Month: January 2005

Listen to me, don’t listen to me…

Sadly, time doesn’t permit that I string this out to one winner a day, so I won’t prolong the agony…here are the five winners for the David Live 5.1 listening party at Studio 3 of the legendary Abbey Road Studios on February 12th:

charly
dez
DukeBox
legal_alien
nicyooyak

Well done you lot, I’ll be in touch with all the details you’ll need on the day, shortly.

Meanwhile, could all five of you please confirm that you can still definitely attend.

Thanx once more to the uncommonly generous, and all round top bloke, Nigel Reeve, and indeed, EMI and Abbey Road for making all this possible.

Became the special man…

BowieNetter Mark Wheeller (eedsud) has sent in details about his latest production, Ziggy’s Band, which hits the Southampton stage in the UK next Thursday, February 3rd.Here’s the synopsis from his site:

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It wasn’t only the Spiders from Mars who were Ziggy’s band… thousands of teenagers around Britain in the early 1970?s were too?

Shakey Threwer is one such fan, and, as an adult, becomes David Bowie, in a TV ?70s Special? tribute show. Awaiting the announcement of the tele-vote, he reflects on his teenage years when he dreamed of being the next Ziggy Stardust.

He forms The Luminous Earwigs with friends, Billy, Buddy and Lorraine, and composes a new Rock Opera (about a monk!) as a tribute to Ziggy. His jealous rival, John, destroys the dream. Shakey and Lorraine vow to reek their revenge and find themselves assisted by the unexpected appearance of a mysterious, undersized Genie!

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Sounds like a lot of fun. Mark expanded on the synopsis with his recollection of the moment he became smitten by Ziggy, in the following piece he wrote for BowieNet…

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It wasn’t only the Spiders from Mars who were Ziggy’s band… thousands of teenagers around Britain in the early 1970?s were too? I was one of them. I?m not sure whom I worshipped more? David Bowie or Ziggy Stardust. David said he suffered an identity crisis at the time? well? I had an acute case of “role model crisis”!

I had been locked away in the vacuum of a British sixties boarding school until 1972. To illustrate the insular attitudes of our housemasters I should tell you that the TV was always turned off when adverts for bras came on. They were deemed far too saucy for us thirteen year olds!

Pop music was another no-no so I?d had literally no exposure to it? until I was “released” into the normal world and witnessed David Bowie (or was it Ziggy) appear on Top of the Pops. He was singing Starman with his arm draped around Mick Ronson for much of the chorus.

This image entered my life completely out of the blue and blew my mind! It was as if my world was somehow transformed into glorious Technicolor in one three-minute spell, even though I?d only witnessed the event itself in not-so-glorious black and white.

I was awestruck, though my parents feared this “alien” might abduct my soul. Such was the effect this “creature fair” had on me. I wanted to be the next Ziggy. I wrote rock operas. They were embarrassing and were never likely to allow me to occupy the lofty position I dreamed of.

Now some 33 years later I am a teacher and playwright with some successes behind me. I have finally decided to tackle the subject of being a Ziggy fan and subject my Youth Theatre group to playing it out for me. For most of them David Bowie was an historical figure? now he has become a part of their teenage years.

The play is a mix of fiction and fantasy and after a year in preparation we are showing what I consider to be a draft, to see what an audience thinks of it!

Further details of the play can be found on the news page of my web site where I will also post reviews any BowieNetters may want to send me? I will leave you with an extract from a review of our Youth Theatre?s last show, which, while successful, was a very different sort of play? the tragic true story of a local boy who had gone missing?

“This was teamwork one always hopes for in Youth Theatre but witness all too rarely, alas! Individual performances were first class? the direction showed the same flair, imagination and rigorous discipline as the writing.”
Paul Fowler: (Adjudicator of Missing Dan Nolan at the Woking One Act Play Festival (2003) where OYT won the Best Youth Production.)

Ziggy?s Band is a must see show for all Bowie fans!

