Watch Madonna Tribute David Bowie With “Rebel Rebel” Cover

Carl Williott | January 13, 2016 9:03 am

The outpouring of tributes and memories from David Bowie‘s fellow artists has yet to let up three days after the icon’s death. Madonna is the latest star to pay homage, performing a cover of his 1974 classic “Rebel Rebel” in front of a Houston crowd for her Rebel Heart tour last night (January 12).

Farewell To Bowie:: Remember An Unrivaled Artist

“I want to pay tribute to a man who inspired my career. If you haven’t heard of David Bowie, look him up motherfuckers,” she told the audience in typical Madge fashion. “He was one of the geniuses in the music industry, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 20th century and he changed my life when I went to see him in concert in Detroit. He showed me that it was OK to be different. And he’s the first ‘rebel heart’ that I laid eyes on.”

Bowie more or less set the framework for the modern music star, but his legacy has a direct throughline to a sex-forward shapeshifter like Madonna. And that’s partly why The Material Girl spoke at The Thin White Duke’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1996. During the speech, she recalls that Bowie show in Detroit, the first rock concert she had ever attended. Revisit that moment below.