Then 'Just A Gigolo' came out all over the place, and everyone told him how wonderful he wasn't. Hemmings had done his best to cut away at 'The Curse of Bing' but it seemed a bit of Bing remained and would do so until the film left theatre screens, in about two days.
Movie Magazine - This was the first time I actually cried with boredom
Capperboard - Thats it, thats the end of movies for me.
In March he headed back to Berlin to finish off the tapes for his third Eno album 'Lodger'. Co-producer Tony Visconti talks about David and Tony's method of recording :
'He sits on this chair and then that's when my fingers hover over the play and record buttons. I say to him "Ready?" with this look in my eyes that says I'm serious, he looks back and says "Ready." then I press the play and record buttons and off we go.'
'Lodger' was released on May 25th and David was in London to promote it, taking the use of video to new hieghts, watching "Close Encounters of the Third Kind' on VCR from the top of London Tower.
The use of promotional videos had been experimented with in days gone by, with the Beatles, Queen and Aunty May's Naughty Home Movie. Bowie himself had used film recycled from previous tours and had recorded a video for Heroes when he got drunk. But for 'Lodger' the use of promotional videos that conceptualise the music itself was the dawn of a new painful age.
MTV was still two years away, Kelly Osborne's ground breaking 'Papa Don't Preach' was still two decades away. Yet, with the help of David Mallet directing, Bowie was to recognize the birth of a new promotional tool, grab it, and squeeze it tenderly yet firmly, milking the precious juice from it's supple sensitive teat.
On 'Boys Keep Swinging' Mallet filmed David during some kind of epileptic fit. After the fit, Bowie dresses in Drag and smears lipstick all over himself. He also pretends to be an old lady.
On 'DJ' Bowie dresses in pink and slaps sticky records onto the wall. He also covorts with drunks in the gutter while stoned. And there's some explosions near the end.
On 'Look Back In Anger' Bowie paints a picture of himself as some kind of angel. He then gets herpes and falls down.
David was once again pointing the way sideways. Videos were to become an important part of his work. He'd write a wacky story, grab some director, produce the film himself then launch it on a terrified unsuspecting public.
In June David pretty much vanished, staying in New York, Switzerland, Kenya, London and Australia. How he stayed in five places at the same time is anyone's guess.
He popped up again from his absence on 16th of December to see the Broadway production of 'The Elephant Man', later visiting the club Hurrahs where he was introduced to the play's director Jack Hofsiss. Jack told Bowie that he looked very much like the Elephant Man and should be kept away from society. He explained that Anglim (the lead actor) was leaving and that if David didn't take the part he would shoot him, or maybe put him in a travelling circus.
Bowie thought about the offer carefully, then forgot what the offer was. When Hofsiss reminded him, David agreed.
He wouldn't be needed until July of the next year. Time enough to make another album and find Coco the monkey.
1979 closed with David singing 'Space Oddity' on Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show in a video clip of him in a padded cell. The obvious message being that he had sung that song so bloody much it had driven him crazy. Kenneth Pitt was well pleased however, that David had finally decided to re-re-re-re-record it.