Originally published on the Nacho’s Videos Facebook Page, 1 December 2025

It’s a family affair; a debriefing!

On Friday evening, my friend Bernd Pick and I produced and directed a film shoot of Carlos Alomar’s D.A.M Trilogy concert at The Barbican, in London.

The D.A.M Trilogy is a tour organised by David Bowie’s former right-hand man, rhythm guitarist, band leader and arranger, the aforementioned Carlos Alomar. The tour is tightly focussed on Bowie’s late-70’s “Berlin era” music, intending to recreate that very particular Bowie era and sound.

Alomar was one of the three black American musicians that Bowie collaborated with throughout the 1975 to 1980 period. The other two were Dennis Davis on drums, and George Murray on bass. Collectively they were Bowie’s rhythm section and most consistent musical partners during that era. Later, Alomar gave them the collective acronym, The D.A.M. Trio (Davis-Alomar-Murray).

Alomar continued to record and perform with Bowie until the mid-90’s, and he never stopped playing and performing. Shortly after his ‘75-‘80 stint with Bowie, Murray retired as a professional musician. Davis continued playing drums, until his unfortunate death in 2016.

Carlos is joined on the tour by his old band mate, George Murray on bass. Kevin Armstrong who played with Bowie in the 80’s and 90’s, joins as lead guitarist. Carlos’ daughter, Lea Lorien performs backing vocals and percussion. Lea’s husband, the highly regarded jazz player, Axel Tosca joins on keyboards. An old buddy of Carlos, the famed LA-drummer Tal Bergman brings the Dennis Davis beats back to life. Finally, the task of filling the hugest of all boots goes to young New York vocalist, Cunio.

I started corresponding with Carlos about my video work almost a decade ago. By around 2021, discussions started with him about producing a “David Bowie and The D.A.M. Trio” film; a kind of best-band-you’ve-never-heard-of documentary.

By the time I met up with Carlos at the David Bowie World Fan Convention in New York in 2023, that film idea was morphing into other things.

In discussions with Carlos the following year, there were strong indications of possible D.A.M. Trio-based live shows. That summer, Carlos and I met up again at the David Bowie World Fan Convention in Liverpool. During a D.A.M. Trio panel that Bowie Fascination head honcho, Alan Horne and I were hosting at the event, Carlos expressed his strong desire to take Bowie’s latter 70’s output on tour. This announcement produced a very positive reaction from the audience. Of course, he said, he wanted his collaborator from the era, George Murray to join him. Further, Carlos stated that he wanted me to be part of that tour.

In late 2024, The D.A.M Trilogy shows were announced.

Logistics and budgets and existing responsibilities didn’t allow for me to literally go on the road with Carlos and the band. So I made my contributions in the way I know best - I put out videos, to help promote both the D.A.M. concept and the tour.

Living in Hong Kong, so far away from Europe and the UK, and with no immediate plans to travel there, I resigned myself to only enjoying the tour vicariously.

My good friend and collaborator, filmmaker and cinematographer Bernd Pick decided to go to Berlin to document the tour rehearsals and debut live performance. He asked me to join him. But again, it just wasn’t practical for me to do so.

Bernd sent me the material he was capturing in Berlin, and utilising it I quickly put out three videos of the band rehearsing and performing.

With the final dates of the tour looming, I cross examined myself about my decision to not experience any of the shows first hand.

With less than a week to go until the Barbican show, I booked a flight to London.

The next day, I was messaging a DJ/promoter mate, Steve Proctor; telling him I was going to be at the London show. Steve asked me if I was going to be filming the event. I told him I would love to have the show filmed, and semi-jokingly, I asked him if he knew any film crews that would work for free?!

Steve took the question seriously, and said he would do everything he possibly could to make it happen for me.

First order of business for me was to tell Carlos my intention, and unsurprisingly, he was all for it. I asked the D.A.M Trilogy tour manager if he could clear a shoot for me with the Barbican.

