“Closer than others I was your, I was your man”
On November 23rd 1975, David Bowie appeared in a fifteen minute segment for CBS TV’s Cher show.
The Bowie performances commenced with him sporting slicked back hair (Thin White Duke colouring and style) in blue jacket and shirt with grey slacks, singing his first US #1 single, Fame, which had peaked a couple of months earlier in September.
Fame was followed by a moving rendition of Can You Hear Me, performed as a duet with Cher. Both Fame and Can You Hear Me were live vocals sung over a pre-recorded backing track.
Bowie wore the same outfit for Can You Hear Me as he had for Fame, while Cher wore a black number and a black bob, which may have been a wig. Cher was as famous for her wigs as Bowie was for his actual hairstyle changes.
The fifteen minute performance concluded with a six and a half minute medley duet, which featured snippets of no less than thirteen different songs, and it’s one of the strangest bits of Bowie TV of all time.
The pair wore all white for the duet, aside from Bowie’s tweed jacket and Cher’s red wig, echoing Bowie’s own hair colour.
It seemed the more conservatively Bowie dressed during this period, the more bizarre he looked. Though it has to be said that his apparel remained beautifully stylish without a trace of irony.
The same can be said of the medley itself. On paper it looks a little cheesy, but if you’ve not seen it we think you’ll agree that both singers’ performances are sincere and heartfelt.
It shouldn’t have worked, what with Cher’s house band performing the backing and the choice of snippets performed, but it did. Here’s a list of the songs featured in the medley.
Young Americans Medley
Young Americans
Song Sung Blue
One
Da Doo Ron Ron
Wedding Bell Blues
Maybe
Mabye Baby
Day Tripper
Blue Moon
Only You (And You Alone)
Temptation
Ain’t No Sunshine
Young Blood
Young Americans (reprise)
You can watch the full thing here on YouTube.
Finally, here’s a great piece by Gavin Edwards on RollingStone.com from earlier this year, wherein Gavin accuses Bowie and Cher of taking the medley to “someplace glorious and insane”. Fair cop.