May 9, 1976: Joepie Magazine

DAVID BOWIE ON HIS NEW SHOW

It has been about three years since master entertainer David Bowie last appeared on a European stage. Now, after his umpteenth successful American tour, he has a bonus for the Old Continent. There is even room for one performance here, on May 11 in Vorst-Nationaal. A

not to be missed top spectacle, in which David Bowie once again demonstrates with class that he is the champion of disguise, an artistic chameleon one of a kind. Joepie had an exclusive interview with Bowie about his new show and also about his future plans.

"THEY CALLED IT SOME KIND OF NEW SINACRA BUT I HAVE NO ID"

David Bowie as he appears in the film <«The Man who fell to Earth>>: the strange adventures on our earth of someone who comes from another planet

Moody bastard

David Bowie, the man with a hundred and one faces, the Merlin of pop music. He has to chuckle about it himself.

'That's right, he laughs, I'm a very moody bastard. I'm one big problem, I have no identity!'

For his new show, Bowie has gone back to simplicity. A rather old-fashioned dark suit, style 1930s, with matching vest, white shirt with open collar and cufflinks, white-red hair combed back tightly. The image that also comes across in his first film 'The man who fell to earth. But the enchantment on stage remains.

- I just wanted to be an entertainer this time, without the violence of rock and roll, he explains. That's why I kept the show as simple as possible, because this time it's all about the songs. But songs that go through marrow and bone!

The American press wrote that Bowie's last identity was that of Frank Sinatra. Bowie laughs out loud about it.

'I said I wanted to be Frank Sinatra and the press people who saw my show wrote that I looked like a new Sinatra. A big joke. The last man in the world I wouldn't want to be is Sinatra, surely!

See the Alps

David Bowie also admits that he spends his entire show like that kept simple as possible has to do it this time to make some money. 'That's what usually happens to many top stars, he emphasizes. They see their shows as too big and then usually lose all the money they earn with their recordings and copyrights. That happened to me too, but not this time. I arrange everything myself, work 24 hours a day because I earn money and this time I also put a lot aside. The previous times I made money for everyone except for myself: 60 people, escorts, staff and paid bystanders. I am now only with 20 people on the road and it's the best tour I've ever been on

Bowie is feeling tired after three years in America and wants to relax a bit after his European tour ('I want to see the Alps, learn to ski and brush up on my English', he proclaims) before starting work on a second film.

"My first film experience was a great success and I love the medium," he concludes. "My next role will probably be in an Ingmar Bergman film, a Nazi in a film called

'The Serpent's Egg' And he adds in a steely voice:

- 'I'm currently living completely on the Germanic tour!!