The Night Frank Zappa Said To David Bowie, Fuck You Captain Tom
As told by former guitarist for both artists, Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is the world’s greatest experimental whammy twang bar, czar rhino, and stunt guitarist extraordinaire. That’s what his website says but I think he’s being modest. The man is a pioneer of getting crazy sounds out of guitars.
Adrian was discovered by Frank Zappa while playing in a cover band named Sweetheart at Fanny’s in Nashville in 1970. I found the following story on Adrian Belew’s Facebook fan page originally posted by Adrian in 2016.
In 1978 I did my first tour of Europe as “stunt” guitarist and singer for Frank Zappa’s band. The night we played in Cologne, Germany unbeknownst to me Brian Eno was in the audience. Brian knew David Bowie was looking for a new guitarist for his upcoming tour. He called David after seeing our show and told David he should come see the guitarist for Frank’s band.
The next night we performed in Berlin. There was a part of the show where Frank took an extended guitar solo so the band members left the stage for a few minutes. As I walked to the back of the stage I looked over at the monitor mixing board and saw David Bowie and Iggy Pop standing there.
Wow! I couldn’t believe it!
