At one of their recent shows in the Bowery Ballroom, the Arctic Monkeys asked an anonymous middle-aged man to move out of a seat that was reserved for family members of the band. The man graciously got up and went to the back of the ballroom to watch the show. None of the band members knew it was Bowie until the father of the Monkeys’ bassist pointed him out. Like a gentleman, Bowie found the band after the show was over and told them he enjoyed the show.
Kudos to Bowie for not pulling the old “do you know who I am” bit when the band members failed to recognize him and asked him to move. And shame on the Arctic Monkeys for not realizing the interloper was Bowie. How does any band worth their salt not know who Bowie is? Their excuse was that they didn’t think anyone would attend the gig, much less a star of Bowie’s calibur.
News articles on this embarrassing mix-up can be found in the Starpulse News Blog, Yahoo! Music, and at Gigwise.com.