Remember Whensday – David Bowie “The 1980 Floor Show”

Written by Andie García Sheridan

Early this year, the great rock legend David Bowie passed away, leaving the world behind with all his glorious memories and music. Today marks the 43rd anniversary of his very first television special “The 1980 Floor Show” broadcast on NBC’s “Midnight Special.”

“The 1980 Floor Show” was recorded over 3 days, from the 18th to the 20th of October, at The Marquee Club, Soho, in London. It was his last appearance as Ziggy Stardust, the fictional rock star character from his concept album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The show was a spectacle placing himself and fellow rockers in a futuristic setting, which could be expected considering the fact that Bowie had complete artistic control. The audience was composed of 200 members of the International David Bowie Fan Club.

The special featured 13 songs, including “1984,” “Space Oddity,” “The Jean Genie,” “I Got You Babe” and more. In order to film the special, Bowie had to perform each song up to 6 times so that the shots could be edited down into a one-hour special. The performance on October 19th lasted 10 hours, illustrating Bowie’s devotion to his music, art and fans.

Though it marked the end of his appearances as Ziggy Stardust, Bowie continued his career to his last days, releasing his last album, Blackstar, just days before his death. A true hard-core rocker, he devoted his last years to giving the world one more Bowie album to wrap up his 49 years of music.

Bowie influenced the sound of many a rock star and brought his own unique sound to music and can be credited as one of the greats in musical history. Between 1967 and 2016, Bowie released 27 studio albums and 9 live albums. Bowie dedicated nearly half a century to creating art and people are sure to reap the benefits for years to come.

 

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