Month: August 2001

Just a reminder that you were reminded on Thursday to remind someone about this little reminder, possibly even yourself…

The BBCA in ‘da states’ this weekend features a host of Bowie programming including the U.S premiere of David’s Bowie at the Beeb concert from June 27 of last year, his appearance on Later With Jools Holland, the fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary, Cracked Actor and the film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Check out the BowieNet Calendar for more details – and make yourself comfortable!!!

…as romantic as hell

In the concluding part of Hello Culture on Channel 4 here in the UK tomorrow night, (11:10pm GMT) Matthew Collings asks why our present culture is obsessed with fame and discovers how the cult of celebrity began with Lord Byron in the 19th century. Written and presented by Mr Collings himself, Hello Culture is the follow up to the BAFTA award-winning This is Modern Art.

Matthew looks at the links between Byron and David Bowie, meets up with Lily Tomlin and Tara Palmer Tomkinson to ask how they view their celebrity status, and becomes a celebrity himself in the pages of OK! magazine.

Meanwhile on ITV…

Starting quarter of an hour earlier on ITV, the arts documentary series, The South Bank Show, has a profile of British artist Tracey Emin. In a fascinating look back at her career to date, including revealing glimpses into her formative years in Margate, Tracey realises her childhood dream of being interviewed by the shows host, Melvyn Bragg.

Look out for the current edition of the Radio Times which carries a four-page preview and interview with Tracey, including a tiny picture of David and the queen of needlework herself.

Beating up the wrong guy…

The current run of ‘From Ibiza To The Norfolk Broads’ is taking the Edinburgh Festival by storm with a five star review (the highest star rating possible) in THREE WEEKS, the Official Fringe Magazine. This and the fact that FITTNB was Critic’s Choice in the Sunday Times, and the news that The List, (August 9th edition of the Scottish version of Time Out) gave the play a four star review, all confirm what we have been telling you since we first saw rehearsals for the play last year.

The show is one of the best-selling theatre events on The Fringe – averaging 85% audiences, populated by gangs of Bowie fans resplendent in Bowie T-shirts and generally entering into the spirit of things.

And now, thanks to the generosity of Tiny Dynamite, we are giving two lucky BowieNetters the chance to see the play, and what’s more they can drag someone along with them. The outright winner will receive a pair of tickets to FITTNB, and a very limited T-shirt that was produced for cast and company, (sporting an image similar to the one above) and the legend ‘From Ibiza…Edinburgh Festival 2001’ on the reverse. The runner-up will get a pair of tickets.

Before you enter, please think of three dates that you can definitely attend, (just in case your 1st and 2nd choices are fully booked) and your choice of T-shirt size: small/med/large/x-large. Now all you have to do is tell me the name of the play’s writer/director to be in with a chance of winning. Send your answer to me, with preferred dates and T-shirt size, at MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.Com with a subject heading of: ‘FITTNB Edinburgh tickets’. The competition ends midnight Sunday (GMT) and we will announce the winners on Monday, when we will also be posting a round-up of the reviews and a review by BowieNetter Calum Bennie.

For those that simply can’t get to Edinburgh, you will be pleased to learn that the play will enjoy another limited engagement back down south, at The Bull, 68 High Street, Barnet, London on Sept 1 & 2 at 8pm (plus a matinee on Sunday at 4pm). There will be special arrangements made for BowieNetters who want to buy me a celebratory drink (birthday on 3rd September) and a collection point will be made available for gifts. };-)

On a bit of a sour note we are sad to report that Alex (who plays the lead of Martin) last week received a savage beating by local thugs, but on a brighter note we are happy to say that Alex’s portrayal of Martin, (with the help of a little extra eye make-up) has not suffered any.

Go here, for a web link to Ibiza at Edinburgh, where there are various reviews, interviews, features and the press release for the show, as well as links for purchasing tickets.

When you’re under the USA…

For those of you that don’t keep a regular eye on the BowieNet Calendar, (where the details have been since they were announced) you have a couple of days to stock up on blank video tapes before the commencement of the BBCA’s Bowie Weekend this Saturday.

The weekend promises a continuos feast of Bowie specials, including; the premiere in the US of Bowie at the Beeb; (David’s show from last year at the BBC’s Radio Theatre) David’s appearance on Later With Jools Holland; the fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary, Cracked Actor; and Bowie’s classic portrayal of TJ Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth, a part that Nick Roeg was convinced should be played by DB after witnessing his other-worldliness in the aforementioned Cracked Actor.

If there is any of this you haven’t seen before, you are in for a very special treat, you lucky things. Click on the logo above to take you to the BBCA Bowie Weekend site for a full schedule breakdown, and your chance to win one of ten ‘Bowie at the Beeb’ three-CD box sets.

