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David Bowie

David Bowie Quotes

Musician

David Bowie (January 8, 1947 – January 10, 2016) was a legendary British musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. Known as the 'chameleon of rock,' he was celebrated for his eclectic musical style, avant-garde stage personas, and constant reinvention. His career spanned decades, blending rock, pop, electronic, and soul. Iconic works include 'Space Oddity,' 'Heroes,' and 'Let's Dance.' Through characters like Ziggy Stardust, he challenged gender and identity norms, leaving a profound impact on popular culture.

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All Thinking People Ifs Writing Kind Artist Rocks Wanted Feels I Can Knows Mean Song Want Way Years Superhuman World Art Looks

Famous David Bowie Quotes

“The only real failure is trying to second-guess the taste of an audience. Nothing comes out of that except a kind of inward humiliation.”

Trying Kind Real Audience Failure Taste Inward Humiliation

Author:David Bowie

“I kind of miss that "becoming" stage, as most times you really don't know what's around the corner. Now, of course, I've kind of knocked on the door and heard a muffled answer. Nevertheless, I still don't know what the voice is saying, or even what language it's in.”

Knows Kind Stills Courses Language Voice Answers Doors Heard Stage Missing Becoming Corners Nevertheless Around The Corner

Author:David Bowie

“I'm rather kind of old school, thinking that when an artist does his work it's no longer his.”

Thinking Kind Doe School Artist Working It Old School

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“A song has to take on character, shape, body and influence people to an extent that they use it for their own devices. It must affect them not just as a song, but as a lifestyle. The rock stars have assimilated all kinds of philosophies, styles, histories, writings, and they throw out what they have gleaned from that.”

People Writing Kind Philosophy Character Use Body Song Stars Influence Rocks Style Shapes Lifestyle All Kinds Devices Rock Star Influencing People

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“The name Bowie just appealed to me when I was younger. I was into a kind of heavy philosophy thing when I was 16 years old, and I wanted a truism about cutting through the lies and all that.”

Years Kind Philosophy Wanted Lying Names Cutting Heavy Bowie Truism

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“A lot of people provide me with quotes. They suggest all kinds of things to say and I do, really, because I'm not very hip at all.”

People Kind All Kinds Hips

Author:David Bowie

“I guess a certain contingent of the musicians in London at the beginning of the '70s were fed up with denim and the hippies. And I think we kind of wanted to go somewhere else.”

Thinking Kind Wanted Certain Musician London Feds Somewhere Else Hippie Fed Up Denim

Author:David Bowie

“Some of us, I think, us small, pompous arty ones probably read too much George Steiner and kind of got the idea that we were entering to this kind of post-culture age and that we'd better do something postmodernist - quickly, before somebody else did.”

Thinking Kind Ideas Age Culture Too Much Posts Entering Pompous

Author:David Bowie

“It's much easier for me to say that, the kind of music I didn't listen to was pretty much that. I mean everything, from jazz to classical to popular. And Tibetan horns were a great part of it in 1966, '67.”

Kind Mean Easier Jazz Horns Tibetan

Author:David Bowie

“In fact, in Europe, I'm more kind of this bloke what writes lots of stuff.”

Writing Kind Facts Stuff Europe Blokes

Author:David Bowie

“I liked rock music, I kind of moved into that sphere, somehow thinking that somewhere along the line I'd be able to put the two together. And I suppose I very nearly did with the Ziggy character.”

Thinking Kind Two Character Able Together Lines Rocks Moved Spheres Rock Music

Author:David Bowie

“I thought that I could do some kind of vehicle involving rock musicals and presenting rock and characters and storyline in a completely different fashion.”

Kind Different Character Rocks Fashion Vehicle Involving Presenting Rock Music Storyline

Author:David Bowie

“I think Lindsay Kemp really introduced me to the work of Jean Genet, and through that, I kind of kept re-educating myself about other prose writers and poets.”

Thinking Kind Poet Prose Writers And Poets

Author:David Bowie

“And it's always the same kind of artist, I think, who has more enjoyment being slightly on the outside of things, who doesn't want to be sucked into the tyranny of the mainstream. Because once you get sucked into that, you're dead as an artist.”

Thinking Want Kind Artist Tyranny Enjoyment Mainstream

Author:David Bowie

“Rather than really have, like a close relationship to anything that's coming out today, people are just, they've got it on as background music. It's kind of the same way the cabdrivers use music; it's very disposable.”

People Way Kind Use Today Backgrounds Coming Out Disposable Close Relationship Background Music

Author:David Bowie

“I think I quite desperately wanted to have that kind of special companionship [like marriage ] . . . a special relationship, yet I hid from it for many, many years and pretended to be cynical about it.”

Thinking Years Kind Wanted Special Cynical Companionship Special Relationship

Author:David Bowie

“I have a very strong paternal streak. I'm a born father...I get such enjoyment out of being with children. Now they are enjoyable little things. They really are. I like their kind of humor. You can stuff all your punk bands, give me three children instead.”

Giving Kind Children Father Strong Enjoyment Little Things Very Strong Punk Enjoyable

Author:David Bowie

“It would be my guess that Madonna is not a very happy woman. From my own experience, having gone through persona changes like that, that kind of clawing need to be the center of attention is not a pleasant place to be.”

Needs Kind Would Be My Own Attention Gone Pleasant Very Happy Persona Center Of Attention Happy Woman

Author:David Bowie

“There's a schizoid streak within the family anyway so I dare say that I'm affected by that. The majority of the people in my family have been in some kind of mental institution, as for my brother he doesn't want to leave. He likes it very much.”

People Want Kind Has Beens Brother My Family Institutions Majority Dare Likes My Brother Affected Streaks Schizoid

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“And I saw the sax line-up that he had behind him and I thought, I'm going to learn the saxophone. When I grow up, I'm going to play in his band. So I sort of persuaded my dad to get me a kind of a plastic saxophone on the hire purchase plan.”

Kind Play Grows Lines Behinds Growing Up Saws Plans Dad Band My Dad Plastic Saxophone

Author:David Bowie

“I'm well past the age where I'm acceptable. You get to a certain age and you are forbidden access. You're not going to get the kind of coverage that you would like in music magazines, you're not going to get played on radio and you're not going to get played on television. I have to survive on word of mouth.”

Wells Kind Age Past Certain Television Mouths Radio Access Magazines Birthday Acceptable Forbidden Coverage 60th Birthday Word Of Mouth

Author:David Bowie

“You write down a paragraph or two describing several different subjects creating a kind of story ingredients-list, I suppose, and then cut the sentences into four or five-word sections; mix em up and reconnect them. You can get some pretty interesting idea combinations like this. You can use them as is or, if you have a craven need to not lose control, bounce off these ideas and write whole new sections.”

“I think that we have created a new kind of person in a way. We have created a child who will be so exposed to the media that he will be lost to his parents by the time he is 12.”

Thinking Way Kind Children Persons Political Lost Parent Media Exposed New Media

Author:David Bowie

About the Author

Born: January 8, 1947
Died: January 10, 2016
Known for: Musician
Quotes: 412

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Books & Sources

David Bowie: The Last InterviewRelated source material

David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Off the RecordRelated source material

David Bowie: The Last Interview: and Other ConversationsRelated source material

The pocket book of David BowieRelated source material

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