The video turned out to be taken from an EP of the same title, which has also been released today. The No Plan EP is a collection of the iconic singer’s final recordings, made for his musical, Lazarus, either during or just after the making of his final album, Blackstar.
This is the third and final birthday gift that Bowie has delivered on January 8, beginning with his surprise return from retirement with the video for ‘Where Are We Now’ in 2013, and continuing with the release of Blackstar last year. Two days later, on January 10, it was announced that David Bowie had passed away from a secret battle with cancer, that had been ongoing during the recording process.
The ‘No Plan’ video is itself a tribute to star, opening with a shot of a shop front housing several flickering television screens, a reference to the 1972 film The Man Who Fell to Earth. The name of the store, Newton Electrical, is a nod to Bowie’s character in that film, Thomas Newton, while the street name, Foxgrove Road, is an allusion to where the young Bowie lived just before the release of ‘Space Oddity’, in Beckenham, London, 1969.
The video, directed by Tom Hingston, culminates in a space ship soaring off into the universe, presumably taking the Starman home, before the TV screens dip to black.
The No Plan EP by David Bowie is out now via Columbia Records/Sony Music Entertainment.
