Out singer Adam Lambert described the
late David Bowie as “the icon of the outsider” in an interview
this week with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Lambert, who performs Friday in Las
Vegas, expanded on his admiration for how Bowie handled gender roles.
“I definitely think that he was ahead
of his time,” Lambert said. “You know, that’s why it was
interesting to see so many artists respond to his death, so many
young, contemporary artists beyond that generation. I just think that
he wasn’t always doing what was popular, and that takes a lot of
guts and a lot of bravery. To me, that’s what he kind of
represents, a brave artist that was willing to go against the grain.
And I think that inspired a lot of artists to come, but also inspired
a lot of regular people, people that might have felt like outsiders.
I think he was sort of the icon of the outsider for very many
people.”
“Well, obviously Queen,” Lambert
answered when asked about the '70s rock that inspired him.
“Queen was huge for me. You know, I
just became really enthralled with the whole glam rock thing.”
“So Queen, Bowie, Slade, Velvet
Underground, T-Rex, I mean you name it, I was very infatuated with
that. And then bigger artists that came out of that, you know people
like Prince and Michael Jackson and George Michael, you know, artists
that were still very fashionable and fabulous but were putting out a
different kind of music,” Lambert
added.