Trent Reznor on Bowie: 'It's like losing someone looking out for you'

Alongside Mick Jagger and many other artists, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, will also be sharing his memories of David Bowie in the upcoming tribute by Rolling Stone magazine which will hit the newstands later this week.

Reznor toured with Bowie in the 90's. Of the experience, he said:

"In the mid-Nineties, he reached out to me and said, 'Let's collaborate and do a tour together'. It's hard to express how validating and surreal the whole experience of the Outside tour was — to actually meet this man in the flesh and find out, to my delight, that he passed any expectation I had. The fact that he was this graceful, charming, happy, fearless character became a new point of inspiration for me."

Reznor continued:

"One of the greatest moments of my life was standing onstage next to David Bowie while he sang 'Hurt' with me. I was outside of myself, thinking, 'I'm standing onstage next to the most important influence I've ever had, and he's singing a song I wrote in my bedroom'. It was just an awesome moment.

"A few years later, Bowie came through L.A. I'd been sober for a fair amount of time. I wanted to thank him in the way that he helped me. And I reluctantly went backstage, feeling weird and ashamed, like, 'Hey, I'm the guy that puked on the rug'. And again, I was met with warmth, and grace, and love. And I started to say, 'Hey listen, I've been clean for ...' I don't even think I finished the sentence; I got a big hug. And he said, 'I knew. I knew you'd do that. I knew you'd come out of that'. I have goosebumps right now just thinking about it. It was another very important moment in my life."

Reznor concluded: "I didn't think we were done. It feels like the loss of a mentor, fatherly figure, someone looking out for you, reminding you that in a world where the bar keeps seeming to be lower, where stupidity has got a foothold, there is room for excellence and uncompromising vision."

Watch David Bowie's 'I'm Afraid of American's video starring Trent Reznor and the two perform 'Hurt' as part of the 'Outside' tour below: