The Wowee Bowie Show

A David Bowie tribute gig? Until the Music Department crammed the Ensemble Room with a superstar line-up of Third Form musicians, no musical memorial could have been worthy of such a titanic talent.

Electric blue lights lower and Rohan ‘Ziggy’ Gill emerges to perform an astonishing vocal performance of Five Years, an overture of sorts. He’s joined by Hayden McGilvray, lending refined vocals to an electronic take on Sound and Vision from 1977’s Low album. 

The real showstoppers, though, come out of the blue. Matthew Lount materialises in the knee-length dress from the album cover of The Man Who Sold the World and is later joined by a variety of masks, wigs, hats and suits channelling Bowie’s theatrical flamboyance through the medium of the humble Third Form musician, Archie Soley’s dramatically commanding performances of Fashion and Jean Genie must be commended, as must Tom Sprackling’s growling vocal that exposed Bowie’s bar-blues boogie and show-tune roots. Findlay Maclenan also sang beautifully and his Scary Monsters clown was a triumph of costume design. 

The euphoric finale, White Light/White Heat, revealed the virtuosic brilliance of our fabulous band, formed of 58 Third Form musicians who tirelessly recreated the slick production over three nights. It’s 2020 and David Bowie lives!

Now a staple in the School’s musical calendar, the ambition of the Third Form show increases every year.

Simeon Smith, Academic Head of Music