Month: August 2004

You came to play live in our town…

It is with much pleasure that I can tell you about the EMI reissues of both the out-of-print Bowie live albums, David Live and Stage. Both are scheduled for a February 21st 2005 release and will be available on two formats; double CD and DVDA.

Each of the albums has brand new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Tony Visconti and include extensive sleeve notes by both Tony himself and chronologies by my childhood sweetheart, Kevin Cann.

At the moment it looks like the DVDAs may also include the original mixes of the vinyl versions of the albums, but the most exciting thing about both releases for many fans will be the extra tracks and the return to the original running order of the shows.

Here’s the new track listing for both releases:

David Live

01 1984
02 Rebel Rebel
03 Moonage Daydream
04 Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise)
05 Changes
06 Suffragette City
07 Aladdin Sane
08 All The Young Dudes
09 Cracked Actor
10 Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me
11 Watch That Man
12 Knock On Wood
13 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
14 Space Oddity (previously unreleased)
15 Diamond Dogs
16 Panic In Detroit (first issue on CD)
17 Big Brother
18 Time
19 The Width Of A Circle
20 Jean Genie
21 Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

Stage

01 Warszawa
02 “Heroes”
03 What In The World
04 Be My Wife (previously unreleased)
05 Blackout
06 Sense Of Doubt
07 Speed Of Life
08 Breaking Glass
09 Beauty And The Beast
10 Fame
11 Five Years
12 Soul Love
13 Star
14 Hang On To Yourself
15 Ziggy Stardust
16 Art Decade
17 Alabama Song
18 Station To Station
19 Stay (previously unreleased)
20 TVC 15

Over the coming weeks I’ll be posting an exclusive interview with Tony Visconti regarding both albums along with some of the pictures and details from the beautiful new packaging.

We’ll also be running an exciting competition nearer the release date, where a handful of BowieNetters will get to attend an exclusive David Live listening party in 5.1 at the legendary Abbey Road studios in London.

I’m worth a million in prizes…

We launched this one last week (08.16.2004 NEWS: THE GREAT BOWIENET GIVE-AWAY IS ON) to a mixed response from you lot. While there has been a massive and encouraging response, there are quite understandably also those of you that aren’t so keen to spend your time searching for tokens.

But, as I said in the original news piece, we will still run normal contests alongside this one, and to prove the point I’ll be running one for the excellent Sony double disc reissues next week.

As I say, this is proving to be a very popular contest among many of you, and so, rather than wait until the end of the month, (as originally planned) I’ve decided to post the list of point winners below now in alphabetical order:

Totals as of 08.23.04

chas: 100 + 100 = 200
iPod: 100 + 100 = 200
kimberly: 25 + 10 + 10 + 100 + 100 = 245
LizSK2: 25 + 5 = 30
maarten: 25 + 5 = 30
mandn: 50 + 10 = 60
nemesis: 5 + 5 = 10
route66gal: 25 + 10 + 5 = 40
sandyscandy: 50 + 25 + 10 + 100 + 100 + 100 = 385
simone: 5
stardusters2003: 5
t3ddy: 5
vivian: 100 + 100 = 200
zig: 5 + 100 + 100 = 205
ZiggyStarGirl: 5

Also j_lope and ZiggyStarGirl both found a Mystery Prize token.

As you can see, sandyscandy is running away with the lead position right now, but believe me, these things can change overnight, and they have done several times so far.

There is no pattern to when I post a new lot of tokens, and, as I write this, the 1625 points found so far would have been more than enough to claim a signed item of Bowie clobber had they all been found by one person…thankfully they weren’t.

I’ll be posting information about how you can redeem your points, including the Mystery Prizes, one of these coming weekends.

Just to give those of you still frantically scouring BowieNet a little rest… There are no tokens to be claimed right now, and I won’t be posting more until Thursday.

I’ve received a few e-mails from members not sure how to PM me. It’s quite easy… From anywhere on BowieNet, click on the DISCOURSE button at the top of the page. Then click on Message Boards, click on My Home, which you’ll find in a horizontal list a little way down from the Message Boards button. Finally, click on “Send a PM” and enter totalblamblam in the Username box… the rest should be self-explanatory.

Failing that, click on the image above! Good luck.

