Tuesday, February 26, 2013

David Bowie is showered with kisses from an androgynous Tilda Swinton in edgy new video The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

By Louise Saunders and Donna Mcconnell
PUBLISHED: 03:14 EST, 26 February 2013 | UPDATED: 10:46 EST, 26 February 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gH7dMBcg-gE#!

He shocked the world by announcing he would be releasing a new album following a 10-year hiatus from the music industry.
But David Bowie has proved he is well and truly back with a bang as he debuted the video for the second track, The Stars (Are Out Tonight), from his forthcoming album, The Next Day.
Starring Tilda Swinton as the 66-year-old star's fictional wife, the edgy six-minute video sees the happily-married pair's world torn apart by a menacing celebrity couple, played by androgynous models, Andrej Pejic and Saskia De Brauw.
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Edgy: David Bowie's new video sees Tilda Swinton channel a younger version of the musician as she plants a tender kiss on him

Pucker up: As Swinton transforms into a likeness of Bowie, she showers him with red lipstick kisses

The unusual suspects: David Bowie Tilda Swinton (second left), Andrej Pejic (left) and Saskia De Brauw (right) star in a short film for new song The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Initially, the Oscar-winning actress portrays a typical 50s housewife, complete with a perfect set of curls and a powder pink coat.
But as the story unravels, she slowly transforms into an androgynous being - bearing an uncanny resemblance to Bowie himself in his youth - and at one stage, even plants a tender kiss on the musician.
Directed by filmmaker Floria Sigismondi - best known as writer/director of Kristen Stewart film rock biopic The Runaways - and shot by Jeff Cronenweth, the story is said to 'capture a twenty first century moment in its convergence of age, gender and the normal/celebrity divide'.

Wedded bliss: Swinton and Bowie portray a happily married couple whose world is torn apart by the notion of celebrity

Menacing: Androgynous models, Andrej Pejic and Saskia De Brauw, play a terrifying celebrity couple in the edgy video

Scary monsters: Androgynous models, Andrej Pejic and Saskia De Brauw, play a terrifying celebrity couple in the edgy video

Shaking things up: The pair play a celebrity couple intent on turning Bowie and Swinton's lives upside down when they move next door

Trouble ahead: Swinton's character looked terrified as she watched her new celebrity neighbours arrive in the street

As the clip begins, Swinton and Bowie are seen going about their everyday life, and as they visit a supermarket his eyes are drawn to a gossip magazine bearing the headline 'Celebrity Couple's Twisted Antics'.
Tilda, dressed in an immaculately tailored coat with her blonde locks set into perfect curls, grabs the magazine off her husband and continues their shopping - but it is an omen of what's to come for the pair.

Starring role: Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton stars in David Bowie's video for new track The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Puppet: Swinton takes on numerous incarnations in the six-minute long montage

David Bowie and Tilda Swinton as a happily married couple. Their world is disturbed and then re-arranged by the intrusion of a celebrity couple played by Andrej Pejic and Saskia De Brauw

Heeeeere's Tilda: The celebrated actress looks wild-eyed as she intimidated her husband at the dinner table

This signals the arrival of androgynous models Andrej Pejic and Saskia De Brauw, who play a celebrity couple intent on turning the pair's life upside down when they move next door, with Pejic appearing to channel Bowie in his younger years.
Exploring the issues of the current fascination with celebrity culture, the musings of fame and androgyny, the video then sees Tilda take on a variety of different roles as she becomes a puppet for the couple.
After Bowie comes face to face with Pejic through a brick wall, De Brauw climbs into his bed and plants a tender kiss on his face, while Swinton experiences a series of terrifying night tremors.

Eerie: The characters were being manipulated like puppets as they sat around the dinner table

Desperate housewife: Tilda wields a carving knife at the table as the couple's contented marriage begins to fall apart

Haunting: The actress looked positively ghostly as she was transformed into an ethereal character

Mesmerising: The pair seemed enthralled by one another as they stared into each other's eyes

With all three characters writhing around on the floor, Swinton's character is suddenly reborn as a version of Bowie with short platinum androgynous hair.
Planting a kiss on the musician's character and showering him with red lipstick marks, the actress takes on a shocking new life as her puppeteers take hold of her fate.
The video continues the overriding theme of introspection that emerged from Bowie's comeback single Where Are We Now.

Face to face: Bowie comes face to face with model Pejic through a brick wall as they appear to serenade each other

Mirror image: Pejic channels a likeness of Bowie in his younger years in the haunting new video

Rolling back the years: The androgynous models bore more than a passing resemblance to Bowie in his younger years

Flashback: The models and Tilda channel Bowie's iconic 70s look

An older, married and content Bowie - much like he is in real life, has happily shut the door on the flamboyance of his past - but while he has publicly retired his past incarnations, it's clear that he now accepts he can never really escape his past or his musical legacy.
Many fans had given up hope of Bowie ever recording again after he appeared to retreat from the public eye, with some fleeting performances in 2006.
His unexpected new release Where Are We Now, reached number six in the UK charts.
The forthcoming album The Next Day has claimed the top spot on 17 countries iTunes Store Top 10 Albums charts, Including the UK, France, Germany and Canada.
Scheduled for March 12 release, The Next Day has also made the top ten lists in five other countries including the US, Japan and Australia.
David's timely return has also sparked huge demand for tickets for the forthcoming V&A retrospective.
The V&A has sold a record 26,000 tickets for the show which opens next month, the museum’s highest ever figure for advance bookings.

Haunting: Bowie can be seen being backed into a corner as the celebrity couple taunt him

Racy: Pejic and De Brauw are seen writhing around the bedroom as they continue to haunt the happily-married couple

Artistic: The pair are seen twisting and turning on a bed as they cavort together wearing just skimpy underwear

It has been given unprecedented access to Bowie’s personal archive in New York, and will display more than 300 items spanning six decades, including original costumes, art work and handwritten lyrics.
David Bowie is will feature previously unseen exhibits from the singer’s own collection, including the original storyboards for his Ashes to Ashes music video.

Perfect housewife: Swinton was sporting a set of platinum curls and a powder pink coat in the first incarnation of her character

A picture of elegance: David and Tilda on the set of the singer;s new short film directed by Floria Sigismondi and shot by Jeff Cronenweth

Victoria Broackes of the V&A’s Theatre and Performance department, who is co-curating the show, said: 'These are among the most exciting exhibits because they show Bowie’s extraordinary creativity and breadth of interests.'
Among the items included in the comprehensive retrospective of the iconic star's body of work will be Bowie’s flamboyant costumes created for his many fictionalised stage personas, such as the multicoloured Ziggy Stardust bodysuit he wore for the seminal performance of Starman on Top of the Pops in 1972.
* David Bowie is, at the V&A from March 23 to July 28, in partnership with Gucci, sound experience by Sennheiser

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) is released digitally on Tuesday