’s acceptable.”
Two honours from the Queen
Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Bob Geldof and even Bono have all received various honours from the late Queen, Elizabeth II. However, Bowie would join a cooler club, joining the likes of John Lydon, Paul Weller and George Harrison, when he turned down a CBE in 2000 and a knighthood in 2003. The latter was for “having a major contribution” to British culture which was “inspirational and significant… over a long period of time.”
He couldn’t be swayed, though. Of the knighthood, he is reported to have told The Sun: “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”
Flight of the Conchords appearance
New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords are lifelong fans of Bowie. When they wrote an episode for their US TV series where Bowie visits them in a dream, they thought there was no one better to play him than the man himself. Plus, the episode even featured the song, ‘Bowie (Bowie’s In Space)’. Duly, feelers were put out.
The group’s Jemaine Clement, later recalled to The Spinoff: “The someone we knew talked to the someone they knew’s friend of someone who represented him and possibly approached him about it. And he (or quite possibly merely a representative) said that he’d just done Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s Extras and didn’t want to do another thing acting as a version of him. He’d rather just continue being the actual him. Fair enough, so would we. We wouldn’t be meeting our hero. Through the disappointment I was extremely relieved. As exciting as it is to meet your hero, the relief of not having to meet them is another, quite different and pleasant feeling.” Alas, it’s still a shame not to have seen two of our favourites collide.
Danny Boyle musical
Having a musical film made about your life is surely the pinnacle of living. What could be better than seeing a sprawling cast recounting your life in all its blazing glory, complete with complicated sets, dances and most likely, a Lloyd-Webber score to really make the thing ooze a cool sense of ‘Yeah’. In Bowie’s mind, though, he couldn’t give a toss; he’d already written his legacy.
When celebrated filmmaker Danny Boyle, the man behind Trainspotting, came a-knocking with a script written by the eminent Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Bowie was unphased. He turned it down. Boyle later explained that the rejection left him in such a state of “grief”, that he took on the biopic Steve Jobs to “fill the space in my heart left by the abandoned Bowie script”.
James Bond movie A View to a Kill
Another offer that most people wouldn’t turn down would be the chance to star in the James Bond franchise. Before you get your hopes up, no, David Bowie was not in the running to be 007; he was far too leftfield for that – but a villain? He was perfect. The story goes that he was offered the role of genocidal maniac-cum-businessman, Max Zorin in 1985’s A View to a Kill. It didn’t tickle his fancy, though.
His reason? “I didn’t want to spend five months watching my stunt double fall off cliffs,” Bowie said later. He instead chose to play Jareth, the Goblin King, in the following year’s Labyrinth – one of the finest moments of his career. Early on in the publicity for the film, it was even announced that Bowie would be in it, which embarrassingly forced those in charge to change it. Luckily for them, though, Christopher Walken was eventually hired, with it becoming one of his defining roles.
Hook
For many of us, Steven Spielberg’s 1991 classic Hook, was a staple of childhood. A magical retelling of the story of Peter Pan, augmented by the natural power of Robin Williams, the film is noted for the list of famous cameos it contains, including appearances from the likes of David Crosby, Phil Collins, George Lucas and Carrie Fisher.
You know where this is going. According to a persistent rumour, Bowie too could have appeared in Hook, but not in a cameo, but as one of the stars. Allegedly, Spielberg wanted Bowie to play the title character, but he ultimately turned him down. Famously, Dustin Hoffman became Captain Hook, and the rest was history. The film was a box office smash.
