August 1985

Bowie films Absolute Beginners and Labyrinth, starring in both and also writing and recording songs for both movies.

June 1986

David Bowie's 46 th single Underground released by EMI, coupled with an instrumental version. Both are from Labyrinth.

November 17 - December 3

Bowie prints included in the Minotaur Myths and Legends exhibition at the Berkley Square Gallery alongside other works by Michael Ayrton, Picasso, Elizabeth Frink, Igor Mitoraj and Francis Bacon.

November 24

Bowie and Iman attend a special showing of the Minotaur Myths and Legends exhibition.

From page 320:

(regarding Live Aid)
� � � Once the show was over, Bowie vanished again. There were to be no more live appearances in 1985 and 1986 - but with Absolute Beginners and Labyrinth one could see Bowie was consciously broadening, fusing his work in different media into one achievement, writing music, performing title songs but also bringing his other skills into play.

From page 321:

� � � In Labyrinth Bowie played Jareth, the King of the Goblins, co-starring with a young child lost in a world of fantasy and a cast of gargoyle-like goblins. These were the latest creation of Jim Henson of Muppets fame, who conceived a new family of characters for his first full-length cinema movie, a $ 25 million production directed by Henson with a script by Terry Jones of Monty Python.
� � � Once again Bowie was ridiculed by the rock music weeklies, but when asked why he was making films like this Bowie had an answer. 'What I do is pure entertainment.' * he said - and it was. I suspect that this - like Absolute Beginners - is going to be another of those David Bowie 'products' that will be seen as timeless in 20 or 30 years' time.

* Telegraph Sunday Magazine 22 June 1986

Not really a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. I find it rather sad that so little attention is paid to this film, especially since it was David Bowie's most financially successful film to date. The first paragraph from page 321 makes it sound like the author is getting Dark Crystal confused with Labyrinth. I can't tell if he's just jumping topics rather abruptly, with the "who conceived a new family of characters for his first full-length cinema movie". It was Dark Crystal that marked a new era for the Creature Shop, I believe. However, wasn't Jim Henson's first full-length cinema movie The Muppet Movie? I can't tell if the author means to say that Labyrinth is the first non-Muppet movie Henson did, or if Labyrinth is the first Henson movie ever. We know that both of these ideas are incorrect. I suspect that it's just sloppy writing on the author's part. Shows how much he likes Jim Henson, huh?

� � � Go back to the excerpt from Jim Henson's biography.
� � � Go back one step.
� � � Return to the main page.

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