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Did David Bowie really ‘threaten to steal’ ‘Reflektor’ away from Arcade Fire?

Win Butler recently described Arcade Fire’s upcoming album Reflektor as a “mashup of Studio 54 and Haitian voodoo.” But they nearly lost the title track single to none other than David Bowie, who jokingly, we presume, said he was going to steal the song right out from the Montreal’s New York studio. But instead of taking taking taking, Bowie gave gave gave, and provided vocals for the track.

In a pretty cool interview with the NME, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry provides the details:

“It was just after ‘The Next Day’ had come out. He basically just came by the studio in New York while we were mixing, just to have a listen to the stuff we were doing,” explains Parry. “He offered to lend us his services because he really liked the song. In fact, he basically threatened us – he was like, ‘If you don’t hurry up and mix this song, I might just steal it from you!’ So we thought, well why don’t we go one better, why don’t you sing on our version? Thankfully he obliged, and we were really happy about that.”

That’s how you get the Thin White Duke on your team — show him something he loves, lure him into a den of his own demands, then trick him into making your own product better. Well played, gents.

Arcade Fire’s Reflektor is out October 28. Watch the crazy-pants video below.