David Bowie – Breaking Glass (1978)

A Nacho Video.

Breaking Glass is originally a track from David Bowie’s Low album, released in January 1977. As Wikepedia states, Breaking Glass “was uncompromising even by Low’s standards.”

This reworked live version, recorded in the spring of 1978, is from the album, Stage, which was released in September of that year. The version of Breaking Glass played on the ’78 tour was heavily reworked, and almost double the length of the sub-two minute original, with the addition at the end of the “Never touch you” mantra sung over George Murray and Dennis Davis’ Bass and Drums respectively, and then just Bowie and Davis, working the Boom! Boom! Boom-Boom! To great effect. Davis and Murray have a writing credit for Breaking Glass, and it’s easy to see why on this live version, where they really push up the funk. Once again, I’m so impressed with Davis precise, funky and yet experimental drumming style.

Breaking Glass was chosen as the single to promote Stage. I remember hearing it as a 12 year old on the Nicky Horne show on London’s Capital Radio. It was an intriguing song to my young ears – the fractured, impenetrable lyrics… Baby, I’ve been Breaking glass In your room again Listen Don’t look at the carpet, I drew something awful on it See You’re such a wonderful person But you got problems oh-oh-oh-oh I’ll never touch you …the great lead guitar riff, and the aforementioned ending. It was the first Bowie single that I bought when it came out. On the strength of it I then bought Stage. Breaking Glass failed to make the UK Top Forty, and one wonders what RCA were thinking in their marketing strategy. It was offered as an EP with Art Decade and Ziggy Stardust on the B-side – there could not be two more incongruous tracks from the album sat next to each other. Plus RCA didn’t make a promo video.

Breaking Glass was a regular in the ’78 set, and shows were filmed, so why not put out a simple live promo clip – cheap as chips! Thus, I’ve tried to do RCA’s job for them, 38 years too late. I’ve often bemoaned to myself that there is no decent clip from the tour of my favourite track from Stage. I’ve searched high and low, and the only footage I know of is the rather ropey Super 8 from the show in Malmo, Sweden. So that’s all I had to go on. It was a big technical challenge, not least of all because there were big chunks missing, including the first 45 seconds of the track. It took me two days to break another section of the footage down into microsecond slices and then stretch and shrink them to try to make a reasonable lip synch for the opening verse. When I had the basic lip sync done, and the gaps in the footage patched with my editing, I saw that the clip was maybe quite boring, and something extra was needed. That’s when the idea came to bring the Stage cover to life. Plus it will distract people from noticing the fact that the lip syncing is fakery, hopefully now, no one will notice, I thought to myself! After syncing, when I watched for the first time, Bowie take the mic off it’s stand to dance and sing to Murray and Davis’ rhythm, the thrill I got made the project worthwhile to me.

Here’s where I got the footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKyCY… If anyone has any other footage, or ideas for another video project, of material from Bowie’s classic period, do please get in touch: nachomarcho@gmail.com

Do me an’ yerself a favor – watch it in HD with the sound UP LOUD!

Hope you dig it! Putting this video together was another huge labour of love, made with love and with respect for the source.

I don’t own the rights, and I’m not making any money out of this etc. Just a fan making videos for other fans.