This is THE documentary to watch in order to understand Bowies origins, it beats seven shades out of the recent BBC final trilogy one where they over did the talking heads style docu. In this one you feel a close affinity with each of the contributors and see it clearly from their point of view along with all the anomalies that you would get with time as opposed to the groomed BBC version which is intent on setting the narrative for those watching it and removing the delicious sense of discovery that you have preserved for the viewer in a very unique way. Well done to you Treble Clef for producing this fascinating glimpse into an equally fascinating subject.
He didn't become successful until he met Mick Ronson who turned his folk songs into the new rock n roll. Bowie was a great song writer but Ronson was a great arranger and musician that turned Bowies songs into gold. After that the best musicians were queuing up to work with him. Great musicians make you sound great.
I was hesitant to watch this, with the disclaimer of not being authorized, and having no original music.... but I'm so glad I watched it! I've watched many, many videos of interviews and concerts and biographies since his passing. I just cannot digest the idea that he is no longer in this world; he's been an influential figure for the duration of my life. Who would have expected that he would suddenly be gone..? It's horrific. This documentary gave me something I hadn't seen anywhere else yet: the interviews with the people that knew him from school, and his original band mates. I SO enjoyed hearing their tales, and their perspectives. One side note that just seemed to fly right under the radar, but immediately caught my attention was his music teacher, Owen Frampton. I thought... he looks exactly like Peter Frampton. I googled Peter Frampton's dad, and, sure enough, his name was Owen Frampton. I'm grateful for finding this on TH-cam! Thank you!
+RealityCheck i was shocked too. even though i was never a fan, yet loved many, many of his songs, he kind of was not an artist, but an institution in a way, not one of many artists, but someone outside any competition, that didn't play in any league. someone you never even consider that he could die. no coincidence he was born the same day as elvis. a world without bowie, impossible to process. while others might be musicians, bowie was an artists 360 degrees and with extra dimension.
I agree. It's the end of an era. And I also agree that it's a wonderful documentary. I had the same concerns as you. I thought it would make it somehow 'cheap' if they play copies of his songs. But the content was so interesting that I forgot about it.
Priceless. These testimonies are not to be found anywhere else. The lack of Bowie's music turn out out to be a benefit, it's all centered on those people. Who sometimes are truly naive and not realizing the dimension of what they participated to. Sometimes out of focus, too close, but who cares, very well directed and edited...
Couldn’t agree more he was a class act absolutely brilliant & very smart guy classy guy with talent just flying outa him. God bless David you rock man 🎷☮️
David Bowie was an incredibly talented and influential artist that transformed the music scene with the arrival of Ziggy, in so many ways. He is such a fascinating character it's great to see a documentary about his life.
I think the difference between David Bowie and other artists, and why he DID succeed despite an unlikely start, is that he had not only a solid belief in himself and the drive to keep going despite numerous setbacks, but also a deep well of creativity to draw upon. He was a true artist just wanting and needing to express himself through his work and managed to successfully entertain others doing this. He was willing to take risks and continually reinvented himself. And this continued throughout his life. He used all kinds of media and creative outlets, from stage, to music to film to canvas and paint. There's some themes in Bowie's work that keep re-emerging, notably space/isolation, alien/being different...and of course his long battle with heroin addiction appears in his music too, for which he used euphemisms. I'm a big fan of Bowie as an actor and the highlights of his acting for me are The Hunger, where he plays the ageing vampire seeking a 'genetic cure'..and of course, The Man Who Fell To Earth just perfect for Bowie. The film plot gets a little crazy towards the end, but Bowie played the part of the alien so brilliantly this other-worldly porcelain pale very thin character with an unusual accent and the striking red hair in USA just worked brilliantly.
It’s a shame not many people liked him which reflected in the record sales. Like Dylan he was a critics favourite,a cult favourite. The average music fan was not endeared to it.
WoW...*)! What a great documentary. Not this typical topics people usually talk about in documentaries. I find it very interesting to interview these particular people, who are not mentioning this cliché stuff about Bowie. Thanks a lot for uploading...*)))
I don’t understand why ‘the spiders’ were so upset? How could they expect him to stay as Ziggy? What did they want him to do? Out there careers before his? They wouldn’t of even been on an album without him!
