Synopsis

David Bowie performs "Be My Wife" alone in a stark white studio, dressed in pale, old-fashioned clothing and carrying a red electric guitar. He sings directly toward the camera with an awkward mixture of resignation, irritation, and pleading, occasionally miming the guitar part with deliberate lack of enthusiasm. The deliberately bare presentation turns the song's request for companionship into something more uneasy than romantic, emphasizing loneliness, emotional distance, and the absurdity of making an intimate appeal as a public performance.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in Paris in June 1977 and was Bowie's first official music video since "Life on Mars?" in 1973.

• "Be My Wife" was released as the second and final single from the album "Low" in the United Kingdom on June 17, 1977. Despite having a promotional film, the single did not chart.

• The white studio setting and direct-to-camera performance recall the visual approach of "Life on Mars?", although the mood here is considerably more subdued and uncomfortable.

• Bowie uses a red Fender Stratocaster as a prop, only half-heartedly miming the guitar part. This adds to the video's intentionally detached, almost deadpan humor.

• Bowie's makeup, facial expressions, and physical mannerisms were reportedly influenced by silent-film comedian Buster Keaton. He returned to a similar Keaton-inspired appearance in the 1993 video for "Miracle Goodnight."

• The video's visual simplicity places the focus almost entirely on Bowie's face and body language. His expression contrasts sharply with the directness of the chorus, making the marriage proposal feel desperate and emotionally unresolved rather than conventionally romantic.

• The clip was difficult to see on British television in 1977, limiting its ability to support the single's release.