Month: January 2005

Andy, where’s my 2005 calendar?

It seems that the great majority of you have now received your signed calendars. However, there may still be a couple of those among you that are still patiently waiting. For that we are very sorry and thank you for your continued patience.

If you are one of those still waiting, could you please contact the calendar company by using this link: info@calendarmart.com

Andy is your man at CalendarMart, so if you do need to contact him please include all the obvious details of your order. If you click on the link above your e-mail will be copied to me so that I can keep an eye on things too.

Even though the signed calendar was meant to be just the one copy per member, I have received a list of names from CalendarMart of a few of you who actually managed to place duplicate orders, and, due to an error in the despatch department, these members received more than one copy.

Could those members please contact me, (if you haven’t already) so that we can arrange for the return of extra calendars, and your refund, before eBay beckons!

If you’re still waiting for unsigned calendars, the above link is good for you too.

The five competition winners should have all received their signed calendars about now too…again, if you haven’t, please let me know.

And tomorrow’s of rich surprise…

I’ve been sent details of two more Bowie birthday events that may be convenient for you to attend. First up is news of a bash in Germany, sent in by BowieNetter Bianca…

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Gudio has organised a Bowie-party in Berlin for the 8th of January in honour of David’s birthday.

First there will be the opportunity to visit the famous and legendary Hansa Studios. (See pic above) Somebody from the Studio will welcome us and guide us around. In the “Meistersaal” (The big hall by the wall), where “Heroes” was recorded, we will get coffee and cake. We will meet at the studios at 3:00 pm.

The Hansa Studios are near the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin:

Hansa Tonstudio GmbH
Köthener Str. 38
10963 Berlin

Afterwards in the evening the Bar “Neues Ufer” is the perfect location for a meetup in Berlin because of its history. In the 1970s, David and Iggy Pop lived in an apartment next to the cafe and frequented the bar. There will be a beamer to watch DVD’s, great music, and even an exhibition of some stunning Bowie paintings from a very talented German girl. We will also collect money for the Tsunami-victims in South-Asia and there will be a Bowie-auction of rare Bowie-stuff.

Cafe “Neues Ufer”
Hauptstrasse 157 (U-Station Kleistpark)
Berlin, Germany

Party time: 8:00pm – Open end

Everyone is welcome to this Bowie-birthday-meetup! Hope to see you there!

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Thanx Bianca…sounds like that will be fun. On to event number two…

I’ve been sent this one by BowieNetter Val Logan about an outfit called LUVnBLOOD, pictured above, who will be performing a 20-song salute in honour of David Bowie’s birthday in Chattanooga. Here’s the low-down:

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A LUVnBLOOD Salute to Ziggy Stardust starring the cast of the Diamond Dogs performing nearly 20 songs from 25 years of the most memorable Bowie songs ever recorded!

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
at The Local Performance Hall
231 MLK Blvd
Chattanooga, TN
423.265.2171

Show starts at 10PM – 21 & older – admission is $7 or $10 per couple

**the Diamond Dogs are**Dave Lescher, Eric & Damien (of The Unsatisfied), Seth (of Fizgig) and Scott Henson. All in full costume, bright lights, 3 keyboards, 2 guitars, bass, two singers…all in full cabaret regalia. This show is in honor of David Bowie’s birthday and the event will be recorded (video/audio) and sent to Mr. Bowie the following week. Definitely worth the price of admission.

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In an article published today, lead singer of LUVnBLOOD, Eric J. Scealf, is at pains to point out that this is no ordinary Bowie tribute, and is in fact more a performance art piece than a straight rock concert.

“I want people to know that we’re not trying to relive the era of Ziggy Stardust or any of that stuff cover bands do,” Eric explained, “I couldn’t live with myself for doing something that complacent. Anybody can do that. This show is for Bowie lovers only. I don’t think the layperson would understand.”

Time doesn’t permit me to tell you any more about LUVnBLOOD, suffice to say, I’m sure you’ll be hearing much more about them over the coming days.

STOP PRESS: This just in from the folx over at Velvet Golmine…

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VELVET GOLDMINE THE ITALIAN FAN CLUB will be celebrating Bowie’s birthday on 8th Jan at the “Macondo Cafe” Viareggio (Lucca), with Zkippy Stardust Band Live.

There will be a lottery on the night.The prize will be the personal “Zkippy’s Guitar!!”, painted by himself, with the Zkippystardust emblem on it.

Entrance is free, the lottery tickets are ?2.00 each. The collected money will go for the Tsunami-victims in South-Asia

See ya there Luv on ya…The Velvet Goldmine Crew

www.velvetgoldmine.it

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Hopefully some of you will be able to make it along to these events…let us know how it went if you do.

…a man dear Lord who looked like you…

Well it doesn’t look like DB is going to be performing on a stage anywhere near you for his birthday this coming Saturday. But, there is action from at least three Bowie tribute bands on or around the 8th, as detailed below…

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First up is Space Oddity – the tribute to David Bowie fronted by David Brighton, above, will be returning to Los Angeles for a show on the day before Mr Bowie’s birthday. Here are the details:

Friday January 7th 2005
PERSHING SQUARE
Downtown LA’s outdoor ice rink’s
Outdoor Concert Series
532 S. Olive St
Los Angeles, CA USA
8:00pm and 9:15pm Show times
(The band will be performing two sets)

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Next up, Laurence Bolwell (above) of The Bowie Experience will be sticking to his neck of the woods with a gig in Somerset in the UK on Saturday. Here’s the lowdown:

Saturday January 8th – Laurence – The Duke of York, North Street, Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset – Tel 01460 240314

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Finally, a new outfit called HunkyDory play their debut show in the UK on DB’s birthday too. Sadly, that’s not their frontman in the advert above, that’s the real thing!

Anyway, the band are confidentally billing themselves as “Europe’s Finest” and are promising to be as close to the live sound of David Bowie as it gets. Here’s a bit from their press release:

David Bowie ? a living legend perfectly recreated by HUNKYDORY – Hailsham, December 14th, 2004

HunkyDory are pleased to announce their premier Tribute show to David Bowie. On 8th January 2005, HunkyDory will play their first concert at the Hailsham Pavilion.

HunkyDory have spent the last six months studying one of the 20th Century’s finest and most original musicians, David Bowie. We have created a fitting tribute to his most innovative phase, 1973 to 1983, as he managed to recreate himself five times to huge critical acclaim.

We have captured the sheer enigma, note for note that saw Bowie move from his Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane personas through to worldwide success, captivating audiences everywhere. Our show of over 26 songs will transport you through the heady days of Glam Rock, the Thin White Duke Philadelphia sound, the cool, stylish pop of Ashes to Ashes and on to the massive success of Let?s Dance, China Girl and Modern Love.

No expense has been spared to capture the authenticity of this most important genre of British Music. It?s about the closest it gets to the real thing.

HunkyDory
The Hailsham Pavilion
Saturday 8th January 2005
Doors open 7.30pm, show begins 8.30pm
Licensed Bar.
All tickets £12 (Credit Card Hotline: 01323 841414)
Hailsham Pavilion, George St, Hailsham, BN27 1AE

Good luck for your first ever gig, boys. Let’s hope you live up to your press release and we hear a lot more of you in the future.

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If any of you reading this do attend any of these shows, please let us know what you thought.

You can find out more about these and other forthcoming gigs by visiting each of the bands’ websites: Space Oddity – The Bowie Experience – HunkyDory

If you’re in a Bowie tribute band and want a plug on BowieNet (or you know of somebody who would like one) drop me a line at TotalBlamBlam@davidbowie.com and we’ll do our best to give you a mention.

Reality’s on sale again…

Despite having now had a nationwide release in the USA, it seems from recent e-mails and PMs I’ve received that a few of you have had no joy in tracking down the Reality DualDisc that has had a fair few mentions on these pages. (10.26.2003 NEWS: REALITY TOUR EDITION BONUS DISC AND US 5:1 HYBRID DISC – 08/18/04 NEWS: REALITY DUAL DISC GETS NATION-WIDE RELEASE IN USA – 08/21/04 NEWS: REALITY FILM AT 2004 WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL – 11/02/04 NEWS: REALITY DUAL DISC OUT NOW ACROSS THE USA)

Those of you that haven’t managed to get hold of a copy yet will be pleased to learn that the disc will be made available again from January 28th, as part of a wave of DualDisc releases from Sony.

I don’t normally plug particular outlets, but as this release seems to have been harder than usual to track down, you may find this link to pre-order at CD Universe useful. See aforementioned news stories for content details.

All the young dudes, carry the news…

As if to reinforce the taste of the Great British public, (as outlined in the story above) the newly published annual X-List of the all-time best 104 songs also includes Life On Mars? and “Heroes”.

This chart is voted for by listeners of Xfm radio, who traditionally are made up of younger student types with a generally jolly good taste in music.

This is reflected in the fact that Nirvana’s version of The Man Who Sold The World is up this year from #91 to #20! Life On Mars? is a new entry at #30 (though I believe it has been as high as #3 in the chart in the past) and “Heroes” is up from #62 to #27.

David Bowie is the only artist of his generation to be included in the Top 30, excepting The Beatles who only have one song in there…and then that’s only because every UK Top 30 of all-time-bests has to include a Beatles’ tune due to a government edict, probably.

Congratulations to David Bowie for proving yet again just how timeless his music is, and how it still appeals to generation after generation.

Click on the image above to view the complete list.

We can be Heroes, forever and ever…

To mark the forthcoming 25th ceremony of the BRIT Awards, BRITs 25 with MasterCard, the UK record companies’ trade association, the BPI and BBC Radio 2 have launched a search to find the public’s favourite British song released since the BRITs began in 1977.

A shortlist of twenty five song titles has been posted on both the BRITs 25 site and the BBC Radio2 site, and the song David Bowie is represented by is the 1977 classic, “Heroes”. The shortlist of 25 songs, has been nominated by a special panel made up of members of the music industry and media. All the singles must have been performed by a British act since 1977.

The top five will then be announced at the BRIT Awards Nomination Launch on 10 January 2005 at the Park Lane Hotel in London. To decide upon the BRITs 25 – best song, listeners to Radio 2’s Ken Bruce show will be able to hear the top five between Monday 17 January and Friday 21 January (9.30am-12.00 midday). The voting will open via web, text and telephone from 21 January to 30 January.

BowieNetters can help get “Heroes” in to that top five by voting online now. Click on the image above to get the BRITs 25 voting page. You have to register before you can take part in the vote, but it’s quick and easy and would be a great little birthday present for David if we managed to make our collective BowieNet holler heard.

Also on the Radio 2 site is the Sold On Song Top 100 songs of all time, in which you can find three of David’s better-known tunes in, Space Oddity, Life On Mars? and aforementioned “Heroes”.

Speaking of three Bowie tunes being voted into a chart of all-time greats…read on!

Coming Tuesday I feel better…

The angel-voiced Queen of Bass, commonly known as Ms Gail Ann Dorsey, is set for another of those special evenings that leave everybody I know more than impressed every time they’re lucky enough to witness one.

I’m going to have to wait a little longer it seems…but, only until the 20th when she will be playing London, England. More of which in a second.

Meanwhile, for those of you in NYC on Tuesday, you may find the following information useful…

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THE CHANTEUSE CLUB: MAGGIE MOORE, GAIL ANN DORSEY, AND KATE PIERSON (OF THE B-52’S)

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 7:30 PM $20

Tickets available at The Public Theater box office or through Telecharge: www.telecharge.com or 212.239.6200. Located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC

The Chanteuse Club returns with an acoustic evening of solo performances. Ringleader Maggie Moore, of the hit Off-Broadway musicals People are Wrong and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, is joined by Kate Pierson of the world famous pop group the B-52s, and Gail Ann Dorsey, bassist and vocalist for David Bowie, to create a rare, intimate acoustic evening of music separately and together, accompanied by Rob Arthur on piano.

Join the Chanteuses for what promises to be an unforgettable evening of songs performed by three very different artists, who each take their turn bringing you some of their favorite covers and originals.

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And, for those of you in London on January 20th, you may find the following useful…

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GAIL ANN DORSEY ? SOLO PERFORMANCE AT THE BORDERLINE, LONDON

Thursday, January 20th 2005 7:00 PM £8.00 – The Borderline, Manette Street, London W1 UK

On the heals of her outstanding solo appearance in London last November opening for Ani DiFranco at The Barbican Theatre, see Bowie-bassist, Gail Ann Dorsey, performing a solo acoustic set headlining the Thursday night installment of the week long Singer-Songwriter Festival at The Borderline in Central London. Has the promise of being an unforgettable evening. Emily McGuire is the opening act.

For tickets call Ticket Master UK on 0870.154.4040, or Internationally dial 00.44.161.385.3500. You can also purchase tickets through the Astoria Box Office, London on 020.7434.9592. 1st4concerttickets.co.uk offers Internet ticket purchase.

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The very stylish official Gail Ann Dorsey site has also been updated with lots of fantastic new pictures from across the years, and some great additions to the journal section which really are worth taking a few minutes out to read.

Find out what side of the fence GAD was on regarding David’s recently-removed face furniture, and indeed what she thinks of me! I’m saying no more on the subject, suffice to say I am hugely flattered and more than a little embarrassed by her kind words.

However, lest I suffer any delusions of grandeur, my daughter Holly helped keep my feet firmly on the floor, after reading what Gail had to say, then shrieking with laughter and enquiring: “Has she actually met you?” Kids of today, eh? No respect.

Leave ’em a note saying “Happy New Year”…

What better way to celebrate the new year than to take a look back at the old one?

2004 was filled with what were mainly highs, thankfully…we won’t dwell on what was the solitary low of 2004 for Bowie fans, friends and family, alike…suffice to say it was wonderful to see David looking so fit again in recent pictures.

The most obvious high of the year was the incredible success of David Bowie’s A Reality Tour that started back in 2003 and ended prematurely in Europe in the summer of 2004. A tour that is still receiving recognition for its brilliance in end-of-year round-ups.

Anyway, thanx to the hard work of BowieNetter Susans, you can have a leisurely look back over the past twelve months by clicking on the image above and visiting the BowieNet news archive.

A happy and peaceful 2005 to all, from everybody here at BowieNet.

Still he explores and rakes the Absinthe green oceans…

OK, here’s the randomly-chosen quintet of winners from the final part of our five-day competition for copies of the The Life Aquatic CD soundtrack.

051060
dukis
MarcBolan
Matt
pekkis

If you winning types could please supply your full names and addresses, (if you’ve not already done so) we’ll have your CDs with you pronto.

Here are the answers for those of you that need to see them:

01 Wish I were a sailor, Crossing an azure sea… Run (Not Miracle Goodnight…Well, half right)
02 Bending sound, dredging the ocean… Station To Station
03 Be nice to the big blue sea… Love You Till Tuesday
04 Gonna make like a shark to be free… Take My Tip
05 Hey, bring me more fish… Amsterdam
06 Somewhere there’s an ocean… Move On
07 There’s a Sailor who sings, Of the dreams that he brings, From the wide open sea… Amsterdam
08 Looking For Water… Looking For Water (Tough one that)

And today’s lyric quote comes from…Oh, you know where it comes from!

Finally, thanx very much to Hollywood Records for making all this possible.

…give love, give love, give love, give love…

BowieNetter Solari has posted on the MBs regarding a trip to Indonesia that they are undertaking tomorrow. (Sunday) Here’s the message verbatim, as I couldn’t have said it better:

On my way to Indonesia to aid in this catastrophe.

I’ll be leaving the States on Sunday to join the efforts of Mercy Corps in helping the victims of the killer tsunami that left thousands dead and numerous children orphans.

Please visit MercyCorps.org to contribute in aiding this sadly devasted region.

No matter what your politics, this is truly a time for people of good will to come to the aid of these people…

Happy New Year to those most fortunate… Solari

I know those of you that want to contribute something towards helping the victims of this most terrible tragedy have most likely already done so. But, if you have been looking for an aid agency to donate through, it seems Mercy Corps is as worthy as any other.

It is a brave and generous thing you are doing, Solari, and I’m sure everybody reading this will want to join me in wishing you a good journey and a safe return home.