In a recently surfaced chat with Consequence, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor reflected on David Bowie as a father figure to him.
In 1995, Nine Inch Nails had the chance to open for Bowie during ‘The Outside Tour.’ Reznor talked about receiving a call from Bowie, and he eagerly agreed to join the tour just a month later. Recalling that period, the singer noted:
“But then to get to be around him for the extent of that tour and actually see him in person and be terrified and intimidated. And then find an actual human being behind it that did impossibly live up to whatever you projected on him. What really left the biggest impression on me was there I was in a bad state of addiction and kind of going down the toilet.”
Bowie’s Mentorship During Reznor’s Difficult Times
Detailing the late rocker’s support to him, he continued:
“And he was on the other end to have come out of it. And there were the few kind of big brother / fatherly times where he’d call me aside and kind of get on my sh*t: ‘You need to get your sh*t together. It doesn’t have to end up down there.’ He didn’t say this, but look at where he was. He was happy. He was still taking chances.”
A Lifesaving Connection To Bowie
In the concluding part of his message, Trent expressed his gratitude to Bowie with the following words:
“Anyway, I still think about that dude all the time, and I still listen to him constantly. And I’m grateful that our lives intersected, and I’m grateful for, whether he knew it or not, how much he helped me in those dark times before I chose to get my sh*t together. And I can hear his voice. He penetrated through the layers of bullsh*t that I’d built around myself. I’m grateful for that.”
Later, Reznor and Bowie worked together on a remix of the late singer’s ‘I’m Afraid of Americans,’ which ended up being more popular than the original song. The Nine Inch Nails vocalist also appeared in the music video of the track. Reznor has also performed it live with his band.
