Michael Bell, who performs as David Bowie in The Bowie Lives talks to Bob Jonkman about the show, the fans, the band, performing on Hallowe’en, seeing David Bowie live, how young people didn’t know about David Bowie, why the name is The Bowie Lives, and some of the other work Michael does.
Michael Bell gives some background of The Bowie Lives. True Bowie fans hate the idea of a Bowie impersonator, so Michael doesn’t pretend to be David Bowie; he’s a sound-alike. But the fans come around, even the hard-core fans. There’s a great band, and it’s challenging material, from folk tunes to industrial metal. Michael covers some of all the Bowie periods. It’s about celebrating the genius of Bowie.
11m20s
Michael introduces the band. The shows were booked a year ahead, so the band members can do their own gigs. The band is of a calibre that they don’t have to rehearse, maybe one paid rehearsal in the spring. If they’re adding a new song they can rehearse it during a sound check.
18m28s
Bob asks if the show on October 31st is a Hallowe’en show. Michael says there’s no better show for Hallowe’en than a Bowie show, there are endless costumes people can wear. It’s the first time he’s playing a legion hall, but he’s fond of playing a small stage. Michael tells Bob of Bowie Fest at the Toronto club Ground Control.
25m02s
Michael calls the show “A Bowie Spectacular”. It’s an all-encompassing experience, bringing in the audience. It’s art. Michael saw David Bowie perform live when he was coming off the road in the 1980s when he was running an entertainment magazine, The Wire Megazine. It was a hardcopy magazine then (and still availble online today), and Michael was reviewing shows. He was able to get in the pit and photograph David Bowie. That show was opened by Nine Inch Nails and many younger people left after NIN, they weren’t familiar with David Bowie. In The Bowie Lives Michael performs some material that was popular in the UK, but not here. It’s a two-hour show, Michael needs to shave seconds off some songs in order to squeeze in another. It’s a set repertoire, so that the segues are smooth and the show is tight.
33m44s
Why The Bowie Lives, why not David Bowie Lives? Michael was inspired by an Elvis sign, “Elvis Lives” on someone’s rooftop. Bowie was a performer whose music will never die, proved by younger people who are now coming out to the shows. “The Bowie” is a state of mind. Some people pronounce it as “the lives of Bowie”, which Michael thinks works too. Bob thought there might have been intellectual property rights over the name. No-one has challenged them about the use of David Bowie’s name and stage presence. Elvis impersonators have had copyright issues, but The Bowie Lives is flying under the radar.
42m43s
Is there a The Bowie Lives album in the works? No, but Michael has considered releasing a DVD of a performance. Michael doesn’t think there’ll be an album.
Bob is impressed by Michael’s accurate rendition of Heroes. Michael says that was recorded during the Covid shutdown. He talks about the devastating effects of the Covid shutdown on performance musicians — session and studio musicians weren’t as badly affected. Music is Michael’s full-time job, although he does some other work such as consulting on festivals, and writing for his magazine.
51m15s
Bob asks about Michael’s political career. Michael was a federal Green Party candidate, and is very involved in his community. Happily, most Bowie fans lean in the same political direction as Michael. But that’s not necessarily the case for other shows that he works on. Bob and Michael talk international politics for a while.
55m20s
Michael recaps the details for the show on 31 October 2025 in Cambridge, and Bob gives the end credits.
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