We are extremely saddened to learn that music icon David Bowie passed away this week.
Among his many, many accolades, which include some of my personally favorite songs and albums, Bowie starred as Jareth the Goblin King in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. So while the rest of the world remembers him for the rest of his varied and amazing career, we’ll use a magnifying glass to focus in on just this one tiny part of his life.
Jim Henson personally handpicked David Bowie to star in Labyrinth in 1985. According to Jim’s Red Book, he was chosen for his”other-worldliness and energy”, which Bowie had in spades. It also didn’t hurt that Jim’s son John was a huge David Bowie fan, and had likely been whispering the suggestion in his father’s ear.
In addition to playing the enigmatic Jareth, Bowie also wrote all of the songs for the film, which are simply fantastic. For example, “Dance Magic Dance”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcCb9MLShss
Or “Underground”, which features a ton of puppets only previously seen in the background of Labyrinth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwVqOs3Aess
In David Bowie’s own words, here’s what he recalled from his first meeting with Jim Henson:
“Jim Henson set up a meeting with me and he outlined his basic concept for Labyrinth and showed me some of Brian Froud’s artwork. That impressed me for openers, but he also gave me a tape of The Dark Crystal, which really excited me. I could see the potential of adding humans to his world of creatures. I’d always wanted to be involved in the music writing aspect of a movie that would appeal to everyone and I must say that Jim gave me a completely free hand with it. The script itself was fun and it also had a lot of heart. So I was pretty well hooked from the beginning.”
Just from one performance in one film, David Bowie has guaranteed his position in every Muppet fan’s Hall of Fame, and Labyrinth remains a classic today in part to his incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera.
Sometime this week, we should all revisit Labyrinth and marvel at his performance and songwriting skills. Or feel free to watch any of his other movies, listen to his music, or just pop your “Ziggy Stardust” vinyl onto your turntable. There are so many ways we can honor his memory, and Labyrinth is just one of them.
We’ll miss you, Jareth.
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by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
