On June 23, 1986, four days before the film opened in US cinemas, the soundtrack to Muppets creator Jim Henson's dark fantasy Labyrinth was shared with the world. The album featured an excellent synth-heavy score by South African composer Trevor Jones, who had collaborated with Henson and conceptual designer Brian Froud on 1982's Dark Crystal, but the USP for rock music fans was that it also featured five new original songs by David Bowie, who had been cast in the key role of Jareth, the film's enigmatic, puckish king of the goblins, whose minions had 'borrowed' a human baby from the fictional Williams family.
Bowie, by this point in his career, had already proven that he was a versatile and accomplished actor, having demonstrated his range on the 'silver screen' with starring roles in sci-fi drama The Man Who Fell To Earth and in World War II drama Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, in addition to performing as Joseph Merrick in an acclaimed stage production of The Elephant Man on Broadway. Working with Henson offered the creatively restless star another opportunity for reinvention.
