Bowie BBC Prom

Concerts, UK

The world lost a true one-off in January this year; the much vaunted musical chameleon David Bowie passed away leaving an indomitable legacy.


Whilst many artists were quick to perform conventional tribute concerts soon after his passing, the Proms enlisted the revolutionary s t a r g a z e, lead by Andre de Ridder, to re-imagine some of Bowie’s popular works with a healthy mix of esoteria to show the depth of the brilliant song writing that was at the heart of his music.

For an artist that embraced many of contemporary classical music’s leading lights (working with Steve Reich on remixes of Love is Lost from The Next Day, or with Philip Glass in remixing the Berlin period albums for example) it seemed apt for s t a r g a z e  to tackle some of the better, and lesser, known works in somewhat drastic re-imaginings. Supported by luminaries such as Anna Calvi, Amanda Palmer, Laura Mvula and Neil Hannon to name but a few, the event tapped into a side of Bowie’s music that many previously had not heard of.

John Cale rounded off the concert with his own take on Valentine’s Day, Sorrow and finally Space Oddity; an arrangement featuring a 12 piece gospel choir that was a daring new vision on a well-known classic.

Delta Sound’s Stephen Hughes mixed FOH on this prom on a DiGiCo SD5, with Elaine Duffy mixing 24 monitor mixes on a DiGiCo SD7, with all stage patch and radio work undertaken by Cara Smith, Matt Hill and Richard Callin. The team provided full technical support for three days at BBC Maida Vale Studios in studio 3, working closely with the orchestra and artists in order to ensure the show was in the best shape for the Friday night performance, that also saw a simultaneous live radio and TV broadcast.

Mid concert Amanda Palmer announced to the crowd “This is not a wake, but a celebration”. This was certainly one celebration that Delta Sound were proud to support.

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