Kaiser Chiefs double down on claims they once turned down lyric from David Bowie
nme.comKaiser Chiefs have doubled down on their claim that they once turned down lyrics suggested to them by David Bowie.The Leeds band first spoke about their interaction with the rock icon in an interview with News of the World back in 2011, when drummer Nick Hodgson noted that they were able to contact Bowie through a mutual colleague, the legendary producer Tony Visconti.Visconti had co-produced their album ‘The Future is Medieval’, released in the same year, and was on close terms with Bowie, having collaborated on over ten of his albums, including classics such as ‘Low’, ‘Heroes’ and ‘Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)’.“Tony texted David asking for his suggestions to finish off a verse [on ‘Man On Mars’] and he came up with a couple of lines,” Hodgson recalled. “I’m such a big Bowie fan I can’t believe I’m saying this, but they just weren’t right, so I’ve missed out on a Hodgson/Bowie writing credit.
Gutted!”Shortly after Hodgson’s comments became public, Visconti denied the claims to NME, stating: “I have never asked David Bowie to write lyrics for the Kaiser Chiefs.
I was hired for the production job because of Nick‘s obsession with Bowie and T. Rex, and I freely shared some of my production secrets with them, but that did not include getting Bowie to write lyrics for them.
That is absurd.”But now, in a segment on Virgin Radio UK, the band’s Ricky Wilson and Andrew White have restated that it did in fact happen.Kaiser Chiefs once DIDN'T use a lyric given to them by the great David Bowie.
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