Fred Armisen Pays Tribute to David Bowie With Monologue, 1979 'SNL' Clips

Fred Armisen, kicked off 2016's first episode of Saturday Night Live with a monologue and clips paying tribute to David Bowie.

Armisen, an "SNL" alum and bandleader for The Late Show With Seth Myers, returned to the show to share his story of how Bowie's SNL performance left a lasting impact on him.

"When I was in high school and living in Long Island, I stayed up to see David Bowie play on Saturday Night Live. Watching him, for me, was a life-changing experience," Armisen said. "David Bowie transformed whatever space he was in, whatever medium he was using, and that night for me, he transformed live television."

After his monologue, the show played a clip from Bowie's 1979 performance of "The Man Who Sold The World" on SNL. The show also made the full song as well as SNL performances of two other songs, "Boys Keep Swinging" and "TVC-15," available for streaming online.

Armisen also talked about Bowie's space-age backup singers and dramatic costimes and stage antics; in "TVC-15" the singers walk around around a fake pink poodle with a small screen in its mouth, all while Bowie lights up the stage in a long English work skirt.

On "Boys Keep Swinging," Bowie uses some green-screen voodoo to make it look as if he's a giant head atop a puppet. For "The Man Who Sold The World," he's dressed in what looks like a pointy tuxedo shell as the backup singers hoist him up and carry him to the microphone.

Watch all his performances below.