With so much Bowie nostalgia floating around (and rightly so), I thought I would revisit some of my favourite Bowie collaborations. If it wasn’t enough for him to be an amzing solo artist, Bowie also had a knack of picking just the right people to perform with. And who wouldn’t want to collaborate with Bowie? Gives you instant coolness by association.
Bowie & Placebo
This one seems like a natural fit, particularly after Placebo made an appearance in Velvet Goldmine, which was loosely based on Bowie’s Ziggy days. Suitably dark, suitably Bowie.
Bowie & Arcade Fire
There are so many good moments between these two artists, it’s hard to choose. In 2005 there was a live EP released on iTunes featuring versions of Life on Mars, Five Years and Wake Up. But for me, Bowie’s brief appearance in the bridge of Reflektor (2013) adds that special something to an already great song. Jump to the 4:50 mark and then wait for the way he belts out the third repeat of the lyric “Thought you were praying to the resurrector / Turns out it was just a reflector”. Chills.
Oh ok, you can listen to Bowie sing Wake Up as well
Bowie & Gervais
Given the amount of laughs Gervais has at the expense of others, nice that Bowie was able to help address that balance. Pug Pug indeed.
Bowie & Stiller
Look at the way Bowie takes those sunglasses off. That single gesture is cooler than anything I’ll ever do.
Bowie & Henson
Ok, I’ll admit this song is rather terrible, but the outfit well and truly makes up for it. Plus there’s a Labyrinth boardgame coming out soon, which means we can all own a Bowie-as-Goblin-King figurine. I’m sure I’m not the only one counting down the days.