More unaired moments with David Bowie
When David Bowie died on January 10, just two days after releasing a final album, he left many fans hungry for more. 60 Minutes searched its archives and found several interviews with the rock star, part of a story that never aired. The day after he died, the broadcast posted excerpts online here and later offered our television audience more here -- but viewers weren't satisfied, so we decided to add to our offerings.
In the clip above, Bowie describes how he approached making albums. "I have such a wide interest in different forms of music," he said, "I've found that the making of an album really changes from piece to piece."
In 2003, 60 Minutes filmed him recording songs for his album "Reality" in a studio in Woodstock, New York. In one of them, "Never Get Old," Bowie seems to proclaim his intention to live forever. He assured our producers the song was tongue in cheek.
"It doesn't bother me in the slightest, growing older," he said. "I just thought the subject matter was kind of funny for a song."
By the time 60 Minutes spoke with Bowie, his Ziggy Stardust days were long past. He said he was glad he was no longer doing those types of performances. "I don't miss the spectacle of doing shows like those one iota," he said. "I would have huge anxiety attacks every night, wondering if somebody is going to fall down, or somebody's going to forget to do something, or whatever."
But Bowie also mentioned his interest in writing a theatrical piece for someone else to perform, which he ultimately did. In 2015, "Lazarus," starring Michael C. Hall, debuted off-Broadway and sold out within hours.
Bowie's own performances weren't always as confident as they seemed. The first night of a new tour "I'm just jelly, you know?" he told 60 Minutes. "Until I've got that first half hour, say, behind me."
And it wasn't just big shows. Appearing before a small audience of diehard fans in a club called "The Chance" in Poughkeepsie, he told 60 Minutes he was nervous to go on. "It's all new songs, and I've never done them before," he said. "And this is a tough crowd, believe it or not. This is a really tough crowd."
Interviewed in 2003, Bowie, who lived in downtown New York City, was still processing the events of 9/11. "If I didn't have my family - especially my daughter - whose eyes I do look through a lot these days, I think it would be very easy for me to slip into despondency and negativity about the current times," he said.
He said his daughter, Alexandria, kept him optimistic. "I owe it to my daughter," he said. "I want her to know that she has a father who's enthusiastic and looking forward to the things she's going to do when she grows up."