He’s in the best selling show…

We told you about the David Bowie – A Reality Tour DVD last month, (07.27.2004 NEWS: EXCLUSIVE DUBLIN DVD COVER AND DETAILS) well, further details have now been announced via a press release which is to be distributed to the world’s press tomorrow…but you can read the whole thing in its entirety in the press release section now. (See link at top of page)

We also warned that there was no fixed release date in last month’s news piece, and indeed, David Bowie – A Reality Tour has been put back from our original estimate of late September to October 19th world-wide. Anyway, here’s the main meat of the press release for those too busy to click over to the press release section:

DAVID BOWIE will release “DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” DVD October 19 (ISO/Columbia) to commemorate his first major world tour in nearly a decade. Filmed last November 22 and 23 in front of emotionally charged audiences at the Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland, the DVD marks the influential rock legend?s first concert film in over 15 years. 30 songs spanning BOWIE?s illustrious career–including “Five Years” and “Hang On To Yourself,” which BOWIE hasn?t played live in over 20 years–are featured in a riveting state-of-the-art sound and light stage production that was conceived by BOWIE and utilizes enormous LED screens and animation. The program runs 140 minutes, and a ten-page booklet filled with amazing live photos from the event is included in the package.

Feeding off the overwhelming response from the Dublin audience, BOWIE said on the first night: “If we’re going to film a DVD anywhere, this is the place to do it. I know it, you know it and they (the film crew) know it!” “DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” is produced by Blink TV, edited by Emmy Award winner Guy Harding and the Creative Director is Marcus Viner. The DVD?s 5.1 surround sound mix was engineered by Tony Visconti, BOWIE’s long-time producer of such classic albums as THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, YOUNG AMERICANS and HEROES; Visconti also co-produced with BOWIE his most recent critically revered albums HEATHEN (2002) and REALITY (2003).

Armed with a rotating list of 60 songs, BOWIE and his band ? Gerry Leonard (band leader/guitar/vocals), Sterling Campbell (drums/vocals), Earl Slick (guitar), Gail Ann Dorsey (bass guitar/vocals), Catherine Russell (keyboards/vocals/percussion/guitar) and Mike Garson (keyboards) ? made their mark with shows constituting what many described as one of the best treks in his career. The hugely successful and critically acclaimed “A Reality Tour” began last October in Europe, visiting countries all over the world while attracting over 700,000 fans and earning the tour #1 top-grossing honors for the first half of 2004, according to Billboard Boxscore. It was also hailed as “Best Tour: #2 (after Radiohead)” in the “Critics? Picks” section in the ROLLING STONE “Music Awards 2003” poll (2/5/04).

“DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” mixes an array of classics and deep album cuts with songs from BOWIE?s most recent works, HEATHEN and REALITY, both of which critics ranked among his best works. HEATHEN entered the top 15 in 14 countries, including the U.S., while REALITY claimed the #1 position on Billboard?s Pan European chart, debuting in the Top 10 in 15 countries. BOWIE truly continues to raise the standard for ongoing adventurousness and artistry in popular music.

We’ll hopefully be able to give BowieNetters a sneak preview of some of the content of David Bowie – A Reality Tour ahead of the release.

DAVID BOWIE TO RELEASE ?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? DVD

OCTOBER 19 WORLDWIDE, MARKING FIRST LIVE CONCERT FILM IN OVER 15 YEARS

FILMED IN DUBLIN, IRELAND, NOVEMBER 22-23, 2003

“?Bowie still manages to project more charisma during one song than most modern-day stars manage in a career?The songs sound as fresh as ever?” –Maurice O?Brien, IRISH INDEPENDENT (Dublin), November 24, 2003

DAVID BOWIE will release “DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” DVD October 19 (ISO/Columbia) to commemorate his first major world tour in nearly a decade. Filmed last November 22 and 23 in front of emotionally charged audiences at the Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland, the DVD marks the influential rock legend?s first concert film in over 15 years. 30 songs spanning BOWIE?s illustrious career–including “Five Years” and “Hang On To Yourself,” which BOWIE hasn?t played live in over 20 years–are featured in a riveting state-of-the-art sound and light stage production that was conceived by BOWIE and utilizes enormous LED screens and animation. The program runs 140 minutes, and a ten-page booklet filled with amazing live photos from the event is included in the package.

