Bowie - The Final Act

I am always excited to see a new documentary on Bowie and Bowie – The Final Act was no exception.  It’s been almost 10 years since we lost him and quite frankly the world is a poorer place without him.  He says he is not a prophet but I disagree.  He quite clearly influenced generations of young dudes and gals with his wise words and actions.  He even foreseen the internet’s impact.  He broke down barriers for those who were a bit different and led the way for us to find the courage to be our true selves.

With all this in mind, I was curious why the scheduling was for 3 January and not for 10 January which would be a much more significant date.  This documentary film had also been shown in a few cinemas dotted around the UK, but nothing anywhere near me and certainly not the distribution that Moonage Daydream received.  I believe it was bad timing to show it in cinemas around Christmas.  Firstly, it’s a busy time of year for everyone and secondly it was scheduled too close to the channel 4 release date for everyone to make the effort to go.  For those that did see it in the cinema – was the cinema full?

The title suggests that the documentary will focus on the end of David Bowie’s life.  This was not the case and it kept flitting back and forth as if in a time travel movie.  I always love to see old footage but I would prefer it if it was done in a more chronological way.  However, it was always a joy to see and although there was nothing new regarding the older footage, I am sure it pleased fans, as well as provide knowledge for those who are new to the Bowie religion.

I was disappointed that there was no acknowledgement about the Lazarus play.  Although the documentary covers Blackstar, for me, No Plan from the Lazarus soundtrack should be on Blackstar.  It feels like Bowie is describing what the ‘other side’ is like:

Here, there's no music here

I'm lost in streams of sound

Here, am I nowhere now?

The best part of the documentary is clearly the new interviews with key people in Bowie’s life.  For me the two that I found most engaging were Reeves Gabriels and Tony Visconti.

Let’s talk about Reeves.  I am not a huge Tin Machine fan.  Indeed, I have been very vocal in stating that I felt David Bowie was having a mid-life crisis when he formed Tin Machine.  He is David Bowie.  He cannot just blend into the background of a band.  Seems the media and press also had similar views.  But it was great to hear from Reeves about how Tin Machine was formed and how it felt to be working with Bowie.  Bowie (as generous as ever) insisted that any interviews were with the band and not just himself.  I do have Tin Machine regrets.  I do wish I had gone to see them play live.  To be that close in a small venue to Bowie would have been great.  And I do recognise that Never Let Me Down was dreadful and he did need to do something to get his va va voom back.  In fact, I may just play some Tin Machine today to listen to where he was at that time in his life.

I was at the Sound And Vision tour in 1990 (Milton Keynes Bowl) and heard all his greatest hits performed perfectly.  That’s why I struggled with Tin Machine. I am a 70’s Bowie girl at heart.  Its also true that I was not a fan of drum and bass so some of his 90’s period is never going to be my favourite period.  Little Wonder would be great without all the screeching in the background that jars me every time I hear it. Perhaps that was Bowie’s intention but it doesn’t do it for me.  I know I will get lots of comments about this – but remember, we all have our own ‘Bowie’ and the 70’s was mine (although I was too young to be there at the time).

The Tony Visconti interview was so emotional.  I had tears streaming down my face.  Tony talked about his friend and that day when he saw David in a small room and noticed he had no eyebrows.  He knew it meant chemo.  I had never heard Tony talk about David this way before.  Such personal experiences.  It really touched me and I wanted to hug Tony.  I understand the pain of losing a good friend to cancer.

But whether you knew David Bowie personally or not, it is clear he touched so many people.  People giving the interviews, people who knew his genius, people who loved him and generally people on streets.  I never knew I’d need so many people.

Channel 4 followed this documentary up with a showing of Moonage Daydream.  This was way past my bedtime, but I cannot turn off what is the man who has had such an influence on my life.  He made me feel loved, supported, and gave me the strength to be my authentic self.  So, thank you channel 4 for reminding me that I need to raise my glass high to Mr David Bowie.  Icon.  Legend.  And yes, a cultural prophet too.

(Image shared with kind permission from Dianne D'Cotta)