Chuck Palahniuk reveals bizarre role David Bowie's music had in Fight Club's creation

Want a book deal? Play Bowie on repeat.

You probably know Chuck Palahniuk as that author you loved in high school who wrote Fight Club. You probably don’t know that he’s a huge Bowie fan.

Palahniuk wrote a surprise tribute piece to the late icon in Rolling Stone this week, explaining how important Bowie had been to him.

He also revealed that his music played a key role in getting Fight Club published.

Palahniuk was trying to woo editor Gerry Howard into a book deal at a hotel bar one night, but it was filled with other novelists also trying to catch his attention.

He recalled:

“I couldn’t get near Gerry Howard so I asked the bartender for $10 in quarters, and I fed them into the jukebox and selected the same song to play forty times. It was “Young Americans,” a song I could listen to forever on a desert island. Most people were ticked off. Soon everyone left, and I had Gerry to myself. Eventually I sold him Fight Club and 15 more books. To this day, he doesn’t remember that song, playing over and over and the haters hating me as they abandoned the bar.”

Who knows what would have happened if Bowie had never existed and Palahniuk played Phil Collins 40 times instead, driving everyone from the bar including Howard.

The author went on to model his life on the musician, explaining:

"With the book money, what did I buy? The good life, of course, as modeled by vampire David Bowie. Antique marble statues. Classy blowing curtains. And, yes, a powder room. Thank you, Mr. Bowie. You were my role model and my hero and my savior. I will miss you very much."