David Bowie was here a couple of times, and his sadly premature death has me thinking of his time in the city with another artist who left the world too young: John Lennon.
Bowie and Lennon hung out in Hong Kong in June 1977. The former Beatle was in town with his son Sean, showing him the sights on the way to Japan. Lennon was staying at the Mandarin: Bowie was in town with Iggy Pop and they bumped into each other.
But put three of history’s greatest rockers together and they’re not staying gently decorous for long. Soon they went drinking, successfully. There were even kicked out of a topless bar, with Lennon shouting “I’m a BEATLE!”. Lennon drank snake blood and forced Bowie to eat a thousand-year-old egg, which he later claimed was the worst thing he’d ever put in his mouth. If you’ve David Bowie, that’s quite the pronouncement.
There’s a story Bowie once told about that time in Hong Kong with Lennon. The two are out on the street and a child comes running up to them, asking, “Are you John Lennon?”
Lennon quips, “No, but I wish I had his money.”
The child slinks away, disappointed. Bowie thinks it’s brilliant, tells Lennon he’s going to steal the line.