Romy Haag: the forgotten muse of David Bowie
Among the renowned inspirations, entertainers, and loves in David Bowie‘s life, such as Ava Cherry, Marlene Dietrich, and Edith Piaf, Romy Haag is by far the least spotlighted. According to Haag, during one of his tour stops that began in Berlin, Bowie was in her company and was so enamoured that he didn’t want to depart, igniting his enduring love affair with the city.
As a transgender woman, Haag was, and still is, very much considered a brave figurehead for the queer Berlin community for her contributions across the 1950s and 1960s. She also became known as one of Europe’s queens of the underground, with a charm and elegance that lured many musical icons to her flame. In 1974, Haag opened her own cabaret in Berlin-Schöneberg called Chez Romy Haag, attracting visitors from all over, alongside many of the biggest names in the business, like Bryan Ferry, Tina Turner, Grace Jones, Iggy Pop, Freddie Mercury, Lou Reed, and Mick Jagger.
At the time, the club was a hotbed for partying and had a gritty atmosphere that appealed to the underground scene. “In the entrance,” Haag recalled, “there would be somebody dressed up like the pope who would bless the people coming into the club with a toilet brush and a champagne cooler. So the atmosphere was like that: very underground, trashy, kitschy. It was more [like] performance art. Like Andy Warhol aesthetic, let’s say it like that.”
This is also where Haag first crossed paths with Bowie – in 1976, he moved to Berlin with Iggy Pop to escape the spotlight and get clean. His relationship with Haag quickly became close, with Haag said to have pushed Bowie’s bisexuality and gender fluidity. In fact, Bowie was so besotted with the performer and the city that he was once over four hours late to a show. “He didn’t want to leave,” Haag said, “that started his love affair with Berlin.”
Bowie, having bid adieu to his Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke personas, was undergoing a profound transformation, yearning for a significant change in his life. While working on the inaugural instalment of his ‘Berlin Trilogy,’ Low, he deeply engaged with the German music scene and the avant-pop influences that Haag appeared to embody. In numerous aspects, the album and his association with Haag served as a cathartic experience and a personal refuge for Bowie, as they played a pivotal role in helping him conquer his struggles with substance abuse and chart a fresh and captivating creative course.
In return, Haag found herself captivated and motivated by Bowie’s influence, sparking her own venture into the pop music scene in 1977 with her debut single, ‘Liege-Samba’, following this up the year after with another song called ‘Superparadise’. Meanwhile, Bowie was deeply engrossed in creating the second album of the trilogy, Heroes.
Even though the pair had drifted apart by the third album, Lodger, Haag’s influence on Bowie never waned. In Bowie’s song ‘Boys Keep Swinging,’ which features on Lodger, he’s seen embracing drag culture within the music video and in the many lyrics exploring fluidity.
This didn’t escape Haag, who noticed the many parallels to her own artistry, saying, “It’s just like Chez Romy Haag. The setting is a complete, one-to-one copy of the stage in my club. He’s performing one of my favourite numbers. There’s this one part of the video where he smears his makeup and he rips off his wig… my signature move!”
Since then, Haag has persisted in touring and showcasing her distinct style of cabaret. However, her most lasting impact on the annals of mainstream music mostly stems from her brief yet fruitful collaboration with Bowie. As an icon of LGBTQ+ advocacy, she also remains a strong figure within the cultural and artistic landscape of Berlin.
