Complete Meltdown Updates

Sailor’s playing in the RF Hall…

Revised Meltdown listings have started to appear in the UK press, with full page adverts in the likes of Time Out (above). These listings seem to be more up-to-date than the Meltdown website, and they include recent additions such as:

Marin Alsop conducting the London Sinfonietta for Philip Glass‘ ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ symphonies from the music of David Bowie and Brian Eno – An exclusive performance by current holders of Radio 1 Single Of The Week, Fischerspooner – And, a rare performance by The The, about which Matt Johnson has said: “Expect an unorthodox show, as, in the spirit of the festival, The The melt themselves down to their original format as an electronic group.”

There are several shows now completely sold out, including: The Waterboys, Coldplay, Suede, Badly Drawn Boy, and of course, David Bowie and The Dandy Warhols. See below, for what is the most up-to-date listing anywhere in the known universe…and beyond!

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PHILIP GLASS’ LOW & HEROES / FROM THE MUSIC OF DAVID BOWIE & BRIAN ENO / LONDON SINFONIETTA – JUST ANNOUNCED
THU 13 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 8PM / £15 & £12

DANIEL JOHNSTON / THE LEGENDARY STARDUST COWBOY
SAT 15 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 8PM / £15 & £12.50

THE WATERBOYS (ACOUSTIC) – SOLD OUT
SUN 16 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 7.30PM / £16 & £14

THE DIVINE COMEDY
SPECIAL GUESTS: THE POLYPHONIC SPREE
BALLROOM: KIMMO POHJONEN KLUSTER PLAYS BOWIE
MON 17 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 7.30PM / £18.50 & £15

HARRY HILL
MON 17 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 7.45PM / £17.50

KIMMO POHJONEN KLUSTER / THE LONESOME ORGANIST
TUE 18 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 7.45PM / £15 & £12.50

TELEVISION
SPECIAL GUEST: LUKE HAINES (19 JUNE)
SPECIAL GUEST: STEW (20 JUNE)
WED 19 JUNE & THU 20 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 8PM / £20 & £17.50

FISCHERSPOONER – JUST ANNOUNCED
SPECIAL GUEST: GONZALEZ
BALLROOM: THE LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT (REVISITED) / TERRY EDWARDS & THE SCAPEGOATS PLAY BOWIE DUB & SKA
FRI 21 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 8PM / £17.50, £15 & £12

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION – LIVE SCORE TO LA HAINE
FRI 21 JUNE AND SAT 22 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 7.30PM / £17.50 & £15

COLDPLAY – SOLD OUT
SPECIAL GUEST: PETE YORN
22 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 8PM / £18.50 & £15

SUEDE – SOLD OUT
SPECIAL GUEST: PEACHES
BALLROOM: THE BOLLYWOOD BRASS BAND
SUN 23 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 8PM / £18.50 & £15.00

THE THE – JUST ANNOUNCED
SPECIAL GUEST: BABY ZIZANIE FEAT. JIM THRIWELL (FOETUS) & JIM COLEMAN (EX-COP SHOOT COP)
TUE 25 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 8PM / £20 & £17.50

BADLY DRAWN BOY – SOLD OUT
WED 26 JUNE AND THU 27 JUNE / QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL / 7.30PM / £22.50, £20 & £17.50

MERCURY REV
SPECIAL GUEST: SIX BY SEVEN, DAVID KITT
BALLROOM: (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY / SENOR COCONUT Y SU CONJUNTO
THU 27 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 7.30PM / £18 & £15

SUPERGRASS
SPECIAL GUEST: BOBBY CONN
BALLROOM: SENOR COCONUT Y SU CONJUNTO / THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS
FRI 28 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 8PM / £18.50 & £15

DOUBLE BILL: THE NEW HEATHENS NIGHT – SOLD OUT
DAVID BOWIE / THE DANDY WARHOLS
BALLROOM: JONATHAN ROSS
SAT 29 JUNE / ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL / 7.30PM / £25 & £22.50

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Spend A Night Taking Pictures Of David Bowie!

All you’ve got to do is win…

Are you a Mick Rock in the making? Or the next Frank W. Ockenfels III? Perhaps you’re another Myriam Kayda! (God forbid…there’s only room for one Mask!) Whatever, now’s your chance to become a rock photographer for one very special night at the BowieNet Members only show at the Roseland Ballroom!

You’ll have the chance to show off your Access All Areas pass as you hang out back stage taking snap shots with your new, top of the line Nikon Coolpix Digital Camera set-up complete with Lexar Media High-Speed CompactFlash and Card Reader!

