David Bowie Loved John Lennon So Much He Ignored His Harsh Opinion on Glam Rock

When The Beatles ended in 1970, many artists competed to become the next top dog, including David Bowie, Elton John, and Led Zeppelin. However, many of these artists owed much of their passion for music to the fab four and were influenced by their songwriting and style. David Bowie was a massive fan of The Beatles, especially John Lennon. When he first met the “Imagine” singer, he was so starstruck that he completely ignored Lennon’s brutal opinion of his style. 

John Lennon insulted glam rock when he met David Bowie

Bowie began his music career in the 1960s but didn’t become a rising star until 1969’s “Space Oddity” became a top-five hit in the U.K. Soon after, he was one of the most famous musicians to come out of the U.K. in the 1970s. While his rock was inspired by previous bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, his presentation was unique. Bowie had an audacious style, including wearing makeup and tight, colorful outfits. 

Many found his performing style controversial, while others enjoyed how Bowie pushed the boundaries of how male musicians could express themselves. It was drastically different than Lennon’s style, who kept things simple on stage but liked to stir the pot with his politically-charged lyrics. Bowie’s style became known as glam rock, an exuberant rock that artists like Queen, KISS, Elton John, and Alice Cooper also picked up. 

In a 1995 interview with MTV, David Bowie recalled his first meeting with John Lennon, where he asked the former Beatle what he thought about glam rock.

“It’s really hard to remember when I actually met John, it must have been sort somewhere in middle 1974, my guess,” Bowie said. “When I asked him what he thought (about) what I was doing, ‘glam rock’, he said, ‘Yes, great sir. But it’s just rock and roll with lipstick on’.”

While Lennon’s opinion isn’t entirely wrong, it diminishes the artistic vision that many glam rock artists had. It played into their musical persona and delivered a more interactive and vibrant experience that audiences enjoyed. However, Bowie wasn’t angered by his comment as he was so overwhelmed by speaking to Lennon that he ignored it.

“I was impressed as I was with virtually everything he said,” he added. “He was probably one of the brightest, quickest, witted, earnestly socialist men I’ve ever met in my life. Socialist in true definition, not in a fabricated political sense. But a real humanist with a really spiteful sense of humor, which of course, being English, I adored. I just thought we’d be buddies forever and get on better and better and all that. So I know the Beatle that I always liked. Everybody had their favorite Beatle.”

Bowie said what impressed him most about Lennon was his use of puns

David Bowie’s dreams came true when he collaborated with John Lennon. The pair teamed up on two songs on Bowie’s 1975 album Young Americans. Lennon played the guitar on Bowie’s cover of “Across the Universe”, and co-wrote and performed “Fame” with Bowie. “Fame” became one of Bowie’s biggest hits, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. 

Through their collaboration, Bowie picked up on Lennon’s ability to use puns, which became one of his favorite aspects of his songwriting. 

“The one thing that I really adored about Lennon’s writing was his use of the pun, which was exceedingly good,” Bowie shared. “I don’t think anyone has ever bettered Lennon’s use of the pun. I played on it more; Lennon would throw it away in one line. I tend to build a song upon it. I treat my puns a lot more seriously.”