David Bowie’s estate has done us all a huge favour by releasing a high-definition of the late, great artist’s legendary performance of ‘Starman’ on ‘Top of the Pops’ to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Rocking a classic, colourful Bowie outfit with astronaut boots and fire-red hair, Bowie performs the song with his bandmates Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansey, and Mick Ronson of ‘The Spiders from Mars.’
The performance is seen as a hugely influential piece of television and music history.
BBC Radio’s Marc Riley holds the performance in high regard, saying:
“There’s no doubt that Bowie’s appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’ was a pivotal moment in British musical history … his performance lit the touchpaper for thousands of kids who up till then had struggled to find a catalyst in their lives.”
Many have called it ‘the day that invented 80’s’ because of the incredible amount of musicians watching that would go on to become icons themselves, though none quite reached the same heights David Bowie did.
Some of those viewers include U2’s Bono, Morrissey and Johnny Marr of the Smiths, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, Mick Jones of The Clash, and more.
Bono talked to Vulture of the performance, saying Bowie had a magical quality to him.
“He was so vivid. So luminous. So fluorescent… With Bowie, you had this sneaking suspicion that if you hung around him, you might find some doors into those other worlds.”
‘Starman’ comes from Bowie’s album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust’, which also recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
