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Leather, leather everywhere…
The signed leather jacket from The Hunger TV show that David Bowie contributed to support the completion of the recording studio at
See our previous news stories for more information about this and IMA and keep an eye on their auction page for more great items.(04.04.2008 NEWS: BOWIE DONATES HUNGER JACKET TO IMA EBAY AUCTION + 04.08.2008 NEWS: SIGNED BOWIE HUNGER JACKET BIDDING AT $1,324.00 USD)
Let’s dance, to the song they’re playin’ on the radio…
David Bowie’s astonishingly successful world-wide #1 album, Let’s Dance, was released through EMI on Friday April 14 1983, twenty five years ago today, which was almost ten years to the day since the release of 1973’s Aladdin Sane. (04.13.2008 NEWS: ALADDIN SANE IS THIRTY FIVE TODAY)
Let’s Dance was almost as shocking in it’s departure from what had gone before as any of the previous Bowie albums, except this time the whole planet wanted a piece of the action.
While this release divided fans that had been with Bowie for more than ten years already, it attracted a far larger audience than that which had enjoyed his music in the preceding years.
Let’s Dance also spawned three huge hit singles in Let’s Dance (#1 on both sides of the Atlantic), China Girl and Modern Love. Without You was the fourth single in some territories, but it didn’t enjoy the kind of sales of the previous three hits.
Such was the success of the album and attendant world tour, The Serious Moonlight Tour, that Bowie ended up as the cover feature for Time magazine in July 1983.
You can read the whole feature on the TIME website by clicking on the image above where you can also buy a print of the cover.
With the success of Let’s Dance, David Bowie ultimately created a monster every bit as big as Ziggy Stardust and its chains were just as hard to throw off.
Here’s David in an interview for GQ, in January 1997: “The three or four years that followed ‘Let’s Dance’ were for me particularly tough about re-evaluating what I wanted. I thought, ‘Who are these people? They kind of look like a Phil Collins audience.’ Suddenly, I had all these people for whom the songs on the radio–‘China Girl’, ‘Modern Love’ and ‘Let’s Dance’–had become my oeuvre. That was all they knew of me, and it was MOR [middle of the road] enough that it encouraged this enormous audience. And I started thinking, What kind of music would they like? I was bastardising who and what I am and didn’t know how to break out of it.”
Well, break out of it he did, and the cavalry came in the shape of Tin Machine, but that’s a whole other story.
All you’ve got to do is win…
Rather than post all the info every week, which would get a little tedious over ten weeks, check out last weeks news item for the low-down on this contest if you’re not already familiar with it. (04.06.2008 NEWS: THE GREAT REX RAY GIVE-AWAY STARTS TODAY)
But, before we announce our first winner, here’s a footnote to last week’s news item from
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I would like to clarify something regarding the Berkeley print. The poster wasn’t so much ‘withdrawn’ as never sanctioned and printed by Bill Graham Presents. I’d designed and proposed the poster to BGP but they didn’t want to produce it because they’d done a poster for Bowie when he’d performed there just a few months prior to this show. Budget cuts, lack of interest – for whatever reason they decided not to print a poster. Any poster. I liked the design so much I had 150 copies printed at my own expense (gasp!) and gave them to friends and bnetters at the show and kept a small stack for myself.
The misspelling of Berkeley was my own stupid mistake and really had nothing to do with the poster being withdrawn or not printed. BGP was, and remains, unaware that I printed the poster myself – although, they probably figured it out when it appeared in a small retrospective of my BGP posters at the Design Wing of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last year. But by that time I’d stopped working for them entirely.
The second piece is a test piece, never produced in any form other than a few artist proofs. Thanks Blammo! and FU! – Rexer
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No, thank you Rexer and KUNG!
OK, on to the winner of #10/10 of the untrimmed 20″ x 14″ (508mm x 355mm) hand-numbered Berkeley print, customised by Rex in the Reality style and signed by both Rex Ray and David Bowie in 2006.
And the winner is: bvr
Well done bvr, please send your real name and address to me and we’ll have your prize to you in some sturdy packaging pronto.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of being the second winner and getting your hands on #9/10 of the Berkeley prints, is contact me here before midnight NY time on Saturday the 19th.
Usual BowieNet rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account per week, and please remember you must enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name. If you do neither of these things you won’t be eligible to enter.
The second winner will be announced next Sunday the 20th and the contest for the third artwork will commence at the same time.
BowieNet members can view larger versions of both of the above
Who will love Aladdin Sane…
Thirty five years ago today, on Friday April 13 1973, David Bowie’s timeless classic, Aladdin Sane, was unleashed on an unsuspecting public. That cliché is overused, but I can honestly say that I was genuinely taken aback by the life-size Aladdin Sane cut out in the window of Diamond Stylus, my local record shop.
The cut out was of the silver-bodied centre piece which graced the inner gatefold of the album, and it remains one of the most striking images in rock music ever. Proud and androgynous, Bowie was otherworldly and aloof and your mother really didn’t like him very much at all. After all, his direct influence surely meant the end of the family line.
I remember well the kid with the cash at school brought the album in on the Friday lunchtime, and we all giggled in disbelief at the word “wanking” on the lyric inner.
As a 12-year-old I couldn’t yet afford to buy Bowie LPs on the day of release, and instead borrowed the album from the best friend of my eldest brother.
He knew how big a fan I already was and let me keep the fan club application (which I filled in but never sent off…still have it somewhere) on the proviso that I looked after the record properly and that I would be playing it on decent equipment. “Yes” I replied. It was a Dansette with an auto-changer…well, it’s all relative and I thought it was a good machine at the time.
Musically the album remains one of my favourites, capturing brilliantly, and for the last time, all of The Spiders at their razor-sharp, tour-toughened best.
As for the songs…well, obviously we were already familiar with the anthemic The Jean Genie (the first song I ever danced to at a disco) and did anything ever sound like it was created on another planet more so than Drive-In Saturday? Not that the weird synth noises, swirling saxophones and eerie Mellotron strings did anything to hamper the song’s chart success. It had been released as a single the week before the album and it eventually peaked at #3 a few weeks later.
And you could tell it all came so naturally to Bowie…He was obviously born on Mars and didn’t have to try so desperately hard like all the others.
It was also the first album to feature Mike Garson…and how good did he sound on tracks like Time and the title track. A
nyway, I could go on and on and on, but I recommend you just get the album out and give it another spin…at Max Vol obviously.
Trivia buffs may want to know that the press advert above was from an American magazine. RCA in the US obviously felt that the punning title had to be driven home for those that hadn’t already grasped it.
And it was stalking time for the Moonboys…
BowieNet’s very own Karen Dawson (Spaceface) has provided us with an interview she recently conducted with director Duncan Jones regarding his full-length directorial debut, Moon.
The interview was done for
Anyway, here’s the whole thing for your reading pleasure…
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Sneak Preview
Duncan Jones, director of ‘MOON’, one of the hottest films for release in 2009, talks exclusively to Collective about his role and his career to date. The ?intelligent science fiction thriller? stars the incredibly talented Sam Rockwell (Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind).
Q: You studied philosophy at college and then turned to film making as a career. What drew you to directing?
A: I’ve always had an over-active imagination. I think it goes with the territory of growing up as an only child. When I was a kid I used to shoot little one-stop animation films with my dad?s help, but as I grew up I moved on to other things. You know, sport, girls… stuff that gets in the way. As I got older, I couldn?t work out what I wanted to do with my life. Philosophy seemed to be a non-committal way of staying in academia, without setting off on any particular career path. I think my dad could tell I was having a hard time finding a passion in life. He suggested I join him on a couple of film shoots he was performing in, and thanks to him and the director he was working with at the time, Tony Scott, I rediscovered my passion for film. That happened about 10 or 11 years ago. From that point on, film making and directing was all consuming. It has been ever since.
Q: Your London-based film company, Liberty Films, also makes commercials. You directed the acclaimed and controversial 2006 ?fighting lesbians? French Connection ad. Did you welcome the controversy, as French Connection UK probably did?
A: It?s a weird one that. That commercial was designed to be controversial. I know it?s silly, but it was incredibly effective in its juvenile way. For me, it was just loads of fun to shoot! The stuntwomen were great fun to work with, and I think we made something that looked bloody lovely, so job done! As a director, it was also a hell of a way to make an entrance on the advertising scene and got me noticed.
Q: You wrote the libretto for that ad. Have you done any writing for your current project, Moon?
A: Hahaha… Absolutely not! There’s only one musician in the family, and it’s not me!
Q: There is very little information available about Moon so far, other than that it is set on a moon base in the near future and the central character is an astronaut (played by Sam Rockwell), who is somehow stranded on the Moon for three years. We know it is an original story written by Nathan Parker, and you?ve said previously “Think some sci-fi classic from the 70s that somehow was over-looked and has only now been unearthed.” What more can you tell us?
