David Bowie on Making ‘Let’s Dance’ & Black Artists | MTV Full 1983 Interview
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- 0:21 David Bowie on making 'Let's Dance'
2:36 David Bowie talks song titles
2:58 Album Production, Nile Rogers & Bernard Edwards
4:50 What the album will sound like & Stevie Ray Vaughan
5:46 Why David Bowie returned to music after 2 years
7:13 What happened to the Bowie 'personas'?
7:35 When and where will he tour?
8:42 Making music videos for his new record
9:58 David Bowie's 3 year plan
11:17 Why black artists aren't featured on MTV
#MTV #DavidBowie
In this 1983 interview with MTV News, David Bowie discusses the making of ‘Let’s Dance’, Race and MTV.
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"There is no reason it should have to change, it should have been that way from the beginning" That is why WE love David Bowie!
Amen.
Clean out your ears. Bowie was saying it SHOULD CHANGE. Thats why WE loved him and his black wife.😅
What's so funny is that Blacks invented Rock and Roll.
Rock and roll wasn't simply "invented" it EVOLVED, like every other form of music did pretty much.
And Jazz
All that stuff with the dancing fast music sex and hair started with black people.
Take rap for example, does it sound today like it did 25 years ago? No, but that doesn't mean the people who started it didn't start it.
@@haroldmaud9107 it was invented chad. keep it real
@@MontiRock and by a black woman too.
His eyes and body language said it all. Totally respect him to the fullest..
oh, Bowie, he´s a true diplomat here: "I can see your point of view (but I do not agree)". Lovely lovely man! (MTV on the other hand - should be ashamed)
That was just code for saying " I can see that you are racist scum so, I don't agree with you." David Bowie just said it in a nice way.
TODAY Bowie would probably just be viewed as another typical SJW "liberal" celebrity here. But it WAS kind of brave and unique of him to say this back in 1983.
Truth. He hated conflict and pointless drama, so this is a rare moment to see him call out someone direct and done so respectfully still. Very articulate dude. Introvert. Thinker. Lot of people don’t realize introverts make amazing stage performers. The depth behind the “show” is what creates the opportunity for art as a form of human connection, not just “party, booze, bling, bitches” avoidance of it.
I love u bowie!! All 3 or 4 or 5 but mostly theeee original I need your help to heal family and generational energy and help each other and mothers and children and babies and mother natures fur babies all helping our world to heal together and be happy and healthy and at peace once again! I'm excited dad!! Let's do this! U r my dad right?
Creepy Skulldini I agree with you. People watching this interview today don’t remember the transition period from the 70s to the 80’s. Disco, Funk and R&B were huge in the 70s. Lots of it was dominated by black artists. That led to punk, which was a backlash against the 70s sound. Kids wanted new music. 80’s rock and New Wave took over MTV. That’s what MTV decided to play. It wasn’t an all genre channel. In fact, one can argue that when it became that way later in the late 80’s and early 90s, that’s when it stopped being successful. It tried to cater to too many styles. And they did have time slots later for other genres like rap, metal, alternative, etc. But the bottoms line is, the early 80’s was about New wave and Rock. Those are the videos that were played the most. Soon after this there were more videos by black artists. But I think MTV gets a bad rap here because Bowie was projecting into their business model, but didn’t quite get the music video industry in the States at the time. In started on New Wave and Rock. It added more artists and genres later. It’s like a radio station. You have rock, pop, oldies, etc. Bowie was having a difficult time applying that concept to music videos. And MTV was still young, trying to stay relevant, but was playing it safe at the same time. They had to pick only a few genres. Black artists did find success on MTV later. But it just happened that the early eighties was about New Wave and Rock. Black artists peaked in the 70s. Then they came back in the mid 80’s. Mark Goodman just did a poor job of explaining the situation.
that was awesome of Bowie to put them on the spot too
Everytime I see this interview I love it even more. I love Bowie's facial expressions and how he calls them out on racial bullshit. Things began to change around this time which is one of the many reasons why the 80s is the best decade in music history!
