Month: June 2004

Locator for the Virgin King…

We told you about this one a couple of weeks back, (06.16.2004 REMINDER: DB ON JOHNNIE WALKER SHOW TONIGHT) and we gave you a false alarm at the weekend, but you’ve probably forgotten so here it is again. David was interviewed by Virgin Radio’s Ben Jones recently and the fruits of his probing will be broadcast on his Virgin Superstars show between 6:00pm and 7:00pm UK time on Sunday evening.

We were originally told the show would be broadcast last week, but it didn’t happen. However, Ben’s producer assures me that it will happen this Sunday after teaser snippets were played on Tuesday.

You can listen live by clicking on the image above and choosing the first of the four listen now buttons under the LISTEN TO US bit.

It is with much regret that we have to announce another cancellation due to David’s continued condition. The situation is reviewed daily and David’s doctor has decided that the performance at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on Friday can not now go ahead.

We are obviously very sorry for any hardship caused to those of you that had already arranged travel, etc., and while we understand your disappointment, it’s clear from your sympathetic messages that you do understand it would be self-defeating for David to perform again before he is 100% fit.

We are also sorry to have to report that, being a festival show, refunds for this cancellation will not be available.

We will continue to give you news of any further developments as we get them.

Due to the continuing pain and extreme discomfort from a trapped/pinched nerve in his shoulder and to prevent possible further injury, David Bowie has been advised by his doctors to cancel his performances at the eleven remaining European dates throughout July.

Due to the unpredictable nature of the condition and in an effort to give fans as much warning as possible, (and indeed, to aid promoters in finding a replacement headliner in time for the festival dates) David very reluctantly agreed to take the advice.

David, and everybody involved with the tour, is very sorry for the hardship that this difficult decision may have caused. We realise that many of you will have lost money on non-refundable travel and festival tickets.

But, anybody that knows David will understand that he doesn’t take these decisions lightly and I’m sure you all realise how bad he will be feeling about not being able to complete the tour.

As I have said previously, thank you all for your kind words on the message boards and for your continued understanding that had there been an alternative to this course of action, it would have been taken.

I guess there’s always some change in the weather…

Sorry for the late posting of this report, but I’ve been hoping to find at least a couple of shots from this show somewhere online to use with the setlist, but alas, it’s not to be. Instead I have used a few more shots from Amsterdam that I didn’t use the first time around.

Well, it seems the trapped nerve that plagued David in Prague appeared to be defeated for Friday’s Hurricane Festival appearance in Scheeßel, Germany. Of course, we now know that it wasn’t. But, if David was suffering on the day at all, he certainly didn’t show it, indeed both Susans and Nemesis report that he was perhaps even more chatty and jovial than ever.

The festival name was apparently appropriate as the weather was grim once again. David was forced to don another hooded top, this time charcoal grey as opposed to canary yellow. Anyway, you can view the setlist after the short visual diversion below.

Here’s the officially-confirmed 21-song setlist courtesy of HNB:

Scheeßel June 25th 2004

01 Rebel Rebel
02 Fame
03 Battle For Britain (The Letter)
04 Sister Midnight
05 New Killer Star
06 Cactus
07 All The Young Dudes
08 China Girl
09 Modern Love
10 Station To Station
11 The Man Who Sold The World
12 Changes
13 The Loneliest Guy
14 Under Pressure
15 Ashes To Ashes
16 Quicksand
17 I’m Afraid Of Americans
18 “Heroes”

(Encore)
19 Life On Mars?
20 Suffragette City
21 Ziggy Stardust

Due to continued discomfort caused by a trapped nerve in his shoulder and under ongoing doctor’s orders, David Bowie will not now be performing in Vienna and Salzburg this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. Refunds will be available from the point of purchase.

Thank you all for your messages of support on the BowieNet message boards and for understanding the importance of David’s complete recovery before he returns to the concert stage.

As we promised yesterday, we will let you have news of any further developments as we get them.

We are sad to report that under doctor’s orders David Bowie will not be performing at tonight’s Southside Festival in Germany. This is due to the same complaint, a trapped nerve, that resulted in the early finish of Wednesday’s Prague show.

The condition is causing David severe discomfort, and while we are sorry for any inconvenience this decision may have caused any of you, I’m sure you will want to join us in wishing him the speediest of recoveries.

We will let you have news of any further developments as we get them.

You saw him singin’ in the NME…

We told you about this one a couple of weeks back, (06.16.2004 REMINDER: DB ON JOHNNIE WALKER SHOW TONIGHT) but you’ve probably forgotten so here it is again. David was interviewed by Virgin Radio’s Ben Jones recently and the fruits of his probing will be broadcast on his Virgin Superstars show between 6:00pm and 7:00pm UK time this evening.

At least I hope it will. Can’t find anything online that actually mentions that our Mr Jones is on Virgin’s Mr Jones’s show this evening, but that’s what we were originally told… so there’s no reason for it not to be. Fingers crossed!

