Month: December 2009

New York’s a go-go…

Original BowieNetters may remember a crazy young lady called Piccadilly the Puppet Girl from way back when. She’s now known worldwide as comedy singing superstar Carla Rhodes and she’s been in touch with details of a gig at Arlene?s Grocery in New York on Sunday evening.

Owen Comaskey and The Major Toms will be performing David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album in it’s entirety from 9:30pm. Here’s a bit from Owen himself…

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Too early to get the holidays started? We think not, come and join us for a night of great live music. I’ll be performing The Ziggy Album, sides 1 and 2, along with Adam and Charlie Roth, the fab Alec Morton and the return of Mighty Joe Vincent on drums.

Kicking the night off, George Gilmore and Scott Kitchen, followed by Johnny Chan and that’ll do it for the old folks. Ending the night one of the best young unsigned bands around, Dirty Fences. Don’t miss them, they f..ing ROCK, all this for a mere $5, Happy Holidays. – O.

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So if you need a hair-of-the-dog after the previous night’s Bowie Ball in NYC, then pop along to Arlene?s Grocery at 95 Stanton Street, and carry on with the Bowie fun.

Well, he’s come, been and gone…

If you’re kicking your heels in Berlin tonight or tomorrow, chances are you’re a Michael Clark dancer warming up a bit!

However, if you’re anywhere near Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Berlin with nothing to do, and you like your dance with a bit of Bowie, Reed and Pop thrown in, then this is for you.

I’ve been carping on about this production since March and I finally got to see it twice at The Barbican in October and November.

All I can really say without going in to an in-depth review about something I know nothing about is, just go!

It’s a breathtaking performance, brilliantly danced and choreographed to just about the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard at a theatrical event.

Even the attention to detail is astonishing. From the music played in the intervals to the 7″ 45 single-sized programme with fold-out poster, above. (Tried to get some for a contest but the girls in Michael’s office don’t seem to want to help.)

There’s also a clever injection of humour before one of the pieces that Michael himself dances in when the voice of John Peel enquires: “Are you going to be doing gigs with this band?” To which DB laughingly responds… “Well, looking at them, no! (more laughter) Yes, we’re going to do some gigs…are we Michael?” Clever stuff.

You can hear that dialogue for yourself following The Width Of A Circle on Bowie At The Beeb. So, well-researched whoever found that, unless Michael was aware of it himself…which he probably was.

Go here for further details of the final performances tonight and tomorrow…not sure if Michael plans to tour it anywhere next year, but Saturday night is the last performance of it this year.

I’ll leave you with the schedule for come, been, gone.

I should tell you, if you are attending, that come, been, gone is preceded by an older work of Michael’s, entitled Swamp, that is set to the music of Bruce Gilbert and Wire. I loved it, but it’s not as accessible as come, been, gone.

Whether you intend to catch Swamp or not, (it would be rude not to) try and catch the interval music before come, been, gone…you’ll like it!

What to do, What to say, What to wear on a Saturday…

Deryck Todd has been in touch with details of the annual highlight of New York’s social calendar: The Bowie Ball. (12.10.2008 NEWS: DECEMBER 2008 BOWIEBALL REPORT FROM JIMMY KING)

Click on the image above for an easier to read version of the programme for tomorrow evening, (Saturday) and while you’re still hanging around reading this I’ll leave you with the salient points as supplied by Deryck…

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BOWIEBALL is back at Le Poisson Rouge tomorrow night, Sat Dec 5th, 10pm to 4am

DJs by JOSH MADDEN, MICHAEL T, JUSTINE D, JOHNNY DYNELL, ROK ONE, JAKE B & BIANCAGOESPUBLIC

Hosts: Mike Ruiz, Darian Darling, Simcha, Christina Ewald and Fritz Donnelly

Performances: Kevin Aviance, Keanan Duffty, Michael Cavadias, Our Lady J, Bridget Everett, Reni Lane, Miss Guy, The Kiki Twins, Michael Formika Jones, Miss Saturn, The Daisy Spurs and more!

Give Aways by Ben Sherman & Bumble and bumble

LIVE FASHION SHOW

Dress To Impress!

21 & Up with ID

WWW.BOWIEBALLNYC.COM

RSVP: bowieball@gmail.com

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So, if you’re not in Berlin on Saturday night, (see below) chuck on your satin and tat and get down to the Bowie Ball.

Check out these photos from last year if you need some clobber inspiration.