The latter proved to be tricky. So at his first opportunity, Steve went over to the Barbican and successfully negotiated with them to allow a shoot.

I knew that the best chance to get decent material was to have Bernd Pick come over and produce a shoot with me. I pretty much begged him to join. With less than two days to go, he booked his flight.

Bernd stipulated that I should position myself as shoot director. I knew he would naturally be director of photography, and would be bringing with him a vast array of cameras and equipment.

Another person I thought of at that point, was my friend Mike’s son, Aaron Bothelo, a young filmmaker in Bristol. I started communicating with Aaron about it.

Steve had already proposed his daughter Eve to help shoot. Next, I asked my London/ HK friend Shine to also shoot for us. “The gig is at the Barbican”, I told her, “It’s David Bowie’s band!”. “What!!!! Am I too amateur to film that?”, she replied. Despite Shine’s misgivings, she agreed to join, and turned out to be invaluable, even bringing three good cameras for our use.

A couple of days before the show, I arranged with Aaron to instead shoot the Bristol gig; what would be the final show of the tour.

On Friday Afternoon, the day of the concert, everyone involved got themselves over to the Barbican as soon as they could. Whilst the road crew started to set up the bands equipment on the Barbican stage, Carlos and I watched from the stalls and made plans. And as anyways with him; talked of life the universe and everything!

Bernd and Shine set up the cameras. Between us, we chose optimum angles to place them on the stage. Not unreasonably, the Barbican impose restrictions about where and how one can film during performances. It was quite a challenge to figure out the optimum camera positions, based on those limitations. Eve set her camera up by the mixing desk, and would shoot the show from there.

Lead guitarist, Kevin Armstrong arrived and introduced his son Fox, who was up for helping us shoot.

In the end, we had five static cameras set up on stage, and four people with hand held cameras who would be stationed at various locations around the hall. I was excited that the shoot would very likely produce some pretty good material!

Around 4:00pm, Carlos and the band started their sound check, Bernd filming them throughout.

With showtime almost upon us, there was one more thing to finalise. Before leaving Hong Kong, I had prepared an HD video of David Bowie performing Warszawa on the 1978 tour. At 8:00pm, the lights went down, and screens either side of the stage lit up with the words NACHO’S VIDEOS. Then those almighty piano chords rang out and the audience fell silent as they watched David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, George Murray and others from the 1978 tour band, perform that somber masterpiece; the perfect intro to The D.A.M Trilogy’s performance.

Having Kevin’s lad Fox onboard, I was devoid of a camera myself, so I was able to oscillate between simply dancing at the mixing desk to the great music, and moving around the hall aiding Shine.

After the show, there was a great feeling among everyone involved. Packing away all the equipment meant that Bernd, Shine and I missed the after-show party. But I did get to talk with Carlos, Kevin and Cunio.

The whole thing was such an exciting experience. I was still buzzing when I got back to my room in Old Street, and that night I barely slept.

The following day, Bernd, Shine and I met up and talked about what we had been through. In the afternoon; with massive jet lag finally descending on me, I was desperately trying to hold it together in my communications with Aaron down in Bristol about his shoot that night.

The entire London trip was only three days. As I write, I’m on the flight going back home to Hong Kong.

The daunting task awaits, of processing all the tour material and deciding what to do with it.

Special mention must go to, The D.A.M Trilogy tour manager James Higham who was super helpful and patient with me pestering him; and to tour monitor mixer Ben Murray, who recorded the shows for us. Also to producer Andi Reisner, who has been producing astonishingly great mixes of the material. And to Steve Proctor, without whom the Barbican shoot would not have happened.

Review of the Barbican show:

https://www.musicistoblame.co.uk/2025/11/back-to-berlin-bowies-berlin-trilogy.html

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Photos and stills from the footage taken at the Barbican, mostly by Bernd. Some by me. Some by my wonderful sister Sally, who came to see the show and shot from her seat.