The “awkward” first encounter between David Bowie and Elton John
There’s a habit in music to assume that all the masters must be friends. Sometimes, it’s assumed that, unless there’s an explicit feud or some public fight, those at the top of the musical food chain must have been friends. Upon hearing stories of certain clubs or hotels that served as cultural hotspots, it’s often thought that everyone must have mingled and hung out, sharing their experiences of fame. However, as for Elton John and David Bowie, that wasn’t the case. Instead, they found that they simply had nothing to talk about.
It would probably be assumed that it would be quite the opposite. While their music was different, with Elton John forever leaning more towards pop while Bowie experimented with all corners of rock, their theatrical style would surely give them at least something to discuss. Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust years, with his sequined jumpsuits and high glamour, aren’t worlds away from John’s signature costumes, so it makes sense why someone might group them together as two titans of British music with at least a few things in common.
But when they first met up, they found that, really, the similarities stopped with the sequins. As they sat down for tea, Bowie recalled an awkward air of attempted friendship falling flat. “Another Brit, Elton John was also staying in the Beverly [Hills Hotel] in one of the many Bungalows strewn around in the grounds. He invited me for tea,” he remembered in Moonage Daydream.
“I’d met him only once before and although he was cheerful and quite friendly we didn’t exactly become pals, not really having that much in common, especially musically,” he said. It seems that Bowie didn’t find any similarities between his own theatrical tracks and John’s, perhaps seeing his own work as more artistically driven or theatrical rather than walking the radio-friendly path that the piano man did. But nevertheless, they had tea and tried to make it work. “We had tea and cakes and we asked each other how we found America and after a polite half-hour I made my apologies, declining a further cuppa and went for a wander down Sunset,” Bowie continued, and that was that.
However, that wasn’t the end of their tale. After a few more run-ins, the pair eventually struck up a friendship, seemingly finding some mutual ground in a mutual friend. Elton John recalled to the Evening Standard, “We started out being really good friends. We used to hang out together with Marc Bolan, going to gay clubs.”
However, he added, “I think we just drifted apart.”
Reports on exactly why Bowie and John stopped being friends differ. John himself cited a time when the Starman insulted him, writing, “He once called me ‘rock ’n’ roll’s token queen’ in an interview with Rolling Stone, which I thought was a bit snooty.” Matching Bowie’s own suggesting that they merely were too different people who would never really see eye to eye any more than casual acquaintances, John added, “He wasn’t my cup of tea. No; I wasn’t his cup of tea”.
But there’s seems to be a connection here between John, Bowie and Bolan, with their friendships mirroring one another. The latter two were tight friends during their earliest days, seeming to be absolute musical counterparts, but hit rocky ground as they both found fame. The musical press began to pit them against one another, leading to a suspected rivalry forming between them.
Perhaps that’s what happened with John, too, making Bowie cautious about the musician. There are rumours that he didn’t like the fact that John was finding success with ‘Rocket Man’, threatening to usurp his own track, ‘Space Oddity’, as the new anthem for the soundtrack. In 2013, he even released a track called ‘Like A Rocket Man’. Maybe Bowie always had a slight jealous disposition, struggling to be happy for his friends and having to make rivals of them.
Or maybe the two were simply too different to ever make it work. Not everyone has to be the best of friends.
