Exploring David Bowie’s relationship with Arcade Fire
For Arcade Fire, David Bowie was their collective hero and a significant reason why they became a band in the first place. Much to their astonishment, the feeling was very much a mutual one, an admiration which led to them striking up a friendship, performing together, and Bowie eventually providing backing vocals on an Arcade Fire track.
The friendship began when Arcade Fire travelled to New York in 2004 to perform their first headline show in the Big Apple with a performance at the Bowery Ballroom. To their delight, Bowie was in attendance that evening. Evidently, he was impressed by the spectacle, as he continued returning to Arcade Fire shows for years later.
Frontman Win Butler recalled to Apple Music in 2022: “So our first real headline show in New York was at the Bowery, which we just played at the Bowery again recently, Bowery Ball Room. And David Byrne and Bowie came to our first headline show, which was insane. I saw him up in the balcony. He must have been like maybe in his fifties then, Bowie. And David Byrne, a little bit younger. Like, what the fuck were they doing at that show? Like, why were they going to an indie rock show at the Bowery? So much other they could be doing. But both of them are so hungry for music and excited by culture and genuinely, just hungry.”
Despite Bowie being a legendary figure with nothing to prove, he still yearned for new music and wasn’t above attending shows at intimate venues. Although he’d enjoyed more success than he had ever imagined, Bowie still held the same intense love for music as he did as a teenager. The following year, Arcade Fire became wildly successful as their debut album, Funeral, was met with critical acclaim. As a result, they finally had the opportunity to perform with their idol as David Bowie joined the band at Radio City Music Hall in New York for a spine-tingling rendition of Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’.
In 2013, Bowie and Arcade Fire rekindled their creative partnership when the English musician provided backing vocals for their track, ‘Reflektor’. The group’s Richard Reed Parry later explained how the collaboration came about. He said: “It was just after The Next Day had come out. He basically just came by the studio in New York while we were mixing, just to have a listen to the stuff we were doing. He offered to lend us his services because he really liked the song. In fact, he basically threatened us – he was like, ‘If you don’t hurry up and mix this song, I might just steal it from you!’ So we thought, well, why don’t we go one better, why don’t you sing on our version? Thankfully he obliged, and we were really happy about that.”
Bowie frequently collaborated with other musicians during his earlier years but stopped doing so later in life. However, for Arcade Fire, he made an exception, which meant everything to the Canadian group. Following his death in 2016, the band released a poignant statement encapsulating their feelings toward Bowie. It reads: “David Bowie was one of the band’s earliest supporters and champions. He not only created the world that made it possible for our band to exist, he welcomed us into it with grace and warmth. We will take to the grave the moments we shared; talking, playing music and collaborating as some of the most profound and memorable moments of our lives. A true artist, even in his passing, the world is more bright and mysterious because of him, and we will continue to shout prayers into the atmosphere he created.”
Listen below to Bowie team up with Arcade Fire on ‘Reflektor’.
