The “Life On Mars” legend was known to be a deep thinker, often giving interviews that were profound and bizarre in equal measure. In September 1995, he told Interview Magazine that if only “we didn’t dwell on absolutes and what we should be doing, we might be able to re-establish a whole new philosophical understanding of why we’re on the planet.” He himself was on the planet to create, to push boundaries, to inspire, not to have the queen touch his shoulder with a sword and immodestly become a Sir. It’s for this reason, it seems, that he turned down the knighthood.
2003, coincidentally, was the year that fellow musical icon Mick Jagger became a Sir, but Bowie did not begrudge the Rolling Stones star. “It’s his decision, but it’s just not for me,” he told The Sun (via Smooth Radio), stating in no uncertain terms that “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that.”
Another potential factor was Bowie’s possible disconnect with his country of birth. Smooth Radio reports that The Sun asked whether his refusal to accept the knighthood was born of any ill will towards the British monarchy. His cryptic response was that he would “only have a serious answer to that if [he] was living in [the U.K].”
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