Month: May 2008

Like the video films we saw…

I’m sure many of you have seen details of the above auction lot posted here and there. But in case you haven’t, here’s the description…

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Item # 103 ? DAVID BOWIE 16MM AND 8MM ORIGINAL FILM FOOTAGE

35 16mm and 9 8mm Kinescope archival films showing David Bowie. Sound and silent, including 16mm magnetic audio sound film. These films were probably produced beginning in the late 60s through the 80s. Some of the labels read: “Bowie >From The Beginning,” “Bowie Space Odity [sic],” “Bowie Ziggy,” “Bowie 1984,” “Genie Jeanie” and “Do Not Use Old Ziggy Stardust.”

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These films, or certainly films like them, have dribbled out on eBay over the years, and, to be honest, I’ve always been suspicious of the content.

If you study the stills provided, it seems that practically everything illustrated had been broadcast on US TV during the 70s. The most obvious being the Dick Cavett show, the Ziggy Stardust motion picture, Cracked Actor and The Jean Genie promo.

My suspicion is that this stuff has been filmed directly from TV and the example below would seem to bear out this theory.

For starters, it looks like TV quality as opposed to first generation film quality. The shape of the TV screen can clearly be seen and it even looks like a bit of horizontal banding in the top frame.

Anyway, by the time you read this the auction will be over and though I can’t find the results right now, it will be interesting to see what the final bid was.

“Listen to the words!” he cries…

The Telegraph newspaper in the UK has reported on Jarvis Cocker‘s recent lecture at the Brighton Festival: Jarvis Cocker on Song – Saying the Unsayable.

Here’s how the newspaper summed up the event in it’s subdeck: Bowie’s a master, James Blunt misses the point completely. Singer-songwriter Jarvis Cocker celebrates the misunderstood art of composing pop lyrics.

Here are the first few paragraphs from the Telegraph article taken directly from the lecture…

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Are lyrics important?

Take Louie Louie by the Kingsmen. The lyrics are unintelligible but it doesn’t matter: it just sounds right. There are at least 130 versions of Louie Louie out there, but none of them comes even close to that one.

Yet when a lyric and a piece of music really work together, the combined effect is much more powerful than either of them on their own. “We could be heroes just for one day” is a vaguely uplifting sentiment. But when I listen to the song, I’m there. I am swimming with the dolphins. When I’m listening to that song, Bowie has me sold on the whole package.

Because, apart from the words and the music, the delivery of the song is a massive factor in its success or failure. David Bowie delivers “Heroes” as if he’s trying to sing the throat out of his body, and the result is heroic.

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:

You can read the full Telegraph piece here.

Jarvis has shown his appreciation for the work of David Bowie more than once over the years, the most recent being his performance of Space Oddity at Koko in Camden last year. (11.17.2006 NEWS: PULP MAN JARVIS DOES BOWIE FOR SOLO SHOW)

Somebody else who has recently expressed their fondness for Bowie via a live interpretation of one of his songs is Lenny Kravitz.

Click on the image above to view Lenny’s spot on version of the 1979 top thirty Bowie hit, DJ, on French music channel Taratata earlier in the month.

And I’m trying hard to keep fit among your scheme of things…

Admittedly, this is a bit of a silly little space filler, but I know there are many BowieNetters who are keep fit fanatics (Hi BlueBlue) and may be grateful to have David Bowie as their exercise companion.

BowieNetter carlislekeif first posted this link on the MBs with instructions on how to create your own David Bowie for the the Nintendo Wii.

As you can see from the above screen grab, David Bowie is now my exercise companion, even if I need considerably more of it than he does!

Don’t fake it baby, lay the real thing on me…

This is the start of a regular look at eBay items that, judging by the very positive response we’ve had to our Bowie Collectors series, may interest many of you. (05.09.2008 NEWS: THE BOWIE COLLECTORS – VISITOR & 04.07.2008 NEWS: THE BOWIE COLLECTORS – PMFWOODS & 03.02.2008 NEWS: BOWIE 45 SELLS FOR $3,550 ON EBAY – THE BUYER TALKS)

The main idea is to attempt to guide you around the pitfalls of buying items that are perhaps not quite what they seem to be. First up though is a quite legitimate copy of that little troublemaker, Liza Jane.

This was a demonstration sample (see label above) and it fetched a very respectable £1,470.00 GBP, (approx. US $2,908.40) in an auction that ended a few days ago.

Even without having the luxury of inspecting the record up close, it’s obvious from the well-taken pictures that accompanied the description that this was the real thing.

Everything looks right, from the correct and intact centre and machine-stamped matrix, to the narrow run-out groove and original paper sleeve. It was clear from the outset that the seller had a genuine pressing backed up with very good visual evidence.

I’m not sure the same can be said for the next item, which has been poorly presented on eBay and certainly looks like a fake.

