BBC Omnibus: Cracked Actor

Filmed on David Bowie’s 1974 Diamond dogs tour, this 53-minute BBC Omnibus special follows the man himself as he floats around America, paranoid and uneasy, on a blanket of cocaine.

A brief history: Bowie had recently stuffed Ziggy Stardust back in his dressing up box and after recording the album Diamond Dogs embarked on a tour of America to promote said record. His new guise was that of a seasoned ‘showbiz’ performer playing Philly Soul complete with an elaborate stage show which gradually lead to his Thin White Duke persona.

Between footage of Bowie performing in the Universal Ampitheatre, Los Angeles, we get him coked up in his limo blabbering on or looking pensively out of the window, coked up at a service station and coked up backstage taking the film crew through his wardrobe and applying makeup. David’s dependence on the white powder at this time was huge and he is frequently seen sniffing violently, zapping up any stray flecks of coke which didn’t make it to his racing brain.

Like anyone who is on cocaine the man obviously loves the sound of his own voice and everything he says is so brilliantly Bowie: teasing, coy, confident, profound, bollocks. Crouching on a floor taking the film-crew through his cut-up method of creating lyrics (writing sentences, cutting them up and re-arranging them to create new sentences) he imparts with the gem: “I tried doing it with diaries...it would predict things or tell me about my past.” (My italics, brother).

The concert footage is testament to his unparalleled innovation and artistic restlessness; gone is the sleazy lurch of Ziggy, replaced with a slick display of plastic showmanship and artificial pizzazz. Moonage Daydream becomes an excercise in funk; Diamond Dogs a power-gallop; whilst John, I’m only dancing is re-moulded into cabaret – Full-Blown Hot Night Cool Breeze Copacabana Malibu Cocktail Cabaret .

Bowie’s overhaul of his music and image to what it is here alienated a lot of his Glam disciples and made them cry tears of glitter yet it shows how utterly unique he is as an artist. To have an insight into his world is a treat which you can’t help but feel you don’t deserve but, hey, it’s decadence all the way in David's kingdom.