Why David Bowie and Elton John Friendship Ended

Back in the early ’70s, David Bowie and Elton John were two rising stars lighting up the UK charts. Bowie’s “Space Oddity” hit No. 5 in 1969, and just a year later, Elton’s “Your Song” climbed to similar success. With their quirky personalities and shared love of pushing musical boundaries, the two became fast friends. As Elton recalled:

“David and I were not the best of friends towards the end. We started out being really good friends.”

He added, “We used to hang out together with Marc Bolan, going to gay clubs,” but admitted they eventually “just drifted apart.”

Tension and Jabs in the Press

That drifting turned into distance—and eventually tension. Bowie made some pretty biting comments in interviews over the years. Elton remembered one in particular: “Years later, he’d always make snippy remarks about me in interviews. ‘The token queen of rock and roll’ was the most famous one, although, in fairness, he was absolutely out of his mind on coke when he said it.”

In another moment, Bowie took a dig by saying:

“I consider myself responsible for a whole new school of pretensions — they know who they are. Don’t you, Elton?”

“Not My Cup of Tea”

Despite trying to understand the rift, Elton never really got clarity: “I honestly don’t know what the problem was, but there clearly was a problem.” Though they hung out a few times—“visiting the Sombrero with Tony King and having dinner together in Covent Garden”—Elton said Bowie always felt “distant and aloof.”

Eventually, he accepted that they just weren’t meant to be close: “I thought it was a bit snooty. He wasn’t my cup of tea. No; I wasn’t his cup of tea.” Elton even believed Bowie thought he was better than him.

A Classy Farewell

Still, when Bowie passed in 2016, Elton left any hard feelings behind. He praised Bowie’s grace in facing death, saying:

“But the dignified way he handled his death, I mean, thank God… Bowie couldn’t have staged a better death. It was classy.”

Elton paid tribute just days later during a show in L.A.—a touching moment between two legends, even if their friendship never quite hit the right note. Watch the video below: