Month: March 2002

We scavenge up our clothes…

With a little over three hours left to run on auction number nine, the tenth BowieNet auction is already live. It will be no surprise to any of you reading this that the Agnes B shirt that is up for grabs currently holds the high-bid record at an incredible $630!

This week’s auction includes a similar item designed by Paul Smith, also worn and signed by David, that must surely command a similar price. The second item is a very rare in-house Isolar T-shirt, and last but not least we have the third of five signed limited edition prints of David Bowie and Tony Visconti. Click on the shortcuts below to take you to each individual lot.

Paul Smith shirt worn and signed by David Bowie!

David Bowie ISOLAR management company t-shirt.

David Bowie signed limited 1969 live shot.

Because you’re young – you’ll meet a stranger some night…

It was thirty years ago to this day that a 25-year-old David Bowie and photographer Mick Rock met for the very first time. Friday March 17th 1972 was the date, and the picture above is one of a handful that Mick took of the young Ziggy looking a tiny bit nervous before he went onstage at Birmingham Town Hall.

Both the pictures on this page are previously unpublished, and you can look forward to the rest of the shots Mick took that evening, and a detailed account of the meeting, in ‘Moonage Daydream’, the signed limited edition book which David and Mick are co-authoring.

Meanwhile, on page 151 of Mr Rock’s Syd Barrett book, PSYCHEDELIC RENEGADES, recently published by Genesis Publications, Mick recalls his first meeting with David:

“When I first met David Bowie we swapped anecdotes; he wanted to hear about Syd and I wanted to know about Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. We talked about how Syd had had it all. Syd and David were similar in the way that neither of them sang like an American. At that time there was a big American influence on music, but Syd and David went against that and sang in a British way.

David was very aware of Syd; very interested in him. Of course, in 1973 David did a cover version of ‘See Emily Play’ for his Pin Ups album. There were many parallels between Syd and David early on; although clearly David had a much tougher psyche. David’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ always makes me think of Syd. It’s a perfect description of him.”

As I say, Mick goes into more specific detail about the meeting in ‘Moonage Daydream’, which is nearing conclusion and is in fact on track for publication by Genesis Publications in June this year. Join the mailing list for ‘Moonage Daydream’ by clicking on either of the images above.

Doing it, doing it right…

In a recent posting from the UK’s Mail on Sunday on the MBs by BowieNetter Dukebox, Luther Vandross talked about his first meeting with David Bowie during the making of ‘Young Americans’. For those that missed it, it’s worth repeating here:

“My big break came at 23. I had been struggling as a musician since leaving college when, in 1974, I went to visit a high school friend called Carlos Alomar in Philadelphia. At the time, he was playing for a strange young Englishman called David Bowie who wore make-up and sometimes even dresses.

One day while I was chatting to Carlos’s wife, I improvised a line from the album’s title track, Young Americans, the way I thought it should be sung. Bowie overheard me and asked Carlos who I was. Then he asked me whether I would sing the musical phrase again in front of a microphone. After that Bowie decided to use me for the vocal arrangements of the whole album.

Once Young Americans was finished I was asked to tour with Bowie, singing backing vocals and using my own material to open the show. On the first night, at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles, Diana Ross was in the front row.”

While Luther undoubtedly did some of the vocal arrangements, those of you who have seen the ‘Cracked Actor’ documentary will know that he certainly didn’t work out “the vocal arrangements of the whole album”…Remember that scene where an apologetic young Bowie is making sure the backing singers are thoroughly rehearsed for their parts in that brilliant section in ‘Right’? Well I think it’s obvious who’s in control there. Talented little skinny-assed white boy knew his stuff alright!

Thanks again for the pointer Dukebox.

what’s really happening

INside 2001 you’ll find some serious, irritatedand outright hilarious message board postings toremember, along with some outrageous chatroom snippetsthat will have you ROTFL! Then, as last year, abeautiful selection of Gallery postings from 2001follows.

‘Sailor Quotes of the Year’ is INside again this yeartoo, and includes a really ROTTEN journal entry andthe dirt from the chatroom about his big…well,you’ll just have to read it. 😉

INside ‘Memories 2001’ are some of the fun parties,shows, and events of the past year, along with acouple of ‘Goodbyes’ to some important people whomwe’ll miss dearly and are forever indebted to.

Finally, there are a few NEW sections INside thisissue which highlight some outstanding BowieNetMembers and Events:

1. BowieToonz! Ysengrin, our very talented resident cartoonist, has submitted some fantastic ‘Sailor & Co.’ cartoons for our amusement in this issue. ‘Fashion’ and ‘transportation’ seemed to bethe themes for 2001!

2. Since there are always these little microcosmspopping up INside BowieNet, one of the largest andoldest is highlighted in a new section, ‘FeaturedBowieNet SubCult’.

3. Of course we couldn’t leave out ‘America 911’. Thisis a feature which we hope we will *never* have toinclude again. It’s heart-rending, but an important snapshot of how we all reacted during 2-3 weeks after that horrific event.

