DAVID BOWIE started his 50th year with a bang-up birthday concert January 9 at Madison Square Garden and he’ll continue to make his presence felt with the release of Earthling February 11 on Virgin Records. The first single “Little Wonder” is now hitting airwaves across the U.S., while thevideo, directed by Floria Sigismondi, has already been added to both MTVand VH-1.
BOWIE will support the release of his new album with performances on Saturday Night Live (Feb. 8) and the Tonight Show ( Feb. 11). Also look for a special radio broadcast syndicated nationally via Album Network Feb. 6-9 (with an exclusive interview, in-studio acoustic performance and a live-track from the birthday concert at Madison Square Garden), as well as a March 8 Pay-Per-View television event billed as “DAVID BOWIE and FRIENDS–A Very Special Birthday Concert.” In addition, BOWIE will be honored in Los Angeles Feb. 12 when he is presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
As for the Pay-Per-View “BOWIE and Friends–A Very Special Birthday Concert,” all profits will benefit Save The Children (a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political international development and relief organization). This critically acclaimed sold-out show features BOWIE performing songs from throughout his career, as well as seven new songs from Earthling. Joining BOWIE and his band on stage throughout different periods of the evening were Frank Black, Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, Robert Smith (The Cure) and Sonic Youth. According to Dave Ford in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Bowie’s two-hour-plus, 24 song show…was a volatile musical cocktail: shrieking sonic maelstroms, poignant ancient ballads, deep jungle grooves, startling duets. It was enough to please even the most hardened skeptic in an audience spanning a quarter century in age and fashion spread from dyed-hair-and-pierced-whatevers to his-and-hers Banana Republic.”
Earthling has already been garnering rave reviews including one from Mark Kemp in Rolling Stone, which states: “On Earthling, Bowie lets the songs tell the story…the tracks on Earthling are linked only by the power of the turbocharged guitars, the energy and intensity of the skittering drum-and-bass rhythms, the spiritual technological tug of war in the lyrics and Bowie’s signature baritone croon…it certainly captures the mood of contemporary popular culture–from the anguish of American industrial rock to the ecstasy of British dance music.”
In other BOWIE related news, Earthling rated high on MTV On Line’s “Sonic Stew” in the record of the month section, whereby “Little Wonder” is among the featured tracks. According to this week’s scores, Bjork was 1.3, Pigeonhead was 1.2, Aphex Twin 1.3 and BOWIE was 4.9 (out of a possible 5).BOWIE’s forthcoming itinerary is as follows:
Stay tuned for further developments…