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David Bowie: The Last Five Years

An intimate portrait of one of the defining artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries, told by the people who knew him best.

There was nothing predictable about David Bowie. Everything was designed to intrigue, to challenge, to defy all expectations. But perhaps no period in David Bowie's extraordinary career raised more fascination, more surprise, and more questions than the last five years. This is an intimate portrait of one of the defining artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries, told by the people who knew him best - his friends and artistic collaborators.

This film takes a detailed look at Bowie's last albums, The Next Day and Blackstar, and his play Lazarus. In his final five years, Bowie not only began producing music again, but returned to the core and defining themes of his career. This film explores how Bowie was a far more consistent artist than many interpretations of his career would have us believe. It traces the core themes from his final works and relates them to his incredible back catalogue. His urge to communicate feelings of spirituality, alienation and fame underpin his greatest works from the 1960s to 2016. This is what lies at the heart of his success and appeal - music that deals with what it means to be human in a way that goes far beyond the normal palette of a rock star.

The film is not a comprehensive overview of his entire career, but an in-depth exploration of pivotal moments that show how the themes, the narrative and the approach is consistent - it is simply the palette that changes. The film includes every key member of the Next Day band, the Blackstar band and those who worked with him on the stage play Lazarus. In addition, old friends and colleagues are on hand to explore how the work of the last five years relates to Bowie's back catalogue. And, as in David Bowie: Five Years, there is a wealth of unseen and rare archive footage.

1 hour, 30 minutes

Last on

Sat 9 Jan 2021 01:30
BBC Four

Clip

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • David Bowie

    Rebel Rebel

  • David Bowie

    Fame

  • David Bowie

    Fashion

  • David Bowie

    Let's Dance

  • David Bowie

    Ashes to Ashes

  • David Bowie

    Starman

  • David Bowie

    Oh You Pretty Things

  • David Bowie

    Five Years

  • David Bowie

    Changes

  • David Bowie

    Life On Mars?

  • David Bowie

    Moonage Daydream

  • David Bowie

    Suffragette City

  • David Bowie

    Right

  • David Bowie

    Young Americans

  • David Bowie

    Fame

  • David Bowie

    Golden Years

  • David Bowie

    Station to Station

  • David Bowie

    Speed of Life

  • David Bowie

    Breaking Glass

  • David Bowie

    Warszawa

  • David Bowie

    V-2 Schneider

  • David Bowie

    Sense of Doubt

  • David Bowie

    Heroes

  • David Bowie

    Criminal World

  • David Bowie

    Let's Dance

  • David Bowie

    Without You

  • David Bowie

    China Girl

  • David Bowie

    The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Credits

Director Francis Whately
Executive Producer Phil Dolling

Broadcasts

  • Sat 7 Jan 2017 21:00
    BBC Two
  • Mon 9 Jan 2017 23:15
    BBC Two except Northern Ireland
  • Thu 12 Jan 2017 23:45
    BBC Two Northern Ireland
  • Fri 24 Feb 2017 00:15
    BBC Two
  • Fri 15 Feb 2019 00:45
    BBC Two
  • Sun 14 Jun 2020 00:15
    BBC Two except Scotland
  • Fri 8 Jan 2021 21:00
    BBC Four
  • Sat 9 Jan 2021 01:30
    BBC Four

Featured in...

David Bowie at BBC Music

David Bowie at BBC Music

Celebrating David Bowie

David Bowie: The Last Supper

David Bowie: The Last Supper

An exclusive companion film featuring some of the star's longest-serving players.