David Bowie Rejected Both Coldplay And A Knighthood: Is There No End To The Thin White Duke’s Heroics?

Praise for the work and conduct of David Bowie has come thick and fast since the maestro’s death earlier this month, but the news that the man who fell to earth prevented Coldplay from unleashing another pop monstrosity on an unsuspecting world is almost as heroic as the fact that the thin white duke once told Buckingham Palace that they could stick their offer of a CBE and Knighthood where the sun don’t shine.

In an era where privacy, dignity, and staying true to one’s self have been all but washed away by a tsunami of social media updates and sycophantic praise, it’s rare for a public figure in the UK to turn down a chance to tug their forelock, bow down to their betters, and accept a gong from their monarch when their name comes up on the roulette table better known as the honors system.

David Bowie did — not once, but two times a bugger off!

Maybe it’s because Bowie, like many of its more severe critics, view the UK honors system as symbolic of the antiquated class, inherited privilege, and grossly disproportionate distribution of wealth that still exists in Britain to this day. Others simply regard it as a steaming pile of shambolic trite that appeals solely to egotistical maniacs and status crazy social climbers.

In many ways, to “arise” or not to rise to the occasion is the mark by which the man can be measured. Sir Mick Jagger campaigned vigorously for the honor to become a knight, but fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards just dismissed his bandmate’s treasured ambition in one word — “ludicrous.”

And to be fair, the old lush had a valid point. Jagger may have taken his place at Queen Elizabeth’s round table alongside such battled hardened warriors as Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Paul McCartney, and Sir Bruce Forsyth, but let’s face it, if you were going to war would you want this sorry shower leading the way?

Is it no wonder that this arcane system, which has become something of a farcical comedy called “Carry on up the Knighthood,” was shunned and avoided by the likes of David Bowie, Aldous Huxley, L.S. Lowry, Michael Faraday, Henry Moore, Rudyard Kipling, and a handful of others who knew the true worth of their own achievements and did not need feel the need to be recognized by a devious and dubious feudal system which favors elitism and inequality by token of birth.

As the late Michael Winer, who famously rejoiced in snubbing an OBE once said, “I couldn’t give a s**t about a CBE or a Knighthood, so I just thought ‘stuff it’. If you look at the people who have turned down honors it makes for a wonderful list. I’d rather be in that group than the seedy lot who took the so-called honor, groveled for it and carried it home like a prize possession to show off. The only prize possession to value in life is that of how we behave.”

And didn’t Bowie behave well. After turning down a CBE in 2000, David Bowie went one better in 2003 and declined the palace’s offer of a knighthood. It’s refreshing there are still class acts like David Robert Jones, who probably realized his integrity and legacy would be damaged beyond repair by acknowledging an irrelevant honor.

As the British exile once said himself upon the matter, “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.” How right you are sir!

It’s hard to imagine any famous faces of today turning down a knighthood. Take Coldplay’s Chris Martin for example. Or on the other hand don’t. Bowie didn’t. When Coldplay submitted a song to Bowie and asked him to please sing on it. Bowie refused simply because “It’s not a very good song is it?” How refreshing.

Coldplay drummer Will Champion admitted, “Bowie was very discerning – he wouldn’t just put his name to anything. I’ll give him credit for that!”

That’s big of you Champ!

Like pop music’s very own version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, it would appear in death, David Bowie has become far more powerful than anyone could ever imagine.

(Photo by Smith/Express/Getty Images)