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Gone, but never forgotten. Clips from David Bowie’s unaired 60 Minutes interview were released online on Monday, January 11, just hours after news broke of his death at age 69.
The icon was interviewed for the long-running CBS show from May to September in 2003. According to CBS News, the legendary musician agreed to appear on the broadcast after an editor at the show contacted him.
While the show never fully came together, numerous clips from Bowie’s sessions were uncovered in the wake of his passing. In one clip, the late singer said that he never really thought of himself as a rock star.
“I was never particularly fond of my voice,” he said. “I thought that I wrote songs and wrote music and that was sort of what I thought I was best at doing. And because nobody else was ever doing my songs, I felt, you know, I had to go out and do them.”
Bowie also elaborated on the inspiration behind some of his most anthemic songs and beloved records.
“I couldn’t have written things like Low and Heroes, those particular albums, if it hadn’t have been for Berlin and the kind of atmosphere I felt there,” he said of his 1977 records, which were part of his “Berlin Triology,” along with 1979’s Lodger. Of his androgynous alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, he added: “And London was the Stardust. I mean, that was such a London thing.”
He also said that while many associate him with Ziggy Stardust, he preferred performing without all the theatrics that initially skyrocketed him to fame.
“I don’t miss the spectacle of doing shows like those one iota,” he admitted. “They’re such a nightmare to pull together. It’s a whole different thing now. Really is.”
The interview concluded with the “Changes” rocker saying that he was pretty happy with the way his life turned out.
“I think generally, I just cannot really envision life without writing, and producing records and singing,” he mused. “I think, in short, it’s as cornball as that. You know? It really is what I do. And I’m so glad I chose that to be my profession. It’s been just terrific.”
Watch the clip above!