Feeding off the overwhelming response from the Dublin audience, BOWIE said on the first night: “If we’re going to film a DVD anywhere, this is the place to do it. I know it, you know it and they (the film crew) know it!” “DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” is produced by Blink TV, edited by Emmy Award winner Guy Harding and the Creative Director is Marcus Viner. The DVD?s 5.1 surround sound mix was engineered by Tony Visconti, BOWIE’s long-time producer of such classic albums as THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, YOUNG AMERICANS and HEROES; Visconti also co-produced with BOWIE his most recent critically revered albums HEATHEN (2002) and REALITY (2003).

Armed with a rotating list of 60 songs, BOWIE and his band ? Gerry Leonard (band leader/guitar/vocals), Sterling Campbell (drums/vocals), Earl Slick (guitar), Gail Ann Dorsey (bass guitar/vocals), Catherine Russell (keyboards/vocals/percussion/guitar) and Mike Garson (keyboards) ? made their mark with shows constituting what many described as one of the best treks in his career. The hugely successful and critically acclaimed “A Reality Tour” began last October in Europe, visiting countries all over the world while attracting over 700,000 fans and earning the tour #1 top-grossing honors for the first half of 2004, according to Billboard Boxscore. It was also hailed as “Best Tour: #2 (after Radiohead)” in the “Critics? Picks” section in the ROLLING STONE “Music Awards 2003” poll (2/5/04).

“DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” mixes an array of classics and deep album cuts with songs from BOWIE?s most recent works, HEATHEN and REALITY, both of which critics ranked among his best works. HEATHEN entered the top 15 in 14 countries, including the U.S., while REALITY claimed the #1 position on Billboard?s Pan European chart, debuting in the Top 10 in 15 countries. BOWIE truly continues to raise the standard for ongoing adventurousness and artistry in popular music.

The complete “DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR” track listing:

01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
03 Reality
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 Sister Midnight
07 Afraid
08 All The Young Dudes
09 Be My Wife
10 The Loneliest Guy
11 The Man Who Sold The World
12 Fantastic Voyage
13 Hallo Spaceboy
14 Sunday
15 Under Pressure
16 Life On Mars?
17 Battle For Britain (The Letter)
18 Ashes To Ashes
19 The Motel
20 Loving The Alien
21 Never Get Old
22 Changes
23 I’m Afraid Of Americans
24 “Heroes”
25 Bring Me The Disco King
26 Slip Away
27 Heathen (The Rays)
28 Five Years
29 Hang On To Yourself
30 Ziggy Stardust

See the trees like silver candy…

The Steve Lippman directed Reality film, that we mentioned just the other day, (08/18/04 NEWS: REALITY DUAL DISC GETS NATION-WIDE RELEASE IN USA) has been accepted into the Woodstock Film Festival as part of Focus On Music.

We’ll announce the dates and times the film will be shown closer to the start of the festival, which runs for five days from October 13th.

Festival-goers will be pleased to learn that they can own the film the following week themselves, if they purchase aforementioned Reality DualDisc of course.

Double dealin’, rockin’, rollin’ and a reelin’…

The Reality DualDisc we first told you about last year (10.26.2003 NEWS: REALITY TOUR EDITION BONUS DISC AND US 5:1 HYBRID DISC) will now receive a nation-wide release in the US on October 26th.

You may remember the release was originally limited to Seattle and Boston only, leaving collectors outside of those two states to search for over-priced copies on eBay. This move should see those prices plummet and make the disc more affordable to those outside of North America.

Those of you that already have this DualDisc will know that it contains the full Reality album in normal stereo on the CD side and a 5.1 multichannel surround mix by Tony Visconti (which he talks about in aforementioned news item) on the DVD side. The DVD side also contains the full-length version of Steven Lippman‘s excellent Reality film, not to mention lots of other goodies as outlined in the label above.

They coolly decide to sell him down the line…

I’m sure you’ve all noticed a new addition to the BowieNet home page by now. If not, you’ve most likely worked out from the headline what this one is all about.

Well for the thoroughly modern among you North Americans that don’t already own them, you can now purchase the great majority of DB’s back catalogue tracks from the newly-launched BowieNet Digital Music Store.

Needless to say, but I will anyway, apart from the DB and Bowie-related tracks, you can also purchase tracks by pretty well anyone else you care to think of.

There is also a link from the Play Station button (see above) to the BowieNet Media Player (see below) which plays a constant stream of Bowie tunes and includes many tracks hand-picked by the man himself… So, being a chap with such a brilliant back catalogue and such impeccable taste, it’s a bloody good listen.

