Bowie album to be turned into a dark musical

Director of the Polish horror musical film The Lure, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, has announced that she will be helming a musical based on one of David Bowie’s most conceptually devised albums, 1995’s 1. Outside.

To be titled Deranged, a title inspired from one of the tracks on 1. Outside (ie: I’m Deranged), Smoczyńska’s vision will take its narrative cue from the far-out crime caper that threads its way throughout the album. Just how she will manage to tame Bowie’s spiky song cycle, however, is anyone’s guess.

Smoczyńska’s next film, which deals with a woman who loses her memory, will come first, so Bowie fans will have to wait a while yet to see how Deranged turns out. Although, after the relatively lukewarm critical reception of 2016’s Bowie musical Lazarus, which the man himself collaborated on, fans are right to be a little bit weary of this latest piece of theatrical news.

While we hope that it’s not five years before we get to see Deranged, some time spent getting Bowie just right is an effort worth making. After all, Bowie’s art for ‘the outsider’ deserves nothing less.

In the meantime, click on the Soundcloud audio clip above to hear a remix of Hallo Spaceboy from said LP, in which the Master teamed up with Pet Shop Boys to create awesome post-mod sci-fi pop.  Chris Prindiville