As we approach the 40th anniversary of the film Labyrinth, I wanted to spotlight the material we hold in the David Bowie Archive relating to the film. Released in 1986, Labyrinth was directed by Jim Henson and written by Terry Jones, with executive producer George Lucas. David Bowie stars in the film as The Goblin King, Jareth.
The film follows the story of teenager Sarah, played by Jennifer Connolly, who hastily wishes that her baby brother Toby would be taken away by the goblins in her favourite book The Labyrinth. The Goblin King, Jareth (Bowie) appears and offers Sarah whatever she dreams of in exchange for the baby and then, when she refuses, gives her 13 hours to solve his labyrinth before Toby is turned into a goblin. Along her journey, she meets friends and foes, all in the form of puppets created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Her adventure through the twists and turns of Jareth’s labyrinth and the bog of eternal stench is set against a fantastic musical soundtrack written by Bowie himself. It’s a classic for a reason!
It’s no surprise that the Labyrinth project file (DBA/4/1/14) is also a fan favourite with visitors to the David Bowie Archive. Cataloguing the material was a labour of love and involved hours of arranging, research, and listening to the Labyrinth soundtrack from start to finish. Material in the archive arrived at the V&A pre-categorised into different projects to enable the cataloguing team to identify and maintain Bowie’s original structure. Labyrinth material has remained together and is now a part of the V&A’s permanent collection. The file contains a wealth of material collected by Bowie and his team during production, and I’ve highlighted a few of my favourites here:
Labyrinth Script
18 Mar 1985
1 script containing 142 pages
As fans might expect, we have a copy of the Labyrinth script – a third draft and edited version written by Terry Jones and Laura Phillips. This was David Bowie’s personal copy of the script and his annotations about dialogue, direction and character portrayal can be found throughout. A personal favourite is the annotation which reads “De Niro look” – it’s interesting to think that Robert De Niro potentially inspired Bowie’s portrayal of Jareth, and if anyone had made the connection before. Other annotations include the cue to do “a ‘god knows’ laugh!”, and to deliver the line “It couldn’t be that you’ve been helping her, could it?” with a “broad grin”.
Handwritten Lyrics
The project file also contains Bowie’s handwritten lyrics for the original songs he wrote for the film and soundtrack, which was composed by Trevor Jones. Recognisable songs such as ‘Underground’, ‘Within You’, ‘As The World Falls Down’, and ‘Magic Dance’ can be found in this file, as well as lyrics for two songs which did not feature in the final film or soundtrack – ‘All in All’ and ‘Crystal Heartbeat’. Situations like this are common throughout the David Bowie Archive – Bowie and his team often identified songs as part of the final project file even if they remained unrealised during Bowie’s lifetime. These pieces were integral to his creative process.
There are also lyrics and copies of sheet music for other tracks on the soundtrack, including ‘Within You’ and ‘Magic Dance’. As well as singing the lead vocal, Bowie voiced the baby giggles and gurgles during the recording of ‘Magic Dance’.
Jareth Character Notes
My favourite section in the Labyrinth project file is called ‘Jareth Character Notes and Costume Material’. There are notes and swatches from costume designers, outlining how they envisioned the character and how they wanted to portray him. Similarly, there are a series of pages of handwritten notes by David Bowie responding to press questions about the film, which provide thoughtful insight into Bowie’s perception of Jareth and the process of filming. For example. he notes the goblins weren’t the best lunch partners. But the stars of the show in this folder are the polaroid photos of David Bowie during a costume fitting for Jareth. Even before shooting, you can see how he embodied the character of the Goblin King from the beginning of production.
Alongside this original material, we have various copies of published material surrounding the film, including multiple editions of Labyrinth comic books and storybooks. There are also folders in the photography series taken on set and for promotional purposes. All of this material is available for you to access at V&A East Storehouse, where we encourage you to curate your own experience of the David Bowie Archive.
The catalogue for paper-based material in the David Bowie Archive includes sketches, writings, lyrics, press cuttings, books, and photographic prints. The catalogue is structured thematically, and you can find brief descriptions of the content you will find in each file. Visitors can explore the collection in person by scheduling advance appointments with the Archives team.