Don't let the "Unauthorized by Bowie" disclaimer and the fact that it contains none of his music put you off of this documentary. Although I agree with other reviewers that the non-copyright violating Bowie ripoff incidental music can be quite annoying, the doc itself has extensive interviews with friends and bandmates (and, perhaps most notably, John Peel) which outline David's early years, and his long and bumpy road to fame.The documentary starts with his childhood, and covers the period up to the "killing" of Ziggy Stardust. I found it to be a very good source for the origins of the legendary performer we all came to love. Nice work!
alomar/belew/vaughn/gabrels/slick and all the rest...all amazing gtrists, but bowie/ronson had that special chemistry between them...ronson was to bowie what richards is to jagger.
A good documentary, though I didn't learn much I didn't know already. Angie featuring briefly but with the misguided implication that she was responsible for Bowie's success. The Andy McCluskey lookalike wrongly stated that 'The Laughing Gnome' was on Bowie's debut album. Nonetheless, to hold you for an hour with no DB music is quite an achievement.
Does anyone know who the blond woman is, in the pink/peach top? She's peppered throughout the video. (1:08 for instance). She's very very informed and frames David's career very well. By the way, that's Suzi Ronson, the dark-haired lady you constantly see in the dressing rooms. She's directly responsible for David haircut and color for the Ziggy days (See "Suzi Ronson" interviews here on You-Tube). Mick would eventually propose and marry her, resulting in their daughter Lisa Ronson.
eduardo alfonso And those guys didn't really have that long of hair back then either. When I graduated high school in the USA in 1976 the guys had long hair past their shoulders.
+Jeff Jeffery Indeed. That's Plaistow Lane - he lived behind the buildings on the left when he was a teenager in Plaistow Grove. I think Haddon Hall was on Southend lane up from Homebase. He must have been in there all the time.
Of course, Plaistow Lane! It looked a little, but not enough, like Beckenham High Street, so I was theorising it was back-to-front. But now you point it out, it seems so obvious. :-)
Funny thing about a Bowie is that he’s so normal! He’s not interesting like Dylan, Lennon McCartney, Jagger Richards, Davies. Bowie is not eccentric like them so he had to create characters. It would be interesting to see what music he’d do if just being him? He’s not a musician like the others either.
How to kill a great artist... Don't allow his music to play... Just look a Zappa... Too much restrictions and so much people don't know of his genius. Do we want the same of David.
I’m confused bout Mick Ronson? I’m quite a new Bowie fan and all I see is Mick this Mick that but he never done anything after Bowie and the solo stuff I heard is not very good at all. I think people just like to romantises him. This nice northern soul who created magic haha he never done anything
There will never be anyone even CLOSE to the magic that is DAVID BOWIE.
I love how his friends and producers are telling his story rather than a journalist reading of a script. Lovely documentary😊
This is THE documentary to watch in order to understand Bowies origins, it beats seven shades out of the recent BBC final trilogy one where they over did the talking heads style docu. In this one you feel a close affinity with each of the contributors and see it clearly from their point of view along with all the anomalies that you would get with time as opposed to the groomed BBC version which is intent on setting the narrative for those watching it and removing the delicious sense of discovery that you have preserved for the viewer in a very unique way. Well done to you Treble Clef for producing this fascinating glimpse into an equally fascinating subject.
He didn't become successful until he met Mick Ronson who turned his folk songs into the new rock n roll. Bowie was a great song writer but Ronson was a great arranger and musician that turned Bowies songs into gold. After that the best musicians were queuing up to work with him. Great musicians make you sound great.
I was hesitant to watch this, with the disclaimer of not being authorized, and having no original music.... but I'm so glad I watched it! I've watched many, many videos of interviews and concerts and biographies since his passing. I just cannot digest the idea that he is no longer in this world; he's been an influential figure for the duration of my life. Who would have expected that he would suddenly be gone..? It's horrific. This documentary gave me something I hadn't seen anywhere else yet: the interviews with the people that knew him from school, and his original band mates. I SO enjoyed hearing their tales, and their perspectives. One side note that just seemed to fly right under the radar, but immediately caught my attention was his music teacher, Owen Frampton. I thought... he looks exactly like Peter Frampton. I googled Peter Frampton's dad, and, sure enough, his name was Owen Frampton. I'm grateful for finding this on TH-cam! Thank you!
