Month: September 2011

London boy, oh London boy, Your ten pound note is our pride and joy…

Despite declarations of a non-story from the occasional Doubting Thomas, we can at last reveal, exclusively on DavidBowie.com, the latest Brixton Pound denominations, including the Bowie ten pound note that we first told you about back in July. (07.25.2011 NEWS: BOWIE BRIXTON BANK NOTE DUE SEPTEMBER)

Though originally mooted for inclusion on the first issue of Brixton’s very own paper currency in 2009, we are proud to be able to announce that David Bowie joins three other heroes of Brixton in an unveiling at ELECTRIC in Brixton tonight.

As you can see from the specimen below, the iconic and instantly recognisable Aladdin Sane cover shot has been used for the B£10 note.

Here follows the four latest additions that will be announced in Brixton this evening…

~ B£1: Lenford Kwesi Garrison, academic, community activist and co-founder of the Black Cultural Archives (1943-2003)
~ B£5: Luol Deng, professional basketball player for Great Britain National Basketball team at the London 2012 Olympics and the National Basketball Association’s Chicago Bulls (born 1985)
~ B£10: David Bowie musician, actor and record producer. The Bowie family lived at 40 Stansfield Road, Brixton from 1947-1953 (born 1947)
~ B£20: Violette Szabo, GC, MBE, Second World War British secret agent. Born in Paris, she moved to London with her family and attended school in Brixton and later worked in the local Bon Marche department store. Violette was involved in a number of dangerous missions in France during the war as depicted in the 1958 film Carve Her Name With Pride. She paid the ultimate price for her heroism, being executed after suffering torture at the hands of the Gestapo, though never revealed any secrets. Violette was the second woman to be awarded the George Cross bestowed posthumously on 17 December 1946 (1921-1945)

From tomorrow, the notes will be available for people to purchase online and as collector packs from the official Brixton Pound site. Check out the site for everything you need to know about the aims and function of the B£.

I look at my watch, It says 1985…

This item is taken from today’s Telegraph Men’s Style magazine – And I need say no more as it’s all here for your reading pleasure.

 

Just before I go, there’s a celebration of the rock group Queen in the Telegraph newspaper today too. Here’s one of ten interesting facts about their lead singer…

“In 1969, Freddie Mercury fitted David Bowie for a pair of boots during his day job working on a boot stall in Kensington Market. Twelve years later, the pair enjoyed a UK Number 1 hit with their collaboration Under Pressure.”

And so the story goes, They wore the clothes…

There’s a great piece in the Financial Times by Mark C. O’Flaherty today that acknowledges the fashion world’s huge debt to David Bowie over the past few decades. Here’s the introduction to the article…

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“Fa … fa … fa … fa … fashion!” As the catwalk shows continue in Milan and Paris, jaded guests wonder just how many times they’ll have to sit through yet another collection soundtracked by David Bowie’s new wave stutter. From Ziggy Stardust to Zoolander, fashion has had a four-decade love affair with Bowie that’s only getting stronger. Indeed, Bowie may be the most referenced musician in fashion history.

Before Madonna, and long before the fancy dress of Lady Gaga, Bowie was busying himself as a performance and visual artist as much as a musical one. When he appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1979 he wore a skirt, six years before Gaultier showed men in skirts in Paris. In 1996, he commissioned stagewear from Alexander McQueen, in the same year that London’s most directional designer reciprocated with a collection inspired by the Bowie/Catherine Deneuve movie The Hunger (1983). Last spring, Balmain’s strong-shouldered metallic blue and gold women’s blazers were Bowie-inspired, as was Bella Freud’s Aladdin Sane lightning-bolt knitwear. This season, it’s Bowie’s wardrobe from the post-glam period of the mid-1970s that is everywhere you turn – particularly in men’s wear. From Lanvin to Dior Homme, Dries van Noten and Roland Mouret, designers have focused What Bowie Knew to redefine the notion of smart casual dress for 2011.

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Of course, none of this is a surprise to you or I, but it’s still worth checking out the full online piece here.

Speaking of David Bowie’s inimitable style…

It’s happening NOW…

We told you all about the latest edition of Nick Pegg’s The Complete David Bowie here in the news last month (08.02.2011 NEWS: NEW EDITION OF THE COMPLETE DAVID BOWIE DUE NEXT MONTH), and in the Press Release section along with details of tomorrow’s London launch party. (08.17.2011 PRESS RELEASE: THE COMPLETE DAVID BOWIE + 08.17.2011 PRESS RELEASE: THE COMPLETE DAVID BOWIE UK LAUNCH PARTY)

If you’re intending to attend the party and signing here’s your chance to blag a copy for free courtesy of Titan Books and after a few related questions from Mr Pegg himself.

