# Did David Bowie ever cover a song well? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390 "2007-11-06T07:22:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/41 "2007-11-09T02:01:26Z")
Call me a philistine if you like, but I really enjoy the Bowie/Massive Attack “Nature Boy” from the _Moulin Rouge!_ soundtrack. And, I’ve never noticed this before, but is Bowie’s accent like \*thisclose \*to Michael Caine’s, or what? Are they from the same area? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/42 "2007-11-09T02:22:21Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] And, I’ve never noticed this before, but is Bowie’s accent like \*thisclose \*to Michael Caine’s, or what? Are they from the same area? [/QUOTE] Wiki sez [Brixton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_bowie#Biography) and [Rotherhithe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Caine#Biography). They look close to me, but then Wales and Yorkshire look close to me, I’m a Colonist. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/43 "2007-11-09T02:33:46Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Wiki sez [Brixton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_bowie#Biography) and [Rotherhithe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Caine#Biography). They look close to me, but then Wales and Yorkshire look close to me, I’m a Colonist. [/QUOTE] Oh, hey look at that. [Assuming I picked the right Rotherhithe and Brixton ('cause there’s a half dozen of each),](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=from:+Rotherhithe,+Southwark,+London,+United+Kingdom+to:+Brixton,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl) they’re about 5 miles apart. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/44 "2007-11-09T03:41:26Z")
[QUOTE=ForumBot] Across the Universe. [/QUOTE] Bowie’s version was the first I heard, and possibly as a result I preferred it to the original - and I was never a big Bowie fan. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/45 "2007-11-09T04:17:02Z")
Just thought of this one on the way to work this morning: The Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for the Man” came up on my iPod, and my first thought was, “Shoot, I wish it was Bowie’s version.” ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/46 "2007-11-09T06:47:44Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Just thought of this one on the way to work this morning: The Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for the Man” came up on my iPod, and my first thought was, “Shoot, I wish it was Bowie’s version.” [/QUOTE] Which album is that from? Or is it from a bootleg? I don’t get why people like his version of Cactus. I think it’s too similar to the original, but not as good and thus not worth listening to. My friend who’s a huge Bowie fan and got me into his music said he prefers Bowie’s stronger voice for the song, but I think Black Francis’s works better because it makes it sound more depraved. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390/47 "2007-11-09T06:53:50Z")
I’m not aware of Bowie ever covering “Waiting for the Man” without Lou Reed present. They team up pretty often, and they’re great when performing together. What album are you referring to, **Miller?** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-bowie-ever-cover-a-song-well/425390.md?page=2)