David Bowie: You're Not Alone Gallery Guide
About David Bowie: You’re Not Alone
About The Show
Using iconic performance footage, rarely heard interviews and never-before-seen material selected from thousands of hours of film in the vaults of the David Bowie Archive in New York, from Space Oddity through Diamond Dogs and ”Heroes” to ★, this show is a celebration of Bowie’s boundless curiosity as a force that connected people across continents and generations, as well as his enduring cultural impact today. Whether you’re reliving the magic or discovering it for the very first time: this is your ticket to the landmark Bowie performances that changed culture forever.
David Bowie: You’re Not Alone is produced by Lightroom and designed by 59, a Journey studio, and directed by 59’s Mark Grimmer (Creative Director for the V&A’s David Bowie Is exhibition) and Tom Wexler.
Official Show Playlist
Add the official David Bowie: You’re Not Alone playlist to your Spotify now to be connected to the show wherever you are.
Curiosity
Bowie had a voracious cultural appetite and drew inspiration from a diverse range of sources – some better known to his fans than others. His insatiable curiosity meant he was constantly exploring and developing different interests spanning music, literature and the visual arts.
Track List: Rebel Rebel by David Bowie, Music For The Funeral Of Queen Mary – March, Man That Is Born Of A Woman by Christopher Todd Landor, She’s Got It by Little Richard, Queen Bitch by David Bowie, Coney Island Of The Mind Part. 10 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I’m Waiting for the Man by The Velvet Underground & Nico, Ides of March by John Cale & Terry Riley, Heroes (from the “The Heroes Symphony”) by American Composers Orchestra and Dennis Russell Davies, Starman by David Bowie.
Characters
Throughout his career, Bowie adopted different personae on stage. He considered himself akin to an actor playing a part. Although his characters were theatrical constructs, they served an important purpose for Bowie; alleviating his nervousness as a performer and allowing him to write as if he were doing so for someone else.
Track List: Changes by David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie, Aladdin Sane by David Bowie, Somebody Up There Likes Me by David Bowie, Blackout by David Bowie, Stay by David Bowie.
Outsider Art
Bowie often reflected that he felt most comfortable on the periphery; drawn to the depiction of marginal or isolated characters, whether in his paintings or his music.
Track List: The Motel by David Bowie, Space Oddity by David Bowie, Weekend Mark III by Harry Rabinowitz, Russell Harty by Laurie Holloway.
Songwriting
Bowie’s approach to songwriting varied widely throughout his career and was influenced by the artists he admired and the places he lived.
Track List: Moss Garden by David Bowie, Right by David Bowie feat. Ava Cherry, Robin Clark and Luther Vandross, Sue (Or In A Season Of A Crime) by David Bowie, Station to Station by David Bowie, Neuköln by David Bowie, Heroes by David Bowie.
Rock n’ Roll Theatre
Bowie always considered performance as a theatrical discipline. From a young age he was interested in writing for the stage, and went on to create live shows that owed as much to theatrical, vaudeville and cabaret traditions as rock n roll shows, incorporating dance, costume and set design long before it was the norm.
Track List: Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie, The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie, Five Years by David Bowie, 1984 by David Bowie, Future Legend by David Bowie, Candidate by David Bowie, Cracked Actor by David Bowie, Moonage Daydream by David Bowie, V-2 Schneider by David Bowie.
Changes
Bowie’s 1983 Serious Moonlight tour catapulted him into superstardom. Moving from the underground to the mainstream, he encountered ever bigger audiences – and new creative challenges. Even at the peak of his commercial success, he wasn’t satisfied staying still. He anticipated the importance of the internet as a means of reaching new audiences and was one of the first major artists to release a single as a digital download with ‘Telling Lies’ in 1996.
Track List: Let’s Dance by David Bowie, Ian Fish, U.K. Heir by David Bowie, Jump They Say by David Bowie, Little Wonder by David Bowie, Telling Lies by David Bowie, I’m Afraid Of Americans by David Bowie.
Spirituality
Even as the medium of Bowie’s work evolved, he continually returned to the same central idea; an attempt to make sense of life’s big questions. What’s our place in the universe? What does it mean to be human? How can art connect us to one another? Bowie recognised these themes as universal and believed creativity is one of the best ways to make sense of life’s chaos.
Track List: Dollar Days by David Bowie, Ian Fish, U.K. Heir by David Bowie, The Loneliest Guy by David Bowie, Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide by David Bowie.
David Bowie: You’re Not Alone Show Credits
Please click below to view the full show and music credits.