You can listen live by clicking on the image above and choosing the first of the four listen now buttons under the LISTEN TO US bit.

You saw him singin’ in the NME…

This week’s edition of NME has a full-page review of the IOW illustrated with the picture above and the really rather funny caption: The Thin Wight Duke: “I’ll tell you what. The moths on this island are as big as bastards!”

The review by Marc Hayward concludes with this:

As the baying football fans mourning England’s dismal defeat at the hands of the French threaten to revolt and storm hospitality, one main stands alone. Imagine walking out onto the pitch at Old Trafford and trying to sing and dance after Man United have lost ten-nil to Crewe.

Now imagine you’re David Bowie. Zinedine who? It’s ‘Rebel Rebel’ and ‘All The Young Dudes’! What do you mean Stereophonics played the other night? He’s doing ‘Ashes To Ashes’! Now it’s ‘Heroes’! Football, what football? Euro what? ‘Ziggy Stardust’! Who lost? Who Cares? It’s BOWIE! Fucking DAVID BOWIE!

As if the generally held view that Bowie stole the weekend needed to be confirmed with a second opinion, the piece ended with the usual punter gig report that went like this:

Gig Report: Claire Brown, 22. From Reading. High Point: “The whole of Bowie’s set!” Best song: “‘Heroes’ was incredible!”

Tell us something we don’t know, Claire! };-) There’s another online review of the festival on the NME site, which can be reached by clicking on the image above.

If there’s nothing to hide me…

In the spirit of Lobby Lud, (look him up on the world wide web) I will be giving away a very scarce and highly-collectable promo RNGO badge free to those of you that challenge me at forthcoming European shows with the line: “You are Total Blam Blam and I claim my Rebel Never Gets Old promo badge.”

I don’t have a silhouette to provide you with clues to my identity, but I’m a fat bloke in black with a goatee beard and a camera.

Just one important rule: You must not challenge me while I’m taking pictures at the front of the stage, or indulge in any other potentially distracting behaviour to get my attention during David’s set, or indeed during any of the other acts…in-between acts is fine.

Offer ends when all of the badges have gone.

We could be heroes, just for Sunday…

Tomorrow’s Sunday Herald in Scotland will be carrying a few Bowie-related pieces which are already online. First up is a piece entitled “Star Fan”, written by the rather delicate BBC 6 music presenter, Marc ‘cry baby’ Riley. The soft boy from Sale talks about his various encounters with David Bowie, including this:

I met the man (whom as a kid I was sure I would never meet) for the umpteenth time a couple of weeks ago, to talk to him about the forthcoming Bowieday on 6 Music. Casually dressed in T-shirt and jeans, Bowie was his usual self: playful, charming, engaging and occasionally perplexing. When he tells you a fantastic tale it could quite easily be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth ? or it could be one of his stream-of-consciousness flights of fancy! If you attempt to steer him in a direction he doesn?t want to follow, he?ll lead you a merry dance and eventually come to rest in a place a million miles away from where you wanted to be ? and that?s what makes Bowie such an interesting and compulsive character, even after a career lasting some 40 years.

You can read the whole thing here. Marc Riley?s Rocket Science is on 6 Music on Saturdays between 2pm and 5pm. The 6 Music BowieDay takes place on July 10… the same day that DB plays the main stage at T in the Park.

Elsewhere there is an excellent piece entitled “We could do heroes” – Explained thus: “He?s one of the most influential artists of all time ? so what David Bowie tracks would bands at T in the Park like to cover?” The article goes on to list contributions from ten musicians playing at the popular Scottish festival, including this from Paul Thompson of Franz Ferdinand:

We got an e-mail from [Bowie producer] Tony Visconti recently, saying he and David had been listening to our album loads, and that they were real fans, which was pretty surreal; they asked if we wanted to meet up, so maybe we?ll see him at T in the Park.

Some of us used to play in The Yummy Fur, and we did this awful version of Always Crashing In The Same Car, so maybe we could have another stab at that. Either that or Be My Wife ? those big piano chords in the chorus are great. Basically, anything from the first side of Low.

I have a copy of that Yummy Fur version of Always Crashing In The Same Car… It has a nice cover. You can read all ten contributions here.

Finally, the paper has an interview with “Terry Wogan?s favourite balladeer”, hugely successful new girl, Katie Melua. Here’s the relevant excerpt:

Beneath it all, Melua is simply a massive music fan. She talks at length about her live band as well as the music she listens to ? everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Led Zeppelin. And when I ask who she?s looking forward to seeing at T in the Park, she exposes the giggling teenage music fan within.

?I?m such a big David Bowie fan,? she says. ?I?m hoping to meet him, but I?ll just be so completely excited about it I?ll not know what to say. I?ll be a complete nervous blabbering wreck.?

There ya go… you can read the whole of Katie’s interview here, if that’s your bag… and why shouldn’t it be?