The damning rejection David Bowie suffered at the hands of The Beatles in 1968
David Bowie is an artist who appeared to walk on water. Therefore, it’s incredibly difficult to imagine that he ever faced rejection in his life.
However, there was a time before he became ‘The Starman’ and was recognised as one of the all-time greats. His lucky break wasn’t gifted to him on a silver platter; instead, he had to have a million doors slam in his face before one was finally opened.
In 1968, Bowie was still firmly in its infancy. He was only 21-years-old, but after releasing his debut single as a teenage starlet four years prior, his career never accelerated in the way he envisaged. If all had gone to plan, he’d have already been a household name, but found himself back where he started.
His self-titled album arrived on Decca in 1967, but Bowie was not a fully-formed artist. He sounded unsure of his creative identity, far removed from the bold and brashy character he’d later represent.
Decca didn’t see Bowie going on to write songs like ‘Heroes’ or ‘Ashes to Ashes’, making the executive decision to release him from his record deal. Getting dropped could have been a make-or-break moment for Bowie, but he had no ambitions to settle for a life in the real world, and instead, used it as fuel to prove Decca wrong.
The ordeal only enhanced his hunger to become a superstar, but the next step was finding his new record label. The dream factory in Bowie’s eyes, and the place that would turn all his aspirations into possibilities, was The Beatles’ Apple Records.
The Beatles were more than a band in 1968; they were essentially one of the biggest brands in the entertainment world. Every young artist was desperate to sign to Apple Records purely to be associated with the Fab Four, rather than the label’s ability to create stars. became the label that every young artist in London wanted to be on.
It was a hotbed of talent and motorbike mischief, which Bowie wanted to be a part of. But, alas, Apple Records had no interest in adding him to their roster.
Bowie’s then-manager, Kenneth Pitt, was never a fan of Apple. In his memoirs, he shared his reservations about the label, calling it a “deplorable organisation” that showed “sheer amateurism and downright rudeness that confronted us during the next three months, the time it took Apple to give us a decision.”
Apple appointed Peter Asher as their head of A&R during this three-month period, which didn’t sit well with Pitt, who wrote, “It now seemed to me that his only qualification for joining Apple was that his sister was the actress Jane Asher, girlfriend of Paul McCartney.”
Eventually, after consistently knocking down Asher’s door, Pitt got a response, which wasn’t the news that his client wanted to hear.
Pitt explained: “It took me some considerable time to make contact with him, but when I did he told me that the label was not interested in David. I asked if he would let me have a letter to that effect and on July 15 he wrote: ‘As we told you on the phone, Apple Records is not interested in signing David Bowie. The reason is that we don’t feel he’s what we’re looking for at the moment. Thank you for your time.'”
The lack of a proper explanation angered Pitt immensely, before he was even more enraged by the fact that “Asher couldn’t spare any of his own time to personally sign the terse letter”.
If Bowie’s experience with Apple Records is anything to go by, it was far from the slick, well-oiled operation you’d expect from the label belonging to the world’s biggest band.
Admittedly, The Beatles themselves had bigger fish to fry than checking out every demo that arrived in the post. However, considering their position in the music industry, they could have employed the best-in-business A&Rs to seek talent on their behalf, ensuring the likes of Bowie don’t slip through the cracks.
The setback didn’t stop Bowie from chasing his dream and making Apple rue their mistake. The following year, Bowie would make a name for himself with his second album, and by 1973, he was the most recognisable pop star on the planet.
While the rejection could have made Bowie lose faith in himself, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. Considering it took three months to get a response, they likely wouldn’t have given him the hands-on support to reach the heights that awaited him. As much as an association with The Beatles could have helped those with lesser talent, Bowie ultimately didn’t need a leg-up from the Fab Four or anybody else, for that matter.
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