Elton John Slammed David Bowie’s Addiction Issues, Blaming Them For The Feud That Unraveled Their Relationship

Highlights

• David Bowie publicly insulted Elton John, referring to him as the “token queen of rock and roll.”
• Bowie’s insult towards John may have been influenced by his drug use during the interview.
• Elton John attributed their feud to addiction and stated that they were never close friends.

Throughout music history, there has long been a perception that most stars develop addiction issues. As a result, it makes sense that even Joe Jonas once had to deny being an addict and reveal more about his personal life.

On top of music stars partying, feuds among performers pop up all the time. One example of that is the fact that Elton John and Tina Turner once feuded. Similarly, John also once feuded with David Bowie. However, John has stated that Bowie’s addiction issues played a role in their fight.

David Bowie Publicly Insulted Elton John In An Interview

In January 1976, David Bowie released his album “Station to Station” which featured songs like “Golden Years”. A few weeks after that album was released, Rolling Stone published an article featuring their interview with the rock star. During his conversation with that publication, Bowie, seemingly out of nowhere, threw an insult at Elton John.

While he spoke to Rolling Stone, Bowie began expressing his opinion of rock and roll music at that time. Like most people, Bowie thought that his generation’s version of rock and roll was a perversion of the idolized version of what came before them.

What were David Bowie’s biggest hit songs before 1977, according to Billboard?

“Rock & roll has been really bringing me down lately. It’s in great danger of becoming an immobile, sterile fascist that constantly spews its propaganda on every arm of the media. It rules and dictates a level of thought and clarity of intelligence that you’ll never raise above.”

Bowie then went on to express his appreciation for disco music before calling that genre out too. Bowie also returned to the topic of rock and roll. Bowie even surprisingly brought up the belief that there is something evil about rock and roll.

“You don’t have a fucking chance to hear Beethoven on any radio station anymore. You’ve got to listen to the O’Jays. I mean, disco music is great. I used disco to get my first Number One single [“Fame”] but it’s an escapist’s way out. It’s musical soma. Rock & roll too — it will occupy and destroy you that way. It lets in lower elements and shadows that I don’t think are necessary. Rock has always been the devil’s music. You can’t convince me that it isn’t.”

In response to Bowie’s comments, Rolling Stone’s interviewer asked him something surprising. “How about specifics? Is Mick Jagger evil?” Bowie completely dismissed the idea that Mick Jagger was evil by comparing him to Elton John. It is easy to see why John would have been extremely insulted by what Bowie said about him.

Five musicians that didn’t get along with David Bowie, according to Far Out Magazine.

• Keith Richards
• Axl Rose
• Elton John
• Frank Zappa
• Gary Numan

“Mick himself? Oh Lord no. He’s not unlike Elton John, who represents the token queen — like Liberace used to. No, I don’t think Mick is evil at all. He represents the sort of harmless, bourgeois kind of evil that one can accept with a shrug.”

Elton John Blamed His Feud With David Bowie On Addiction

When David Bowie labeled Elton John a “token queen”, it seemed like he threw out the insult off the top of his head. According to John, that may have been because Bowie was under the influence when he made that remark.

Thanks to the success John enjoyed and his years of partying, it would be an understatement to say he’s led a fascinating life. Fortunately for John’s fans and the world, he has given fans a window into his life on several occasions.

In 2019, John provided his fans with the ultimate chance to get to know him and his life better. That year, John released his autobiography, “Me”. As a part of John’s autobiography, he wrote about his history with several stars, including David Bowie.

According to what John wrote in his book, he was never close friends with Bowie. John elaborated by explaining that he socialized with Bowie a handful of times but that the two of them never bonded.

“I was never great friends with Bowie. I loved his music and we socialised a couple of times, visiting the Sombrero with Tony King and having dinner together in Covent Garden while he was rehearsing for the Ziggy Stardust tour. But there was always something distant and aloof about him, at least when I was around.”

During a 2016 interview with The Evening Standard, Elton John spoke about once being friends with David Bowie. “David [Bowie] and I were not the best of friends towards the end. We started out being really good friends. We used to hang out together with Marc Bolan, going to gay clubs, but I think we just drifted apart.”

While he reflected on his inability to be friends with John, Bowie was very open about what went wrong.

“I honestly don’t know what the problem was, but there clearly was a problem.”

As John has explained during other interviews, he and Bowie were not close by the time the “Fame” singer passed away. As a part of his autobiography, John reflected on Bowie taking shots at him in the media.

According to what John wrote, the “token queen” insult was the best-known jab Bowie threw at him in the media. While writing about the things Bowie said, John claimed that the “Golden Years” singer was heavily inebriated during his 1976 Rolling Stone interview.

“Years later he’d always make snippy remarks about me in interviews: ‘the token queen of rock and roll’ was the most famous one although in fairness, he was absolutely out of his mind on coke when he said it.”

Source: NewsFinale