“Share my life”
(ANCIANT = A New Career In A New Town)
With just one week to go till the September 29th release of the David Bowie: A New Career In A New Town (1977–1982) box set, we thought we’d take a daily look at the promotional videos Bowie made in the period covered by ANCIANT.
Originally released in the UK on June 17th 1977, Be My Wife was the 2nd and final single from Low. Despite a promotional video, the single didn’t chart, not helped by the fact that it was almost impossible to view it anywhere in the UK back in 1977.
Filmed in Paris in June 1977, Be My Wife was Bowie's first official video since the Mick Rock-directed Life on Mars? film in 1973.
Indeed, the Stanley Dorfman-directed Be My Wife had a feel of Rock’s production with Bowie performing against a bleached out white background, using a red Fender Stratocaster as a prop, while half-heartedly miming the guitar part. He somehow manages to appear nonchalant and anguished at the same time, in this bizarre plea for marital union.
Apparently Bowie’s make-up and mannerisms in the video were influenced by the comic, Buster Keaton, whose work Bowie was a fan of. He would reprise the Keaton look for the Miracle Goodnight video in 1993 and even had a full page Steve Schapiro picture of the man in the Isolar Tour programme. Schapiro also shot a pic of Bowie holding the cover of a Keaton biography up to his face, inviting comparisons between the two.
Watch the full video here.
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