+RealityCheck i was shocked too. even though i was never a fan, yet loved many, many of his songs, he kind of was not an artist, but an institution in a way, not one of many artists, but someone outside any competition, that didn't play in any league. someone you never even consider that he could die. no coincidence he was born the same day as elvis. a world without bowie, impossible to process. while others might be musicians, bowie was an artists 360 degrees and with extra dimension.
+RealityCheck totally agree
+RealityCheck Yes, other docs identify Owen as Peter's dad, and say David knew Peter at school. And, of course, decades later Peter toured with him.
I agree. It's the end of an era.
And I also agree that it's a wonderful documentary. I had the same concerns as you. I thought it would make it somehow 'cheap' if they play copies of his songs. But the content was so interesting that I forgot about it.
RealityCheck I'm glad I'm me.
I love David bowie I'll never ever forget him
How strange that the video without the original musical score turned out to be the best documentary on Bowie I've seen so far
Turn and face the strange.
@@archaicrevivalsYTchannel You're right, I didn't.
I feel like they always are
Priceless. These testimonies are not to be found anywhere else. The lack of Bowie's music turn out out to be a benefit, it's all centered on those people. Who sometimes are truly naive and not realizing the dimension of what they participated to. Sometimes out of focus, too close, but who cares, very well directed and edited...
@@tinfoilhatter It was mostly about visiting Harlem, NY for the first time.
Sooo beauty men!¡
This here.... Goes straight into my "Epic Win"-Playlist.
Same here!
Couldn’t agree more he was a class act absolutely brilliant & very smart guy classy guy with talent just flying outa him. God bless David you rock man 🎷☮️
David Bowie was an incredibly talented and influential artist that transformed the music scene with the arrival of Ziggy, in so many ways. He is such a fascinating character it's great to see a documentary about his life.
Wow! Of all the endless things I have read about and heard over the decades about Bowie, never heard the baseball anecdote...very cool!
I think the difference between David Bowie and other artists, and why he DID succeed despite an unlikely start, is that he had not only a solid belief in himself and the drive to keep going despite numerous setbacks, but also a deep well of creativity to draw upon.
He was a true artist just wanting and needing to express himself through his work and managed to successfully entertain others doing this. He was willing to take risks and continually reinvented himself. And this continued throughout his life.
He used all kinds of media and creative outlets, from stage, to music to film to canvas and paint. There's some themes in Bowie's work that keep re-emerging, notably space/isolation, alien/being different...and of course his long battle with heroin addiction appears in his music too, for which he used euphemisms.
I'm a big fan of Bowie as an actor and the highlights of his acting for me are The Hunger, where he plays the ageing vampire seeking a 'genetic cure'..and of course, The Man Who Fell To Earth just perfect for Bowie. The film plot gets a little crazy towards the end, but Bowie played the part of the alien so brilliantly this other-worldly porcelain pale very thin character with an unusual accent and the striking red hair in USA just worked brilliantly.
I thought it was cocaine his drug of choice?
Thanks for posting. Great to see this. My Bowie-love has been re-ignited by the exhibition at the V&A. H xx
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This here.... Goes straight into my "Epic Win"-Playlist.
It’s a shame not many people liked him which reflected in the record sales. Like Dylan he was a critics favourite,a cult favourite. The average music fan was not endeared to it.
WoW...*)! What a great documentary. Not this typical topics people usually talk about in documentaries. I find it very interesting to interview these particular people, who are not mentioning this cliché stuff about Bowie.
Thanks a lot for uploading...*)))
thanks for uploading film . I hadn't seen this before and enjoyed watching it/ tony
Enjoyed this perspective.
Interesting stuff, I enjoyed the down the earth comments from band members of early Bowie. It didn't bother me that no bowie music was played. :)
I don’t understand why ‘the spiders’ were so upset? How could they expect him to stay as Ziggy? What did they want him to do? Out there careers before his? They wouldn’t of even been on an album without him!
Don't let the "Unauthorized by Bowie" disclaimer and the fact that it contains none of his music put you off of this documentary. Although I agree with other reviewers that the non-copyright violating Bowie ripoff incidental music can be quite annoying, the doc itself has extensive interviews with friends and bandmates (and, perhaps most notably, John Peel) which outline David's early years, and his long and bumpy road to fame.The documentary starts with his childhood, and covers the period up to the "killing" of Ziggy Stardust. I found it to be a very good source for the origins of the legendary performer we all came to love. Nice work!
