Exclusive interview: Charlie Fowler of David Live plays the part and makes it all worthwhile…

Iman has famously said, “I didn’t marry David Bowie; I married David Jones.” This sentiment is in line with the idea, which did not originate with me, that “David Bowie” was a kind of meta character. Bowie himself would hint that this was the case all the times he’d give interviews about how his latest album finally represented his true self (a statement that would repeatedly be belied the next time he’d inevitably make the same claim). From this perspective, it isn’t just that Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke were characters, but that “Bowie” was a character like James Bond or Sherlock Holmes, which means someone other than David Jones could, to paraphrase “Star,” play the part… and potentially make it all worthwhile.

Charlie Fowler does the job nearly perfectly. I don’t mean that he does a near-perfect impersonation of David Bowie, but that he both literally and figuratively hits all the right notes as Bowie by fronting the tribute band, David Live. He captures Bowie’s theatricality, emotional resonance, and certain vocal devices without distorting his own strong voice in an attempt to mimic Bowie outright. I want to be clear on the distinction I’m making between playing Bowie and imitating Bowie. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon hilariously imitated Bowie (and others) in the movie The Trip to Spain. They picked up on and exaggerated Bowie’s recognizable and distinct verbal qualities to humorous effect. Similarly, the satirical British puppet show Spitting Image created an imitation Bowie puppet, again by exaggerating Bowie’s features. The imitators in these cases were poking gentle fun at Bowie, but also at us, the audience, by highlighting how deeply ingrained his voice, mannerisms, appearance and persona had become in popular culture.

That’s not what Charlie does at all. Charlie has a wonderful, mellifluous voice. It is a pleasure to hear him speak, let alone sing. And he can sing in the style of Bowie. But he’s not imitating Bowie. Who among us would not want to be able to sing Bowie songs—which, apart from Bowie’s performance of them, stand on their own as being among the greatest songs from the past 60+ years? But Charlie doesn’t just sing the songs—Kurt Cobain, Lulu, and even Seu Jorge have sung the songs and, hey, did right by them, to be sure. But they didn’t play the part.

Watching or listening to Charlie and his band do Bowie is an act of communion. It is a shared appreciation for the music, the look, the style, and the concert experience, one that includes the familiar greatest hits and less familiar so-called “deep cuts” that often have more individual resonance with true Bowie fans. I write about Bowie every day. I work out thoughts that are sometimes only tangentially related to Bowie by writing about Bowie. But I can’t contemplate Bowie through performing his music. I’m not a musician. How lucky for us that someone like Charlie, who has not only the talent but the deep love and respect for the art, chooses to share his musical exploration with us.

I usually use these Saturday blog posts to summarize my concurrent weekly interviews, but this post is something different. It’s a reflection on what I’ve been thinking about since speaking with Charlie Fowler—about what it means to inhabit Bowie’s music rather than simply replicate it. Watching Charlie and his band isn’t just about nostalgia; it’s about experiencing Bowie’s art in a way that still feels alive, still capable of surprising and connecting us. That’s why I encourage you to watch or listen to my conversation with Charlie. It’s a great one– you won’t want to miss it.

To see more from David Live, visit their website HERE.