Bowie Experience – Floral Pavilion

With a thirty-song, two-and-a-half hour set with a tight band and charismatic performers, Bowie Experience is a real triumph.

The tone is set immediately, as the Bowie impersonator asserts that we, the audience, can take photos, sing along, even get up and dance. This breaking of regular expectations works excellently to get the audience even more excited for what’s to come. While it takes us the first half to get confident enough to rise to our feet, by the second half most of the audience are on their feet and swaying along in pure nostalgic glee.

The show opens with Space Oddity, and while you can tell lead singer Oliver Slee is a natural Bowie, it takes him a minute to really ease into that Bowie-charisma. The negative space onstage ate him up a bit for the first few tunes, until the ensemble really hit their stride by song 4, which happened to be Slee’s first costume change (of many!). As the first strums of Ziggy Startdust begin to play, the band start to hit their stride, as Slee emanates Bowie’s playfulness through an elevated energy.

The show consists mostly of hits (again, there are so many!) but I appreciated that they played a couple of lesser-known Aladdin Sane-era content – obviously a favourite of the band. In these moments, the band kindly give us some background info on the songs – such as the New York Dolls-inspired Watch That Man – which fills in anyone in the audience who might not know the number.

Each time Slee re-enters side-stage with a new costume I’m blown away by his similarity to the Thin White Duke once more. It keeps the show fresh and exciting, as we wonder what era he’ll be reincarnated as in the wings. While Slee is offstage, we are more than entertained by the rest of the band, who play plentiful instrumentals and look like they’re having a great time doing it. Highlights include Sarah Bowter’s sax on Modern Love and the double-act guitarists on Boys Keep Swinging.

The length of the show, coupled with the high production value and great sound engineering, make this show great value and a must-see for Bowie fans. I would also highly encourage the Bowie-curious out there to book a ticket – it’s incredible how much of the Starman’s genius is tucked away in the back of our minds, ready to be rediscovered with the help of this talented ensemble.

The show continues its run all around the UK. You can find out more here: https://bowie.showplanr.com/tickets

Reviewer: Anna Ní Dhúill

Reviewed: 26th September 2024

North West End UK Rating: