I really don't know where you hear any sort of Bowie's influence in Prince's music?!!!

As much as I love Bowie he is NOT a great musician. I have been a few yards away from him several times when he was playing the guitar and that was quite pathetic. I'm not even mentionning Bowie on the saxophone because he is really crap at it.

He is a fantastic singer, composer and arranger.

BTW I hate Bowie when he tries to sound "black" or "funky". It always sounds damn white.

VINCENT said:

MELT WITH U on the Symbol album! There is a Bowie influence all over that song!

ie, "Meeelting, meeelting..." In that deep twisted Bowie-esque way.

I immediately thought of Bowie when I first heard it.

Surely that was an influence there.

Anji said:

wtf are you talking about? Bowie invented eccentric.

now about that 'black' comment, my point there is that P has been very pro black over the last few years which is cool and i'm all for that however he has caused uproar with some anti white comments; remember his comments on BET amongst others. Given his state of mind on the role of white people in putting down black people there is no way that he would openly acknowlwdge Bowie. I relate this to someone who said my points were too broad and indeed they were , i just put em on there to make a few very relevant comparisons.
Trust me if you really got into Bowies career and started listening to his music you will be astounded at the similarities between the two. Like i said before Prince will always be my number 1 but damn that Bowie is one original awesome talent.

mrdespues said:

wtf?!!! LOL

1] Long before those bikini briefs and suspenders were a twinckle in Ps eye Bowie was dressing like that in a big way around the Ziggy period.

by the time ziggy came out he was a star though, prince was doing it straight away when people didnt know who the hell he was. also, who cares? if thats the most individual thing about an artist it doesnt say much for them!

2] Bowie wrote , played, produced and arranged tonnes of stuff and like P is underrated as a musician.

i dont think either of them are underrated at all. also, i doubt bowie is as good on any instrument as prince. even vocals

3] Bowie went through a slow build before he hit big with Ziggy and then when that launced him into global stardom his creativeness knew no bounds and the albums and ideas flowed.

so because bowie went through a 'slow build' he was princes biggest influence?? what about the beatles?? it wasnt until rubber soul (and maybe on the odd song before that) that their creativeness knew no bounds.

5] Bowie went through the mid 80s chasing trends and sounded pretty bad only to return to his true self and get that real creative urge again.

at least in the british press, most of the consensus is that bowie hasnt made a good album in 20years and that heathen is a return to form only in the sense its not shit! (just what ive read not my opinion)


7] the slick suit look, did it long b4.

yes, bowie was the first person to wear a suit! the beatles wore suits in 63!! not that they were as slick as that but you see my point

8] How funky is bowie?, the answer is tooo funky [listen to beauty and the beast].

wow, one song, and to be fair, i didnt listen to it and think, god he is tooo funky. i thought, yeah thats quite a good upbeat dance song. it might be kinda funky but nothing compared to prince.

10] the constant change in 'sound and vision' was done b4 as well.

yeah bowie did have a different sound on every album as prince wanted. but i have to go back to the beatles here. compare rubber soul to revolver, compare that to sgt.pepper, then magical mystery tour and the white album. and compare get back to abbey road! totally different

I can go on and whilst Prince will always be my number one dude Bowie has gotta be acknowleged as the first and most original. Who else agrees?.[/quote]

i can see your point, but alot of what bowie did was just as influenced as the beatles. the whole reason i got into bowie is cos i thought hunky dory was a cool late beatlesesque album.

Somebody else sees similarities..

Purple Stardust
A Comparison of
Purple Rain & Ziggy Stardust
http://www.5years.com/pur...ardust.htm

I think "Slow Love" sounds like Bowie

javed said:

Yes. Overblown.


Considering he still openly acknowledges a group like Led Zeppelin, I still don't understand how you come to that conclusion.


I dig Bowie a lot, but he was every bit as influenced by some who came before him as Prince was. Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 in your original post can be attributed to other people before Bowie too. But as I said before, I agree they have a lot in common.

Both of them are extremely talented and brilliant artists, there is no question about that. But Bowie is definitely superior to Prince in terms of his massive influence and historical significance...

End.

PeterJL121 said:

maybe strictly in the rock world, not in general in the music that's not true at all, so there is really no use in trying to use factual rhetoric on something that is opinion based.

Bowie 'ripped off/was influenced' by a ton of people:
Elvis, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Velvet Underground, Dylan and on and on and on... This post is lame...

Supernova said:

oh yes easily I Agree.Both were Influenced by Little Richard strongly Image&Music elements as well.Prince has given Bowie Props.vice-versa.

TRON said:

I was being sarcastic.

Fame
David Bowie
- words and music by David Bowie, John Lennon and Carlos Alomar

Fame, makes a man take things over
Fame, lets him loose, hard to swallow
Fame, puts you there where things are hollow
Fame

Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane
Fame

Fame, what you like is in the limo
Fame, what you get is no tomorrow
Fame, what you need you have to borrow
Fame

Fame, "Nien! It's mine!" is just his line
To bind your time, it drives you to, crime
Fame

Could it be the best, could it be?
Really be, really, babe?
Could it be, my babe, could it, babe?
Really, really?

Is it any wonder I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Is it any wonder you are too cool to fool
Fame

Fame, bully for you, chilly for me
Got to get a rain check on pain
Fame

Fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame
Fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame
Fame, fame, fame

Fame
What's your name?

(whispered)
Feeling so gay, feeling gay

javed said:

Thanks for that observation, javed. Made me think. I agree with a few of your points.