Can yoo say Michael Jacksons Thriller!
I'd say you're quite wrong actually
Creepy Skulldini most of them were getting played no black artists were getting played be fucking difference so
Your crackpot ,excuses and weak ass justification for the inexcusable don't cut any ice with anybody who sees through your BS crap
@@tyronelucious1052 Jackson was ALREADY a pretty big mainstream celebrity by the time MTV came along - he'd been a popular teen-pop sensation during the 70s - so HE had no difficulty getting HIS shit played on tv or on radio and so forth. This making it out as though HE had to struggle to get his stuff played is frankly horseshit.
@@chrisbennett606 Oh really?
16:51 "Let's face it, somebody laid down the ground rules in the beginning... there should be no reason why it has to change, could've been there in the beginning"
Spot on, racist rules don't deserve to stay
I grew up in England and the 70's was great for black music - Hendrix, the Supremes, Isley Brothers, Bob Marley, Jackson Five, Otis Redding, Four Tops etc. That blew me away when the MTV guys said that you couldn't really play the Isley Brothers out in the mid-West. If they'd done so, maybe the USA wouldn't be in the state it's in now, with white supremacy and racism.
immediate response:
"is the tape off?"
@@sheilaboston7051I agree. Black artists were played throughout England and it’s obvious that many artists from UK were influenced by black artists. They are amazed when they come to the states and the music is segregated. I couldn’t even imagine someone saying you can’t Prince in Brighton or Manchester as you could in London as he casually said it happening in America.
12:02
the look on David's face as the interviewer is explaining just says.
"This is such a load of bullshit."
What an intelligent,handsome,beautiful human being.One of a kind artist,and a true legend.We love you David!
There will never be another Bowie. Intelligent, articulate, insightful, engaging, thoughtful, groundbreaking, inspirational, a rebel and uber cool.
Empathetic, compassionate, raw,sincere,articulate,precise,inclusive.
Facts!
Black music is amazing
Especially 1980s black music.... go listen to Alexander O'Neal and Cherrelle kill it on "Saturday Love" and tell me that isn't a total banger.
Taking the opportunity to promote and extol your race here, are we?
@x123 I duno, I've never called Rap "amazing".
@@coleslaw9181 Then you are racist
Not really
I love how MTV posts this video, admitting that they are racist.
Sigh. They were not racist. They just started with more of a basic rock format. (Which happened to be overwhelmingly white). A couple years in they switched to pop/Top 40 as well--which is more diverse.
Oh shut up
I love how blacks ARE racists in 2019.
When did 'Yo MTV Raps' begin? Within just a few years, rap and hip hop were HEAVILY featured on MTV. But in'83, it had just started.
@@robertcrisp5304 What did rap have to do with anything? There were plenty of Black artist, you ever see We Are The World? Black people invented Rock and Roll remember.
The midwest is afraid of Prince? He's FROM Minnesota!! I love Bowie!!
Michael Jackson was to from the midwest of Indiana! Bowie was so SPOT ON!
Got to love The late David Bowie for his honesty, and making MTV notice their awareness of its segregation of music videos .
Is there anybody else who generally loves his eyes?👀
I adore them they’re so beautiful
He was so beautifully sensitive when talking about other people, so diplomatic and well-spoken. He always had respect for all people with all kinds of different views and backrounds and did not tear anyone down or get offended like celebrities do these days, even in this interview where he does not agree with interviewer's poor excuses. He was always classy and just seems like he was so confident in his own skin. I wish I could have known him! I think it would have been so relaxing to have a conversation with him.
11:17 get ’em Bowie!!!!!
i like around 04:20 he says he likes to work with new musicians to keep the surprises and not know what they're going to do and you can say he did that until the very end making such a change in direction with blackstar.
