David Bowie’s long-lost soundtrack for ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’
In 1976, David Bowie, at the height of his early fame, landed his first starring film role as a humanoid alien in The Man Who Fell to Earth. Nicolas Roeg’s science-fiction drama has since become a cult film for Bowie fans and sci-fi buffs alike, heralded for its surrealism and experimentalism.
With the iconic musician filling the starring role, it would make sense that he would also provide the soundtrack, yet the final score was eventually composed by John Phillips from the Mamas and the Papas. Although Bowie did intend to create the music, contractual obligations marred his plans. He intended the soundtrack to follow his album Young Americans, but he focused on creating Station to Station instead. After a few months, deep into cocaine addiction, Bowie managed to produce a few unusual tracks for the film, moving between country-inspired rock and electronica.
Paul Buckmaster, a British arranger, was employed to run through the demos with Bowie. Although the pair attempted to compose music by playing along to a tape recording of the film, it failed to sync up and was declared unusable. “I think [Roeg] just got these disparate pieces and probably said, ‘What the hell is this?'” claims Buckmaster. What happened to these tracks is a source of mystery for many Bowie fans, with some believing they ended up on side B of 1977’s Low and others speculating that they’re stored away in a vault.
With no soundtrack and only weeks until the film’s release, Roeg needed to act fast. He turned to Phillips, who had been introduced to him by the musician’s wife, Genevieve Waite, in 1970. A few years later, the director offered Waite the role of Mary Lou in The Man Who Fell to Earth, which eventually went to Candy Clark. Phillips had already written a space-themed rock musical, fittingly called Space, and wanted Waite to star.
Later, Roeg approached Phillips to create the film’s soundtrack, which baffled the musician since Bowie seemed a much better choice. After watching the movie, which he “loved from the moment [he] saw it”, Phillips got to work on the music, aiming to create a “real American score with banjos and folk and rock”. Moreover, Phillips had plenty of experience creating a movie score, having worked on Robert Altman’s Brewster McCloud in 1970.
With the help of The Rolling Stones’ Mick Taylor, whom Phillips believed to be “the best guitar player in the world,” they got to work. Phillips even brought in Keith Richards, who hadn’t seen Taylor in over a year since he walked out on the Stones. Despite an initially uncomfortable atmosphere, the musicians played through the tension, “we just played old country songs,” claimed Phillips. Richard Goldblatt, an engineer, stated that “some of the music was very improvised” and “quite innovative”.
Despite the short timeframe available to Phillips, he continued to snort excessive amounts of cocaine, leading him to experience auditory hallucinations of clicking noises on the tape, demanding that everything be rerecorded. He even allegedly had an alcohol-filled night with Bianca Jagger, with Waite finding the pair in bed together. Eventually, Roeg visited the studio to have a “serious discussion with Phillips about his behaviour,” recalls Rafe McKenna, an assistant engineer. He “told him off, basically, and said stop pissing off the engineers and get it finished tonight.”
According to Roeg, the finished soundtrack “had a range of different qualities that I thought was rather interesting,” calling Phillips an “individual composer”. Although a Bowie-scored version of The Man Who Fell To Earth would have been a fantastic addition to the hypnotic film, Phillips’ final score seems to be the perfect fit.