It’s happening now…

Remember the EMI Christmas Advent Calendar we told you about a couple of days ago? (12.01.2009 NEWS: LOOK OUT FOR SPECIAL BOWIE DAY ON EMI ADVENT CALENDAR)

Obviously it wouldn’t be right for me to spoil your surprise and tell you when the Bowie day is, so don’t forget to check it out every day just in case.

This week dragged past me so slowly…

Had a couple of e-mails today from people claiming to have missed this contest on account of it going up at Thanksgiving…so, in the spirit of the season and to keep things fair for everybody, we have decided to extend the competition by one week.

See last week’s news item (11.26.2009 NEWS: THANKSGIVING CONTEST EVERY THURSDAY UNTIL 2010) if you’ve not entered yet and bear in mind that the contest now closes at midnight New York time next Wednesday December 9th, with the ten winners being announced the next day.

Because of this delay we will now be running a contest for BowieNet members every Thursday right up to Thursday January 7th, 2010…the day before DB’s birthday.

Speaking of David Bowie contests…

Got to keep searching and searching…

OK folx…I’m posting the winners in this much-delayed announcement for the Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Limited Edition CD contest we set back in October. (10.12.2009 NEWS: SPACE ODDITY 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION CDs TO BE WON)

The delay is down to the fact that we’ll be running another contest to win more copies of the CD and the vinyl with hopefully a little something extra that I can’t announce right now.

So if the five members below would like to hold fire until that contest is announced, then they will automatically have the something extra included too. Here are the five…

gmoney
ikehatabin
jungtheforeman
tenimmo
zig

To be in with a chance of winning one of the CD packages, all the above members had to do was identify three of the seven elements in the animation of George Underwood‘s painting, (above) that were later recycled for other Bowie-related stuff. (See the original contest item for more detail.)

The first of the three was the Pierrot and the old lady, recreated for the 1980 Ashes To Ashes video…

Next up was the little alien figure later reproduced as STARMAN in a sheet of RCA promotional decals for the Ziggy Stardust album, and even later for George Underwood’s beautiful set of Ziggy Stardust pins.

In the illustration below I’ve also included George’s original drawing (far right) for clarity…

Finally, the one that seemed to stump most of you, even though the solution had been posted on BowieNet back in August, (08.16.2009 NEWS: BECKENHAM FREE FESTIVAL FORTY YEARS AGO TODAY) was the 1970 UK press advert for the Memory Of A Free Festival single.

As I say, if you five winners could hang fire for now, we’ll post your names again in the winners of the next Space Oddity 40th Anniversary CD and vinyl contest, so you too can claim the “something extra”!

Wow…that was fun, wasn’t it?

FOOTNOTE: You can still buy George’s Ziggy Stardust pin set here. I honestly believe these are a sound investment and a valuable future collectable.

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

There may be some of you that haven’t had a chance to hear the Space Oddity 40th anniversary special edition for one reason or another.

Well now QuickTime and EMI have come to the rescue with the David Bowie Space Oddity player so you can have your very own listening party.

You can listen to each of the twenty four tracks in their entirety via a link on Apple’s QuickTime guide.

In the corner of the morning in the past…

Due on January 25th, 2010, through Deram/Universal is the above deluxe edition of The Deram Album. This fifty three track, 2CD release finally gives the LP the treatment it deserves…forty two years on from its original June 1st, 1967, release!

Dismissed by casual Bowie observers as unimportant, this LP has always been a favourite among long-term fans as it introduced many of the themes that Bowie would revisit in later, more commercially successful works…not to mention the fact that it contains a whole bunch of great tunes.

Even Bowie himself must have a bit of a soft spot for this material as he re-recorded some of the songs for the aborted 2001 Toy album.

I know most of the information regarding this release was leaked ahead of the agreed publish date, but aside from the complete stereo and mono versions of the album on Disc 1, (first time on CD for the mono mix) here’s a little extra detail of what’s on Disc 2…

