Bowie gay
“I’m not gay!” How Bowie backtracked on his bisexuality for Let's Dance
David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album was released in A collaboration with Chic’s Nile Rodgers, it was an instant success: the title track became Bowie’s only single to go no.1 in the US and UK, while the parent album went on to sell 11 million copies and turned Bowie into the international star he had wanted to be. By the conclude of , it’s estimated that he earned around $50 million that year alone.
But the album divided Bowie fans. It had just eight songs and, of them, the title track and Cat People had already been released, China Girl was a new version of a lyric he'd written with Iggy Pop in , and Criminal World was a cover version of another release by British band Metro – a song that had been banned by the BBC for allusions to same-sex attracted sex. If it seemed tailor-made for Bowie, the changes he made to Criminal World gave us greater insight into the David Bowie of than he perhaps intended.
He had just signed a new multi-million dollar deal with EMI Am
Was David Bowie Gay?
Throughout his life, David Bowie—who died on Sunday at the age of 69—played strenuous to get with sexuality. Not that he was shy about sex; by all accounts (including his own), he got plenty of that. But when it came to labeling his desires, Bowie pioneered the now-common pop actor strategy of dropping hints and claiming identities in passing—only to discard them later—with the (probably intended) effect of maintaining the straight public’s interest and the queer public’s devotion.
In , just before the release of Ziggy Stardust and while married to first wife Angela, Bowie was gay: “I’m male lover, and always have been, even when I was David Jones,” he assured Melody Maker, which described him as a “swishy queen … as camp as a row of tents.” (Bisexuality was also proposed, due to the wife.) Then, in , he was definitely bisexual: “It’s true–I am a bisexual,” he told a skeptical Playboy. “But I can’t deny that I’ve used that fact very well. I suppose it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Fun, too.” Fun or no, came and Rolling Stone bore the headline “David
How David Bowie’s “I’m Gay” Interview Helped Redefine Sexuality
Fabulous, indeed. A little more than a month on from the release of Hunky Dory, Bowie had discarded the Marlene Dietrich-inspired look he sported on its sleeve, even though his interview with Melody Maker was ostensibly to promote that record. Moving with increasing speed, he now dressed in full Ziggy Stardust Mk I regalia: quilted jumpsuit; shorn, spiky hair “Vidal Sassooned into such impeccable shape”; and bright red boots which would soon straddle the world. His distinct coloured eyes only enhanced his otherworldly appearance. Bowie was just a week away from making his debut Ziggy Stardust performance, at Friars Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, just outside of London, and his “I’m gay” admission to Melody Maker perfectly laid the groundwork for future shocks to come.
Watts noted Bowie’s follow-up comments: “It’s just so happened, he remarks, that in the past two years people have loosened up to the fact that there are bisexuals in the world – ‘and – horrible fact – homosexuals’.” This jab at authority figur
Despite being married to the model Iman, David Bowie stated at several points in that he was gay, while at other points he said that he was bisexual (1). The ambiguity of his sexuality allowed him to project a feeling of “otherness”, which many in the LGBTQ+ community could relate to and were empowered by. His androgynous persona furthermore showed people how a flamboyant man who cross-dresses and wears makeup is not necessarily gay, and one who is married to a woman is not necessarily straight. His sexuality was not only shown through the outfits he wore while executing and what he said in interviews regarding it: he also frequently discussed LGBTQ+ topics in his lyrics. In John, I’m Only Dancing the line “John, I’m only dancing; She turns me on; but I’m only dancing” has been interpreted by many as meaning that John is his lover, who gets jealous when he dances with women because he knows that Bowie is attracted to them as well (2). An alternative interpretation of this line is that he is speaking to John Lennon about his jealousy when he saw Bowie dancin