Did witches really attempt to steal David Bowie’s semen?
When we think about David Bowie, it’s often hard to break through and better understand the person behind the music. Bowie was the king of taking on different personas. He saw every album and piece of work as an opportunity to explore a different theme, which meant not just writing music that fell into a different category but also adopting a different look and attitude towards his music.
This was incredibly fitting for David Bowie; he was never one to be restricted creatively, so it made total sense for him to explore every aspect of a new project rather than just the sound. Some of his most famous personas included Major Tom and Ziggy Stardust, both of which were used as vehicles to usher in an iconic movement for David Bowie.
Another one of his personas that helped pave the way for one of Bowie’s most critically acclaimed albums was The Thin White Duke. This character was used on Bowie’s Station to Station album, which was published through RCA Records. It was an incredibly significant album, released shortly after Bowie had finished filming The Man Who Fell to Earth, and the album cover was still from the film itself.
While the album came out well and is a revered piece of work that Bowie fans love, it also reflected a tough period for Bowie. Like many musicians who were making it big in the 1970s and ‘80s, Bowie struggled with various aspects of addiction, and this was particularly hurting him while he was making this album.
“I was so blocked… So stoned… It’s quite a casualty case, isn’t it,” said David Bowie when he was discussing struggling with his addiction when making the record/ “I’m amazed I came out of that period, honest. When I see that now, I cannot believe I survived it. I was so close to really throwing myself away physically, completely.”
How did addiction affect David Bowie?
Bowie didn’t just lose himself physically during this period, but mentally as well. His weight went down a huge amount, he was also experimenting with different aspects of folklore, and he wasn’t sleeping properly at all. As a result, he began hallucinating, allowing strange people into his house and convincing himself that he was receiving strange messages from other bands.
The biographer David Buckley described Bowie during this period as being “zonked out of his mind most of the time.” A lot of the stories which have originated from that period are particularly disturbing, as it is reported that Bowie filled his house full of ancient Egyptian artefacts, constantly burnt black candles, hallucinated that he saw bodies fall past the window and also had his semen stolen by witches. There are also rumours that Bowie was convinced he was receiving secret messages from The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin while living in fear that they were going to attack him.
It’s tough to understand how much of what is reported here is true, given that for much of this period, Bowie struggled to remember himself; however, there is a chance the supernatural aspects happened, as how else would Bowie come up with such creative ideas? And who also knows whether or not there are mini witches and wizards David Bowies scattered around the world as we speak?
