Watch David Bowie perform ‘Ashes to Ashes’ at Glastonbury 2000
Artists like David Bowie were always meant to be experienced live in front of a crowd. Although it is one thing to have amazing songs, Bowie brought the visual elements to the forefront in every one of his tracks, creating different character portraits throughout his career, like Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke. While the world of Bowie was usually relegated to the album format, MTV was about to make things much more interesting.
Unsurprisingly, Bowie’s trademark theatrics worked like a charm when going from the stage to every living room. Although he may have been able to capture the hearts of millions when working with Nile Rodgers on Let’s Dance, his first foray into the medium brought one of his greatest compositions to the forefront.
Equal parts funk, progressive and pop, ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is one of the defining songs of Bowie’s career, as he sings about the different circle of life that every celebrity has to face at some point. Since Bowie had experienced more than a few times around the sun as a celebrity, it was about time that he called back to one of his first characters.
Namechecking Major Tom from ‘Space Oddity‘, Bowie talks about everyone’s favourite space cadet being lost in the cosmos and turning himself into a junkie. Considering what headspace Bowie was in at the time following his Berlin period, he treats his old character’s junkie tendencies with respect. While he might need to clean up his act sooner or later, Bowie knows the pressure that comes with fame that leads a poor soul to drown their sorrows.
None of those sorrows could be felt once Bowie fell to Earth at Glastonbury back in 2000. Compared to the glamorous version of Bowie from the 1980s, his performance is a lot more refined after his decades in the spotlight, sprinkling in different pieces of the music that he made along the way.
Having dipped his toes into the sounds of industrial a few years prior on Earthling, the Bowie that turns up in this performance is a lot more subdued than before. Following his mellow turn on his album Hours, it’s almost like fans are being treated to the more acoustic version of the tune despite the electronic elements still intact.
Instead of the usual wall of sound swirling around the listener’s head, Bowie treats this song like an old friend, marvelling over each line through his wavy blonde hair. When he harmonises with the background singers on the chorus, it’s almost as if he has found a way to make peace with that celestial alter ego awaiting in heaven.
While Bowie was already halfway to making his next album, Heathen, he was already leaving his mark on the next generation, finding fans in members of bands like Spoon and The National. Bowie hadn’t even begun to stop surprising his fans, either, using the rest of his career to expand even further on albums like Blackstar. No one was ever going to know the real Davey Jones that existed underneath that smooth exterior, but every one of Bowie’s characters was given a heroes’ welcome on the Glastonbury stage.
