David Bowie on how John Lennon “cut through the bullshit”
As one of the leading figures in modern music innovation, it’s difficult to imagine David Bowie ever valuing advice from anybody else. His music, lyrics, and the way he articulated himself in interviews all reflected the confidence and mastery of someone who knew and lived it all. However, there was one person who left a lasting impression on him: former Beatle and all-round genius John Lennon.
Before delving into the various reasons Bowie looked up to and appreciated his forward-thinking comrade, it was Bowie himself who was widely regarded as one of the most self-assured, straight-talking figures in the business. Despite his ever-evolving artistry, the musician rarely indicated possessing anything less than a clear-cut vision, even if he knew a lot of it could be viewed considerably transparently.
For instance, Bowie was one of the most creative musicians who ever lived, a real out-of-the-box thinker and someone who reached for limitless brilliance, even at the peak of his artistic creativity. As Nina Simone once said, “David ain’t from here”. However, the ‘Starman’ also regarded himself as one of the most pretentious players in the business, with a style that relied heavily on aesthetics and artificial substance alongside a specific type of abstraction that became his defining “brand”.
As he put it: “I consider myself responsible for a whole new school of pretension. I’m quite serious about that. The only thing that seems to shock anybody anymore is something that’s pretentious or kitsch.”
He added: “Unless you take things to extremes, nobody will believe or pay attention to you. You have to hit them on the head, and pretension does the trick.”
Perhaps that’s why he became so enamoured with Lennon, who, for all intents and purposes, could be viewed as the complete opposite of Bowie’s shimmering glam rock edge. In Bowie’s view, Lennon was the ultimate touchstone when it came to refreshing voices in music, mainly because of how to the point he was in conversation. Or, as Bowie put it, his simple “charisma”.
“I never forget something John Lennon told me,” he once said. “We were talking about writing, and I would always admire he used to cut through so much of the bullshit. [He would] just come straight to the point with what he wanted to say. He said, ‘It’s very easy, all you have to do is say what you mean, make it rhyme, put a backbeat to it.’ I keep coming back to that principle.”
Bowie also viewed Lennon’s directness as something Paul McCartney likely appreciated and a significant aspect of their writing partnership that ensured its widespread resonance. “John had an incredible that made you cut through things,” he continued. “I can see the effect that he must have had on McCartney.” He added: “I could imagine McCartney sorely misses that now.”
And, of course, he does. Not only did McCartney seek to keep Lennon’s spirit alive through various musical tributes, but he often speaks of his late friend’s defining qualities and how they continue to impact his artistry. Although the frictions and frustrations they endured together also sparked the end of the best band of the 1960s, no amount of feuding could remove their mutual admiration.