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Thanx a lot, Mark. I’m hoping to pop down for Saturday’s performance, so please save a ticket for me. I’ll leave you all with the details you need should you wish to attend…and, of course, you should! Click on Shakey to get to Mark’s site.

Oaklands Youth Theatre Proudly Presents Ziggy?s Band
Written and Directed by Mark Wheeller – Choreography by Danny Sturrock
Thursday 3rd February – Saturday 5th February. 7.30pm.
Oaklands Theatre (Lordshill) Southampton

Tickets for Ziggy?s Band are available from:
Oaklands Community School Reception 02380 739797
£4.00 (Advance sales)
£5:50 on the day of the production

One more, weekend, of lights and evening faces…

If you’re in the Brooklyn area on Saturday evening, you would be wise to go and see the Kristeen Young show at her regular haunt, Galapagos.

For the benefit of those of you not signed up to KY’s news service, here’s the content of her latest communication regarding this and other upcoming KY stuff, including a string of London dates in March:

KRISTEEN YOUNG AT GALAPAGOS (70 N. 6th St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) THIS SATURDAY, JANUARY 29 @ 11pm

***new year! ***new material! ***same L train to Bedford Ave.!…. you know, you know, it’s a ***wintermagicwonderland!***

LONDON SHOWS throughout March:

2nd, 14th, 24th, maybe 29th and 30th at the Barfly in Camden town 10th at the Underworld in Camden town

IN GERMANY:

Look for an interview (and a song on their compilation) in the March issue of Eclipsed Magazine.

ST.LOUIS SHOWS (and other midwest cities) in May.

Hope your new year is the happiest, Kristeen

So, if you want to attend and can definitely be there, send me a PM or an e-mail with an indication of how badly you need to be present and we’ll randomly select a winner for a pair of tickets. This offer is open until noon Friday UK time.

I’m just the space cadet…he’s the commander…

On the evening of Sunday 26th January 1975, BBC1 screened Alan Yentob‘s Cracked Actor documentary which was made for the Omnibus programme. Thirty years later it’s almost impossible to calculate just how important the broadcast was to Bowie-starved fans in the UK.

Having looked forward to the broadcast with massive anticipation (hand held microphone and Philips cassette recorder at the ready) I settled in for what was to become another life-changing piece of Bowie TV.

I was 14, he was 28…Christ! He was twice my age! Funny how I seem to have caught up with him a bit now.

I’m not going to give you a blow-by-blow account of Cracked Actor, as any Bowie fan worth their salt probably knows the thing off by heart anyway. And besides, BowieNetter dukebox has already posted a fine review on the MBs which pretty well sums up how Bowie fans of a certain age feel about the documentary, myself included. Members can view dukebox’s post here.

Like much of the dialogue from The Man Who Fell To Earth (coincidentally it was Cracked Actor that inspired Nicolas Roeg to approach Bowie for the film) many fans would learn parrot-fashion almost every word David uttered. “Tissues for my eyes…”

I became the envy of fellow Bowie-fan school friends (all two of them) when I created a series of Japanese Kabuki Aladdin Sane stick masks, utilising our new vacuum-forming machine. The contraption allowed me to form transparent plastic over a life-size mold I had made of David’s head! Of course, this was inspired by first seeing David performing with the things in the documentary…and the death mask sequence at the start of it.

The list of new ideas that presented itself in the film to a fan of my age was endless. I soon started writing my own songs using the cut-up method…Though I wasn’t sure if the technique I used was how David did his. (Somebody will get that!) And I almost perfected my moonwalk from the book on mime I had borrowed from the library.

Overnight I took to wearing Fedora hats, though in retrospect, it was more likely something approximating a Fedora from a jumble sale…Anyway, I could go on for hours…But, as I say, dukebox already has. So go check out his excellent piece about this still-fascinating documentary here now.

And he looks straight through you when you ask him…

I’ve had several communications from BowieNetters who definitely can’t attend the David Live gathering at Abbey Road on February 12th, but, are still wondering if they can instead nominate another BowieNetter in their place in the event that they do win.

Instinctively I thought “Why on Earth not?”. Then I got to thinking about it properly and realised that if I were to say “Yes”, the ruling could be seen as unfair and even open to abuse.

I believe there should be just one chance to enter for each member that wants to attend. Otherwise, with a little organisation and the support of a few friends, a popular member would stand a much better chance than poor old Billy No-Mates. Sorry folx, but this really is the fairest way to do it.

On a related note, many of the e-mail entries I am receiving ask for an automatic read receipt. Perfectly reasonable request. The problem is, for some reason these auto responses just sit in my outbox and eventually freeze Outlook up. From past experience, your e-mails are getting through to me OK. I have yet to inform a worried member that their e-mail didn’t arrive, so please rest easy. I’m sorry I don’t have the time to acknowledge every entry.

On yet another related note to that, if I don’t respond to an e-mail or a PM, please don’t take it personally. You probably wouldn’t believe the amount of communications I receive every day via e-mail and PMs and bricks through my windows. Those of you that frequent the MBs would be surprised to learn just how many members never ever post, but still enter competitions and send e-mail/PMs…it’s a very large percentage.

Anyway, it would be physically impossible to respond to everything I get, but please don’t be afraid to scream a little bit louder if you really must have a response from me. (Hallo debivee…you know I love you!)

If you’re wondering what this is all about, see Saturday’s news (01.22.2005 NEWS: DAVID LIVE 5.1 LISTENING PARTY AT ABBEY ROAD) for details of how you can join in.

There, keiths, got through that without mentioning the word party once! Well, apart from the one above and the one on the left, but that don’t count as it’s reported speech…kind of. };-)

THE RUTLES 2: CAN’T BUY ME LUNCHLong-Awaited Sequel to The Rutles: All You Need is Cash Available for the First Time on Video on March 1, 2005 All-star cast including Eric Idle, David Bowie, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Jewel, Gary Shandling, Salman Rushdie, Clint Black, Billy Connolly, Bonnie Raitt, and many more! Burbank, CA (December 15, 2004) — The Rutles are coming! The Rutles are coming! Coming to DVD that is, on March 1, 2005 when Warner Home Video presents the DVD premiere of The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch. From executive producers Lorne Michaels and Eric Idle, this is the highly anticipated sequel to The Rutles: All You Need is Cash. Previously unavailable on video and only seen by fans in exclusive, limited screenings, this hysterical follow-up to Eric Idle’s1978 mockumentary about the Beatles reveals the final exploits of The Rutles as they do a reunion tour through America. Fans of The Rutles will be thrilled at the opportunity to revisit this great band’s story, including footage from historic performances, plus interviews with many artists who were inspired by the legendary band including, David Bowie, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Jewel, Gary Shandling, Salman Rushdie, Clint Black, Billy Connolly, Bonnie Raitt, and many more. The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch is packed with special features including extensive deleted scenes, a never-before-seen alternate ending, and a bonus “Easter egg.” In 1976, Eric Idle and Neil Innes, founding members of the cult comedy-rock group The Bonzo Dog Band (chosen by The Beatles to appear in their 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour), founded The Rutles, a mythical band created to parody The Beatles. The Rutles made their American debut that year with the airing of their first video, “I Must Be in Love,” on Saturday Night Live. In 1978 NBC aired the group’s first television special, All You Need is Cash, which was produced by Lorne Michaels and firmly established the group’s cult status. The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch received its world premiere in Los Angeles in 2003 at the first annual Don’t Knock the Rock Festival, and now makes its debut on DVD. Neil Innes wrote, recorded and produced all the music – witty pastiches of Beatles songs, while Eric Idle wrote and co-directed the spoof documentary. Both acted in All You Need is Cash, and now are back in this sequel with Innes cast as Ron Nasty (the John Lennon character) and Idle as Dirk McQuickly (the Paul McCartney role), along with Ricky Fataar (a top session musician and ’70s-era Beach Boy) who plays Stig O’Hara (the George Harrison character), and British drummer John Halsey, who became Barry Wom, The Rutles version of Ringo Starr. “The Beatles, Monty Python, The Rutles — all influential entertainers who have stood the test of time. The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch is a must-have DVD for not only the passionate and dedicated core fans, but also those who have only “heard” the legendary tales about the Rutles,” said Christine Martinez, WHV Vice President, Non-theatrical Franchise Marketing. DVD Special Features: · Additional interviews· Extensive deleted scenes· Never-before-seen alternate ending· Bonus “Easter egg” BASICS:$24.98 SRPStreet Date: March 1, 2005Languages: EnglishRunning time: 56 minutes