I love that he was so excited about having Stevie Ray Vaughan playing lead guitar for him and bragging him up, that was too awesome . Then a couple weeks after this video Stevie decided just to do his own thing and record his first album Texas Flood ... David Bowie saw Stevie Ray playing at a concert , 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival Festival , and wanted him to join his touring band too , but at the same concert Jackson Browne saw him and offered him his studio to record his first album. Stevie Ray ended up booking time at Jackson browne's Studio and the rest is history
Fuck Vaughn! HE badmouthed Bowie after working with him. Notice they never worked together again? Anyway, for my part, Bowie had previously worked with guitarists more awsome than Vaughn, like Robert Fripp, Earl Slick, Adrian Belew, and Mick Ronson.
Stevie Ray Who? Is he still alive? Not sure, not going to check either. Case and point.
You two are morons. SRV played on every track of the album and they put a small percentage of what he played in the final cut. Who the fuck would not include solos that you had one of the greatest guitar players of all time play?
@@ianfindly3257 more awesome than Vaughan? Go screw yourself for insulting the man, he’s the best the world had to offer back in the day. He got screwed over by Bowie who didn’t give him a good deal and stopped working with him because he kept excluding his band mates. Really says a lot about his character.
@@KarmasAbutch No. And as a matter of fact he died in a helicopter crash.
David Bowie always loved Soul & R&B music from his Plastic Soul period with Young Americans & The Thin White Duke period those were his best music Station To Station to me was his best album but in this interview you can tell how woke he was and how he knew Mark Goodman was full of shit about how MTV wasn't playing black artists on there yes there was B.E.T.and they played white artists like Duran Duran,Madonna,Culture Club,Queen,Teena Marie,The Police,Sting,Depeche Mode,Kate Bush,Paul Young,Hall & Oats,INXS,Wang Chung and many other white artists in the 80's so black kids were exposed to them if it wasn't for Walter Yetnikoff(fromer President of Sony Records) threatening to pull all his artists off of MTV Michael Jackson's Billie Jean never would have gotten played.I remembered also in a interview that J.J.Jackson threatened to quit MTV if MTV didn't start to play black artists Warner Brothers also threatened to pull their artists off MTV if they didn't play black artists MTV knew if that were to happen they would have been out of business that's why they started playing Prince videos but MTV still didn't play Rick James videos until later they didn't really start playing black artists until the mid to late 80's when they hired Downtown Juile Brown & Fab 5 Freddy MTV knew they were losing African American viewers to BET so that's how they got Yo MTV Raps & Club MTV to pull in the black kids in but when Mark.Goodman said that people in the Midwest would be scared of Prince was total bullshit Prince was from Minneapolis and Michael Jackson was from Gary Indiana why would kids be scared of them?
I certainly don't know why anybody, white midwestern or otherwise, would find Michael Jackson "scarry" in 1983 (when this interview took place). I mean, at THAT time HE was still pretty much just famous as that bubblegum teen sensation who sang ABC! Now jump twenty years LATER to after the plastic surgery and kiddie diddling and THEN I could sort of understand him being seen as rather frightening and disturbing.
And Prince was really no more outrageous than Boy George, Adam Ant, Peter Burns and alot of other rock singers of THAT SAME era. Hell, Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie was a lot weirder than Prince, and THAT was a whole decade earlier!
I remember this interview. When Thriller came out MTV had to play it on mtv because it became so big.
@@craigacook8360 Jackson was ALREADY a pretty big mainstream celebrity by the time MTV came along - he'd been a popular teen-pop sensation during the 70s - so HE had no difficulty getting HIS shit played on tv or on radio and so forth. This making it out as though HE had to struggle to get his stuff played is frankly horseshit.
@@ianfindly3257 I'm 54 years young lol. I grew up with the Jackson 5, I went to their concert in 1974.
