A new ‘immersive’ David Bowie show has been announced, including footage that many had believed lost to posterity, of the great man singing Heroes at Earl’s Court back in 1978.
David Bowie: You’re Not Alone opens at the Lightroom in London’s King’s Cross in April. It promises that: “Through iconic performances, rarely-seen interviews and never-before-exhibited material, discover the creative mind, spirit and soul of one of the world's greatest, most visionary artists.”
It is, apparently, “structured in thematic chapters in a looping presentation, (and) brings insight into Bowie’s perspective on the subjects most important to him, including: theatricality, spirituality, songwriting, and the transformative power of creativity.”
The show’s producer Mark Grimmer was also heavily involved in the groundbreaking David Bowie Is exhibition that toured the world between 2013 and 2018.
The footage of the Earl’s Court show has been pieced together from reels found the singer’s archives. Grimmer described it as “transformative”, saying: “It’s a holy grail; fans haven’t seen it before. The quality of the material is amazing and he was absolutely at the height of his powers. We just had to get out of the way and let the performance speak for itself.”
The ‘show’ will be set in a three-storey space with projections on all four walls and a ‘spatial’ sound system. The Lightroom’s Executive Producer David Sabel said: “You feel like you’re joining the crowd back in 1978,” he said. “You don’t get a linear experience – you get a more three-dimensional one.”
Much of the material for the show has been pulled from the V&A Bowie archive, which opened last year, and the singer’s New York archive. “He kept everything,” said Grimmer.
“He knew one day someone would come and look through this stuff. They’re not objects for veneration to be kept in a box; we want to bring the handwritten notes and photography to life through animation.”
It’s the fourth such immersive show that the Lightroom has put on since opening in 2023, with previous shows being dedicated to David Hockney, Vogue magazine and the Tom Hanks-narrated space exploration event The Moonwalkers. You’re Not Alone opens on April 22 and tickets are available all the way through to June 28. For more information head over to lightroom.uk
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