Mimes Gone By

I know I'm supposed to find David Bowie's early work laughable, but I never have. All I hear is clever, catchy songs with interesting arrangements and quirky, amusing lyrics. Most of his work of this era is not remotely cool, of course, and perhaps therein lays the problem - that, and the mime.

'Love You Til Tuesday' was made in 1969 to showcase Dave and his many talents. I think it's bloody good, and I'm surprised he didn't get a TV show out of it, I mean, he's a billion times better than Lulu. and she was on telly all the time.

Here he is performing 'When I'm Five'. It's all cutesy and cloying on the surface, but terrifying just underneath, with Bowie giving an excellent, extraordinarily creepy performance, perhaps inspired by Hywel Bennet's similar turn in 'Twisted Nerve' the previous year. 

David apparently wore a wig throughout this production after cutting his hair short for an audition for the film of 'The Virgin Soldiers' (starring Hywel Bennett, funnily enough). He didn't get the part, but did appear as an extra with a whopping two seconds of background screen time.