I did some of the design myself INside this issue, buttook a purely ‘Editor in Chief’ role in someinstances, while the intro pages for ‘Memories2001’, ‘Sailor Quotes’, and ‘Featured BowieNetSubCult’ were designed by Spaceboys – a brilliantgraphic artist, who used to teach Photoshop and does graphic design for a living. Myself and Spaceboys hope you’ll enjoy INside 2001 as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together for you!

Best Regards,

Se7en & Spaceboys

____
Notes:

1. INside Publications require Adobe Acrobat Reader,which is FREE. You can get it here

2. As always, it’s best to save INside to yourhard drive for viewing and printing locally as a pieceof memorabelia, as it is a large file (~30MB). (Choose ‘Savea Copy’ or click on the diskette icon from withinAcrobat Reader to do so).

3. For ease of navigation, we’ve included a smallIndex. Look for ‘Bookmarks’ in your Acrobat reader forease in getting to the various sections.

4. Having trouble downloading? Want a copy of INsideon CD instead? E-mail inside@davidbowie.com andwe’ll tell you how to get your own copy of *BOTH* INSide2000 and INside2001 on CD!

Many of our members are wondering about the rumors, and in some cases, the advertising of David Bowie live dates in Europe. According to David?s booking agent, ?Every inquiry we have made regarding venue availability seems to be leaking out. I believe these are simply promoters who know David has a limited time to perform in Europe this year, and are trying to create their own reality. Fans should always check with BowieNet for the official word on confirmed shows. The only truths circulating about David?s live appearances this summer are that David is the curator of the Meltdown Festival in London and will perform, although the date of the performance is not set. Also, there is truth to the rumors and statements that we are attempting to find a mutually convenient time for David to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival this summer. Again, no date for this has been finalized.

Any other announcements indicating that David will appear are wishful thinking, premature or simply wrong.?

When you’re a boy…They’ll never clone ya…

Taking over from the Pusher installation, the Band of One is launched tomorrow (15th March 2002) at Tower Records, Piccadilly, London. There will be exclusive band pictures, videos and limited edition merchandising on display at the store?s tube station entrance and throughout the shop until 16th April. Here’s a bit about the project from the Band of One promotional website where you can find more pictures of the handsome devils and signed band merchandise:

“Artist Anthony Gross has produced a Boy Band of 3D computer clones using mainstream software customised with downloads from the Internet. The figures, with their exaggerated bodies but angelic looks, pose for the viewer with the coy camaraderie of the typical boy band poster. Whilst intended as formal studies of group male exhibitionism, these images also raise questions concerning the commodification of the body within a generic pop industry.”

As far as I can make out, there is no actual audio product available by Band of One, which takes the idea of a manufactured group to a ridiculous and hilarious conclusion. Eat your heart out Gorillaz!

Feel it in my voice…

BowieNetter Kiarrith has sent the URL for the broadcast of Gail’s performance on Nic Harcourt’s ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’ radio programme on KCRW FM, yesterday. This breathtaking session includes a stunning version of the Burt Bacharach & Hal David classic, ‘Alfie’, which is worth tuning in for alone.

You can listen to the thirty-eight minute recording by clicking on the image above. Thanx again Kiarrith.

Many of our members are wondering about the rumors, and in some cases, the advertising of David Bowie live dates in Europe. According to David?s booking agent, ?Every inquiry we have made regarding venue availability seems to be leaking out. I believe these are simply promoters who know David has a limited time to perform in Europe this year, and are trying to create their own reality. Fans should always check with BowieNet for the official word on confirmed shows. The only truths circulating about David?s live appearances this summer are that David is the curator of the Meltdown Festival in London and will perform, although the date of the performance is not set. Also, there is truth to the rumors and statements that we are attempting to find a mutually convenient time for David to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival this summer. Again, no date for this has been finalized.

Any other announcements indicating that David will appear are wishful thinking, premature or simply wrong.?

Got to believe somebody…

Those of you that have already purchased tickets for a rumoured David Bowie performance in Dresden, Germany, would do well to heed the advice of one of our very own members, Starla:

“I have decided that I believe not one thing written anywhere; web, paper, anywhere about Sailor appearing at any concert, festival, etc. until I have read it here and he has confirmed it. So, $%%!# the rumours!”

Well said girl. At moments like these it’s best to look at the accuracy of recent rumours like 2002 Festival Luca, Isle Of Wight Festival and Marley Park in Dublin, all of which David Bowie will not be performing at.

If David does consider any other shows apart from those we have already confirmed, you can rest assured that tickets will not be available to buy before the shows are confirmed here.

Just a reminder that tonight at 6PM EMM GRYNER will be joining us in the BowieNet Chatroom.

Stop by and get the skinny on what our old pal Emm’s been up to lately. We think she may even give away some CD’s.

See you there…

NOTE: The chat is no longer being held in the ModChat. Please click over to the regular Bowienet Chatroom