A remarkable piece of music history has resurfaced from the archives: a previously unheard and incredibly candid interview with the late, great David Bowie, recorded at the height of the Britpop era in 1997.
In the raw and revealing conversation, Bowie expresses profound regret over his role in fuelling the infamous rivalry between Britpop titans Oasis and Blur. The iconic artist, often seen as an untouchable musical deity, opens up with surprising vulnerability about the press frenzy he helped create.
"I Was a Bit of a Prat": Bowie's Britpop Mea Culpa
The interview captures a reflective Bowie who is far from pleased with his own actions. He is heard admitting, "I felt like I was a bit of a prat, really" for publicly siding with Oasis and playfully taunting Blur's Damon Albarn.
This confession refers to his famous 'Top of the Pops' incident where he mockingly asked Albarn, "How’s the wife?" – a quip about the Blur frontman's relationship with Elastica's Justine Frischmann. In the newly found tape, Bowie reveals this was not a moment of triumph but one of slight embarrassment, showing a self-awareness rarely captured on record.
Beyond the Feud: The Man Behind the Persona
This lost interview does more than just revisit a pop culture moment; it pulls back the curtain on the man behind Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke. Bowie speaks with striking honesty about the nature of fame, his own artistic process, and the loneliness that can accompany a life in the spotlight.
He reflects on his own career, discussing the constant pressure to reinvent and the personal doubts that plagued him even at the peak of his success. It’s a humbler, more philosophical side of the star that fans seldom saw.
The emergence of this tape, over two decades after it was recorded and years after his passing, offers a fresh and poignant perspective on a beloved icon. It shows David Bowie not as a infallible legend, but as a thoughtful, complex, and wonderfully human artist who wasn't afraid to look back and question his own choices.
