Month: April 2016

 

“Oh, look out you rock ‘n rollers”

 

Back on February 26th, Parlophone issued the first six Bowie studio albums (excluding the Deram album), on the same day as the Bowie At The Beeb vinyl box.

Now the two live albums that were housed in the David Bowie (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set (Live Santa Monica 72 & Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture Soundtrack), will also be issued as heavyweight 180g vinyl editions on June 17th.

The vinyl that was exclusive to the David Bowie (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (2003 Ken Scott Mix) and Re:Call 1 will not be issued separately.

 

#BowieVinyl  #FiveYearsBox

 

“We’ll spend some time together“

 

Both of the RSD 2016 Bowie picture discs that went on sale last Saturday, have entered the UK’s Official Vinyl Charts at #1. (22 April 2016 – 28 April 2016)

TMWSTW ROUND COVER RSD 2016 PICTURE DISC has entered the Official Vinyl Album Chart at #1 while the TVC 15 RSD 40TH ANNIVERSARY PICTURE DISC achieved the same feat on the Official Vinyl Single Chart AND the Official Physical Single Chart.

There are still four Bowie albums in both the Official Physical Album Chart Top 30 and the Official Vinyl Album Chart Top 30.

Thanks to all of you for making these releases such a resounding success.

Check out the current charts from the OCC here.

 

#TMWSTWpicdisc  #TVC1540  #BowieRSD  #BowieOCC  #BowieVinyl  

 

“Wham bam, thank you MAMbo”

 

Tickets for DAVID BOWIE IS at MAMbo – Museum of Modern Art of Bologna|Bologna Museums Institution – in Italy are now available. 

The MAMbo run commences on July 14th 2016 and will close on November 13th.

This will be the last chance to visit the V&A’s record-breaking exhibition in Europe before it goes to Japan in January 2017.

Go here for more information and ticket links.

 

#DBisMAMbo  #DavidBowieIs

 

“Remember that everybody has to wait in line“

 

RSD 2016 is finally upon us with a couple of tasty Bowie picture discs (as described on March 7th on these pages), available today.

 

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) to view both discs.

 

#TMWSTWpicdisc  #TVC1540  #BowieRSD  #BowieVinyl

 

“I’m a Blackstar”

 

On the eve of the celebration of vinyl that is Record Store Day, David Bowie’s ★ has been declared the best-selling vinyl album on the UK’s Official Vinyl Chart for the first quarter of 2016.

The chart, which was launched one year ago this week, saw ★ (Bowie’s 28th studio album), spend the longest time at Number 1, logging six weeks at the top spot.

David Bowie left his mark on the vinyl singles chart during the first year of the chart too, with four singles in the Top 10:

 

Golden Years (3)

Space Oddity (5)

Fame (6)

Changes (8)

 

Those four tracks all hit the top spot, keeping Bowie at the chart’s peak for 12 weeks in total.

 

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive of the Official Charts Company said:

 

“As we celebrate the first birthday of the Official Vinyl Charts, it is encouraging to see the resurgence of this much-loved format continuing at pace in 2016.

“It is entirely fitting that Bowie’s final release, Blackstar, is the album that Britain’s vinyl shoppers have taken to their heart in droves so far this year, proving the Starman’s lasting impact on the charts, and the nation’s record collections, for undoubtedly many more years to come.”

 

Read the full article here.

 

Finally, the ★ sheet music songbook is now available for purchase from your favourite sheet music emporium.

 

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieOCC  #BowieVinyl

 

“I’ve got game”

 

David Bowie’s ★ album has been nominated in the Top Rock Album category of the Billboard Music Awards 2016.

Here’s the list of finalists in the category.

 

Billboard Music Awards 2016: Top Rock Album:

 

Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color

David Bowie, Blackstar

Coldplay, A Head Full Of Dreams

Mumford & Sons, Wilder Mind

twenty one pilots, Blurryface

 

Ludacris and Ciara will host the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 22.

 

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieBillboard  #BBMAs

 

“You’re face to face with”

 

David Bowie’s third studio album, the Tony Visconti-produced The Man Who Sold The World, was released on this day (April 10th) in 1971 in the UK.

Issued the previous November in the US, the UK release was delayed in no small part due to ‘problems’ regarding the sleeve artwork.

Pictured here (clockwise from top left) are the original US and UK versions, the German round cover, and the standard worldwide 1972 RCA reissue.

Don’t forget the RSD picture disc issue of the German round cover released this coming Saturday, April 16th.

Four great sleeves, one classic album. Remind yourself here.

 

#TMWSTWpicdisc  #BowieRSD  #BowieVinyl  #TMWSTW

 

“I like the beat of your drum”

 

Friends and associates of Dennis Davis have posted tributes on Facebook with the sad news that the drummer has succumbed to his battle with cancer.

Dennis played drums and percussion with the Bowie band from Young Americans through to Scary Monsters, including the 1976 and 1978 Bowie world tours.

There is much recorded evidence of his brilliance, not least of all his contribution to Look Back In Anger from the 1979 album, Lodger.

Dennis is pictured here guesting with Bowie during an encore of Let’s Dance at a special BowieNet show at the Roseland Ballroom, NYC, June 19th 2000.