Several copies of this questionable item have sold so far. Here are five that I could trace the history of for May alone, including an ongoing auction that ends on the 31st…

Item number: 180238564870 = May-03-08 – GBP 310.00
Item number: 180241220075 = May-10-08 – GBP 132.00
Item number: 180241977647 = May-12-08 – GBP 577.00
Item number: 180245013734 = May-21-08 – GBP 205.00
Item number: 180247716139 = May-31-08 – DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!

I find it remarkable that people continue to be conned into paying such high prices for something that should immediately be ringing alarm bells. It seems that this is not quite the ‘mega rare’ item that the seller has described it as…even if “Mega rare album on red vinyl” is the only description given.

It’s clear from the prices people are paying that they believe they are buying a bona fide release, so £577 GBP ( ) for something that’s probably worth little more than a tenner doesn’t seem quite right.

I know somebody who has been in direct contact with the seller to ask about the legitimacy of this album and just how many copies they have. This was the response:

“The Low red vinyls have been sitting in a warehouse in Romania for a while as I understand, I bought some of the stock as a collective lot. I’m not too sure of the country of origin, it could be the UK or Romania. It doesn’t come with a sleeve. The vinyl itself has the UK RCA International labels and the vinyl is very thick and deep good quality cut grooves. The matrix numbers are stamped, I have thirty copies.”

Well, I have no reason to doubt the seller’s word, but allegedly the same seller also sold a test pressing of Low and white vinyl copies (and a test pressing) of Reality. Very likely all from the same source. Tony Visconti is pretty sure that Reality was never cut for vinyl officially.

If the Reality white vinyl is anything to go by, the record was pressed by a UK manufacturer that specialises in cheap short runs of coloured vinyl…and they machine stamp their own matrix!.

Also, if the Low red vinyl label is anywhere near as bad as the Reality one, then it’s no wonder the seller is keeping things hazy. If it was truly a legitimate Low red vinyl, wouldn’t it be presented something like this…

Finally, another eBay member is selling the set of replica mini sleeve CDs below. They are counterfeits.

With the excellent Japanese re-issue of the back catalogue as min-sleeves recently, I don’t really understand the attraction of these.

As shown below, they come with poorly reproduced colour sleeves which include a colour lyric booklet and a replica lyric inner sleeve which houses a CD aping the original Orange RCA label.

Why would people want these? It’s not like the sound will be better than the officially released versions and there are no extra tracks.

If you’ve bought a set of these, please do write in and let us know what the attraction was. Don’t bother if you’re a completist that simply MUST have absolutely everything bearing the name Bowie…that’s perfectly understandable.

Singing old songs we loved…

Speaking of interpretations of Bowie songs, (see yesterday’s news) next month sees an event organised by Des de Moor (above right) in memory of Russell Churney who died last February after a fourteen-month battle with pancreatic cancer. (03.11.2007 NEWS: R.I.P. RUSSELL CHURNEY)

The Lovely Russell… the concert takes place at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London on Sunday 29th June. Here are the details for those that wish to attend…

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The Lovely Russell… Is a concert in memory of Russell Churney, pianist, composer, actor, songwriter, singer and all-round Good Guy. Des will perform songs from Darkness and Disgrace, alongside a galaxy of great names including Kuljit Bhamra, Jenny Carr, Sophia Churney, Julian Clary, Buffy Davis, Fascinating Aida, Abi Grant, The Haddocks, Robb Johnson, Barb Jungr, Sue Kelvin, Elizabeth Mansfield, Howard Samuels, Tina C, Sandi Toksvig, Sarah Travis, Mari Wilson and Adrian York. More about Russell Churney.

The Lovely Russell…
Sunday 29 June 2008: London
Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street WC1H 0AH
Underground: Euston, Euston Square, Goodge Street, Russell
Square, Warren Street
National Rail: Euston
Starts 1700hrs
Tickets £25 — advanced booking recommended
Box office +44 (0)20 7388 8822

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Those of you lucky enough to catch Darkness and Disgrace don’t need to be told just how good Russell and Des’s interpretations of David Bowie’s music were. Des will be performing songs from it for this event and I’ll hopefully see you there.

A couple of songs from your old scrapbook…

I’m sure most of you have already heard about this one already. We’re finally giving it a mention now that it’s confirmed that there are ten copies of the CD on the way for a BowieNet contest that we’ll be running shortly.

Life Beyond Mars: Bowie Covered is a twelve track album released on Rapster Records Here’s a bit from Rapster regarding the release:

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In 2007, as David Bowie turned 60, we embarked on a follow-up to the acclaimed ‘Exit Music’ album, seeking out artists who had been heavily influenced by the legacy of the Thin White Duke. The brief was open. The selected artist could choose any track from his catalogue and create their own fresh interpretation, however faithful, or different, to the original.

The result is a fascinating range of interpretations by some of the leading players in today’s electronic music from Detroit’s Matthew Dear and Carl Craig to Joakim, Kelley Polar, Susumu Yokota and Au Revoir Simone, all tapping into the cryptic, expressionist core of Bowie’s originals.

