In 2017, when Brett Morgen began work on his acclaimed 2022 David Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream, he was given complete access to the late star’s vast archive. “My eyes were immediately drawn to a stack of gleaming 35mm film cans with the word ‘Stage’ written on them,” he recalls. At first, the director—whose work also includes Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and the Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane—assumed the cans might contain footage shot around Bowie’s 1978 live album, Stage, recorded mostly in Philadelphia. But he soon realised they actually contained the holy grail of Bowie artefacts: footage of the legendary Earl’s Court shows later that year, which had remained unseen for almost 50 years. “Making Moonage Daydream, I had access to every filmed performance of David Bowie in existence,” he says, “but when I saw this one I knew it was without question the greatest filmed performance of his career.”
In 1978, Bowie had commissioned Just a Gigolo director David Hemmings to film two of the three sold-out summer shows at the venue—where the star was touring Low and “Heroes”—with a view to showing the film in theatres instead of doing a physical tour (he wouldn’t tour again until 1983). However, the singer subsequently started making the Lodger album, moved to Switzerland, was reportedly unhappy with the film’s editing, and the entire project was left behind. “He was moving on to other things at the speed of light,” Morgen explains. “So at that point I think the idea of looking backwards was distasteful to him.”
Before his death in 2016, though, Bowie had floated the idea of finally releasing it. In the new year it will debut in arenas—not cinemas—almost half a century after it was made. Morgen and his team spent nearly 10 years preparing it for 2027 as a multimedia experience. “It became something of an obsession,” he admits. “We spent over 1,000 hours colour-grading the footage, which I believe is some sort of record, but we really wanted it to look and feel like something you would experience today.”
It helped that the footage had been beautifully shot and perfectly preserved in Bowie’s storage unit, with excellent sound recorded by Bowie’s producer, Tony Visconti. Missing from Morgen’s film will be the extraneous material Hemmings added to the concerts. “I found a lot of footage of a young boy playing David that I was a bit confused by,” the director grins. “That’s not in the film.” Instead, it focuses on Bowie—in wonderfully billowing trousers and makeup—at the peak of his performance powers. “He looks amazing,” Morgen smiles. “I’ve looked at close-ups and I think: how on earth is this man not sweating?”
By the time the Isolar II tour reached Earl’s Court, Bowie and his band were at the pinnacle of their game, pointing the way to the future. “To have an electric violin, a piano and a synth player in a rock show in 1978 was extraordinary,” says Morgen, whose film combines songs from both nights because “it was very improvisational. Different arrangements two nights running. You can feel the danger and excitement that it could have gone off the rails at any moment, and David was very charged by that. The audacity of starting the show with Warszawa, perhaps the lowest-energy first song of any rock concert ever—but that’s Bowie. By the end of the first set he’s reeled them in, and by the end of the second set the place is just insane. The performance of Station to Station is incredible.”
During the second show, on 1 July, Bowie quips, “OK, this will be interesting,” and performs Sound and Vision for the first time ever. “And he’s cracking up thThroughout the song, I think the electric violin was trying to imitate the horn section, which David found kind of amusing. It’s a great moment. Then the camera stays with David as he goes off to the sides, having a glass of beer or smoking a cigarette, and he’s so engaged, dancing and smiling. It’s very joyous. I think this was the first time he’d performed without a mask, or a ‘character’, so to speak.” Morgen isn’t giving everything away but promises “surprises” as well as “a new medium of entertainment”. “It’s not a movie that’s being shown in arenas,” he insists. “There are multiple screens, a fully integrated lighting package, a 7.1 surround sound mix. The performance is from 1978 but the presentation is 2027. The audience is invited to look wherever they want: choose your own adventure.” Eleven years after his passing, it makes perfect sense that Bowie will be trailblazing again. The stage premiere is at the Berlin film festival in Germany in February 2027, before touring.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Brett Morgens 10Year Remaster of Bowies Greatest Filmed Performance
What exactly is this project about
Its a documentary by director Brett Morgen built around restored footage of David Bowies 1973 concert film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Morgen spent about 10 years painstakingly remastering the footage
Where does the title How on earth is this man not sweating come from
Its a fan reaction to Bowies performancehe looks impossibly cool and dry under hot stage lights while giving an intense show It captures the awe people feel watching him
What was the original footage
Its DA Pennebakers film of Bowies final Ziggy Stardust show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on July 3 1973the night Bowie famously announced he was retiring Ziggy
Why is it called his greatest filmed performance
Many fans and critics consider that Hammersmith show the definitive captured Bowie performancethe costumes the band and the dramatic retirement moment all come together
Why did the remaster take 10 years
The original film had aging damage and technical limitations Restoring it frame by framecleaning colorcorrecting and syncing audiois slow meticulous work
What does remastering mean
It means improving the quality of existing footage or audiosharpening picture fixing color cleaning up soundwithout changing the actual performance
Do I need to be a big Bowie fan to enjoy it
No It works as a concert film and a time capsule of 1970s glam rock Fans just get more out of the details
Whats the benefit of watching a restored version instead of the old one
Clearer picture better color and improved sound make the performance feel more immediate and let you see details the old prints lost
What common problems did the restoration have to fix
Faded or shifted colors scratches and dust on the film flickering and audio that didnt perfectly match the visuals
How was the audio handled
The concert audio was cleaned up and resynced to the restored picture so the sound matches the performance precisely
Is the footage altered or reedited
Restoration