Before the questions, here are a few things you need to know before entering…

YOU MUST BE ATTENDING THE COMPLETE DAVID BOWIE LAUNCH AND SIGNING PARTY IN LONDON TOMORROW (SATURDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER) TO ENTER

IF YOU ARE AMONG THE WINNERS YOUR BOOK WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AT THE PARTY WHERE NICK PEGG WILL SIGN IT FOR YOU

THE CONTEST WILL RUN UNTIL MIDDAY UK TIME TOMORROW (PARTY STARTS AT 3:00PM) AND UP TO FIVE WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY E-MAIL AND TELEPHONE IF POSSIBLE.

OK, so on to Tricky Nicky’s dastardly questions…

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1. On the back cover of the new edition of The Complete David Bowie, there’s a photo of David wearing sunglasses and brandishing a skull. (See picture above)

(a) What song is he singing?
(b) What’s the name of the tour?
(c) On which other tour did he use a similar skull-and-shades routine when performing the same song?

2. Among the well-known names making their debut appearances in the new edition of The Complete David Bowie are these three: (a) Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, (b) comedian and TV producer Jimmy Mulville, and (c) children’s author Julia Donaldson, best known for her book The Gruffalo. All three have made their way into the book for the same reason. What is it?

3. And once you’ve worked out the answer to question 2, you’ll be able to answer this one. Assign the appropriate songs to (a) Nick Clegg, (b) Jimmy Mulville, and (c) Julia Donaldson.

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So there you have it…answers to me here ASAP. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR REAL NAME AND, IF POSSIBLE, A TELEPHONE CONTACT AND E-MAIL ADDRESS THAT YOU CAN ACCESS TOMORROW TO SEE IF YOU’VE WON.

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.

Rock ‘N’ Rock with me…

The October edition (issue 163) of Classic Rock has a couple of cool erm…Rock things worth a mention. That’s as in Mick Rock.

There’s a double page spread of Lou Reed, Mick Jagger and a freshly-retired David Bowie at the infamous retirement party in July 1973.

As you know, the picture was taken by Mr Rock and you should just be able to make out what he remembers of the event below…

Elsewhere in the mag there is a full-page advert for the Mick Rock tins we told you about last month (08.06.2011 NEWS: MICK ROCK BOWIE BOOK AND STARMAN RED VINYL 45 IN A TIN!)

As you probably know already from members who have received promo postcards I’ve sent out with recent prizes, or from the press advertising, etc., you can pre-order the limited edition tins directly from www.mickrockcollectables.com for a recession-beating twenty squids each.

Five pre-orders of each tin will be rewarded with a signed copy if ordered before the day of release, Monday, September 26th.

You’ll also have a second chance to win signed copies here on BowieNet on the day of release.

Guess I’ll put all my eggs in a postmodern song…

The upcoming London V&A exhibition, Postmodernism: Style and Subversion in 1970-1990 has two David Bowie tracks on the accompanying CD/DVD set and double vinyl album.

The exhibition runs from 24th September 2011 to 15th January 2012 and the audio sets are available to pre-order now…here’s a little bit of blurb…

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Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990 will be the first in-depth survey of art, design and architecture of the 1970s and 1980s, examining one of the most contentious phenomena in recent art and design history: Postmodernism.

Postmodernism challenged the utopian ideal of Modernism favouring bold colours and patterns, historical quotation, wit and a new found freedom in design. The V&A Shop’s Postmodernism-inspired range features fashion, jewellery, accessories, design classics, ceramics and a definitive music collection on CD and Vinyl exclusive to the V&A Shop

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Both the vinyl and the CD kick off with a Bowie track. Though surprisingly, for such a visual artist of the era, there is no DB on the DVD.

The two audio formats have completely different tracks on each, with the limited edition vinyl (500 only) featuring the single edit of Ashes To Ashes and the CD featumging the single edit of Fashion.

Click on the advert below to pre-order now and to view the full tracklisting for both formats.

As for the exhibition itself, as fascinating and as rich in visual feasts as it is, the only link to Bowie among the exhibits is the clobber worn for the Saturday Night Live performance of The Man Who Sold The World with Klaus Nomi in 1979. And even then I think it may be just the outfit Klaus himself wore. I’ll update you on that when I find out more.

A throw back from someone’s LP…

Above is an album I think we’re all humgry to get our hands on, released under the enigmatically named: The Visitor.