DISC TWO
Mono unless shown *Stereo

1. Rubber Band 2:03 (Single Version)
First release 2 December 1966 Deram DM 107
Recorded at RG Jones Studio, Morden, 18 October 1966
2. The London Boys 3:19
First release 2 December 1966 Deram DM 107
Recorded at RG Jones Studio, Morden, 18 October 1966
3. The Laughing Gnome 2:55
First release 14 April 1967 Deram DM 123
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 26 January, 7 & 10 February 1967
4. The Gospel According To Tony Day 2:46
First release 14 April 1967 Deram DM 123
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 26 January, 7 February 1967
5. Love You Till Tuesday 2:59 (Single Version)
First release 14 July 1967 Deram DM 135
Recorded at Decca No 3 Studio, London, 3 June 1967
6. Did You Ever Have A Dream 2:08
First release 14 July 1967 Deram DM 135
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 24 November 1966
7. When I Live My Dream 3:51 (Single Version)
First release 13 May 1984 Deram BOWIE1
Recorded at Decca No 3 Studio, London, 3 June 1967
8. Let Me Sleep Beside You 3:24
First release 6 March 1970 Decca PA 58
Recorded at Advision Sound Studios, London, 1 September 1967
9. Karma Man 3:08
First release 6 March 1970 Decca PA 58
Recorded at Advision Sound Studios, London, 1 September 1967
10. London Bye Ta-Ta 2:35
Previously unreleased
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 12 March 1968
11. In The Heat Of The Morning 2:45
Previously unreleased mono vocal version
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 12 March 1968
12. The Laughing Gnome * 3:03
Previously unreleased stereo mix
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, 26 January, 7 & 10 February 1967
Stereo mix by Peter Mew and Tris Penna at Abbey Road Studios, London, 30 July 2009
13. The Gospel According To Tony Day * 2:50
Previously unreleased stereo mix
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, 26 January, 7 February 1967
Stereo mix by Peter Mew and Tris Penna at Abbey Road Studios, London, 30 July 2009
14. Did You Ever Have A Dream * 3:45
Previously unreleased stereo mix
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 24 November 1966
15. Let Me Sleep Beside You * 3:29
Previously unreleased stereo mix
Recorded at Advision Sound Studios, London, 1 September 1967
16. Karma Man * 3:03
Previously unreleased stereo mix
Recorded at Advision Sound Studios, London,1 September 1967
17. In The Heat Of The Morning * 2:45
First release 6 March 1970 Decca SPA 58
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 12 March, 10 & 18 April 1968
18. When I?m Five 3:03
First release 13 May 1984 Deram BOWIE1
Recorded Piccadilly No 1 Studio, London, 13 May 1968
19. Ching-A-Ling * 2:52
Previously unreleased stereo mix
Recorded at Trident Studios, London, 24 October, 27 November 1968
20. Sell Me A Coat 2:53 (Remix)
First release 13 May 1984 Deram BOWIE1
Recorded at Decca No 2 Studio, London, 8 December 1966; Trident Studios, London, 25 January 1969 (vocal overdubs)
21. Love You Till Tuesday 3:11
BBC Radio One Top Gear session recording
Previously unreleased
Recorded Piccadilly No 1 Studio, London, 18 December 1967
22. When I Live My Dream 3:38BBC Radio One Top Gear session recordingPreviously unreleasedRecorded Piccadilly No 1 Studio, London, 18 December 1967
23. Little Bombardier 3:30
BBC Radio One Top Gear session recording
Previously unreleased
Recorded Piccadilly No 1 Studio, London, 18 December 1967
24. Silly Boy Blue 3:28
BBC Radio One Top Gear session recording
Previously unreleased
Recorded Piccadilly No 1 Studio, London, 18 December 1967
25. In The Heat Of The Morning 2:39
BBC Radio One Top Gear session recording
Previously unreleased
Recorded Piccadilly No 1 Studio, London, 18 December 1967

I’ve had the privilege of hearing this new version of David Bowie and it’s never sounded better.

This beautifully designed package which contains rare photos and press adverts, etc., also has sleeve notes by Tris Penna and Kevin Cann, who we’ll be talking to about both this and the 40th Anniversary edition of Space Oddity shortly.

Speaking of which…

Some of these days, and it won’t be long…

You may have had an e-mail notifying you of this already, but either way you should be on the look out for a special Bowie day on the EMI Christmas Advent Calendar that is launched today.

Artists profiled across the days cover most genres, and aside from David Bowie there are chances to win very impressive prizes from The Beatles, Queen, Genesis, Tina Turner, Radiohead, plus Disney’s A Christmas Carol, High School Musical, Hannah Montana and many more. So something for everyone!

It’s worth checking out the EMI Christmas Advent Calendar every day as there are instant win games as well as the daily, artist specific big prizes.

Right, I’m off to see if it’s Hannah Montana day today…whoops, I mean Bowie day, obviously. Honest.