David Bowie’s Blackstar and Lazarus Collaborators Discuss His Final Works
Photo by Jimmy King
In the 18 months following his cancer diagnosis, David Bowie, who passed away on Sunday, embarked on several projects that he pursued until the end of his life. Those projects were Lazarus, an Off Broadway stage production, Blackstar, the album that arrived three days before his death, and its two videos, for “Lazarus” and the title track. Now, the New York Times has interviewed the late icon’s collaborators about his final works.
According to the Times, many of Bowie’s close collaborators were unaware of his illness. Those who knew say that his last creative burst was spurred, in part, by his ill health. James C. Nicola, the artistic director of New York Theater Workshop, which is hosting Lazarus, said, ”What seemed not too long ago intriguingly complicated, ambiguous and opaque now seems pretty clear: a man who was yearning for immortality.”
Ivo van Hove, who directed the Lazarus production, and knew of Bowie’s illness, said, “The production of Lazarus, and also this new album, Blackstar, when you look at them both, you find so many lines and phrases that meant so much more than people knew before today. It’s like two testaments.”
Of Blackstar‘s title track, van Hove added, “The song is a man in total distress, and then finding a way out, in his imagination, so he could still be alive, in freedom, as a bluebird. It’s the message of the whole show.”
Michael C. Hall, who plays the lead in Lazarus, said none of the cast knew about Bowie’s condition. Speaking about the “Lazarus” video, he added, “It’s obviously made by a man who knows what he’s up against and is turning it into something so vital and profound.”
The musicians of the Donny McCaslin Quartet, who played on Blackstar, revealed the extent of Bowie’s dedication. Despite his illness, Bowie would spent five hours a day in the studio before crossing town to oversee Lazarus rehearsals. Tim Lefebvre, the quartet’s bassist, said, “I don’t know where he found the strength. It’s amazing. … It never looked to us like he was sick. He was just coming in and singing his ass off.”
Although Bowie’s family has not disclosed the exact nature of his illness, van Hove told a Dutch radio interviewer on Monday that Bowie had been suffering liver cancer, according to the Times.
Read the full piece here.
Meanwhile, hundreds of fans turned out last night in Brixton, Bowie’s birthplace, to sing his songs in tribute. Watch a few videos below.
Crowds gather in Brixton tonight. David Bowie, we’ll sure miss you. #VideoOfTheDay (via @SmokeandSalt) pic.twitter.com/r0OvKUK27I
— Twitter Video (@video) January 12, 2016
Life On Mars live from the streets of Brixton pic.twitter.com/KnzNZZgzRh
— Paul B (@paulbridgewater) January 11, 2016
There are at last a thousand people on the streets of Brixton singing Bowie songs. pic.twitter.com/gvGkQqEgqO
— Paul B ★★★★ (@paulbridgewater) January 11, 2016
Update (10:10 a.m.): R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe shared a short tribute to Bowie. Find it below:
Right now, it feels as if the solar system
is off it’s axis, as if one of our
main planetary anchors has
lost it’s orbit. That said—I am
certain that wherever Bowie is
now—I want to be there someday.
Meanwhile, Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch wrote a long remembrance about Bowie at his website. “I have memories of Britain in the 70s, of grimness and darkness, three-day working weeks, and many power cuts,” he wrote. “Industrial relations breaking down, people being torn apart by ideology and the real threat of poverty. But then we had dudes like Bowie shining out from our screens, and transporting us to strange places over the radio. Not every clown who sang a pop song did that, but he was different.” Read the full note here.
Read Nile Rodgers’ memories of working on Let’s Dance with Bowie.
Watch EL VY cover “Let’s Dance” on ”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” last night.