David Bowie Thought Bob Dylan Hated Him After They Met Under ‘Very Bad’ Circumstances
David Bowie and Bob Dylan met in the 1970s, much to Dylan’s chagrin. Bowie admired Dylan and excitedly spoke to him. When looking back on the conversation, though, Bowie believed that he’d talked to the other musician a little too much. He couldn’t tell if he’d frightened or disgusted Dylan, and he never found out. Dylan avoided speaking to him after the encounter.
David Bowie didn’t think he impressed Bob Dylan
In the mid-1970s, Dylan and Bowie met in New York, and Bowie was certain he made a bad impression.
“I saw Dylan in New York seven, eight months ago,” he told Playboy in 1976. “We don’t have a lot to talk about. We’re not great friends. Actually, I think he hates me.”
He explained that they met under “very bad” circumstances. Bowie was feeling talkative and directed his stream of consciousness at Dylan. While he walked away from the interaction feeling that he’d upset Dylan, he never found out. Dylan certainly didn’t reach out to him afterward to let him know.
“We went back to somebody’s house after some gig at a club,” he explained. “We had all gone to see someone, I can’t remember who, and Dylan was there. I was in a very, sort of … verbose frame of mind. And I just talked at him for hours and hours, and whether I amused him or scared him or repulsed him, I really don’t know. I didn’t wait for any answers. I just went on and on about everything. And then I said good night. He never phoned me.”
He didn’t find the American musician very impressive
While Bowie felt that he’d done something to irritate Dylan, he didn’t walk away from the conversation feeling impressed by him. Still, he wanted to know Dylan’s opinion of him.
“I’d just like to know what the young chap thought of me,” he said. “I was quite convinced that what I had to say was important, which I seem to feel all the time. It’s been quite a while since somebody really impressed me, though.”
Bowie’s admission that he didn’t find Dylan impressive wasn’t exactly an insult, though. He simply didn’t think celebrities were impressive.
“I like meeting other artists, but they rarely impress me,” he said. “Regular people do, people who aren’t playing power games. I know power plays immediately and I’m better at it than most of them, so I discount them in a flash.”
David Bowie wrote a song for Bob Dylan
While he said he didn’t find Dylan impressive, he had admired him enough to write the 1971’s “Song For Bob Dylan.” He saw Dylan as the king of the music industry and used the song to express his desire to take his place.
Years later, Bowie also covered Dylan’s 1997 song “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven.” It went unreleased for years but became available alongside a cover of John Lennon’s “Mother” in honor of what would have been Bowie’s 74th birthday.
