The director of the 2022 David Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream, has announced that he’ll be releasing never-before-seen concert footage from 1978. Back in 2017, director Brett Morgen received David Bowie’s complete archives. Within this, Morgen discovered the holy grail of abandoned concert footage. Initially, Morgen assumed the footage labeled “Stage” would be from Bowie’s 1978 live album. Instead, he discovered footage of his legendary 1978 performances at Earl’s Court. The footage has been considered lost for nearly 50 years. Morgen has compiled the 35 mm footage and remastered it, with plans to bring this concert footage to arenas in 2027.
The footage comes from an abandoned 1978 concert film called Stage. Bowie had hired director David Hemmings to film two out of three sold-out performances at Earl’s Court. He had released Low and “Heroes” in 1977 before embarking on the ambitious Isolar II World Tour in 1978. Morgen spoke with The Guardian about the footage and how these concerts showcased the group at the peak of their tour. “To have an electric violin, a piano and a synth player in a rock show in 1978 was extraordinary”, said Morgen.
After the concerts were filmed, Bowie moved to Switzerland and began recording his next album, Lodger. He became dissatisfied with the footage and abandoned the idea. To this, Morgen explained that “He was moving on to other things at the speed of light, so at that point I think the idea of looking backwards was distasteful to him.” Shortly before his death in 2016, Bowie kicked around the idea of releasing the footage. Sadly, he never got the chance to see a formal release in his lifetime.
How The Film Will Be An Arena Experience
Going against tradition, the film won’t be released in theaters. Instead, Morgen is bringing the film to arenas. He told The Guardian, “It’s not a movie that’s being shown in arenas. There are multiple screens, a fully integrated lighting package, and a 7.1 [surround sound] sound mix. The performance is 1978, but the presentation is 2027. The audience is invited to gaze where they want to gaze: choose your own adventure. Eleven years after his passing, it makes perfect sense that Bowie will be trailblazing again.”
Morgen went into detail on how the film became an obsession, taking 10 years to compile and remaster. “We spent over 1,000 hours colour-grading the footage, which I believe is some sort of record, but we really wanted it to look and feel like something you would experience today.”
Not only do we see the on-stage debut of some live rarities, but Morgen stated that we see Bowie transitioning away from his characters for possibly the first time. “It’s very joyous. I think this was the first time he’d performed without a mask, or ‘character’, so to speak.”
Stage will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in Germany in February 2027, before going on an arena tour.
Photo by Christian Rose/Roger Viollet via Getty Images
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