But, more importantly, it’s the fifth of several images that you will need to identify from The Man Who Fell To Earth to be in with a chance of winning a 40″ x 27″, specially-commissioned, Keiko Kimura-designed, limited edition poster that I may have mentioned recently. (07.30.2011 NEWS: TMWFTE LIMITED EDITION POSTER CONTEST PLUS MORE DATES + 08.07.2011 NEWS: THOSE TMWFTE DATES KEEP COMING PLUS PART 2 OF CONTEST + 08.16.2011 NEWS: MORE TMWFTE DATES PLUS PART 3 OF POSTER CONTEST + 09.01.2011 NEWS: MORE TMWFTE DATES PLUS PART 4 OF POSTER CONTEST)

See aforementioned news stories if this makes as much sense to you as TJ Newton’s native tongue.

Here’s the latest updated screening schedule…

Stay tuned for the sixth part of this competition. As we have so many contests going on right now, I thought it would be good to string this one out a bit longer…and judging from the emails I’ve been getting, you seem to be enjoying this one too.

Meanwhile, check out this interview from the San Francisco Chronicle for a few recollections from the set of TMWFTE, straight from the lips of the lady featured in part 3 of this contest.

When you see a Framus smile…

The October edition of the US magazine Guitar World features the above full-page advert for Framus guitars.

The theme is “Real Legends Live Forever” and the ad is illustrated with a picture of a 19-year-old David Bowie strumming a 12-string Framus acoustic guitar. The picture was taken in David’s then manager Ralph Horton’s office in February 1966.

Another Framus guitar player is one Earl Slick who has a dedicated page on the Framus site for his Earl Slick Signature – Red Satin solid.

There’s also a downloadable interview with Slick on the site, taken from the June 2011 issue of Total Guitar Magazine.

Finally…another Bowie guitarist and childhood friend of David’s, Peter Frampton, was cornered by tmz while waiting to collect his luggage at an airport.

Peter explains how DB was a strong influence on his musical education introducing him to the likes of Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. You can view the full thing here.

And so the story goes, they wore the clothes…

Here’s the info…

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BOWIE FEST – an art & fashion glam rock party! September 17, 2011 8PM – 12AM ARTpool Gallery in St. Petersburg. $15 advance, $20 door. (727) 324-3878.

Come dressed as you favorite BOWIE incarnation or 1980’s icon. Special prizes for best Bowie and biggest hair. Featuring an art show inspired by music.

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That’s St. Petersburg, FL 33705, not Russia, before you set off!

Whisper these things aren’t true…

Back on April 1st of this year, we told you about the upcoming Optimum version of TMWFTE on R2 BD (Blu-ray Disc), which was released on April 4th. (04.01.2011 REMINDER: TMWFTE R2 BD OUT MONDAY PLUS MAD PROMO KIT)

We sumggested you “come back tomorrow” for your chance to win one of five copies of the above pictured BD and slipcase.

Of course, as I posted the item (with it being April 1st and the fact that tomorrow never comes) I laughed like a drain and have been doing so since…just like the child I am.

However, in a rare attack of guilt I’ve decided to come clean and admit that practically everything on that page that day was poppycock and just a bit of plain daft April Foolery.

Not only that, but now we truly have got five of these tasty BDs to dispense among you, courtesy of Optimum…this may also go some way to cheering up a handful of folk who may not be able to make it to a US theatrical screening of the film.

Anyway, In keeping with the April Fool deception, here follows a set of five true or false questions regarding TMWFTE for you to answer…

TRUE OR FALSE?

1 ~ Arthur, TJ Newton’s driver in TMWFTE, was played by Bowie’s real life driver/bodyguard Tony Mascia.

2 ~ Early on in the making of the film, during long breaks in the shooting, David himself painted an original picture that he called The Fall Of Icarus. The painting so impressed director Nicolas Roeg, that he had it worked into the script and reproduced in the film as a colour plate in an art book produced by Newton’s company, World Enterprises.

3 ~ Nicolas Roeg, was also behind the camera for a film of the Glastonbury Fayre festival in 1971…at which David Bowie performed.

4 ~ On TJ Newton’s home planet we see his wife and children. The childrens’ names in the film are Moon Unit and Dweezil.

5 ~ In one scene Nathan Bryce (played by Rip Torn) visits a record store and walks past a small display for Bowie’s Young Americans album.

So, there you have it. Once you have your five answers, mail them to me here.

This contest closes on Saturday, October 1st, at midnight New York time with the winners being announced soon thereafter.

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.

Good Luck, kidz!