I saw him,David Bowie at Radio City Music Hall ... He was great ... We all miss him .... Great performer and singer ... A real Artist! JRB
alomar/belew/vaughn/gabrels/slick and all the rest...all amazing gtrists, but bowie/ronson had that special chemistry between them...ronson was to bowie what richards is to jagger.
👀Mick w/ Ian Hunter! ⚒️
2:40 Born in a council estate??
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This here.... Goes straight into my "Epic Win"-Playlist.
:( sure miss him :(
A good documentary, though I didn't learn much I didn't know already. Angie featuring briefly but with the misguided implication that she was responsible for Bowie's success. The Andy McCluskey lookalike wrongly stated that 'The Laughing Gnome' was on Bowie's debut album. Nonetheless, to hold you for an hour with no DB music is quite an achievement.
The red jumpsuit at 55:16 is currently at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It has the famous Lightning bolt on the back
His ashes to ashes outfit/costume thingus in there as well.
🖤
Suffrajet City..A Party Must Have.. Like Louie Louie or Shout.......A must have.
Fantastic- thorOugh- 👍❤️
Does anyone know who the blond woman is, in the pink/peach top? She's peppered throughout the video. (1:08 for instance). She's very very informed and frames David's career very well. By the way, that's Suzi Ronson, the dark-haired lady you constantly see in the dressing rooms. She's directly responsible for David haircut and color for the Ziggy days (See "Suzi Ronson" interviews here on You-Tube). Mick would eventually propose and marry her, resulting in their daughter Lisa Ronson.
Not 100% on this, but I think it might be Annie Nightingale of the Old Grey Whistle Test?
@@lizsmith6847 You're correct it is Annie Nightingale 😊
In the end, as David Essex reflected, success and wide acclaim is not the answer. That truth is difficult to contend with.
8.30 - explains Bowie's eye injury.
I never realised that it was as bad as described in this documentary. Did they really take his eye out of it`s socket? (shudder)
He had several surgery to keep the eye.
hahaha 15:20 The society for the prevention of cruelty to long haired men. It seems he created Monty Python's Flying Circus.
eduardo alfonso And those guys didn't really have that long of hair back then either. When I graduated high school in the USA in 1976 the guys had long hair past their shoulders.
You're Ziggy! i get it
wow
fab documentary shame the the tracks was not included
40:31 That's not the main road that Haddon House was on. Just sayin'.
+Jeff Jeffery Indeed. That's Plaistow Lane - he lived behind the buildings on the left when he was a teenager in Plaistow Grove. I think Haddon Hall was on Southend lane up from Homebase. He must have been in there all the time.
Of course, Plaistow Lane! It looked a little, but not enough, like Beckenham High Street, so I was theorising it was back-to-front. But now you point it out, it seems so obvious.
:-)
It’s crazy how people age compared to celebrities. Why don’t rock stars get fat??
because they use drugs alot
John Hutchinson sounds like a Mick Ronson clone!
wwwo is this??? it sounds like Changes, but it isn't. It is so confusing. I want the real Changes!!!! Let''s see how this documentary goes on....
Way too many ads and the incidental music is toe-clentchingly poor a pity considering its actually not a bad docu.
Use an add blocker.
THE MAIN MAN!!!!!!!
How could he improve on the Beatles ? If not just being a visionary.
Funny thing about a Bowie is that he’s so normal! He’s not interesting like Dylan, Lennon McCartney, Jagger Richards, Davies. Bowie is not eccentric like them so he had to create characters. It would be interesting to see what music he’d do if just being him? He’s not a musician like the others either.
How to kill a great artist... Don't allow his music to play... Just look a Zappa... Too much restrictions and so much people don't know of his genius. Do we want the same of David.
plate.
I’m confused bout Mick Ronson? I’m quite a new Bowie fan and all I see is Mick this Mick that but he never done anything after Bowie and the solo stuff I heard is not very good at all. I think people just like to romantises him. This nice northern soul who created magic haha he never done anything
You're talking shit. Ronno did lots of great work after Bowie, educate yourself.
wonder when "hutch" will stop whining
And hence some really terrible music was put in instead
Dont get me wrong bowie is genius, but the next beatles was zeppelin