What I was saying is what David bowie said black artist didn't get air time on mtv. But as I stated that when thriller came out, it was huge mtv didn't have a choice to not play it. There were artist that in the 70s that were R@B but went pop in the 80s that after thriller they started playing them on MTV
@@craigacook8360 R&B and other black styles of music (including soul, funk, and disco) pretty much WERE POP during the '70s and '60s. But in the EARLY '80s - when MTV started (debuting in 1981) - it was still the punk/new wave era (Blondie, Devo, B 52's, Talking Heads, The Police, Pat Benatar, The Go Go's, The Buggles ), and THOSE styles were OUT OF FASHION. THAT is why MTV was not playing THAT STUFF, not because of a "racist policy". Then Jacksons Thriller became a big mega-seller - about 1983 - and THEN THAT type of music became popular again and you got all these other popular black R&B, funk, and rap/hip hop acts of the LATER part of the decade, like Boby Brown, Whitney Huston, Climax, Billy Ocean, The Fat Boys, Run DMC, New Edition, Chaka Khan, the other Jacksons (Jermain, Jannet) and so forth. MTV has always just played WHATEVER was POPULAR and TRENDY at the time throughout their history - THAT was their only REAL policy.
We lost a great artist and intellectual when Bowie died. A lot of people don't realize actually how intelligent he was, he was not just another dumb musician. Funny thing, it is the same as Russell Brand, he may come off as an idiot, but that is his schtick, he is actually really intelligent.
Russell is so inspiring it's sad that people often view him in a negative way. I'm sure if they listened they would learn a lot from him
Give me an example of another "dumb musician" as you put it.
he NEVER came off as an idiot pretty drugged out in the early years yes but not a idiot
@@bobbydeitch8791 Gene Simmons - dumb. Frank Sinatra - dumb. Alice Cooper - dumb. Meat Loaf - dumb. Billy Ray Cyrus - dumb.
No, typically rock musicians do not tend to be highly intellectual types. This is because rock and roll its self is not traditionally and essentially an intellectual kind of phenomenon in the first place - it's essentially about youthful exuberance and fun. Some other exceptions, besides Bowie, are Frank Zappa, John Lennon, Brian Eno, David Byrne, John Cale, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Brian Ferry.
I love that David wouldn’t let it go. Consider the roots of his art & who / what influenced him as a kid. The next gen guy wasn’t going to get those or equivalent stimuli.
I love Bowie with all of me ... so real another counterpart supporting us in the fight for equality
Yep. Me too. You got me too.
The Patron Saint of “Other” 🌈💞🦄
As much as I admire and respect Bowie as an artist, THIS is frankly bullshit. Black acts were generally not getting played on MTV and other music video programs at THAT TIME (1981/82) not because of a "racist policy" but simply because the TYPE OF MUSIC that blacks were generally associated with - disco, funk, r&b - was OUT OF FASHION at the time. I remember when MTV FIRST came out, again about 1981, they were mainly playing groups like Blondie, Devo, B 52's, Talking Heads, The Police, Tom Petty And The Heart Breakers, The Go Go's, The Buggles ("Video killed the radio star") and all those post-punk / New Wave groups which were mostly WHITE and THEY were the groups that were making most of the VIDEOS at that time. WHO were the popular black musical acts at THAT time again anyway? .. . Cool And The Gang? The Pointer Sisters? Earth Wind And Fire? . . and all these funk and disco groups left over from the late 70's Disco era? It wasn't until after Michael "King of Pop" Jackson became a big sensation ( about 1984 ) that they started playing more BLACK r&b and funk acts like the Jacksons ( Michael, Jermaine, Janet ), Bobby Brown, Whitney Huston, Climax, Billy Ocean, The Fat Boys, New edition and MTV started playing THAT shit up the fuckin ass. MTV has always just played WHATEVER was POPULAR and TRENDY at the time throughout their history - THAT was their only REAL policy.
Music and love knows no boundaries. One of my favorite songs growing up by Puffy was Been Around The World and then years later I found the David Bowie Lets Dance. Great song!
I’d heard both, loved both, and never knew Diddy had sampled Bowie until all these decades later, probably a year or so ago. Thanks for the reminder😌Great music.
I’ve always been in love with Bowie. Kept it 100% with Goodman, whose floundering was a joy to behold.