A: I don?t want to say too much just yet… But, I wrote the original treatment for the film with a very specific goal; I wanted the audience to be completely unaware that we were a little British Film. That went for the look of it, the effects we used, the cast we had attached. Everything! What we designed was a self-contained world. A story that takes place on the Moon, both on the surface itself and in a moon base on the satellite?s far side. Visually it?s sparse, but gorgeous. The cast is tiny by design, revolving around Sam Rockwell, but includes people I really love like Matt Berry, Benedict Wong, and the extremely gorgeous Dominque McElligott and Kaya Scodelario.
Nathan and I batted the script back and forth while we were writing it, and had something we were very proud of, but Moon really got its flavor when I went out to New York to do rehearsals with Sam. He added his own inimitable character to the piece, and I did a lot of rewriting based on improvs he and I came up with. It’s a very weird thing. It?s proper sci-fi. It’s a thriller, there’s action, but it has a huge amount of heart and a very romantic side.
Q: There is a whisper that you will do a brief cameo. Have you filmed it yet? How did it go?
A: There was a planned cameo, but it?s so innocuous and insignificant, I highly doubt anyone beside me will even notice it… that?s if it survives the edit. It?s probably for the best. I?ve never felt comfortable in front of cameras.
Q: You?ve said the sets are incredible. Can you tell us more?
A: Well… let me put it this way… We built a moon base, in its entirety! The idea was to be able to wander about with the camera, and not have to worry about shooting off the edge of a set. The crew basically entered the base through the air lock at the start of the day, escaped for an hour at lunch, but otherwise spent 6 weeks working and living in a moon base! It was incredible. Intense. A bit like I would imagine Big Brother must be, if you are a contestant!
Q: It?s your first feature film as director. How are you enjoying the role?
A: It’s the most exhilarating, stressful, frustrating, wonderful experience I have ever had! This is what I am meant to be doing with my life, and I feel so fortunate that I have been able to survive long enough to get this film made. Now I just have to hope I have made something people will want to see, and I can make film number 2.
Q: Have you been inspired by any other directors? What are your own favorite films?
A: There’s too many to mention. The BIG one as far as inspirations go is North Shields own, Tony Scott. He gave me a chance to work for him a while back, and re-ignited my love of filmmaking. I’ll love him for that till the day I die. As far as directors I respect, the list is huge and eclectic. As long a list as my dad?s would be for musical influences. One director I would mention though is Spike Jonze, who was incredibly cool, taking time to discuss some technical issues with me when I was in production. I love all the stuff he does.
Q: It?s no secret that you have a pretty famous father, David Bowie. Is he looking forward to the film and has he offered you any advice?
A: Yeah.. I think its safe to say he is pretty excited about the film! As for advice? Don’t do interviews.
Hey, you can?t listen to your parents ALL the time, can you?
Collective wish Duncan Jones every success with his first feature film. It will show at the Sundance and Berlinale Film Festivals and also reach our multiplexes during 2009.
Karen Dawson 2008
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Many thanks to both Duncan and Karen and to Collective magazine for letting us reproduce this here.
Come to the show tonight…
I know there’s a disproportionately large contingency of Bowie fans in Massachusetts, USA, no doubt already moving en masse to
But, just in case there are a few dozy stragglers who had forgotten all about tonight’s date with too much fun, you still have a good few hours to get on your satin ‘n tat and get along in time for the band’s appearance at 9:00pm.
Check out
Singing old songs we loved…
Another last-minute reminder in a similar vein to the one below.
Is There Life On Mars? The David Bowie Singalong, is the name given to an event due to take place at
Here’s some stuff about it…
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The Cinematheque?s monthly singalongs continue with a rollicking romp though the glittery world of chameleonic pop icon David Bowie! From his folkie beginnings through the flamboyant glam of Ziggy Stardust, the mystic androgyny of Aladdin Sane and the elegance of The Thin White Duke, Bowie constructs and deconstructs his own myths, always interesting and riddled with apocalyptic angst. Although the singalong shows a clear emphasis on 70s Bowie, the 80s make a significant appearance, including selections from the crotch-popping muppet masterpiece LABYRINTH! All lyrics are subtitled onscreen.
TICKETS $8 General / $7 students and seniors / $6 members.
Prepurchase your tickets with a credit card by phoning the Cinematheque office at 925-3454. Your ticket and receipt will be with a will-call list at the door.
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So, if you happen to be in Winnipeg and you’re up for a David Bowie singalong like the folx in the pic above, then
Ziggy really sang…
As we suggested back in February, (02.27.2008 NEWS: LIMITED EDITION SANTA MONICA DUE FOR SUMMER RELEASE) David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ?72 will now be released via EMI Catalogue Marketing on June 30th, 2008.
You can read the press release in the PR section above, but here are the salient points for those that don’t like to scroll and click…
David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ?72
Limited Edition CD album ? catalogue number BOWLIVE 201072
Limited edition double LP – catalogue number BOWLIVELP 201072
Digital format ? catalogue number 583 2215
Released June 30th 2008
EMI Catalogue Marketing
EMI Marketing will officially release David Bowie, Live Santa Monica ?72 on June 30. Recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles on October 20th 1972 during the first leg of the Ziggy Stardust US tour. Over the last 36 years this historic recording has only been occasionally available as a bootleg. For many, ownership of this concert was regarded as a true test of being a ?proper Bowie fan?. This powerful, galvanising show allows a more than 70 minute glimpse into the earliest nation-wide live radio exposure granted David and the Spiders.
David Bowie says:-
“I can tell that I?m totally into being Ziggy by this stage of our touring. It?s no longer an act; I am him. This would be around the tenth American show for us and you can hear that we are all pretty high on ourselves. We train wreck a couple of things, I miss some words and sometimes you wouldn?t know that pianist Mike Garson was onstage with us. But overall I really treasure this bootleg. Mick Ronson is at his blistering best.”
CD tracklisting:
01 – Introduction
02 – Hang On To Yourself
03 – Ziggy Stardust
04 – Changes
05 – The Supermen
06 – Life On Mars?
07 – Five Years
08 – Space Oddity
09 – Andy Warhol
10 – My Death
11 – The Width Of A Circle
12 – Queen Bitch
13 – Moonage Daydream
14 – John, I’m Only Dancing
15 – Waiting For The Man
16 – The Jean Genie
17 – Suffragette City
18 – Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide
LP tracklisting:
Record 1 Side 1
1 – Introduction
2 – Hang On To Yourself
3 – Ziggy Stardust
4 – Changes
5 – The Supermen
6 – Life On Mars?
7 – Five Years
Record 1 Side 2
1 – Space Oddity
2 – Andy Warhol
3 – My Death
Record 2 Side 1
1 – The Width Of A Circle
2 – Queen Bitch
3 – Moonage Daydream
4 – John, I?m Only Dancing
Record 2 Side 2
1 – Waiting For The Man
2 – The Jean Genie
3 – Suffragette City
4 – Rock ?N? Roll Suicide
The CD will initially be released as a limited edition with special packaging featuring shots taken at the actual gig for the first time.
The double LP set will be a numbered limited edition on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl; a must for collectors.
I’ll be doing a feature on the history of this recording before the album’s official release in June and obviously we’ll be running some sort of lovely contest before that date too.
As I say, you can read even more regarding this release in the PR section above.
Dance with me before their frozen eyes…
We told you about this one last month (03.22.2008 NEWS: LAST SHADOW PUPPETS COVER BOWIE ON DEBUT 7″) and since then we’ve managed to get hold of an mp3 of In The Heat Of The Morning, as performed by
It’s a wonderfully energetic and affectionate version, even if it is weird to hear that voice formerly associated only with Arctic Monkeys singing a Sixties Bowie song.
I asked David what he thought of the track and he responded thus: “That’s a delight! How lovely. A daymaker.”.
Those of you that can’t wait until Monday the 14th, when the track is officially released, may want to tune in to
He of ruddy complexion, ginger beard and one good eye (see above) has a World Exclusive first play shortly after 7:00pm UK time.
If you’re reading this too late, don’t forget the Listen Again feature over at 6 Music where the track will remain for a whole week.
In 1972, David Bowie set out on his first US tour. He’d recently introduced the world to his Ziggy Stardust persona with his top 5 album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ and had completed a hugely successful UK tour. The Santa Monica concert, David?s first live US radio broadcast, was aired live on KMET in L.A. and was immediately a fan bootleg favourite. The set list is compiled primarily from the ‘Hunky Dory’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust’ albums and features two covers, Jacques Brel’s “My Death” and the Velvet Underground’s “Waiting For The Man,” alongside the awesome power of ?The Man Who Sold The World? centrepiece “The Width Of A Circle” (this version is a ten and a half minute sonic assault) and an ?Aladdin Sane? previewing “The Jean Genie.”
The CD will initially be released as a limited edition with special packaging featuring shots taken at the actual gig for the first time.