‘I’ll always treasure the memories of my incredible childhood’
Duncan Jones, 44, Bowie’s son and director of the film Moon, remembers with affection the times spent loitering in the wings while his dad performed on stage – and how his father nurtured and supported his son as he found his own creative path.
‘In many ways it was an incredible childhood. We travelled all over the world and we got to do some amazing things.
‘I remember one time going to see a sumo wrestling show in Japan and being amazed.
‘There were a lot of unique things that I got to do, and not a lot of people get to experience things like that. And I treasure those memories. But often I’d sit around being bored backstage at a concert.
‘You know, it was like any kid going to watch his dad at work, no matter what they do. We were just waiting for the concert to be over so we could go home. I could hear the noise up front but I’d spend most of my time hanging out with the roadies and playing with them. You know those big crash cases that they put the equipment in? Big, thick metal boxes with foam padding – well, I’d stand inside one of them and get the roadies to push me around like I was in a go-kart.
‘Every night when we’d leave I can remember the big hullabaloo – security guards and me being whisked into the car before my dad came out separately so that they couldn’t get a picture of us together. The woman looking after me would wrap her arms around my head so that they couldn’t get my photo. It was a big event just to get in the car and go home.
‘It was the opposite for me when
Dad was shooting a film. That was like going to Disneyland. I’d see the amazing sets being built, how the make-up worked. In The Hunger Dad had to age at one point to become an old man and I remember him scaring the **** out of me. I hung out with him when he was doing Labyrinth. And I remember the amazing Fifties Soho set on Absolute Beginners. It made a huge impression on me.
‘I never learned to play an instrument. Dad tried to get me to learn the drums but I didn’t want to. “The saxophone?” No. “Piano?” No. “Guitar?” No thanks! He kept on trying and nothing was happening.
‘He enjoyed introducing me to literature, music and films. When I was seven we’d watch these adventure movies like The Sea Hawk, a pirate movie with Errol Flynn, or James Cagney movies on video. Dad introduced me to Fritz Lang’s
Metropolis and
the original Baron Munchausen. He’d say, “You’ll love this! You haven’t seen anything like this before.” I was eight when he showed me A Clockwork
Orange.
‘Around that time he showed me how to use an 8mm camera. It had the little Kodak cartridges you stick in, and I remember it had the ability to shoot one-stop animation. I loved it and I’d take it with me when I went off on tour with him. I’d use my Star Wars figures and make little animated films.
‘He taught me, in a lovely way, the basics of making a movie, like how to do storyboards, write a script, do the lighting. He also taught me how to use a splicer – cutting the film and sticking it back together in the projector. I had this big blue box that was full of my storyboards and scripts. While Dad would go on stage, I’d be making my little movies.’