David Bowie was known for having some bizarre projects, but his strangest might have included fake Bob Dylan songs in a musical
David Bowie has a stage show featuring his music called Lazarus. However, the musical was almost very different from its final form. Reportedly, it was almost a tribute to Bob Dylan as David Bowie wanted the music to consist of fake songs written by the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer. (Showbiz)
Lazarus is a jukebox musical featuring David Bowie’s music. The show is a spiritual sequel to the movie The Man Who Fell to Earth, which starred Bowie. The musical continues the story of Thomas Newton, a humanoid alien stuck on Earth. Lazarus premiered off-Broadway in 2015, a few months before Bowie’s death.
During the making of Lazarus, Bowie had a different idea than using his music. In an interview with GQ, novelist Michael Cunningham shared what Bowie originally envisioned for the show. It would take place in the future and feature a “stockpile” of unreleased Bob Dylan songs that would have been written by the “Starman” singer.
“David reluctantly told me that he imagined the musical taking place in the future,” Cunningham explained. “The plot would revolve around a stockpile of unknown, unrecorded Bob Dylan songs, which had been discovered after Dylan died. David himself would write the hitherto-unknown songs.”
Many questions surrounded the idea, such as what would a fake Dylan song supposedly written by him sound like? Plus, it’s hard to tell how the real Dylan would have felt about it.
“Who could write a convincing fake Dylan song? Well, okay, that would be David Bowie, if anyone, but who (including David Bowie) would want to?” Cunningham asked. “And how would the actual Bob Dylan feel about that?”
Bowie did write “Song for Bob Dylan” for his 1971 album Honky Dory. However, that song was for the folk/rock singer, not one that was written in his voice.
The original idea for Lazarus seems outlandish, but it would have been fitting for the experimental and atypical work Bowie was known for. However, it could have been hard for David Bowie to get this to fly with Bob Dylan as Bowie thought he hated him. Dylan never officially voiced any contempt toward Bowie, but the “Space Oddity” singer had his concerns.
In a 1976 interview with Playboy, Bowie said he thought Dylan hated him. They supposedly met under “very bad” circumstances, and Bowie was concerned he left the wrong impression to Dylan.
We went back to somebody’s house after some gig at a club. We had all gone to see someone,” Bowie shared. “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 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 goodnight. He never phoned me.”
David Bowie is #1 on Sky Arts' list of 50 influential UK artists.
The late David Bowie has just been named the UK's most influential artist of the last half-century by a panel of experts across all arts industries for Sky Arts.
The list recognises artists across the UK's visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, music, film and TV industries. The Ziggy Stardust musician was given the #1 slot due to his aptitude for multiple mediums: music, film and fashion.
David Bowie was a pioneer of arts and culture who continues to influence countless artists to this day. Aside from his musical influence, his exploration of gender expression had a huge impact on popular culture. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2006, a Saturn award for Best actor, earned a retrospective in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2013 displaying his fashion influence – and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Sky Arts' list of 50 artists also featured Banksy, Spice Girls, Steve McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. The panel of judges was led by DJ and author Lauren Laverne.
