David Bowie’s longtime keyboard player, Mike Garson, says they shared a “telepathic connection”.
The 75-year-old musician worked with the late music legend for more than three decades and has claimed that when David Bowie had a heart attack on stage in Hamburg, Germany in 2004, he could “feel” his pain.
In an interview with the Daily Express newspaper, Mike said: “When I played with David, my fingers were connected telepathically as if on a string to his heart. I felt pain in my hands and I just couldn’t accompany David right. I looked up and saw him clutch his chest. I thought, ‘We’re in trouble here.’
“Thank God they got David to the hospital, because he could have died that night.”
The ‘Life on Mars’ hitmaker passed away after a private battle with liver cancer in January 2016, aged 69, and the pianist had a premonition shortly before the icon’s passing that he was going to die when they spoke via email for the last time.
He said: “Right before he died, I was working on my biography and was asked to listen 60 songs we’d recorded together. I was overwhelmed, because I never usually listened to our old songs – like David, I’ll be on to the next thing. I emailed him, saying I was in shock at how good we’d been.
“Within minutes, David wrote back saying, ‘Mike, we did a great body of work together.’ I suddenly felt tears, knowing something was wrong.
“I said to my wife Susan, ‘That’s the last time I’m going to speak to David.’ I couldn’t explain why, but I was right.
“I heard on the news very soon after that David had died. It’s the saddest thing.”
Mike has organised the star-studded virtual tribute concert, ‘Just for One Day’, to mark Bowie’s birthday on Sunday (08.01.21).
The likes of Adam Lambert, Peter Frampton, Duran Duran, Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, Perry Farrell, Macy Gray and Yungblud are on the bill.
Mike will lead the house band comprising of musicians who played with the ‘Heroes’ hitmaker at various stages of his career.
A portion of the money raised from ticket sales will benefit the Save the Children charity.
Mike – who has also worked with the likes of St. Vincent, Nine Inch Nails and The Smashing Pumpkins – says Bowie was the “most giving” artist ever.
He told the tabloid: “People don’t really talk about David’s heart but he was the most giving artist I ever worked with.
“David was a visionary and you knew he was this huge success, but when he was on the tour bus, he was one of the team.
“David suffered with us through the flat tyres, cold weather, and hotel cancellations that happen.
“At the rehearsals for his final tour, David told me, ‘If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it more like a community.’”
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