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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

“Fame can take interesting men and thrust mediocrity upon them. If I hadn't learned how to be a musician and writer, it wouldn't have mattered what I did. I never knew too many rock people. I would get to a place, some nightclub or other, and see all these famous rockers bonding.”

Writing Music Fame Mediocrity

Author:David Bowie

“It's odd but even when I was a kid, I would write about 'old and other times' as though I had a lot of years behind me. Now I do, so there is a difference in the weight of memory.”

Writing Years Kids Differences Memories Behinds Weight Odd

Author:David Bowie

“I don't like to read things that people write about me. I'd rather read what kids have to say about me, because it's not their profession to do that.”

People Writing Kids Profession

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“Songwriting as an art is a bit archaic now. Just writing a song is not good enough.”

Writing Art Enough Song Bits Art Is Songwriting Good Enough Not Good Enough

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

“There have been times when I've written something and it goes out and it comes back in a letter from some kid as to what they think about it and I've taken their analysis to heart so much that I have taken up his thing. Writing what my audience is telling me to write.”

Thinking Writing Heart Has Beens Kids Audience Taken Written Letters Analysis

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“I find it easier to write in these little vignettes; if I try to get any more heavy, I find myself out of my league.”

Ifs Writing Trying Littles Easier Heavy League Vignettes

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“I hate albums that are really happy. When I am really happy, I don't like to hear happy albums, and when I am really sad I don't wanna hear happy albums... and I tend to gravitate towards the lonely and isolated anyway when I write.”

Writing Hate Lonely I Hate Albums Isolated Really Happy Really Sad

Author:David Bowie

“Someday, I'm gonna write a poem in a letter; Someday, I'm gonna get that faculty together.”

Writing Together Letters Someday Faculty

Author:David Bowie

“I always write well in New York.”

Writing Wells New York

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

“What I like doing is writing and recording and much more on the, I guess, the - on that creative level. It's fun interpreting songs and all that, but I wouldn't like it as a living.”

Writing Song Fun Levels Creative Interpreting

Author:David Bowie

“I really wanted to do, more than anything else, up until I was around 16, 17, was write musicals.”

Author:David Bowie

“To be taken seriously about doing something creative and probably travel a lot. That was my motivation. I knew I was good, I knew I could write. I also knew you could get laid really easily.”

Writing Motivation Creative Taken Getting Laid

Author:David Bowie

“On "Tonight" I think I was torn dreadfully between writing what I wanted to write, but keeping it in a style that would follow up what I had just done. That's where I feel I was untrue to myself as an artist . . . that album and, to a lesser extent, "Never Let Me Down."”

Thinking Feels Writing Done Wanted Artist Style Let Me Albums Tonight Torn Untrue Follow Up Let Me Down

Author:David Bowie

“I don't like people probing into my life, so I reveal as little as possible or lie about it as much as need be so as to give them something to write about.”

People Giving Writing Lying

Author:David Bowie

“I'm looking for backing for an unauthorized auto-biography that I am writing. Hopefully, this will sell in such huge numbers that I will be able to sue myself for an extraordinary amount of money and finance the film version in which I will play everybody.”

Writing Play Able Film Numbers Huge Amount Sells Extraordinary Versions Finance Hopefully Biographies Huge Numbers

Author:David Bowie

“Strangely, some songs you really don't want to write.”

Want Writing Reality Song

Author:David Bowie

“Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing. Always. It's because I'm not quite an atheist and it worries me. There's that little bit that holds on: 'Well, I'm almost an atheist. Give me a couple of months.'”

Giving Writing Wells Littles Spiritual Bits Worry Months Couple Little Bit Give Me Atheist Spiritual Life Questioning

Author:David Bowie

“What I do is I write mainly about very personal and rather lonely feelings, and I explore them in a different way each time. You know, what I do is not terribly intellectual. I'm a pop singer for Christ's sake. As a person, I'm fairly uncomplicated.”

Knows Way Writing Persons Different Feelings Christ Intellectual Lonely Sake Pops Singers Different Ways Uncomplicated Lonely Feeling

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 it all comes back to being very selfish as an artist. I mean, I really do just write and record what interests me and I do approach the stage shows in much the same way.”

Thinking Way Writing Mean Shows Artist Interest Records Stage Approach Selfish Selfishness

Author:David Bowie

“I had enormous self-image, problems and very low self-esteem, which I hid behind obsessive writing and performing. It's exactly what I do now except I enjoy it now. I'm not driven like I was in my twenties. I was driven to get through life very quickly.”

Writing Self Problem Enjoy Behinds Self Esteem Lows Twenties Driven Enormous Esteem Performing Obsessive Low Self Esteem

Author:David Bowie

“Once I've written something it does tend to run away from me. I don't seem to have any part of it - it's no longer my piece of writing.”

Writing Doe Seems Running Pieces Written Running Away

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

About the Author

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

Related Topics

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

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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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