bowiedownunder.com The David Bowie
Community of Australia and New
Zealand
Glenis
Daly
Aucklander Glenis
Daly had the experience of
working with David Bowie
across two major projects - a
film and a major rock tour.
Early
On
In
the early 70s, Glenis
qualified as a hairdresser
and in 1975, she
joined South
Pacific Television
where she trained as a
make up artist.
Whilst freelancing,
Glenis worked with Larry
Parr who became
the NZ producer for Merry
Christmas Mr
Lawrence.
In early 1982, she
gained the opportunity
to work on the film.
Merry
Christmas Mr
Lawrence (1982)
At first, Glenis was a
bit reluctant to take on
the new job.
The film's main location
(the South Pacific
islands of Rarotonga)
was not exactly local -
and Glenis had children
at school that she
needed to organise.
Cast and
crew of Merry
Christmas Mr Lawrence.
Picture supplied by
Triona Daly
"It was an
exciting 6 weeks of filming in
Rarotonga. This was where I
first met David. The actors
and crew all socialised
together with plenty of beach
time."
In total, Merry Christmas Mr
Lawrence required Glenis
for a total of about 10-12
weeks.
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
"After final
filming in Auckland, David
asked if I would like to work
with him again in the future,
to which I said yes of course
- expecting never to hear from
him again"......
Serious
Moonlight Tour
(1983)
....."to my
surprise David called from
Switzerland at 3am December
20th 1982. He asked if I would
work with him on his up
coming world tour. I was absolutely
thrilled to accept the
offer. I had a lot to
organise at home now being a
single Mum with two
daughters, living on a
lifestyle block with six
horses, sheep, pets and an
orchard all to be taken care
of while I was away."
Glenis soon headed on to New
York where she met the concert
production company and the
designer of the Metropolitan
Opera who designed Bowie’s
outfits.
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
"It was
very much a gentleman look
for him. He had two piece
suits, cravats, ties. I
think he had 7 or 8
different suits of various
colours – mainly pastel
colours.
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
On Tour
After joining David
in Cannes for the premiere of
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, the
tour kicked off from Brussels.
"What a fantastic journey".
On tour, Glenis had an assistant
who took care of the band.
This allowed her to exclusively
take care of David - hair, make
up and wardrobe.
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
"I’d always be side
stage for every concert with a
towel and drinks. Often he’d
change a different outfit at
half time. I think we only lost one
jacket on tour which was
pretty good."
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
"It was a
truly extraordinary time, one
I will never forget. David was amazing to
work with - considerate, great
sense of humour, appreciative
and a lot of fun. Everyone
loved him".
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
"I think
the world never really saw
David the comedian because he
really did like to ham it up
and have fun".
David Bowie
and Glenis Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
"There were 96
Serious Moonlight Concerts in
Europe, USA, Canada, Japan,
Australia, New Zealand, the
last three concerts were
Bungle In The Jungle with a
reduced crew in Singapore,
Bangkok and Hong Kong. The largest show was at
Western Springs, Auckland (my
home town) with numbers being
recorded at somewhere between
85,000 and 90,000 people."
The Daly
Family in America
"The
largest festival was more than
300,000 attendees to the Us
Festival in the San Bernardino
Valley, California. We traveled around
Europe and USA in David's
chartered Boeing 707. My daughters, Triona and
Nadine joined us in Texas, at
David's invitation for a month
as we traveled through several
other States on tour."
David Bowie
with Nadine Daly and
Triona Daly. Picture
supplied by Triona Daly
Glenis'
daughter Triona - a member of
Bowie Downunder - recalls:
"My sister and I were
incredibly lucky to travel
through the USA on tour. I was 13 at the
time. We had no idea who
he was before we got there. We
grew up out of the city. David took us personally
with Joe his son to see
Lincoln memorial and the
Smithsonian Institute. David
also hired out the Hershey’s
Chocolate Theme Park for all
the band and crew and us kids.
It was totally
incredible"
Framed
tickets of every
concert. Sent by David’s
production company in
New York to Glenis.
Photo provided by Triona
Daly.
Beyond
Bowie
Over the years,
Glenis has worked freelance
throughout New Zealand with
international and local
production companies. As for
other favourite moments.
"A highlight was working on
the Billy T James Series for
the duration of the
production." "Another memorable job
was working with David
Hasselhoff on his music video
which was produced here in
Auckland"
Keeping in Touch
BDU asked Glenis
if she'd kept in touch with
people from the tour:
"I caught up with
renowned rock photographer
Denis O’Regan at his
gallery in London a few
years ago and met with
legendary base guitarist
Carmine Rojas when he was
in Auckland for the Bowie
Alumni Concert May 2019,
which was a fantastic
show. I also see Gee Ling
who starred in China Girl
from time to time here in
Auckland."
Glenis Daly.
Picture supplied by
Triona Daly
Finally, a
huge thank you to Glenis and
Triona for their amazing Bowie
story. I was also able to ask
Glenis about her favourite
Bowie music:
"My all time favourite
songs are 'Modern Love',
'Let's Dance' and 'China
Girl'."