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Here’s the full track listing for the album…

01 – Au Revoir Simone – Oh! You Pretty Things (4.15)
02 – Heartbreak – Loving The Alien (7.15)
03 – Kelley Polar – Magic Dance (Harold and Baby O in Italy version) (5.15)
04 – Leo Minor – Ashes To Ashes (3.19)
05 – Carl Craig Presents Zoos of Berlin – Looking For Water (5.03)
06 – Paper Jones – Sweet Thing (2.53)
07 – Matthew Dear – Sound And Vision (4.24)
08 – Susumu Yokota – Golden Years (3.27)
09 – The Emperor Machine – Repetition (6.03)
10 – Joakim & The Disco – A New Career In Town (5.59)
11 – Richard Walters & Faultline – Be My Wife (3.26)
12 – The Thing – Life On Mars? (4.35)

You may remember we mentioned Au Revoir Simone‘s version of Oh! You Pretty Things back in January. (01.22.2008 NEWS: WILL AU REVOIR SIMONE COVER BOWIE IN NY TONIGHT?)

Go here to visit the official Life Beyond Mars mini-site, where you can taste nearly half the album before you decide if you want to buy it.

Life Beyond Mars: Bowie Covered is released on June 30th (July 8th North America) and will be available on CD, LP and digital.

All you’ve got to do is win…

It’s the eighth week of our ten week Rex Ray contest, (04.06.2008 NEWS: THE GREAT REX RAY GIVE-AWAY STARTS TODAY) and it seems we’re getting more and more entries every week.

But first, the winner of #3/10 of the untrimmed 20″ x 14″ (508mm x 355mm) hand-numbered Berkeley print, (see above) customised by Rex in the Reality style and signed by both Rex Ray and David Bowie in 2006.

And the winner is: heelheadover

Well done heelheadover, please send us your real name and address and we’ll have your prize to you squawkier than a pink monkey bird.

OK, for the remaining three weeks we’ve decided to go with three different prints, all artist’s proofs (AP) of unpublished portraits of DB by Rex Ray and again signed by them both in 2006. As far as I am aware, there are no more than three or four of each in existence.

We’ll start with the one above for this week eight contest. Weeks nine and ten will be completely different prints, but equally collectable. Indeed, I can imagine the winners of these APs being featured in The Bowie Collectors feature in years to come to the envy of the rest of us.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of being winner number eight and claiming the above, is contact me here before midnight NY time on Saturday May 31st.

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 eighth winner will be announced next Sunday June the 1st and the contest for the ninth artwork will commence at the same time.

BowieNet members can view larger versions of both of the above here on the MBs. Good luck.

The band was altogether…

The first review for David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72 has appeared in the pages of the current issue (July 2008) of UNCUT magazine. Written by Stephen Troussé, here are a few lines from the four out of five stars review…

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David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72 – recorded in October that year, finally released after decades of bootlegs and a semi-official limited edition in’94 – is not only a terrific document of this assiduously stoked US Ziggymania, but also the discerning Bowiephile’s live album of choice.

…this Santa Monica show caught Bowie and the classic Spiders line up as their remarkable rocket was still on the way up. You can hear it all coming together for Bowie – Tony Newley, the Velvets, the Yardbirds and Jacques Brel, all forged into something distinctively his own.

…the real pleasure of this set is hearing just how powerful this band could be – particularly Ronson, specifically on “Moonage Daydream”.

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And it’s all accompanied by the above cool-as-fuck shot of the young Presley-from-outer-space sex god at it!

Talking ’bout Monroe…

Update on our recent stories regarding a Danish ‘Dancical’ of The Man Who Fell To Earth. (05.17.2008 NEWS: BOWIE’S THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH MUSICAL? & 05.19.08 NEWS: OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM RZO MUSIC)

The David Bowie/TMWFTE production has been cancelled and apparently Peter Schaufuss is mounting a new production based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.

They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…

You may remember HMV’s BE INSPIRED/MY INSPIRATION campaign that kicked off with Aladdin Sane in September 2006. (09.06.2006 NEWS: ALADDIN SANE INSPIRES HMV CAMPAIGN)

That was quickly followed by DB’s selection for his own inspiration which was Syd Barrett‘s Gigolo Aunt. (09.09.2006 NEWS: HMV CAMPAIGN – SYD IS DB’S INSPIRATION)

Anyway, the campaign has continued since and the latest addition is popular singing sensation One Night Only who have chosen David Bowie’s Changes as their inspiration, as evidenced in the poster of the moody youngsters above.

To celebrate this fact, we’ve got five of each of the above approximately A2-sized posters that have been sat in the vault waiting for an appropriate opportunity for a relevant contest.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is choose which one you’d prefer by clicking on just one of the links below. It may be pertinent to add that the Aladdin Sane poster is printed on matt stock while the other is on glossy paper.

BE INSPIRED: David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane

MY INSPIRATION: David Bowie chooses Syd Barrett’s Gigolo Aunt

The contest is open until midnight NY time on the last day of the month…that should give you just about enough time to choose which one to go for.

Usual BowieNet rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account 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…neither will you be if you click on both the links. Sorry to sound heavy, man, but we have to have a system or it would be utter chaos. 😉