There could be various reasons why Prince has not acknowledged Bowie (if indeed he hasn't!). Here are two of them, imho:

1. Both are secure enough in their artistic gifts that one does not feel the need to acknowledge the other

2. Perhaps Bowie was not an 'influence' as such. Sure, he came to popular prominence around 10 years before the Paisley Paragon, but the fact that both are extremely gifted could mean that they just happen to have had some similar traits and trajectories

Maybe this is an opportunity to unite both sets of fans' opinions. In a similar way that Prince unites male/female, black/white, mind/body. What is purple, if it is not the unity between red (emotion) and blue (logic)?

Bowie is indeed a chameleon-like figure who preceeded Prince.
One of the things I find funny about these threads is the attack on Prince or his fans that "he ISNT the be all end all of xyz"

Its great to enlighten fellow fans on the merits of other artists, but stop assuming ALL fans hold a shrine to Prince and refuse to accept the past and, to be honest the present.

Oh, and to the best of my recollection, Santana and Joni Mitchell arent black are they?

javed said:

True, but avoid:
-Pinups
-Space Oddity (unless u like self indulgent folk, he really wasnt the Bowie we're familiar with now)
-Any Tin Machine stuff
-Any 80's stuff after Scary Monsters
-Any 90's stuff that isnt Earthling and/or Outside

I actually had a Bowie-only weekend where i rediscovered all the albums and as creative and diverse as they are on the surface, theres a strict formula to all his albums, of not his songs.

Its a little tiresome. So for beginners I always suggest greatest hits packages, for artists with huge catalogues.

Also while you're into Bowie look into the Stooges and VU...2 bands without whom "rocker" Bowie WOULD not exist. he'd still be doing crap like laughing gnome!

1] Long before those bikini briefs and suspenders were a twinckle in Ps eye Bowie was dressing like that in a big way around the Ziggy period.

Yes, but Bowie wasnt going so much for an effeminate look, he was going for a pseudo-sexual non human being.
Prince just wanted to be naughty and try on girls clothes. a more approachable girlfriend-friendly freak.

Bowie treated sex like a thing, an act (as Ziggy, Alddin and Halloween Jack especially) but with prince it was all a part of life!

2] Bowie wrote , played, produced and arranged tonnes of stuff and like P is underrated as a musician.

Bowie plays sax and some guitar...piano also correct? Personally his Spiders from mars band kicked ass, ghave him that real edge he lacked before and after. he owes it all to Mick Ronson and Woody Woodmansey. The sound of Panic in Detroit wouldnt exist without them...have u heard the demo for Ziggy Stardust (the song) on the Ryko remasters? completely different without the band!

3] Bowie went through a slow build before he hit big with Ziggy and then when that launced him into global stardom his creativeness knew no bounds and the albums and ideas flowed.

Actually he was a cult figure up until...Rebel Rebel...and that was modest. Global Stardom didnt hit (by global i man US...sorry but its true) until Lets Dance in 83. Uk embraced him right away, but even at Ziggys peak he was playing auditoriums. Diamnond Dogs was bigger but too avante garde.

4] Ahhh the sharing of huge egos.!

no argument

5] Bowie went through the mid 80s chasing trends and sounded pretty bad only to return to his true self and get that real creative urge again.

Yup, Scary Monsters (1980)was the last creative GREAT album throughout...until Earthling had a nice spark to it.

6] Bowie and the internet - need i say more.
Prince was rather slow to actually catch up to this concept. Bowienet was launched in 95 and was incredible! an ISP for Bowie fans...now its seems useless but it was ingenius!

7] the slick suit look, did it long b4.

but bowie didnt look half as slick. if you're referring to the 80's yellow suit...the video for Modern love is just embarassing!
and i dont think Bowie was the first to wear a suit in the music industry!! But i see you need points.

8] How funky is bowie?, the answer is tooo funky [listen to beauty and the beast].
Plastic soul man. Plastic soul
Golden Years and Fame!

9] Bowies whole thing is about artistic expression and has been a lot more honest.
Bowie is an art school drop out. he was always into acting, and mime before music.

10] the constant change in 'sound and vision' was done b4 as well.

Yes Bowie was definitely one to reinvent himself at every possible opportunity.

I can go on and whilst Prince will always be my number one dude Bowie has gotta be acknowleged as the first and most original. Who else agrees?.[/quote]

not first, but in many respects, before Prince.

One other thing to add to this list, Bowie pissed off alot of fans (i could stop right there!) by denouncing is past...in the eighties he claimed that his bisexual lifestyle and flamboyant ways were all an act and he was straight as an arrow from the start...um, yeah!

Why do they feel th eneed to escape the past that made them who they are? Fine, make new music and be forever creative, but dont deny the past man!

I think John Lennon, Elvis and Elton John rank up there in various points of this list.

Dont you realize that you are under a PRINCE site? of course you are going to hear people disagree with you on this. What did you expect?

You Bowie fans lately must feel insecure or something to constantly compare him to Prince so much. I recognize Bowie's genious and all, but to me, he doesn't hold a candle to Prince. I just can't get into Bowie's music. It's missing something. Other than a few hits, nothing's all that catchy to me.

javed said:

He may have been influenced somewhat by Bowie, but as I recall, Sly, Jimi, Santana, James and Joni are commonly cited by the man himself as his primary influences.

Bowie also had the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, etc. as influences, as I recall. Bowie, as all artists, are derivative to some degree. The greats always manage to put a little of themselves into their sound, like a fingerprint.

Although I'm sure Bowie's a much more polite and engaging fellow. But Miles wasn't a super guy, and he's revered perhaps more than any artist of the last 100 years.

Bowie banged Mayte???

Bowie wore assless pants???

Why are you here? Go to the Bowie site and tell them.

I've never liked David Bowie and these comparisons (weak at best) mean nothing to me.

Did you hear that if you play the Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon, they match?