When the Grammy awards paid tribute to his father, David Bowie, the film director Duncan Jones seemed less than overwhelmed. However, the Brits performance of Life on Mars, by Lorde and the backing band that worked with Bowie on his final two tours seemed much more to his taste. Jones tweeted that the performance was “just … beautiful. Thank you.”
His words evidently came as a relief to Bowie’s longtime keyboard player, Mike Garson, who was among the performers. He replied: “Thank you Duncan. So glad you enjoyed it. that means a lot to the band.”
Finally found the links to tonight's Brits. Just... beautiful. Thank you.
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) February 25, 2016
When Lady Gaga performed her Bowie megamix at the Grammys last week, with a band led by Nile Rodgers, Jones had been much more equivocal, tweeting: “‘Overexcited or irrational, typically as the result of infatuation or excessive enthusiasm; mentally confused.’ Damn it! What IS that word!?” The word, of course, was gaga.
The Brits performance was not without its issues, though. While the band had been rehearsing thoroughly, they had been doing so with Guy Pratt – who has worked extensively with Pink Floyd, among others – playing bass. Pratt posted on Facebook after the show: “So you know that Lorde/ Bowie thing on The Brits? Well I was the bass player for all the rehearsals right up to this afternoon when Gail Ann Dorsey got in from San Francisco. Amazing honour to play with that lovely bunch, but talk about a wind up.”
The band that played with Lorde consisted of:
Mike Garson – keys (joined Bowie in 1972)
Earl Slick – guitar (1974)
Sterling Campbell – drums (1994)
Gail Ann Dorsey – bass (1995)
Gerry Leonard – guitar (2001)
Catherine Russell – keys (2002)