I believe in Rutles, I believe my little soul has grown…

The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch, (the long-awaited sequel to The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash) will finally get a Region 1 DVD release on March 1 through Warner Home Video.

The 56 minute film received its world premiere in Los Angeles in 2003 at the first annual Don’t Knock the Rock Festival, and has not been available for public viewing (apart from limited fan screenings) since.

BowieNet members may remember from David’s very own journal entry here on BowieNet at the time, that he recorded an interview for the film back in February 2001, and now his hilarious contribution can at last be seen by all.

Those not familiar with The Rutles and their massive contribution to music, (and, indeed, culture, The Counter Culture, fashion and silliness) can read the official press release here.

Meanwhile, here’s the technical guff:

DVD Special Features:

? Additional interviews
? Extensive deleted scenes
? Never-before-seen alternate ending
? Bonus “Easter egg”

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Today sees the release of the Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence special collector’s edition region 2 DVD, which is described as “The definitive edition of Oshima’s masterpiece”.

David received much critical acclaim for his portrayal of tormented POW Major Jack Celliers, not least of all from Stephen Dalton in The Times who said: “David Bowie gives one of his best acting performances.”

If you don’t own Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence yet, this is the DVD to get, containing, as it does, many extras as outlined below:

Release Information:
? Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
? DVD Release Date: January 24th, 2005
? Run Time: 124 minutes

Edition Details:? Region 2 encoding (Europe, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East including Egypt)
? PAL
? Catalogue Number: OPTD0065

DVD Features:? Special Feature Information:
? Interviews With Nagisa Oshima, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Jerry Thomas
? The Oshima Gang Making Of Documentary
? Theatrical Trailer
? Main Language: English

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The charming 1968 promotional film, Love You Till Tuesday, finally gets a DVD release in a couple of weeks, when it is due to be issued on Region 0 DVD through Universal on February 7th. (Though some maverick European territories have already been selling the thing! If you want it before February 7th, It’s been available in Germany and The Netherlands since December 6th and it’s just gone on sale in France.)

For those of you not familiar with the film, here’s the tracklisting:

01 Love You Till Tuesday
02 Sell Me A Coat
03 When I’m Five
04 Rubber Band
05 The Mask
06 Let Me Sleep Beside You
07 Ching-A-Ling
08 Space Oddity
09 When I Live My Dream

Apparently the whole of the Love You Till Tuesday film ha been digitally restored and remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

While it’s great to have this stuff on an official DVD, the surprise bonus is the inclusion of The Looking Glass Murders, the 1970 made-for-TV adaptation of Pierrot In Turquoise in which David plays the part of Cloud…a character who spends much of his time up the top of a step-ladder in an outrageous wig, punctuating the bizarre production with his funny little songs, all included here:

01 When I Live My Dream
02 Columbine
03 The Mirror
04 Threepenny Pierrot (Which borrows the melody of London By Ta Ta)
05 When I Live My Dream (Reprise)

This Lindsay Kemp production was originally made for Grampian TV in Scotland where it was filmed in February 1970 and eventually broadcast in July of the same year. I’ve had this DVD for a couple of weeks and it seems to me that it’s a cleaned-up version of the video tape that has circulated as a bootleg among fans for some time.

Whatever, if you’ve never seen it, you’re in for a shock. The DVD also includes a photo gallery with “extensive period photographs”…I presume that’s excluding the live shot from 1974 and the 1966 sleep-deprived mod of the cover!

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I’ll be doing a round-up of some of the DVDs that have surfaced over the last few months, with an indication of just how essential each one may or may not be.

Gather you all and listen here…

This is the one a few of you seem to be getting a bit excited about, and rightly so. On Saturday, February 12th, 2005, five BowieNetters will attend a 5.1 David Live listening party in Studio 3 of the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, England, as guests of the very generous Nigel Reeve and EMI.

I know five members doesn’t sound a lot, but due to the nature of the 5.1 listening experience the physical area in which you can enjoy the full effect of 5.1 is actually quite small. Anyway, if five was good enough for Willy Wonka, then it’s good enough for me.

If all goes to plan and things run smoothly on the day, we will also give the winners a chance to listen to Stage in 5.1.

To be in with a chance of winning your Golden Ticket, all you will have to do is be absolutely certain you can be there on the day, then e-mail me at TotalBlamBlam@davidbowie.com with a subject line of: David Live Golden Ticket

The draw will end at midnight UK time on January 30th to give the winners plenty of time to arrange their own travel. The randomly-selected winners will be announced on the morning of January 31st here on the news page.

Usual rules apply: You must either enter from your BowieNet account, or at least supply your username, the validity of which will be checked before the winners are announced. Only one entry per member account.

One final point, the subject line of David Live Golden Ticket must be used on your entry e-mail. This is because the entries are routed to one in-box from where the winners will be selected. Failure to do so could jeopardise your chances of a successful entry.

Good luck, kidz.

Last night they loved you…

No, not THAT Liz and Phil! BowieNetters LizSK2 (Liz) and iforgot (Phil) were among the numerous BowieNetters present at Gail Ann Dorsey‘s London show last night and they have recorded the event in words and pictures respectively, for those of us that couldn’t be there. (Grrrr)

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Gail Ann Dorsey at the Borderline, London ? Jan 20 2005 by Liz Tray

The last time I saw Gail Ann Dorsey was at the closing strains of Ziggy Stardust in the Amsterdam ArenA last June. So how ironic that the same song should end Gail?s first solo show in London since 1993.

Since Gail got the call from DB in 1995 and ran off to join his rock and roll circus her solo work has been put on the back burner. By then she?d made two albums, Corporate World and Rude Blue, and surely had a huge future ahead of her. While I?ve adored every bass lick and soaring note she?s played and sang with Bowie, last night?s acoustic show made me realise just how much her talent is worth. This woman is supremely gifted with a sharp eye for melodies, torch songs and exquisite ballads, and her voice? Well, even last night she was restrained, holding in its awesome power, to save blowing the roof off this tiny venue.

She started with 60s classic Alfie, such a brave choice, and I realised why the NYC Bnetters were so lucky! They get to see Gail?s solo shows every few months and what a treat they are. A packed Borderline roared its appreciation after each song. A few cheeky hecklers got the truth out of Gail about her possible involvement of the upcoming Queen tour, “No, I won?t be doing it. Paul Rodgers didn?t want me! Don?t get me started?”

She played tracks from all three solo albums; the most recent, I Used To Be, came out last year. Before last night I?d never heard one of her songs, despite my parents owning Corporate World some fifteen years ago. I am converted. Tracks like The Fool and Netherland from I Used to Be, Wasted Country from Corporate World and a stunning More Than I Can Give from Rude Blue had the crowd in her thrall.

She again confessed her teen crush on Olivia Newton-John and did a song by her, just before the strangely familiar Ziggy encore. We all sang it together as if back on the tour. I saw Gail dance with David on stage at Hammersmith in 2002. All this time I felt a tinge of jealousy. I realised last night I was jealous of him.

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Thanx folx…I’m dead envious that I couldn’t be there. I WILL get to see this woman solo one of these years!

Rumours and lies…etc., etc.

News stories circulating that BowieNetter Madonna has “managed to secure the vocal skills of DAVID BOWIE” for the animated film version of her children’s book, The English Roses, are untrue…as, indeed, Cavebat presumed on the BowieNet MBs.