Marsha’s Reviews > David Bowie: Starman > Status Update

Clarke and Willett discovered that the BBC had retitled the play "Bowie in Baal" and delayed its broadcast until the spring, when they could showcase Bowie's presence via a cover story in the "Radio Times", the BBC's glossy listings magazine. There was "a spat". An obscure play, previously of interest only to academics, was now being promoted as a ratings grabber; Bowie was overshadowing both Brecht and "Baal".

Arriving late in the sessions, he [Brian Eno] sat alongside Bowie as they briefed the musicians on the next stage of the recording. "They sat us down and played us these tapes of the ["Man Who Fell to Earth"] sound track," says Young. "Honestly, quite a few of us didn't really like the idea." "We don't know if this will ever be released, " he [David] told Young and the others, "but I have to do this."

Celebrity encounters that are arranged for magazines are notoriously unenlightening, but the Rolling Stone piece provided a perfect portrait of Bowie at his apogee in London. Copetas noted the contrast between the humble minimalism of Burrough's Piccadilly flat and Bowie's materialism, recording the extravagance of Bowie's new rock-star house and his coterie of attendants who dispensed avocados stuffed with shrimp.

David was effervescent that night, friendly with the Lower Third, meeting and greeting the minor industry figures, mouthing to his band This is it! Rail-thin, his hair in a mod bouffant, he loved being at the center of the hubbub, taking off to charm one huddle of guests after another, flirting with the Pye secretaries, and adopting an obliging, likely-lad persona with the company's suited execs.