David Bowie's influence on the international music scene is wide ranging and long lasting. In 2000, following a year-long survey carried out by England's NME, Bowie was voted the most the influential musician by today's pop stars.
The impact of Bowie on our local scene is less well known. After all, this is a place where a "pub rock" ethos has often been precedent over the more art rock styling's of Bowie.
On this page, we explore some of the Aussie and Kiwi artists with connections to Bowie from the position of influence. Remember to also check out our pages on antipodean tributes and on antipodean collaborators.
One local band compared to Bowie possibly more frequently any other is Icehouse led by Iva Davies.
In early 1978, the band gained popularity on the Sydney pub circuit playing note-perfect versions of Bowie songs and among these was 'The Jean Genie'.
They also covered songs by Roxy Music, Lou Reed, T-Rex, Ultravox and Brian Eno.
The original name of the band was Flowers - inspired by the original production by Lindsay Kemp (Bowie's old mime teacher) and based on the debut novel by Jean Genet.
Their debut album was called Icehouse (the names were later reversed!). Released in 1980, it revealed a striking collection of originals, however, lead singer Iva Davies' voice was compared to Bowie and Ferry and musically the band took also took some cues.
Icehouse 'We Can Get Together' (1981)
The point of Bowie comparison seems to have a peak with Icehouse's international hit 'Hey Little Girl' - a song sometimes mistaken as the man himself.
It was around this time that Bowie invited Icehouse to appear with him in the UK and Holland as support on his 1983 tour.
"We hung out with Bowie's band over a couple of months. He always seemed very personable to me. "
"The most memorable time we spent together was the night we nearly got killed. It happened in a club in Amsterdam when Bowie was rushed by a crowd. We got caught up in the crush. We literally had to be passed out over the top of this riot of fans. Bowie was used to crowds but even he was shocked by what had happened. It was frightening and something I'll never forget."
~ Iva Davies, 2008.
Iva Davies
Over the course of several years, Icehouse extended the use of synthesisers in Australian music while producing eight Top 10 albums, twenty Top 40 singles and album sales of over 28 times Platinum. They also produced what is still the highest selling album in Australia by an Australian band (Man of Colours).
In 1995, Iva Davies and Icehouse recorded the ballet Berlin and accompanying album The Berlin Tapes.
Straying away from the bands usual approach of all-originals, this album was all-covers - moreover book-ended by the David Bowie songs with 'Loving the Alien' as the opening track and a slow ballad version of 'Heroes' as the closer.
The Berlin ballet has seen several revivals since it's original appearance.
The Berlin Tapes was reconfigured and re titled as the album Heroes in 2004. The reason for this is probably because that particular Bowie cover was gaining a lot of airplay during the Seven network's coverage of the Athens Olympics (2004). The song was also released a single where it reached #93 on the singles chart.
Both the single and the reconfigured album contain two different versions - the "Berlin Mix' in addition to the 'Athens Mix'. In 2006, it was revived yet again during the coverage of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games (2006).
Icehouse 'Heroes' - sung live in 2005.
NICK CAVE
Australian musical force Nick Cave grew up in rural Victoria. Although Cave loved the epic landscape, he hated the attitudes of small-town Australia. It was the early 70s and he was influenced by David Bowie and Lou Reed and Iggy Pop - songwriters, performers, heroes of pop's avant garde.
Early on in his career, Nick Cave performed some interesting selections of David Bowie songs. According to records on a Nick Cave web site, Cave's first known performance of the song Andy Warhol for instance, occurred on March 3, 1978. The last known performance was on Nov 21, 1978 at Melbourne’s Tiger Lounge where he also performed China Girl in what is his only known live performance of the song.
In 1983 when Cave learned that Bowie would be producing the next Psychedelic Furs album (it never happened), his reaction was "Is he? Well, I am totally jealous".
In the mid 1980s, Nick Cave moved to Berlin and whilst there recorded at Hansa Studios like David Bowie before him. In Berlin, he released four albums with his band the Bad Seeds: The Firstborn Is Dead (1985); Kicking Against the Pricks (1986); Your Funeral, My Trial (1986); and Tender Prey (1988).
During a sound check for a Bad Seeds gig in Lille on 3/10/93, Cave did a cover of Lust For Life. From the same classic Bowie produced Iggy Pop album, he has also covered The Passenger.
Nick Cave 'The Ship Song' (Live 1999)
THE ANGELS
Australian hard rock band The Angels (known as Angel City in the US) supported Bowie on his 1978 tour of Australia.
In 1978, their album Face To Face was already making an impact on Australian charts but their position as "special guests" on the Bowie tour (apparently insisted by Bowie) and their terrific performances, earned them the respect of many more music fans.
"Bowie was fantastic. He treated us as his guests. He came down to our very first sound check and he offered us everything on stage in terms of lighting except for one special one that he wanted to keep"
~ Doc Neeson, 2007
Bowie, Adrian Belew and Carlos Alomar also offered their guitars to The Angels for the performance.
In later years, there appears to be a strange but evident connection occurs via Bowie's long term guitarist Mick Ronson. Perhaps it was the crunchy, melodic riffing that Ronno and the Brewsters shared or perhaps it was mere coincidence. Regardless, in the early 90s both musicians were found covering each others songs - The Angels doing Ian Hunter's 'One Bitten Twice Shy' (originally in collaboration with Mick) and Ronson himself doing The Angels classic 'Take a Long Line' on his album Heaven and Hull.
The Angels 'Take a Long Line' (1978)
PSEUDO ECHO
After the break up of Pseudo Echo, bass player Piero Gigliotti played in a Bowie cover band called Diamond Dogs which included Chris Doheney from Geisha. Later he appeared in another Bowie tribute band called All The Young Dudes.
Gigliotti now works in a restaurant in the Melbourne suburbs and plays bass in a local cafe band called Sofa.
NEIL FINN
New Zealand music legend Neil Finn (Crowded House / Split Enz) is a considerable fan of David Bowie and his song craft.
As far back as 2001, Finn covered 'Golden Years' (and at one stage joined by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam to duet on the number).
"I loved Hunky Dory. It was a real songwriter's record. I love the sound of that record still. 'Quicksand' was a particularly big one for me. I liked the fact that his lyrics were more abstract than any I'd heard before. There was a real mystery to it and also he was slightly gender-challenging. I found that deeply mysterious, because I hadn't experienced anything like that in my home town Te Awamutu."
~ Neil Finn, 1994
On the eve of the new millennium, Bowie and Finn were scheduled to collaborate at a special concert in the small town of Gisborne on the far east coast of New Zealand. The idea was primarily to have the first concert of the millennium - Gisborne being technically the first town in the world to receive sunlight in the year 2000. Bowie was scheduled to perform at midnight and perform a song especially written for the occasion while the Finn Brothers as Split Enz were set to join him for a 15 minute long jam. Unfortunately, it did not happen as the concert organisers folded before the concert went ahead
In 2003, Neil and brother Tim began working alongside legendary Bowie producer Tony Visconti at Allare Studios in upstate New York where Bowie's album Heathen was recorded in 2002. Violinist Lisa Germano has also been a session musician for both Neil Finn and David Bowie.
In a 2007 article in the magazine Spinner, Neil Finn confirmed his respect for Bowie - listing him in his top 5 of all time songwriters (the others being Bob Marley, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Neil Young):
"Hunky Dory is still my template for songwriting and artful arrangement. But he kept doing it album after album"
~ Neil Finn, 2007
Indeed Bowie kept on doing that and in 2010, Crowded House began playing on tour, their version of 'Moonage Daydream' from the very album afterward - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.
You can watch and listen to a version performed with the legendary Johnny Marr on guitar right here. Below is Crowded House's famous breakthrough hit...
Crowded House 'Don't Dream It's Over' (1986)
POWDERFINGER
Australian band Powderfinger have proudly worn their Bowie influence as evidenced by covers of 'Ziggy Stardust' and Bowie’s 1974 chart topper 'Sorrow'.
Bowie and Iggy Pop (among others) were listed as "inspiration" in the liner notes for Like a Dog.
"I love David Bowie so it was bound to come out eventually".
~ Bernard Fanning, lead singer.
Speaking of the band in general, Bernard says the main influences are probably the Beatles and David Bowie. He says that as a child in the 1970s, his music taste was highly influenced by his older brother who was into Bowie.
'Like A Dog' from the 8 times platinum selling Odyssey Number Five. Starring Anthony Mundine.
SOMETHING FOR KATE
In addition to supporting Bowie on every Australian date of the Reality Tour, Something For Kate have been known to play 'Space Oddity' and 'Ashes to Ashes' to live audiences.
A year after the tour, long term Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson played on 'Washed Out To Sea' the closing track of SFK’s chart topping album Desert Lights.
Something for Kate 'Ashes to Ashes' from Live at The Chapel
THE RONSON HANGUP
The Ronson Hangup is a Melbourne based band named in honour of David Bowie's major collaborator Mick Ronson.
Ronson's drop-dead melodies, crunchy guitar tones and shy supernova style are the guiding lights in their self titled debut album.
Guitarist for The Ronson Hangup - Ash Naylor - played a show opening for Bowie's backing band at Melbourne's Ding Dong Lounge in 2004. He also has a song called 'Bowie in My Dreams'.