The highly anticipated new episodes of Absolutely Fabulous will feature a part of Ziggy Stardust over the closing credits. The 6 new episodes of this hilarious BBC program will air in the UK on August 31st (not on the 9th, as reported earlier). No word yet on the debut in the US.

It’s little wonder that KelMar?s back and brother has she got a scoop for you! Beat the heat and check out what?s happening in the underground world of GARDEN GNOMES!

Yeah, yeah, baby, yeah…

Incredible as it may seem, little Alex Jones has already reached the ripe old age of one year old. Have a wonderful day Alex…see if you can get a nice big lump of birthday cake down the back of Daddy’s shirt.

Best wishes and much love to you, from all the employees and members of BowieNet.

The European cannon is here…

Certainly got a measure of your preferences with this one. For every entrant to the stock copy competition, there were ten times that to the promo comp. There was also a much higher percentage of correct answers for the promo comp. So was this because you wanted the promo more, or because you thought the question was easier? Perhaps we’ll never know.

Anyway, I’m waffling again, here’s the stuff you want to know:

‘Christiane F.’ promo competition

I asked you to name the song that appears on ‘Christiane F.’ (albeit in a completely different form) that was released as a French promotional single in 1976, after it was edited to almost a third of its original length?

Of course the answer was ‘Station To Station’ which was just about the only track long enough on ‘Christiane F.’ to edit to a third of its original length and still resemble a song. The promo was edited from the ten minutes and eight seconds album version, to the unimaginable three minutes and forty seconds version that appears on the promo pictured above.

For the spotters out there, the promo was backed with ‘TVC15’ and the catalogue number was RCA 42549. A copy recently sold on eBay for $268.99, which I would have gladly paid had I known it was up for auction. Thanx for the pointer to John A.anyway, but next time you see one, tell me before it’s gone please sir. };-)

Anyway, if the ten people below would like to send their real name and address to me at MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.Com with a subject heading of: ‘Christiane F.’ promo competition winner, they will receive their promo pronto.

‘Christiane F.’ promo competition winners:

smithers@davidbowie.com
mannyp106@davidbowie.com
amgunn@davidbowie.co.uk
vicious@davidbowie.com
nightlight@davidbowie.com
peter999@davidbowie.com
allansoj@davidbowie.com
bintaro@davidbowie.com
c.hanington@davidbowie.com
traveler@davidbowie.com

‘Christiane F.’ stock copy competition

I asked you to name two tracks that appear on ‘Christiane F.’ that were later re-released by David as completely new re-recordings. A lot of wrong answers on this one, but the two tracks that ten of the wise guys among you correctly guessed were:

‘Look Back In Anger’ that appeared on the Ryko release of Lodger, and the ‘V-2 Schneider’ 12″ that David released under the name of Tao Jones Index.

The ten winners below should send their real name and address to me at MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.Com with a subject heading of: ‘Christiane F.’ stock copy competition winner, to receive their CDs.

‘Christiane F.’ stock copy competition winners:

Kyeline@davidbowie.com
neondisease@davidbowie.com
witch@davidbowie.com
wtu@davidbowie.com
aleczandah@davidbowie.com
kwest@davidbowie.com
clarknova@davidbowie.com
stek@davidbowie.com
visitor@davidbowie.com
thirduncle@davidbowie.com

…again and again…

Just a reminder that there is less than a month to go before ‘American Dream’ is released on the ‘Training Day’ soundtrack via Priority Records. As I mentioned last week, (08/09/01 NEWS: THIS IS NOT ‘THIS IS NOT AMERICA’) the CD is due on September 11th, ten days ahead of the US release of the film.

You may be wondering why I feel the need to repeat this information again so soon. Well, I don’t really, it’s just that I know there are those of you that need to see another picture from the session NOW! Who knows, we may yet post another, if I receive enough requests. };-)

360 corp. takes over the Bowieart Window Pain Project on Turnmill Street from 13 August 2001.

The 360 corp. is an alternative artist run global ad agency, established to contend with multicultural advertising strategies. Using materials and methods familiar to the advertising industry 360 corp. opens out the body of reference used by commercial media.

By creating pieces that are not restricted by location or content, 360 corp. is able to position the work in sites similar to those of advertising corporations; as well as those that are not. Inevitably, chosen locations affect the image and its contents, working to subvert typical advertising tools.

360 corp. runs from 13 August to 7 September 2001The series remains at The Tardis Studios till November 2001

Tardis Studios, 52-56 Turnmill Street, London, EC1