Artists Who Tried To Be Bowie

[Blazer]

Bowie wrote "All the Young Dudes" specifically for Mott the Hoople. He also produced it and sang the chorus.

That year that Bowie died was also the year where I had my accident which destroyed my right shoulder. There was a Bowie tribute night not soon after that happened and the organiser of the event was basically pushed on stage for the big finale and was handed the lyric sheet of "All the young dudes" and told to sing it. He was caught completely off guard and couldn't do it.

So he looked at me and went "WALTER, YOU SING IT!"

I grabbed the lyric sheet from him, went on stage and sang it, from the top of my lungs, channeling both my physical pain and the grief over losing Bowie in that performance.

When I reached the final line I raised my damaged arm as high as it could go and crumpled up the lyric sheet before throwing it down. To this day, that was my best ever performance.

And the closest I got to being Bowie.

 

[fender4life]

Marc Bolan of T rex was probably the closest i can think of, tho he came along about the same time maybe even before bowie so not sure about that. Maybe Bowie was trying to be Bolan !

 

[Rustbucket]

though, I usually get absorbed into junior Brown's tasty licks watching that STP clip...

I think one thing we can all agree is Junior Brown has not stylistically been influenced by Bowie

 

[Greggorios]

That year that Bowie died was also the year where I had my accident which destroyed my right shoulder. There was a Bowie tribute night not soon after that happened and the organiser of the event was basically pushed on stage for the big finale and was handed the lyric sheet of "All the young dudes" and told to sing it. He was caught completely off guard and couldn't do it.

So he looked at me and went "WALTER, YOU SING IT!"

I grabbed the lyric sheet from him, went on stage and sang it, from the top of my lungs, channeling both my physical pain and the grief over losing Bowie in that performance.

When I reached the final line I raised my damaged arm as high as it could go and crumpled up the lyric sheet before throwing it down. To this day, that was my best ever performance.

And the closest I got to being Bowie.

Hey @Blazer, that's a moving story and must be a great memory. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Lefty Addams]

Bolan was never trying to be Bowie, he didn't need to be.

 

[boris bubbanov]

Sometimes you do what is already working for your contemporaries.

I was expecting some poster to bring up a man or woman born in 1990 - and I see none. That is a bit of a shame, I think. You sure could do worse.

Billy MacKenzie's first demo was a cover of one of Bowie's hits, as I recall. A couple that were influenced some IMO were Cathal Coughlan and Thomas Dolby but neither did the full monte Bowie, I don't think.

Now ya'll have left me depressed. Prince gone, Bowie gone, Billy gone, Robert Palmer gone. It stinks.

 

[Willie Johnson]

TV On The Radio has always had a Bowiesque vibe to my ear.

 

[Stringbanger]

Ian Hunter. Mott the Hoople even covered All The Young Dudes.

Is it a cover if the writer never recorded it?

Haha. I see what you did there!

Bowie did record it and the take is on Youtube. Not sure if it was officially released at least during his lifetime though.

Bowie wrote "All the Young Dudes" specifically for Mott the Hoople. He also produced it and sang the chorus.

Wait, are you guys Bowie fans? On “David Live” (1974) “All The Young Dudes” is on album #1 , track #8.

So, although it was a live recording (oxymoron), it’s still a recording. I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t appear on any of his studio recordings.

 

[Double Stop]

Wait, are you guys Bowie fans? On “David Live” (1974) “All The Young Dudes” is on album #1 , track #8.

So, although it was a live recording (oxymoron), it’s still a recording. I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t appear on any of his studio recordings.

Yeah, Bowie wrote the song but then gave it to Mott The Hoople. Mott The Hoople released it in July 1972 and at that time, Bowie had yet to even record a studio version of it. So, technically, It's a "cover", but Mott recorded and released it first so it's what I consider to be the "definitive" version. Bowie then recorded his own version in December of 1972, but it remained unreleased until the late '90s.

This is different than say, Hendrix covering "All Along The Watchtower" after Dylan had already recorded and released it on "John Wesley Harding".

 

[Stringbanger]

Yeah, Bowie wrote the song but then gave it to Mott The Hoople. Mott The Hoople released it in July 1972 and at that time, Bowie had yet to even record a studio version of it. So, technically, It's a "cover", but Mott recorded and released it first so it's what I consider to be the "definitive" version. Bowie then recorded his own version in December of 1972, but it remained unreleased until the late '90s.

This is different than say, Hendrix covering "All Along The Watchtower" after Dylan had already recorded and released it on "John Wesley Harding".

You are correct. Mott The Hoople’s recording is the original. It was given to them by Bowie to avert their pending breakup of the band.

I just wanted to add that Bowie did, in fact, record the song (albeit) live.

 

[Papanate]

Hmm, you clearly have never heard of Bauhaus lead singer Peter Murphy. The guy definitely went to infusion centers on a daily basis to have Bowie DNA injected into him.

I know him quite well - as to who took what from whom - I'll just it's up in the air if they did at all - more like creators going two different directions.

 

[Oxidao]

Bowie was such a cool and versatile character, that imo 'most' of the people wanted, at one time or another, 'to be like him'.

 

[0SubSeanik0]

I recall reading that Mick Jagger probably had a little bit of David Bowie in him once.

 

[Kandinskyesque]

Brian Molko from Placebo and Brett Anderson from Suede display pretty obvious Bowie influences.
Simple Minds got their name from a line in a Bowie song, and their earlier albums are very influenced by the Berlin sound from Bowie's mid 70's albums.

 

[msalama]

Wait, are you guys Bowie fans?

I sure as f**k am!!! Had the Ziggy hairdo and everything back in the day. Alas, am far too old for any of that now: imagine a horrible, slimy, glittery grandad down the glam disco and that'd be me if I still had one

 

[cyclopean]

the sovereign.

 

[slauson slim]

 

[WelhavenTW]

Japan was pissed at Duran Duran for stealing their image. I think both groups were heavily inspired by Brian Ferry/David Bowie.

 

[posttoastie]

 

[wulfenganck]

Still a bit of a far stretch for "Artist who tried to be Bowie".
The masks and costumes Gabriel used in Genesis from around '71 onwards until the "Lamb Lies Down On Broadway"-tour were all related to certain songs and not a glamrock fashion/style item.