David Bowie: Starman's Lift Off

David Bowie's performance of "Starman" on Lift Off with Ayshea, recorded on June 15, 1972, was broadcast on June 21, 1972. The original master tape was accidentally wiped by Granada Television during an attempt to digitize their archives, as a technician misunderstood instructions and deleted tapes not marked for preservation.

In January 2019, reports surfaced that a fan had recorded the performance on a home video recorder using computer tape, a precursor to VHS. This fragile tape was discovered and was being restored by "baking" it in an incubator for potential inclusion in the BBC documentary David Bowie: Finding Fame. However, the restoration process was uncertain due to the tape's degraded condition, and there’s no evidence it was successfully restored or publicly released.

The audio of the performance has survived and is available, for example, on YouTube, synced with still images or unrelated footage from other 1972 Bowie performances.