More about: David Bowie
A new biography says that the duo were neighbours in Switzerland in the late 70s
The reason why David Bowie turned down the villain’s role in Bond movie A View To A Kill may have been revealed – James Bond actor Roger Moore’s attempts at being neighbourly may have put off the Ziggy Stardust hitmaker.
A new biography of the late singer who passed away in January 2016, David Bowie: A Life by Dylan Jones, claims that an awkward friendship developed between the singer and actor in the late 1970s when the singer moved to Switzerland. The new biography alleges that Bowie hid under his kitchen table to avoid spending time with Moore, who died in May of this year.
The story comes from Buddha Of Suburbia author Hanif Kureshi who recalled the story for Jones.
Jones told The Telegraph that "one of the weirdest people to be in Bowie’s orbit was Roger Moore.”
Jones continued: “Kureishi told me this story, that when David Bowie moved to Switzerland at the end of the Seventies to escape tax and drug dealers, he didn’t know anybody there. He was in this huge house on the outskirts of Geneva - he knew nobody.
“One day, about half-past five in the afternoon, there’s a knock on the door, and there he was: ‘Hello, David.’ Roger Moore comes in, and they had a cup of tea. He stays for drinks, and then dinner, and tells lots of stories about the James Bond films. They had a fantastic time - a brilliant night.
“But then, the next day, at 5.30… Knock, knock, it’s Roger Moore. He invites himself in again, and sits down: ‘Yeah, I’ll have a gin and tonic, David.’ He tells the same stories - but they’re slightly less entertaining the second time around.”
It was around now that the potential friendship was souring.
“After two weeks [of Moore turning up] at 5.25pm - literally every day - David Bowie could be found underneath the kitchen table pretending not to be in.”
Could this be why David Bowie turned down the role of Max Zorin in Roger Moore’s final turn as James Bond in 1985’s A View To A Kill? It’s a good enough reason as any and the part was eventually played by Christopher Walken.
More about: David Bowie
Photo: Press
