From

http://www.gigwise.com/news/59681/U2s-Bono...-Bowie-To-Elvis

 

 

U2's Bono Compares David Bowie To Elvis

 

He says Irish band owe star a lot...

November 23, 2010 by Jason Gregory

 

 

U2 frontman Bono has compared David Bowie to Elvis Presley and said the singer played a pivotal role in making them a success.

 

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bono said the Irish band owed a lot to the musician.

 

"It's the high singing, beyond your 'man' voice into the feminine. And there's the staging, the attempt to be innovative,” he said.

 

"Bowie wasn't afraid to use scale, to dramatise things. His setlist was not just a jukebox he could run through. It was drama."

 

Bono added: "It's not exaggerating to say what Elvis meant to America, David Bowie meant to the UK and Ireland. It was that radical a shift in consciousness.

 

"The first time I saw him was singing 'Starman' on television it was like a creature falling from the sky. Americans put a man on the moon. We had our own British guy from space - with an Irish mother."

 

Meanwhile, U2 are currently recording a new album with Danger Mouse.

I love David Bowie :wub:

Here are Bono's favourite Bono tracks as told to Rolling Stone magazine

 

http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/bono

 

 

 

 

 

"What I've chosen from David Bowie is very strict. It's my teenage life as a Bowie fan. I am still a Bowie fan. But this was when my heart and mind were very vulnerable to music. And these songs had a real impact. U2 owe him a lot. He introduced us to Berlin and Hansa Studios, to collaborating with Brian Eno. It's the high singing, beyond your 'man' voice into the feminine. And there's the staging, the attempt to be innovative. It has been pointed out that the Claw [the 360˚ stage] looks like the Glass Spider. Bowie wasn't afraid to use scale, to dramatize things. His set list was not just a jukebox he could run through. It was drama."

 

1. "Space Oddity" 1969

 

We walk onstage to this every night — like four astronauts.

2. "The Man Who Sold the World" 1970

 

America fell in love with that song because of Kurt Cobain — a man who wouldn't sell the world anything.

3. "Changes" 1971

 

It's not exaggerating to say, what Elvis meant to America, David Bowie meant to the U.K. and Ireland. It was that radical a shift in consciousness.

4. "Five Years" 1972

 

This sounds like it's coming from the chanson tradition. Elsewhere on Ziggy Stardust, he talks about William Burroughs. I bought Naked Lunch, which is a hard read at 15. But Bowie made important introductions, just by talking about what turned him on.

5. "Life on Mars" 1971

 

Bowie's world was always full of intellectual and artistic static. Where he lived was a long way from where I lived in Dublin.

6. "Starman" 1972

 

The first time I saw him was singing "Starman" on Top of the Pops. It was like a creature falling from the sky. Americans put a man on the moon. We had our own British guy from space — with an Irish mother.

7. "Lady Grinning Soul" 1973

 

This is a beguiling and unusual David Bowie song. It's already there, the black influence that would be on the next album. I'd be interested to hear what Roy Bittan [of the E Street Band] would think of that operatic piano part. Bowie was a big fan of Springsteen.

8. "The Jean Genie" 1973

 

Every so often, Bowie goes up against Jagger. I love his take on blues and R&B — the discipline, that swing beat. The Smiths are born in that song too.

9. "John, I'm Only Dancing" 1972

 

Again, I love the economy, this rockabilly beat. It's not enough to be a great songwriter. You have to turn that song into a record, and that requires production and arrangement of a high order..

10. "Young Americans" 1975

 

The great moment in this is that beautifully out-of-tune guitar break. I loved that.

11. "Fame" 1975

 

I was fascinated by Bowie's predicament in this song. This was a precious and precocious talent, wanting not to die stupid.

12. "Warszawa" 1977

 

I have powerful memories of meeting with my friend Gavin Friday in his living room on Monday nights to play music. We created our own world, listening to this album and trying to find out what it was about.

13. "Heroes" 1977

 

It encapsulates the thought that all lovers go through: They're not alone and can take on the world. And it has Robert Fripp's furious contribution on guitar.

14. "Ashes to Ashes" 1980

 

The sonic innovation of Low and Heroes is becoming more pop. I remember figuring out how they got that ping-ping-ping piano sound — we ended up using it on "Lemon."

15. "Up the Hill Backwards" 1980

 

I chose this because it's like my life.