What's BS about Goodman's arguments is that in the first few hours of MTV, that he hosted, they already played several genres of music, from new wave, soft rock, jazz rock, and even rap, but they wouldn't show an act with black musicians until The Specials.
But The Specials (aka Fun Boy Three) had whites in it too.
@@ianfindly3257 So..wtf
I dont like the guy that interviewed him.
Mark Goodman was always a prick
The interviewer was Mark Goodman
MTV went down hill after him. Nina Blackwood was pretty cool.
He didn't live up to the need at hand, but I think he's pretty steady tempered and worth a second conversation.
Same but... you try being liked when Bowie is the other person in the room haha. He highlights the mundane just by walking thru the door.
alot of the music we love today wouldn’t exist without the influence of black musicians. some of the best rock n’ roll was made by musicians of color, and i don’t think people give them enough credit and respect.
I agree with you but want to make sure you know R&R was invented by a Black woman - Sister Rosetta Tharpe. We didn't just "influence" it. Please don't take my comment as being snarky. It is meant to inform.
I like this video, and i won't dislike it, because it shows how the subject of the interview becomes the interviewer. It's a shame what MTV represents in this video, but keep in mind that it happened in the 80's, and now they are the guys who uploaded this interview.
Thanks for Bowie's honest questions
And, at 10:07, Bowie alludes to the fact that he stopped thinking about potential future undertakings in "January, '84". Why would MTV state on the header that this interview was done in 1983?
TODAY Bowie would probably just be viewed as another typical SJW "liberal" here. But it WAS kind of brave and unique of him to say this back in 1983.
@@greenpostdoc The interview was done in 1983, and Bowie is asked about his future plans. He is saying that he has stopped thinking about the future past "January 1984".
@@Stubrit Surely you realize that your interpretation leans in the direction of ... outright absurdity, yes? If Bowie "stopped thinking [past tense] about [his future undertakings] in January, '84", then BY DEFINITION he's making a retrospective analysis (indicating that January '84 is in the past and therefore this interview took place at some point after January '84). Bowie's words are plainly obvious. They needn't be parsed. We don't need an expert in linguistics to re-interpret them. lol
@@greenpostdoc 1984 is in the future. When he stopped thinking about it is in the past, at the time of the interview. Yes?.
11:17 get ’em Bowie!!!!!
I love Bowie with all of me ... so real another counterpart supporting us in the fight for equality
Bowie is the man! Showing attitude towards the media that was one of the big marketing channels - great!
SRV was playing the guitar on "Let's Dance".. R.I.P. Stevie Ray Vaughn and David Bowie.
MariaL Sanchez really? I always thought it was Bowie all these years.
Thanks for that little info
Let's Dance happens to be one of Bowie's SUCKIETS albums!
Makes sense, valid point? I understand your point of view. Lol For me, black music just opened my mind and as an adult I became a jazz bassist, I thank black music for that, it opened so many doors and put me through school. Glad that to had heard this interview.
The "Is the tape off?" remark at the very last second just was a fail-safe way to tell that Goodman was broken down, not feeling comfortable with the topic at all and took away even his last bit of credibility.
Also, don't take note of what Bowie said only, but also what he DIDN't say during his interrogation, especially when closing-up on his face on Goodman's last few statements.
If I remember correctly, Luther Vandross used to sing backup for David Bowie. What a man. He understood the meaning of being an ally.
Yes he did
He's the one who told Luther that he was way too good to sing back up for him. That he needed to be a soloist. Bowie was amazing!
On only ONE album - Young Americans.
Back before everyone was saying "back before everything was about Race". What a sharp guy.
10:45 "We've got nothing but time."
16:57 "Is the tape off?"
So bold to talk that black artists were not very present on MTV!! Or really randomly. All artists should be integrated
Bowie, my favourite teacher.
"It's been 2 years since you put out an album. Why now?"
"Yeah, it's been a while."
Geez, cut him some slack. By that point, he had already released 14 studio albums.
Nadim Zaidi yeah, sorry I’m a bit slow you you!!
