The ironic way David Bowie helped ‘Trainspotting’ become iconic
The late David Bowie could be a tough customer when he wanted to be. From his ill-treatment of a young Gary Numan to declining the use of his music in director Danny Boyle’s planned biopic, the British musician wasn’t as consistently easy-going as is widely believed. The filmmaker was already acutely aware of this when Bowie turned his passion project down.
Ironically, David Bowie’s unfavourable response to a request from Danny Boyle and his team when making Trainspotting would give the drama its most iconic scene. Famously, the movie is an adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel of the same name and stars Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald. It follows a group of heroin addicts in an impoverished area of Edinburgh.
After Bowie died in January 2016, many people shared anecdotes about him. This list included former EMI A&R Tristram Penna, who helped compile the pop culture phenomenon that was the Trainspotting soundtrack. He revealed that Bowie turned down their use of his tracks for the film, which led to them opting for his friend Iggy Pop’s classic ‘Lust for Life’ in the iconic ‘Choose Life’ opening sequence.
Speaking to Dazed in 2016, Penna said that Boyle and producer Andrew Macdonald “(told) me of the difficulties they were having in clearing tracks for the film – David Bowie had turned them, down for example… Andrew and Danny were desperate for Bowie – if memory serves, (they wanted) ‘Golden Years’ for the toilet scene (Brian Eno’s ‘Deep Blue Day’ was ultimately used).”
To respond to this hiccup, Penna suggested they use Iggy Pop’s 1977 song ‘Lust for Life’ – co-written and produced by David Bowie – for the opening scene. As Boyle was overjoyed at the result, Penna also suggested using Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’, another friend and collaborator of David Bowie’s, for the scene where Ewan McGregor’s protagonist Renton overdoses on heroin. The song has long been believed to be a tribute to heroin, something that Lou Reed, a former addict, vehemently denied after Trainspotting was released.
“I saw a rough cut of the film at a screening room on D’Arblay Street in Soho,” Penna told the publication. “It was a mess. I don’t even know who the music supervisor was, but some of the suggestions were just awful and not at all right. I’d always been a huge clubber in London – indie clubs, gay clubs, whatever clubs as long as there was great music – and Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust for Life’ had always been a huge club hit since the BatCave days, so I knew it would get the adrenaline rushing if used in the opening. I remember suggesting the song because (Danny and Andrew) were continually upset that Bowie had turned them down. So they cut it in with ‘Lust for Life’ and it was transformational.”
Whilst Penna added that working on the film’s soundtrack was the “most important cultural thing I’ve done”, he said he regretted putting ‘Perfect Day’ forward for the soundtrack. Referencing the official charity release of the song, which also featured Reed and Tom Jones, he said: “The irony and the beauty of the song worked in a sublime fashion. (But) every time I hear that fucking awful BBC single with Heather Small in foghorn mode, I kick and blame myself. I’m really happy about Iggy, (though) I will regret putting ‘Perfect Day’ forward to my dying day.”
Watch the ‘Lust for Life’ Trainspotting scene below.
