On set with Bowie

What did David Bowie think was the biggest moment in his career? Here’s a tale told by a fellow who worked with him many years ago. (Don’t read if you don’t like colourful language.)

One part of my job is to keep the talent close while we make small changes to lighting and camera positions. While shooting the video for David Bowie's Miracle Goodnight we had a change that was gonna take 10-15 mins to complete. I decided to strike up a conversation to kill the time. Let face i was talking to my childhood hero. I asked Mr Bowie what was the biggest moment in his career. His reply was EPIC. and It went like this
David..... Well let me tell you about it. I had quite the attitude as a young pop star, its easy to get caught up in the hype. It changes you. So I was on the set of the music video Ashes to Ashes, do you know the one.
Me.........Yes I do (thinking boy if only he knew).
Bowie... So we're on the beach shooting this scene with a giant bulldozer. The camera was on a very long lens. (Camera is a long way away, but the artist fills the frame) In this video i'm dressed from head to toe in a clown suit. Why not. I hear playback and the music starts. So off I go, I start singing and walking, but as soon as I do this old geezer with an old dog walks right between me and the camera.
Me.........Laugh (seeing this video in my head and what that must have been like on the set)
Bowie....Well, knowing this is gonna take a while I walked past the old guy and sat next to camera in my full costume waiting for him to pass. As he is walking by camera the director said, excuse me Mr do you know who this is? The old guy looks at me from bottom to top and looks back to the director and said....
Old Man....... Of course i do!!!! its some cunt in a clown suit
Bowie.......... That was a huge moment for me, It put me back in my place and made me realise, yes i'm just a cunt in a clown suit. I think about that old guy all the time.

[Hat tip AFP]

BONUS BOWIE STORY:

“Robert Fripp’s contributions to David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ were under the spotlight in a documentary aired on part two of BBC4’s Music Moguls:Masters Of Pop series last night. Producer Tony Visconti, sat at the mixing desk, went through individual tracks, detailing how the song was built up. There’s more detail in this special 20 minute extract of the interview with Tony Visconti in which he describes the three guitar tracks laid down by King Crimson’s other guitarist as that ‘celestial Fripp sound.’ The section on Fripp starts at around 4.56.” [Hat tip King Crimson]
Breaking down David Bowie's 'Heroes' - Track-by-track – BBC