Hanif Kureishi on David Bowie
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2018
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"Suddenly this light comes into your life" - says Hanif Kureishi, referring to his hero, his great life, David Bowie.
Hanif, an author, screenwriter and film maker, went on to become friends with Bowie in the 1990's after they worked together when Bowie wrote the soundtrack to Kureishi's TV adaptation 'The Buddha of Suburbia'.
For Hanif it was also Bowie who inspired him to become an author and filmmaker - he says for a "mixed race Pakistani kid living in a crummy terrace bored out of my mind, I wanted to get out - I wanted to explore, I wanted to express myself, I wanted to be free".
Hanif gives his personal insight into the life of David Bowie.
The expert witness is Dylan Jones - author of 'David Bowie A Life' and 'When Ziggy Played Guitar'.
Presenter: Matthew Parris
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, it's Doleepa, and I'm at your service. |
| 0:04.7 | Join me as I serve up personal conversations with my sensational guests. |
| 0:08.8 | Do a leap interviews, Tim Cook. |
| 0:11.2 | Technology doesn't want to be good or bad. |
| 0:15.0 | It's in the hands of the creator. |
| 0:16.7 | It's not every day that I have the CEO of the world's biggest company in my living room. |
| 0:20.7 | If you're looking at your phone more than you're looking in someone's eyes, you're doing the wrong thing. |
| 0:26.0 | Julie, at your service. |
| 0:28.0 | Listen to all episodes on BBC sales. |
| 0:31.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:33.0 | With Crimson. With crimson hair and a multi-colored space suit, this alien creature shocked and amazed the nation |
| 0:50.0 | as he appeared on the BBC's top of the pops in the summer of 1972. |
| 0:55.0 | But for some teenagers who experienced this extraterrestrial television visitation, |
| 1:00.0 | it changed their lives. |
| 1:02.0 | For them, music would never be the same again as Ziggi Stardust, the alter ego of David Robert Jones, |
| 1:08.0 | aka Bowie, became their hero. |
| 1:11.0 | My guest, the author, screenwriter and filmmaker Hanif Kureshi, C.B. |
| 1:16.2 | has nominated David Bowie as his great life. For anyone unfamiliar with Kureshi's name, I could mention the film My beautiful Laundrette and the book, The Buddha of Suburbia, but there's lots more, and his most recent novel published last year is called The Nothing. |
| 1:33.0 | Hanif, you were one of those teenagers who watched that Ziggi Stardust performance on Top of the |
| 1:38.9 | Pops. |
| 1:39.9 | What did it mean to you personally? |
| 1:41.6 | In those days, the highlight of our week would be top of the |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.