King Crimson founder Robert Fripp appeared on Q for a new interview, recalling how he met David Bowie and why he refused to tour with him.
In early 1972, Fripp had a social meeting with David Bowie in London, and Bowie invited him to visit in south London, but Fripp later had to cancel. He also attended Bowie’s 1972 Rainbow show, where Roxy Music opened.
After the meeting, the two crossed paths again, which he told in his words with the following:
“Then I saw David again… He came to New York, this was now towards the end of ’77, and we met in David’s hotel, where he played me some Devo videos. And we went down to see Devo at Max’s Kansas City, I think.”
Apparently, Bowie’s intention was to ask about the tour, which Fripp declined. He went on to explain why he refused:
“But what David did is ask me to be the guitarist on the Heroes tour, which I declined. And I said, “I’ve been on the road for six years, and I’ve just come off.” And I wasn’t interested, certainly at that time, in going back again.”
Fripp Took Place in A Bowie Album
Even though Fripp did not accept to play with Bowie on his tour, he appeared in one of his albums. Getting the call after his refusal, the rocker was offered to play in the then-new Bowie album:
“The next I heard, I had a call… I was back living in England part-time, I think we’re either in late ’79 or early 1980, and David was recording his next album. Would I like to play on it? Yes, very much. Which became the ‘Scary Monsters’ album.”
The album includes 10 songs, and the guitarist played in 6 of them, namely ‘Fashion,’ ‘It’s No Game,’ ‘Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps),’ ‘Kingdom Come,’ ‘Up the Hill Backwards,’ and ‘Teenage Wildlife.’ The guitarist also contributed to the hit album ‘Heroes’ as well.
Additionally, Fripp wanted to partake in ‘Ashes to Ashes’ too, but could not find anything more to add to the song.
Fripp Has Been In A Dispute with Bowie’s Estate
Earlier, Fripp was in a dispute with David Bowie’s estate regarding the recognition he believed he deserved for his contributions to Bowie’s albums ‘Heroes’ and ‘Scary Monsters.’ He expressed his concerns through several posts on his Facebook.
The disagreement centers around the term ‘Featured Player,’ used by Phonographic Performance Ltd., also known as PPL. In one of his Facebook posts, Fripp alleged that Bowie’s estate has not officially recognized his position as a ‘Featured Player’ because of PPL regulations, elaborating that these rules do not acknowledge his status as a ‘Featured Player.’
Both Tony Visconti, who co-produced the albums, and Brian Eno, who co-wrote many of the songs on ‘Heroes,’ have released statements supporting Fripp’s claim. Representatives for the Bowie estate did not comment on the matter.