Though the BowieNet Digital Music Store is available to all, as I said previously, tracks are only available to purchase in North America right now. This is because music licensing is territory specific and it’s a process we don’t have any control over.

Obviously we understand that many BowieNet members are outside of the US, and while we are working with Music Now and potential European partners, we have yet to find a solution for those members.

They coolly decide to sell him down the line…

I’m sure you’ve all noticed a new addition to the BowieNet home page by now. If not, you’ve most likely worked out from the headline what this one is all about.

Well for the thoroughly modern among you North Americans that don’t already own them, you can now purchase the great majority of DB’s back catalogue tracks from the newly-launched BowieNet Digital Music Store.

Needless to say, but I will anyway, apart from the DB and Bowie-related tracks, you can also purchase tracks by pretty well anyone else you care to think of.

There is also a link from the Play Station button (see above) to the BowieNet Media Player (see below) which plays a constant stream of Bowie tunes and includes many tracks hand-picked by the man himself… So, being a chap with such a brilliant back catalogue and such impeccable taste, it’s a bloody good listen.

Though the BowieNet Digital Music Store is available to all, as I said previously, tracks are only available to purchase in North America right now. This is because music licensing is territory specific and it’s a process we don’t have any control over.

Obviously we understand that many BowieNet members are outside of the US, and while we are working with Music Now and potential European partners, we have yet to find a solution for those members.

Got to keep searching and searching…

I’m back from two weeks of chillin’ with the family (apart from a three-day glitch last weekend) and it’s time to get this ball rolling again… or some other cliché to signal more action on these pages.

With all that time on my hands, I tried to devise a fair way of distributing some of the booty in the BowieNet Vaults. I think I came up with the solution.

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the game show theory: Points Make Prizes. Well, I’ve stayed with that simple notion and I’ve devised an equally simple way of collecting those points.

Your aim is to collect points to claim stuff from the BowieNet Vaults, which are fairly bulging with all manner of goodies from small promotional bits and pieces such as cards and badges, rarer promo CDs and signed stuff, and even items of clothing worn and signed by David Bowie himself.

Over the next month I will be posting a full pictorial inventory with point values for each item.

How to collect points

Above is an example of the kind of thing you are looking for. The tokens look like the example above, but with point values of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and an occasional mystery token thrown in for good measure. You’ll be able to collect points and save up for the bigger prizes or cash ’em in straight away for some of the less valuable items.

This was about the fairest way I could think of doing this to appeal to the whole gamut of BowieNetters here on BowieNet. All you have to do is find the hidden tokens like the above example. I’ve no idea how quickly you’ll manage this, so I’ll be releasing more and more over the coming months depending on how quickly you find them.

The tokens will eventually be dotted all over BowieNet, but initially I’ve hidden them in fairly easy to find places to test your powers of detection. Eventually I’ll be popping into chat and stuff and leaving clues there and on the MBs.

This means that even if you do trawl through the news, for example, the very next day there may be more tokens added that weren’t there when you looked… so your method is up to you. You can either hope to stumble upon points, or spend a lot of time searching for them.

How to claim your points

When you find a points token, right click on it and go to properties. For example, you will notice the example above is named: 0pts_sample.gif. When you have the file name, PM me with it and the location you found it. Use the file name for the PM subject line.

So you would IM the details of the above example token something like this:

File Name: 0pts_sample.gif

Location = 08.16.2004 NEWS

Each token will be awarded to the first person who claims it, which is why I think sending me a PM is the fairest way. If for some reason you are not able to PM me, you can e-mail, but PM is more reliable generally. Of course this means that you won’t know if you were even the first to claim, but I will post a list of point holders in the news at the end of each month. I will remove each token as it is claimed, but keep looking as new ones will be added all the time.

Non members will not be able to participate and the tokens will not be posted in free areas of BowieNet.

I think that’s covered just about everything… Good luck kidz, there are some great prizes to be had here and it’s an ongoing thing with the BowieNet Vaults being replenished regularly. There will still be other regular competitions alongside The Great BowieNet Give-away.

I believe my little soul has grown…

It’s hard to believe four years have passed since you were born, Alexandria. All of us here at BowieNet wish you a wonderful fourth birthday with lots of presents and cakes and candles!

With much love to all the family for a great day.