Description
Fifty years ago, in December 1975, David Bowie was recording the soundtrack music for the movie he was starring in, The Man Who Fell to Earth. But sometimes, life’s taking you nowhere; and the music he created was never used and remains almost unheard to this day.
There were signs at the time that Bowie’s music would be utilized and released. For instance, Bowie mentions the soundtrack on his November 1975 Soul Train appearance. Also, on the rear cover of the paperback of The Man Who Fell to Earth novel, reprinted with movie-based cover-art, it stated, "Album available on RCA”.
In Cameron Crowe’s famous 1976 article for Rolling Stone, “Ground Control to Davy Jones”, he wrote, “David Bowie is just back from three vice-free months in New Mexico where he starred in Nic Roeg's film, The Man Who Fell To Earth. He is still glowing from the experience and, says Corinne (Schwab, Bowie’s assistant) the healthiest he's been in years. He is so relaxed and almost humble as he scoots around the studio and directs his musicians through the songs”.
If that is true, the sobriety and good health wasn’t to last long. The recording sessions for the Station to Station album, which began in mid-September ‘75 and lasted until December, are legendary for their excesses. So much so, that Bowie later claimed he had no recall whatsoever of recording the album.
Despite that, it seems that relatively soon into those sessions, Bowie simultaneously started writing the music for the soundtrack.
Bowie’s principal collaborator on the soundtrack was the arranger, conductor and composer Paul Buckmaster, who many years prior, had arranged the strings for Bowie’s hit Space Oddity. Bowie and Buckmaster began work at Bowie’s West Hollywood home; writing on a Rhodes piano and recording on a TEAC four-track tape recorder.
In late November or early December, they moved operations to Cherokee Studios. The recording sessions were produced by Young Americans and Station to Station producer, Harry Maslin, and engineered by David Hines. Musicians at the sessions were; David Bowie | guitar | synthesizers | drum machines
Paul Buckmaster | synthesizers | cello
Carlos Alomar | guitar
George Murray | bass
Dennis Davis | drums
Herbie Flowers | bass
J Peter Robinson | electric piano
By the end of December they had produced only five or six tracks. Harry Maslin recalls, “David was so burned out by the end of Station To Station, he had a hard time doing movie cues. The movie was complete and we had all the videotapes and that was what we were working with. We had about about nine cues down – of the sixty that we needed”.
By the end of December, Bowie was increasingly engaged with preparations for the Station to Station tour. The Man Who Fell To Earth director, Nic Roeg turned to the Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips to compile a soundtrack. None of the music Bowie recorded for the film was included.
However, parts of the unused music were later incorporated into at least one Bowie album. It’s widely known that Subteraneans from the Low album, originates from the soundtrack sessions.
Nic Roeg said that when Low came out, Bowie sent him a copy and said “This was the music I think I would have done for The Man Who Fell to Earth”. In addition, Bowie later claimed that some of the music was incorporated into the Station to Station album. Harry Maslin remembers things this way: "Nothing on Station to Station was recorded for The Man Who Fell To Earth... it was all meant for Station to Station", and he confirms, "I did record much for the film, some of which was used on Low”.
In the famous photographs taken by Brad Elterman, Bowie and Paul Buckmaster, are seen leaving Cherokee Studios in the early morning. Bowie is clutching tapes and papers. Harry Maslin "David is indeed carrying video tapes and shooting script of TMWFTE". How very intriguing, if there was a rough cut of the film that actually featured some of Bowie and Buckmaster's original music. And if so, what became of those video tapes?
In this expanded excerpt from my 2017 documentary, David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth, the narrative includes scenes from the movie reworked with Bowie music from the era. It is not known which songs originated in the 1975 sessions with Paul Buckmaster; only Subteraneans credits him.
Thanks for watching, hope you dig it!
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Featured are excerpts from the following David Bowie tracks:
From the album Station to Station
Golden Years
Word on a Wing
From the album Low
Art Decade
Weeping Wall
Subteraneans
The Man Who Fell to Earth footage, and Bowie / Roeg audio commentary from the 1991 Criterion DVD. Paul Buckmaster interview excerpts from the 2016 Studio Canal DVD of The Man Who Fell to Earth Extras. Also featured is Bowie’s appearance on Soul Train and the Russell Harty Show, both November 1975. Photos by Brad Elterman, Steve Shapiro, Geoff McCormack.
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