The isolated vocal recording of David Bowie‘s ‘Lazarus’ has been unveiled, taken from the BBC’s new documentary about his final days ‘The Last Five Years’. Check it out below.
Directed by Francis Whately as a follow-up to his acclaimed David Bowie: Five Years which was broadcast on BBC Two in 2013, the new ‘landmark film’ will be televised in January 2017 to mark one year since Bowie’s death. Among the previously unseen footage, comes the vocal track of Bowie’s ‘Lazarus’ – the track which is believed to be Bowie’s most explicit ‘farewell’ before his death.
“He would stand in front of the mic, and for the four or five minutes he was singing, he would pour his heart out,” said Visconti. “I could see him through the window, he was really feeling it.”
He continued: “The audio picked up his breathing. It wasn’t that he was out of breath – he was hyperventilating in a way, like getting his energy up to sing this.
“A man on top of his game. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.”
“I always hoped that I would make another film about Bowie as we were only able to scratch the surface in the first film, but I just didn’t expect it to be this soon,” said Whately. “However, looking at Bowie’s extraordinary creativity during the last five years of his life has allowed me to re-examine his life’s work and move beyond the simplistic view that his career was simply predicated on change – Bowie the chameleon… ‘ch ch ch changes’ etc. Instead, I would like to show how the changes were often superficial, but the core themes in his work were entirely consistent – Alienation, Mortality and Fame.”
Speaking to NME, Bowie former drummer in Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars has recounted his last contact and the final days of the ‘Blackstar’ icon, while Woody Woodmansey also spoke to NME to reveal how he and Visctonti turned down the chance to perform with Lady Gaga for her GRAMMYs tribute show – slamming it as ‘tacky’ and claiming it ‘didn’t represent anything good about him’.
Bowie passed away in January at the age of 69.
READ MORE: David Bowie’s 40 Greatest Songs – As Decided By NME And Friends
A new ‘best of’ compilation ‘Bowie Legacy’ is set for release on November 11. It has been reported that David Bowie planned “a long list of musical releases” before he died, with the upcoming release of the ‘Lazarus’ musical soundtrack to feature his final ever recordings and unheard songs. The latest iPhone update also comes complete with new Bowie emojis – check them out here.
