ABSTRACT
Critical interpretations of David Bowie as the ever-changing ‘chameleon of rock’ and ‘the faker’ are nothing new. Such interpretations usually use a liberal sprinkling of quotes from his countless media interviews. Yet the self-contradiction, half-truths, fabrications, and lies to be found in these interviews have their own corresponding story to tell. The subject of this essay is David Bowie in interview. Ranging from mid-1960s interviews to the most recent interviews, Bowie’s comments and pronouncements do not elucidate the artist or his work in any satisfying manner. However, what they do is provide a fascinating perspective on Bowie’s life and art. If we interpret Bowie’s media interviews as a narrative-of-self as well as a form of artist’s statement, what they continually reveal is that, to use Paul Ricoeur’s concept, ‘narrative-identity’ is a slippery process that involves both an affirmation of a definite self and a total rejection of that self. They also reveal that this ‘self’ – together with others – is both the interpreter and the interpreted. In this sense, Bowie’s stardom (his fame) is continually under revision by both Bowie himself and those who attempt to interpret it. ‘Bowie’ becomes a collaborative project with no real beginning and no real end; not even in death. The celebrity interview is an important (yet often overlooked) stage for mediation.
