David Bowie is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential artists of the 20th century – having drawn from a wide range of genres including glam rock, jazz, soul, avant-garde, and electronic music over the course of his five-decade career.
His constant reinvention not only shaped the evolution of pop and rock music but also gave him a unique perspective on cultural trends and artistic impact.
In a 1996 interview, Bowie made a statement that not many would expect: he suggested that the Velvet Underground were more influential on modern music than The Beatles.
Bowie began by acknowledging the immense success and cultural reach of The Beatles. He described them as a group who were “so extremely large in terms of what they sold and the influence they had”, noting their widespread popularity and the critical acclaim they received throughout the 1960s.
However, he also argued that by the mid-1990s, their influence on contemporary music had diminished, and “very little of their influence is actually felt now.”
He contrasted this with the impact of bands that were less commercially successful but more “artistically forward-thinking”: “It was the fringe, strange bands that nobody ever bought, like the Velvet Underground, that actually have created modern music”.
“And you kind of think, where’s ‘Yesterday’ in all this? Where’s its influence on modern music?”, he noted.
Bowie suggested that while The Beatles had helped shape popular culture during their era, the long-term artistic direction of music was more deeply influenced by lesser-known groups operating outside the mainstream. For that comparison, he offered an analysis of The Beatles’ 1967 single ‘Penny Lane’ and the Velvet Underground’s ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’ – claiming that the latter had a greater influence on the sound and direction of contemporary music.
“Well, there’s a couple of British bands that use trumpets every now and again and say they’re Beatles influenced. But in reality, what they generally gravitate more to is ‘Waiting for the Man’ than into ‘Penny Lane’.”
According to Bowie, cultural shifts often come from the fringes rather than the centre: “Tomorrow’s culture is always dictated by the artists. So however many critics were saying how important the Beatles were, there were artists running around saying, ‘Yeah they’re okay, but have you heard the Velvet Underground?’ The artists make culture, not the critics.”
The Velvet Underground, fronted by Lou Reed and managed early on by Andy Warhol, released their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967. At the time, it received little commercial success and only modest critical attention – however, its reputation grew significantly in the decades that followed.
In contrast, The Beatles’ influence remained strong in terms of songwriting structure, harmony, and experimentation within a mainstream pop framework.