Author of new book David Lynch: His Work, His World and dedicated Lynch-ologist Tom Huddleston on what drives the late filmmaker’s madly passionate fans.
No filmmaker ever had a fanbase like David Lynch. The man himself may have departed this reality – snatched away in January following a lengthy bout of emphysema – but his global army of devotees continues to grow. Committed, diverse and unashamedly weird, they are dedicated to experiencing, exploring – but never explaining – his vast, surreal and entirely singular body of work, from the films and TV shows we all know – Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive – to his output as a visual artist, photographer, songwriter, musician, furniture designer, short filmmaker and public proponent of peace, love and Transcendental Meditation.
Of course, other directors have their fans, often counted in the millions. But as I observe in my new book David Lynch: His Work, His World, about the filmmaker’s life and legacy, in most cases these tend to worship the work, rather than its creator. There are countless Star Wars conventions, but thus far no festival dedicated to George Lucas himself (imagine all those nerds in check shirts and neat beards, sipping Napa Valley wine). And you could try to stage a cabaret night inspired by the work of, say, Christopher Nolan, but good luck getting anyone to come to it.
But Lynch was, in every conceivable aspect, a rather different story. With his unique speech patterns, natty dress sense and gleeful, infectious enthusiasm for every aspect of his work, Lynch was as distinctive as any of the characters who populate his films. And while those films could at times be dark, violent and abrasive, his public persona was almost the polar opposite: welcoming, generous, inquisitive and open-hearted.
That description applies to the vast majority of his fans. As the longtime Q&A host at the long-running Twin Peaks UK Festival, I got the chance to meet more Lynch fanatics than you could shake a log at, and found them uniquely passionate, creative and engaging.
Lynch fans are able to find comfort in absurdity – or at least, make peace with it
Dressed up as everything from pies, logs and cups of coffee to cops, corpses, glamour girls and demons, they’re entirely at peace with the ridiculousness of their obsession. ‘Lynch fans are able to find comfort in absurdity, or at least make peace with it,’ says Pieter Dom, who runs the US-based Welcome to Twin Peaks fan site, ‘knowing that in his world, and by extension our own, the mystery is the most beautiful part of the story. His fans are unafraid to inhabit his surreal work, creatively and wholeheartedly. They will find ways to share that experience, and celebrate it, which makes them feel deeply connected to him.’
Lynch was in thrall to the possibilities of art. He famously saying that ‘anyone who creates is a friend of mine’, a quote that his fans have taken to heart. His fanbase tends to be heavily weighted towards those who are themselves artists; not just big-time supporters like David Bowie and Stanley Kubrick, but legions of committed, self-taught painters, poets and performers. ‘Lynch often talked about “the love of doing”,’ says Danish writer, academic and lifelong fan Andreas Halskov, ‘and his obsessively personal films are matched by the obsessiveness of his fans.
A prime example is London’s infamous cabaret night The Double R Club, a regular evening of burlesque performance, music and stand-up comedy drawing on Lynch’s work. Even after 16 years, the artists at the Club – who range from seasoned circus and cabaret performers to enthusiastic newcomers – continue to find new aspects of Lynch’s oeuvre to take inspiration from. ‘Lynch’s visual and tonal aesthetic has been aped ad nauseum, but never once matched or even successfully replicated,’ says Double R compere Benjamin Louche. ‘When someone experiences that, something that’s so mysterious and affecting, they’re an instant devotee.’
One woman came as the ghost of Twin Peaks’ Josie Packard trapped in a ceiling fan
Lifelong Lynch obsessive and former director of the Twin Peaks UK Festival Lindsey Bowden agrees. ‘It blows my mind how Lynch’s work inspires his fans. I was always so amazed to see the costumes and creations that appeared at the festival. There was one woman in particular who, year after year, just raised her game – she came as the ghost of Josie Packard trapped in a drawer knob, as a ceiling fan, as electricity! Each year the team were having bets of who she’d be next.’
Following the success of the UK Festival – a weekend event in London which ran from 2010 to 2019, and was initially inspired by the even longer-running US Twin Peaks Festival in Washington State, which began all the way back in 1993 – Bowden is getting ready to stage her biggest Lynch fan event yet. Landing at the Genesis Cinema in London this September, A Gathering of the Angels will be a weekend of screenings, Q&As with Lynch collaborators including director Dexter Fletcher, who as a youngster appeared in Lynch’s The Elephant Man, costume competitions, immersive experiences, DJ sets from legendary superfans like Tim Burgess and DJ Yoda and a live performance from Lynch’s longtime muse Chrysta Bell.
But the real draw, as always, will be the fans, in all their Lynchian finery. Head to a Comic-Con or Movie Con and you’ll meet fans – eager, knowledgeable, sometimes bizarrely angry ones. Attend a Lynch celebration and you’ll meet characters, the kind of people you couldn’t find anywhere else: artists, performers, oddballs and freaks of every conceivable stripe, all coming together to dress up and show off, to debate and discuss, to immerse themselves entirely in worlds wondrous and strange.
David Lynch: His Work, His World is available from all good booksellers now. A Gathering of the Angels takes place in London between September 26-27