And Lets Dance - the NEW album being referred to in this interview - was the beginning of his SUCKY COMMERCIAL phase. And Scary Monsters And Super Creeps - the LAST album he made - would be his LAST album that was WORTH A SHIT for another several years!
2:36 😭😔 Man, I will always miss this human being with all of my soul! Wherever he may be: Heaven, the Labyrinth, Mars, lost in streams of sounds, or Dancing Out In Space, I will always miss my Blackstar and will do so unless I meet him when my time runs out or if were to miraculously come back to life...
00:16 we knew where this was going
11:05 he said it he said it
Wow Bowie as interviewer. Just great to see his defence of his fellow human beings and industry colleagues. So articulate. MTV was a lesson in marketing a new life changing medium (music tv) in a racially divided country. Like Bowie I understand their approach but didn't agree with their slow rate of change. Glad to see they moved in the direction they said they would.
that's because there was tremendous pressure behind the scenes.
16:00 The lady explanation was " None of the urban markets have been wired yet" Bowie's reaction to that statement was appropriate.
Lady was speaking the truth. Cleveland city limits didn't get cable until 1988. David "assumed" cable was everywhere in the country at that time and it wasn't the case. Bowie had a reality check. Lady was probably the program director and had to come to the VJ's aid to explain the facts of "cable tv life in the USA" to him....she could have thrown Bowie out for giving Goodman grief about content.
@john Miller found the racist apologist. also throwing out one of the most powerful white artists over a query into their race relations stance wouldn't have looked good on mtv.
@@karenpato1thrown him out? You don't know what or who you're taking the liberty to blather on about. Her excuse about cable demographics, or whatever she was trying to explain, changes nothing about the fact that a lot mediocrity was being played and promoted, while a lot of brilliant music was not.
I never understood what Iman saw in him but now I get it, he really was something, I love how he laughed at their racsim. smart man.
David was so awesome.
That ending, what a bad ass!
Mad respect, Mr. Bowie.
David just owned the entire music industry with such an array of simple gestures that a child might understand but adult's would certainly fail to comprehend... an open and brilliant mind
That's because children are pure and adults corrupt them.
@@angiedorman9244 naw its because adults suck so badly we should be tested before having kids
@@deniswilson8152 well... maybe lol. But by other adults? No way! Maybe other kids. Lol.
@@deniswilson8152 I was taught wrong and taught the other way, I wasn't taught the way he was trying to teach us. I'd love to teach that way, but i'm afraid I don't always have the patience. Or I do and other adults don't. Lol. I think this is the best easy to teach kids/ adults.
@@angiedorman9244 we can definitely learn from younger adults trouble is most of us arent able to grasp the concept of developing your own value system so we become lifeless motionless non entities
I love Brit teeth Bowie. I remember thinking how smart he was after the first interview i saw on ... Much Music, MTV feed.
The irony is MTV soon after became far more integrated than any radio station at the time. They played Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Metallica, Lionel Richie, Guns n Roses, REM, Run DMC, Whitney Houston, Poison...... All FM stations were far more segregated by genre (and race). As the producer points out, a lot of it might have been related to the slow rollout of cable TV itself to urban as well as suburban markets. Now? There is nothing remotely comparable to the wide variety of music MTV played. Spotify and Pandora and Apple Music even go out of their way to "curate" your playlist so that you're never exposed to anything you haven't listened to before.
Irony seems to be everywhere, unfortunately. Back in the early 80's, I heard lots of Marvin Gaye, Taste Of Honey, Chic, Lionel Ritchie mixed with Journey, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen on most of the radio stations I used to listen to ( I was an Air Force Brat moving around the country, due to my military family ). I never understood why things should be segregated when it comes to the music business. I liked Disco mixed with Metal. But, once I heard Frank Zappa, Dixie Dregs, Iron Maiden, Bad Brains, Dream Theater, Living Colour, and a whole host of progressive musical acts that almost NEVER got any airplay ( MTV or Radio), I realized that most music business decisions almost always go with " cheese " ( or, music/art that doesn't inspire people to think/act/progress toward new ideas ). Love Bowie but he released a lot of " cheese. " And, for example, Zappa was FAR more entertaining, thought provoking and was censored more than almost all of the Rap groups combined that later got heavy rotation on MTV in the late 80s-90s. Now, the Apple, Spotifies and such are doing somewhat of a better job of bringing out new music. But their plans for global business are still based on " cheese " like behavior.