We’ll leave you with those FB tributes to a much-loved man who will be sorely missed.

 

Carlos Alomar

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for Dennis Davis. He has passed on and released from this mortal coil. Our condolences to his family, his wife Chie Davis and children Darien, Naoto, Erika, Kaito and Hikaru.

Dennis was my childhood friend and part of Bowie’s D.A.M. Trio (Dennis Davis – Drums, Carlos Alomar – Rhythm Guitar and George Murray – Bass). I was proud to be with him till the end. We laughed and enjoyed each other’s company always.

Rest in peace my friend

 

 

Gail Ann Dorsey

And this one takes on a more personal sentiment… Sterling Campbell called me this morning to inform me that we had lost yet another member of the David Bowie musical family, drummer Dennis Davis. Although Dennis was well before my time in the Bowie line up, I had the great honour and pleasure of getting to meet him during my early years with David, and prior to that, like the rest of the world, the pleasure and privilege of listening to and enjoying his most exceptional musical talents… In my humble (and perhaps ill-informed, so please forgive me if that is the case) opinion, Dennis has been disappointingly over-looked and not nearly as recognized and highly regarded as some of his peers, for the uniqueness, creativeness, and sensitivity that he brought to some of Bowie’s most iconic and brilliant works, few drummers, if any, could ever surpass.

Yes, it’s hard not to feel pretty bummed out these days… Folks my age or older are being forced to recognize the reality that we are in the final chapters of our story as opposed to the early ones. I think it best we remember that we are still the writers of our story, and although we know that it will eventually have to have an ending, we can still make the plot, theme, characters, and events as joyful, vibrant, and enlightening as we wish them to be.

Personally, I am now going to pull out my Bowie albums and crank my favourite Dennis Davis moments to the heavens! If you will, do the same, and join me in appreciation and celebration for one of Bowie’s brightest collaborators, and a great contributor to the world of popular music… Rest In Peace, Dear Dennis. We Love You, Man…

 

 

Tony Visconti

He was a disciplined jazz drummer who tore into Rock with a Jazz sensibility. Listen to the drum breaks on Black Out from the Heroes album. He had a conga drum as part of his set up and he made it sound like two musicians were playing drums and congas. By Scary Monsters he was playing parts that were unthinkable but they fit in so perfectly. His sense of humor was wonderful. As an ex member of the US Air Force he told us stories of seeing a crashed UFO first hand by accidentally walking through an unauthorized hanger. There will never be another drummer, human being and friend like Dennis, a magical man.

 

“That’s the message that I sent”

 

“I Can’t Give Everything Away” – Animated Visual Directed By Jonathan Barnbrook

From the International #1 Album ★

 

“a blunt honesty at the finish… ‘This is all I ever meant/That’s the message that I sent,’ Bowie sings… clear, elegant and emphatic”—ROLLING STONE

 

An animated visual interpretation of “I Can’t Give Everything Away” from David Bowie’s ★ (ISO/Columbia) created by the album’s designer Jonathan Barnbrook has been unveiled here.

 

Currently impacting radio worldwide and playlisted at BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music, Absolute and Radio X in the UK, “I Can’t Give Everything Away” is the third track to be worked at radio from Bowie’s 28th and final record ★

 

Released January 8, 2016, ★ has since sold nearly 2 million copies globally, hitting #1 in more than 20 countries including the U.S., UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

 

Barnbrook’s touching visualization of “I Can’t Give Everything Away” is a tribute inspired by ★’s closing number, created by someone who played an integral role in the album’s visual identity and presentation.

 

“This is really a very simple little video that I wanted to be ultimately positive,” Barnbrook says. “We start off in the black and white world of ★, but in the final chorus we move to brilliant colour, I saw it as a celebration of David, to say that despite the adversity we face, the difficult things that happen such as David’s passing, that human beings are naturally positive, they look forward and can take the good from the past and use it as something to help with the present. We are a naturally optimistic species and we celebrate the good that we are given.”

 

Jonathan Barnbrook’s working relationship with David Bowie stretches back to the art of 2002’s Heathen, which featured a prototype of the Barnbrook-designed Priori font. His work with Bowie would continue to include the covers of 2003’s Reality and 2013’s The Next Day, as well as the graphics for the V&A touring exhibition David Bowie is.

 

 

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieBarnbrook  #BarnbrookBowie

 

 

“Wham bam, thank you fans”

 

David Bowie has dominated the UK’s Official Albums Chart for the first quarter of 2016, with six albums in the Top 40, three of which are in the Top 10.

 

TOP FORTY ALBUMS OF 2016 SO FAR

 

02 – BLACKSTAR – RCA

04 – BEST OF BOWIE – PARLOPHONE

10 – NOTHING HAS CHANGED – THE VERY BEST OF DAVID BOWIE – PARLOPHONE

22 – HUNKY DORY – PARLOPHONE

24 – THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST – PARLOPHONE

38 – ALADDIN SANE – PARLOPHONE

 

Thanks to all of you for flying the Bowie flag so high.

Read the full article online here.

 

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieOCC