David Bowie was a singular character. From his experimental music to his even more outlandish look, it’s not hard to see how Bowie could be misconstrued or even judged from time to time. The three musicians below disliked the Thin White Duke, for one reason or another.
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[RELATED: Artist’s Remorse: The Album David Bowie Regretted Making]
1. Frank Zappa
Musicians can change hands quickly. Particularly in Bowie’s heyday, players were trading bands left and right. In the grand scheme of things, it isn’t so strange that Bowie tried to steal one of Frank Zappa‘s guitarists, but the latter found it to be a grave offense.
“Fuck you, Captain Tom,” Zappa reportedly repeated upon hearing the news. It may not have been the most expansive slight ever, but it certainly was a damning blockade in their relationship.
2. Keith Richards
Keith Richards, like many other rock stars of his era, is notoriously loose-lipped when it comes to sharing his opinion on his fellow musicians. Bowie is among the musicians who ended up on The Rolling Stones guitarist’s bad list.
Bowie was almost just as known for his ostentatious look as he was for his seminal hits. While we think that makes him an icon twice over, Richards found his “posing” to be a little too flashy for his taste.
“It’s all pose,” Richards once said of Bowie. “It’s all fucking posing. It’s nothing to do with music. He knows it, too.”
3. Axl Rose
Axl Rose‘s beef with Bowie was less on the business side and far more personal. As the story goes, Bowie overstepped his bounds when it came to Rose’s girlfriend. The Guns N’ Roses frontman didn’t take kindly to the idea of Ziggy stepping on his toes.
“I’m gonna kill you, Tin Man,” Rose reportedly told his fellow rocker. It’s fair enough really. We wouldn’t want to compete with Bowie either.
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