I remember when MTV FIRST came out, in 1981 I believe, they were mainly playing groups like Blondie, Devo, B 52's, Talking Heads, The Police, Tom Petty And The Heart Breakers, The Go Go's, The Buggles ("Video killed the radio star") and all those post-punk / New Wave groups which were predominately WHITE and THEY were the groups that were making most of the VIDEOS at that time.
Actually, Pandora is a large part of why my library continues to include more new genres. My mom introduced me to Opera, 70s n 80s R&B, and 50s-70s rock n roll. My Dad introduced me to 70s-80s funk and 40s-50s…🤔🤷🏽♀️whatever Bing Crosby and the Flamingos are. My ex-stepdad introduced me to 80s-90s jazz n R&B. My brother introduced me to techno and 80s-90s rap and hip hop. When Pandora came out, I plugged all that shet in and hit the “Shuffle Stations” button. It put me on to so much new music, I have friends from all walks of life that are always weirded out, shocked, or pleasantly surprised by what’s in my phone🤔🤷🏽♀️😅and I kinda like it like that. 🙂I love Pandora.
One of the few artists where the artistic vision and product has a perfect synergy with the image. Anf kudos for calling out MTV.
This is why we Love David Bowie
Bowie LEGEND 🗣
Watch at 15:18 as the camera operator, presumably an MTV employee, focuses in on David Bowie's face when the interviewer says "We can't just turn around and go, 'Well look, this is the right way.'"
His greatest album in my opinion hands down
10:40 he thought he wanted the smoke lol
12:23 I think David is referring to BET and thier show Video Soul
He was.
RIP Bowie
A living ANGEL 😇 that walked amongst us. The Brilliant DAVID BOWIE 🕊️✌🏽👍🏼✊🏼💙❗
David...just lovely
What a legend what a song, lets dance ❤❤❤❤
I also believe another reason why MTV did not play much music by black people is because of Disco Demolition.
MTV was really on one. And I love how Rock was conveniently coined white, when Black music pioneers created it. Thank you David Bowie for pressing them and celebrating the brilliance of Nile Rogers. Think of how many amazing Black artists were blocked because white folks were "scared". I know.... a black man holding an electric guitar can be terrifying.
What I like best about this interview is that although Bowie and the interviewer are in disagreement on many things they keep it respectful. I really mis insightful and intelligent interviewers .
Spoke truth to power when it mattered -- yet another reason to admire Bowie✊
I remember seeing prince, Michael Jackson, marvin gaye (sexual healing) everyday in 83! I was 13 , and like every other teenager, lived off MTV!
I remember seeing Peter Tosh (Electric Avenue)
Herbie Hancock's "Rocket" video barely showed Herbie's face in 82,... Prince and Michael came after in 83, No Marvin on MTV until much later.
There were plenty of Black artists making videos, but you wouldn't know it from MTV in 82,.
David Bowie knew what he was talking about, and Mark confirmed he was right. I have no idea why some people are defending MTV's racist programming when even MTV doesn't make excuses for itself back then.
Bizzare how white fragility works.
My wife and I are the same age as you. Funny because she didn't have MTV, and I introduced her to lots of music and music videos over the past 5 years. She laughs at the fact that without even watching the video I can point to the TV whenever there's an a$$ shot. Hey I WAS 13 at the time after all. No internet, only pause on the VHS player.
He played this perfectly
wow that took an interesting turn
He was, and is my favourite.
