Mick Jagger has recalled how David Bowie used to steal his ideas for use on stage – but he says it never bothered him.
The Rolling Stones frontman has paid a personal tribute to his close friend, who died earlier this month at the age of 69.
Jagger tells Rolling Stone: “He used to copy me sometimes, but he’d be very honest about it. If he took one of your moves he’d say, ‘That’s one of yours – I just tried it.’
“He’d always look at my clothes labels. When he would see me, he’d give me a hug, and I could feel him going up behind the collar of my shirt to see what I was wearing.
“I didn’t mind sharing things with him because he’d share so much with me. It was a two-way street.
Jagger says it’s “really stupid when you think about it” that the pair’s 1985 charity cover of Dancing In The Street was the only time they properly collaborated, adding: “We enjoyed camping it up. The video is hilarious to watch.
“We had to record the song and film the video in one day. We walked straight form the studio onto the set. At the end of the day we were saying, ‘See, it can be done! Why are we spending years in the studio?’”
Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor has recalled the experience of working with Bowie when they toured together in 1995.
He says: “It’s hard to express how validating and surreal the whole experience was – to actually meet this man in the flesh and find out, to my delight, that he passed any expectation I had. The fact that he was this graceful, charming, happy, fearless character became a new point of inspiration for me.”
At the time, Reznor was struggling with addiction issues. He remembers: “There were a number of times where the two of us were alone, and he said some things that weren’t scolding, but pieces of wisdom that stuck with me: ‘You know, there is a better way here, and it doesn’t have to end in despair or in death, in the bottom.’
“A few years later, Bowie came through LA. I’d been sober for a fair amount of time. I wanted to thank him in the way that he helped me. I started to say, ‘Hey listen, I’ve been clean for…’
“I don’t even think I finished the sentence. I got a big hug. He said, ‘I knew you’d do that. I knew you’d come out of that.’ It was another very important moment in my life.”
