David Bowie, Kate Bush And Others Turn Down The Closing Ceremony To The Olympics

Those of you who watched this Sunday’s Olympics closing ceremony probably could have guessed this, but David Bowie, it seems, did turn down the chance to appear.

A cheaper production than July’s opening ceremony, it’s not hard to see why Bowie would have turned down the Olympics’ offer: his ‘Heroes’ may have served as the Great Britain team’s unofficial song, but with no Danny Boyle and a musical focus on pop of the Simon Fuller and Cowell eras, it was far from a classy showcase.

The Guardian report that as well as Bowie, The Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones and the famously publicity-shy Kate Bush – whose single ‘Running Up That Hill’ was remixed and re-released as part of the closing ceremony’s official album – all turned down offers to perform, as, initially, did The Who. Interestingly, the games’ close also saw more viewers than the opening ceremony, though a Sunday night slot and the prior success of the games would have surely contributed to this.