Placebo‘s Brian Molko, Peaches, Nadine Shah and more have come together to cover David Bowie classics at London Southbank Centre. Check out footage from the night below.
Held on Saturday night (July 11), the show at Southbank came in celebration of ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust’ – Bowie’s hugely successful, boundary-pushing fifth album.
At the one-off show, British solo artist, classically trained composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Fiona Brice worked to reimagine the 1972 album. She arranged and orchestrated the tracklist, and presented it with an impressive line-up of guest vocalists.
Special guests taking on vocal duties on the night included Brian Molko from Placebo, Nadine Shah and Peaches, as well as experimental electronic musician Patrick Wolf, composer and alt-soul singer Tawiah, and the Sauti choir.
Beth Greenacre – a curator, advisor and consultant who worked with Bowie as the curator of his art collection for more than 16 years – was the visual director for the event too.
On the night, Molko took on renditions of fan favourites ‘Space Oddity’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide’ and ‘Moonage Daydream’, Nadine Shah tackled the lively hit song ‘Suffragette City’, and Peaches delivered emotionally intense renditions of ‘Five Years’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust’.
Other performances included Irish singer and actor Camille O’Sullivan taking on ‘Life On Mars?’, Patrick Wolf singing ‘Ashes To Ashes’ and ‘Hang On To Yourself’ and more. Check out more footage from the night and the full setlist below.
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust at Royal Festival Hall setlist was:
‘Five Years’ – Peaches and the Sauti choir
‘Soul Love’ – Camille O’Sullivan and the Sauti choir
‘Moonage Daydream’ – Brian Molko and the Sauti choir
‘Starman’ – David McAlmont and the Sauti choir
‘It Ain’t’ Easy’ – Nadine Shah and the Sauti choir
‘Lady Stardust’ – Tawiah and the Sauti choir
‘Star’ – Patrick Wolf and the Sauti choir
‘Hang On To Yourself’ – Patrick Wolf and the Sauti choir
‘Ziggy Stardust’ – Peaches
‘Suffragette City’ – Nadine Shah and the Sauti choir
‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide’ – Brian Molko and the Sauti choir
Encore
‘Life On Mars’ – Camille O’Sullivan
‘Space Oddity’ – Brian Molko and Tawiah
‘Ashes To Ashes’ – Patrick Wolf
‘Let’s Dance’ – David McAlmont
Brian Molko’s involvement in the show comes as Bowie was a champion of Placebo from their early days – sharing praise for the band even before they released their 1996 self-titled debut.
He later invited them out on tour with him, and also recorded a collaborative track in 1998 called ‘Without You I’m Nothing’. In 1999, they would also come together to deliver an unforgettable cover of T-Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’ at the BRIT Awards.
In 2022, Placebo spoke about how they were affected by the singer’s death in 2016 and how, although they have been lifelong fans of his music, they believe “his personality outshines” it.
“This may sound like a grandiose statement, but it’s true. David taught me how to be a better person, but it took his passing for me to really reflect on it,” Molko told NME. “When it was happening, I was far too arrogant and far too drunk to notice the real impact of what was going on.”
“The thing with David was that he treated everyone who he came into contact with with the same dignity, kindness and humanity – it didn’t matter what your status was,” the singer added. “You could be the waiter or Johnny Cash. You’d get the same amount of respect. That’s really David’s legacy for me.”
