Editing David Bowie (section)

==Political views==
In his first ever television interview, Bowie, under the name Davie Jones, spoke out about prejudice against long-haired men after he and his then-band the Manish Boys were asked to cut their hair before a BBC television appearance. He and the Manish Boys were interviewed on the network's 12&nbsp;November 1964 instalment of ''[[Tonight (1957 TV programme)|Tonight]]'' to champion their cause, where Bowie claimed to be a spokesperson for the nonexistent Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=521}} He stated on the programme, "I think we all like long hair and we don't see why other people should persecute us because of it."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.glamour.com/story/how-david-bowie-changed-beauty|last=Valdesolo|first=Fiorella|title=How David Bowie Changed the Way We Look at Beauty|website=Glamour|date=12 January 2016|access-date=13 September 2021|archive-date=13 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913103142/https://www.glamour.com/story/how-david-bowie-changed-beauty|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1976, speaking as the Thin White Duke persona and "at least partially tongue-in-cheek", he made statements that expressed support for [[fascism]] and perceived admiration for [[Adolf Hitler]] in interviews with ''[[Playboy]]'', ''[[NME]]'' and a Swedish publication. Bowie was quoted as saying: "Britain is ready for a fascist leader&nbsp;... I think Britain could benefit from a fascist leader. After all, fascism is really nationalism... I believe very strongly in fascism, people have always responded with greater efficiency under a regimental leadership." He was also quoted as saying: "Adolf Hitler was one of the first rock stars" and "You've got to have an extreme right front come up and sweep everything off its feet and tidy everything up."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/apr/20/popandrock.race|title=1978, the year rock found the power to unite|last=Manzoor|first=Sarfraz|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=15 January 2015|date=20 April 2008|archive-date=27 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227033900/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/apr/20/popandrock.race|url-status=live}}</ref> These comments, along with [[Eric Clapton]]'s comments in support of [[Enoch Powell]] at that time, have been named as an inspiration for the formation of the [[Rock Against Racism]] movement.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/23/death-threats-rock-against-racism-fascism-national-front-clash-rar | title= 'If there are death threats, don't tell me' – how Rock Against Racism fought fascism | work=The Guardian | first=Tim | last=Jonze | date=23 August 2022 | access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> Bowie retracted his comments in an interview with ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in October 1977, blaming them on mental instability caused by his drug problems, saying: "I was out of my mind, totally, completely crazed."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gilmore |first=Mikal|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cover-story-excerpt-david-bowie-20120118|title=Cover Story Excerpt: David Bowie|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=18 January 2012|access-date=11 January 2016|archive-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216064719/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cover-story-excerpt-david-bowie-20120118|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same interview, Bowie described himself as "apolitical", stating: <blockquote>the more I travel and the less sure I am about exactly which political philosophies are commendable. The more government systems I see, the less enticed I am to give my allegiance to any set of people, so it would be disastrous for me to adopt a definitive point of view, or to adopt a party of people and say 'these are my people'.<ref>{{cite news |title=David Bowie, the 'Apolitical' Insurrectionist Who Taught Us How to Rebel |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/david-bowie-the-apolitical-insurrectionist-who-taught-us-how-to-rebel/ |access-date=31 January 2021 |magazine=[[The Nation]] |date=11 January 2016 |first=John |last=Nichols |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205040112/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/david-bowie-the-apolitical-insurrectionist-who-taught-us-how-to-rebel/ |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

In the 1980s and 1990s, Bowie's public statements shifted sharply towards [[anti-racism]] and [[anti-fascism]]. In an interview with [[MTV]] anchor [[Mark Goodman]] in 1983, Bowie criticised the channel for not providing enough coverage of Black musicians, becoming visibly uncomfortable when Goodman suggested that the network's fear of backlash from the [[American Midwest]] was one reason for such a lack of coverage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/XZGiVzIr8Qg| archive-date=14 November 2021| url-status=live|title=David Bowie Criticizes MTV for Not Playing Videos by Black Artists|via=YouTube|year=1983|publisher=[[MTV News]]|access-date=13 January 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Why It Took So Long For MTV To Play Black Videos|first=Margena A.|last=Christian|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=9 October 2006|page=17}}</ref> The music videos for "China Girl" and "Let's Dance" were described by Bowie as a "very simple, very direct" statement against racism.<ref name="LoderMV">{{cite magazine|last=Loder|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Loder|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/straight-time-19830512|title=David Bowie: Straight Time|date=12 May 1983|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612141940/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/straight-time-19830512|archive-date=12 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The album ''Tin Machine'' took a more direct stance against fascism and [[neo-Nazism]], and was criticised for being too preachy.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=275}} In 1993 he released the single "[[Black Tie White Noise (song)|Black Tie White Noise]]" which dealt with the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=417–421}} In 2007 Bowie donated $10,000 to the defence fund for the [[Jena Six]] saying, "there is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena".<ref>{{cite web |title=David Bowie donates $10,000 to defend US accused |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/david-bowie-363-1343011 |work=NME |date=19 September 2007 |access-date=22 June 2023 |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622111714/https://www.nme.com/news/music/david-bowie-363-1343011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

When Bowie won the British Male Solo Artist award at the [[2014 Brit Awards]], he referenced the forthcoming [[Scottish independence referendum]] by saying, "Scotland, stay with us."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26230608|title=Brit Awards 2014: David Bowie wins best British male award|work=BBC News|access-date=22 September 2014|date=20 February 2014|archive-date=26 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326020457/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26230608|url-status=live}}</ref> This garnered a significant reaction throughout the UK on social media.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-26267726|title=Oldest Brit winner David Bowie enters independence debate|work=BBC News|date=20 February 2014|access-date=21 February 2014|archive-date=14 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114235735/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-26267726|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Dunham|first=Jess|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/david-bowie-on-scottish-independence-reactions-on-twitter-9140683.html|title=David Bowie on Scottish independence: Reactions on Twitter|work=The Independent|date=20 February 2014|access-date=21 February 2014|archive-date=20 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220122556/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/david-bowie-on-scottish-independence-reactions-on-twitter-9140683.html|url-status=live}}</ref>