A “rebellious” show from legendary rock outfit The Rolling Stones left David Bowie impressed with the band.
He and frontman Mick Jagger would collaborate together decades later on a cover of Dancing in the Street, but the appreciation for one another’s music was clear from the start. Bowie would see his first concert by The Rolling Stones in 1963, saying it was a “rebellious” attitude which left an impression at the time. Asked about his musical heroes by legendary talk show host Michael Parkinson, Bowie recalled seeing the Jagger-fronted band at the Brixton Odeon in 1963. The interview also had Bowie deliver a delightful impression of Jagger, who had shouted at someone in the audience who told him to “get your hair cut”.
Bowie would say of his first experience with The Rolling Stones: “I saw him first in 1963, I think it was and I think it might have been at the Brixton Odeon. Somebody will remember the tour, everybody remembers everything these days.
“The Rolling Stones were opening up for them and it was the first time that I’d ever saw them and they weren’t very well known. There was about six kids who rushed to the front and that was their fanbase at the time. Everybody was there just for Little Richard. It was priceless, I’d never seen anything so rebellious in my life.
“Someone shouted out ‘get your hair cut’ and Mick says, I’ll never forget these words ‘What and look like you?’ I thought oh my god, this is the future of music.” Jagger was equally full of praise for Bowie and his music, saying there was an “element of competition” to their friendship.
Jagger recalled: “There was always an exchange of information within our friendship. And I suppose there was always an element of competition between us, but it never felt overwhelming.
“When he’d come over, we’d talk about our work—a new guitarist, a new way of writing, style and photographers. We had a lot in common in wanting to do big things onstage—using interesting designs, narratives, personalities.”
Bowie’s collaboration with Jagger would be one of the many high-profile efforts from the Space Oddity songwriter, who had to pass on what would have been his dream collaboration.
Bowie said: “I really wanted Norman Rockwell to do an album cover for me. Still do. I originally wanted him for the cover of Young Americans. I got his phone number and called him up. Very quaint.
“His wife answered and I said, ‘Hello, this is David Bowie,’ and so on. I asked if he could paint the cover. His wife said in this quavering, elderly voice, ‘I’m sorry, but Norman needs at least six months for his portraits.’
“So I had to pass, but I thought the experience was lovely. What a craftsman. Too bad I don’t have the same painstaking passion. I’d rather just get my ideas out of my system as fast as I can.”
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