No dislikes from me. I'm perfectly fine with this video.
yeah same here, I get it.
funny how music culture is literally hip hop now
I didn't know about this interview. David acted like a perfect investigative journalist, and MTV admitted after this interviews they started to think about promoting black artists... Bowie is still full of surprises.
MTV didn't really switch until CBS records threatened not to send MTV any more videos after they refused to play Micheal Jackson's Billie Jean. Then they started to change.
@@jefflewis4 good to know, thank you, anyway David went out of the comfort zone to make a point, for sure MTV raised eyebrows...
MTV is so proud of being slammed here haha. Talk about trying to be relevant again 🙄🤣
It sounds like there's a blow torch going in the background
It’s Marcellus Wallace with Zed
12:45 "town in the midwest that will be scary to death by Prince which were playing or a string of other black faces" .........WoW.... and this is 1983??? only 40 years ago.... scared to death by a string of black faces.... WoW
Combine that with the anti-disco sentiment at the time and also that cable at the time was still the
domain of suburbia. They were afraid the suburban white kids would stop watching.
He speaks like Alan Watts, and his voice sounds identical IMO.
Interesting dialogue. I respect the fact that Bowie was unafraid to question MTV on their lack of black artists yet didn’t push the issue so hard that he would risk the network not playing his own videos.
I don't think that the level of pushing was about self-interest. Rather, if you push too hard people shut down. The ability to listen is not the same as being a doormat. AFter acknowledging that he heard the interviewer's perspective, he held the line by clearly disagreeing. Much more effective than shouting someone down which seems to be current activist strategy. Much less ego-based.
Little Richard was a huge influence for him initially, possibly his major influence overall.
Bowie=freedom!
This is when Stevie Ray Rise and shine
Good to see Bowie confront the racial divide in the music business back in the 70s and 80s. Black artists have always played Rock and Roll. They invented Rock and Roll! But early on in the late 50s, the racists took over Rock and Roll and called the Rock that black artists did "Rhythm and Blues" or "Soul" or "Funk" to segregate it from the white artists. But the music black artists did from the 50s onward has always been Rock and Roll in it's purest form.
History in REAL TIME
I always found it weird that the first MTV chairman was so against playing Michael Jackson, Prince or Rick James because HE didn't consider it to be rock when rock had been invented by blacks in the first place. Kudos to David Bowie for having the guts not to go along with such a bullshit excuse
The excuses are ridicule "It´s also where cable is" 15:50 ... wow so it was no just racism but classism too.
Yes!!
Pick some town in the Midwest? How about Gary, IN?
Why are you even showing David Bowie on this channel, and not explaining how much he could have done better? RIP David. Seriously MTV GET OUTTA HERE! WE ARE DONE WITH YOUR BS!
Where was he wrong?
Go ahead David Bowie 🖤🖤🖤🖤
Nile rogers another legend
Mark Goodman admitted in an interview from 2022 that he was mad that Mr. Bowie put him on the spot like he did. He defended MTV's stance from that period and doesn't want to admit that he was in the wrong and he had his ass handed to him.
Right on David
“Is the tape off?” lol
love David
15:22 is a mood
He would of been a great Die hard villain, hell even bond villain. RIP Mr Bowie
Strange to think how a meeting with nile Rodgers within just a few months the No1, album and tour ..flying high, the coolest man in the world by the end of '83.. then only a matter of months later he was out of ideas- 'Tonight'
He was sharp like a razor then. Well, probably normal when you're about to conquer the world 🙂
I swear it's like nobody knows the history of whites outside of the United States. And it's as though they're all one culture. Can you imagine telling the blacks from the many areas of Africa that they were all the same culture? And I'm not talking about the well known artists like Mozart and Beethoven, I'm talking about ancient music from white people like Germanic drums. You've got drums that are 7000 years old from China. People are talking about AMERICAN music which includes those artists from around the world that American decided fit in. It used to be that music was a universal language, now everyone is fighting over who created which bits of it first.
What's funny is everyone likes black music but some don't know it lol
“It should’ve been in the ground rules from the beginning”