Courtesy of Nikon and Tech TV, you will be flown to New York and you’ll also be put up for the night in New York City. On the night of the show you’ll be right in the pit, taking shots of David with world-renowned rock photographer Kevin Mazur showing you the ropes.

For more details and your chance to enter this incredible competition, click on the image above.

Heathen Praised In Q Magazine Review

“No more free steps to ‘Heathen’…” DB by Markus Klinko & Indrani.

You got your Q line…

The current edition of Q magazine (June 2002) has published the first full review of ‘Heathen’. Reviewed by David Quantick, the magazine has given the album the praise it deserves. Here are the concluding paragraphs from the review:

“After 27 albums or so, Bowie is entitled to keep making it up as he goes along. His inventiveness, even on the rare occasions it misfires, is like no-one else’s and when he sounds like someone else, that’s generally because – duh! – he invented them in the first place.

At 55 years old, most of today’s young rock heroes will be managing their own heron farms in Cumbria, crying into the corsages of ladyboys who have never heard of them, or making pretend soundtrack albums that are only available through the internet. David Bowie, always much more than just a Greatest Hits, still makes music that no-one else has heard before, and still does it well. And Heathen? A return to form. Definitely.”

Pretty encouraging stuff, let’s hope that the rest of the music press feel the same way. Initial signs are promising if the feedback we’ve received so far from fans and industry folk is anything to go by.

Q have surpassed their normal Bowie picture content (05/01/02 SNIPPET: THIS MONTH’S DB PIC IN Q) by using no less than four pictures (three of those are full page, including the one above) from the Markus Klinko & Indrani session. Admittedly, one of these is a full page advert for ‘Heathen’, a no frills affair that simply uses the album sleeve shot with the title, the release date and company logos. A very stylish campaign for a very fine album.

New York Telephone Conversation

One of those lovely canvas effect wedding portraits of
JR & DB, that exists only in the mind of Jonathan Ross!

Heaven is smiling down, ‘Heathen’ boy in a wedding gown…

I’m sure most of you reading this tuned in to BBC Radio 2’s Jonathan Ross Show today…wasn’t it fun? Apart from playing four Bowie tunes (‘Watch That Man’, ‘Queen Bitch’, ‘Slow Burn’ and ‘A New Career In A New Town’), Jonathan had a transatlantic chat with David, during which our man astonished Mr Ross with a list of records that he thought the Radio 2 DJ (and hugely successful television presenter) should check out.

I won’t give too much away, as those of you that missed the broadcast can still go and listen to it here. You can also go here to check out some weblinks that the BBC have kindly put together, regarding most of the artists that David mentioned.

David made a vague promise on today’s programme to return and take part in a three-hour show that Jonathan declared would be wholly dedicated to Bowie…David also suggested that he might phone back off air and renege on his promise!

Finally, if you’re wondering what the hell the vision above is all about, all is explained in this erm…explanation about last week’s show, entitled “David Bowie Rant”:

“Jonathan gets a little upset with Andy about the lack of Bowie on the show the previous week but soon cheers up at the news that he’ll be playing the new single exclusively on next week’s show & that they’ll be phoning Bowie live in New York. Then it gets a bit messy and Jonathan ends up imagining their wedding.”

Click on the image above to hear Jonathan’s “David Bowie Rant”.

Bowiephiles

Did you have a nice Christmas?

That Hat : Mix-Mag : June 2002

The current edition of Mix-Mag, the clubbers magazine, has an interview with Moby in which he recalls meeting and working with David. He also slips in mention of a very enviable Christmas present from David. ‘Are you a David Bowie fan?’ he asks, conspiratorially. ‘You want to see something cool?’ Moby leaps up from his slightly austere 70’s sofa and darts into another room, returning with a small, slightly dusty, black trilby hat and a big smile. It’s the hat Bowie wore in the 1976 film ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’, a Christmas present from the man himself.” (SusanS)

Best Cameo : MTV 2002 Movie Awards : 06/06/02

The MTV 2002 Movie Awards have David up for Best Cameo for his performance in Zoolander. The on-line audience vote for this category, so click here and vote for David! The show airs on 6th June at 9.00PM ET. (tveye)

Jean Genie : Tribute Band : Gig Dates

The Jean Genie tribute band, fronted by John Mainwairing (03/25/02 NEWS: PULP SINGLE DELAYED), has some UK gigs lined up for the summer. They play The Studio in Hartlepool on August 3rd, The Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh on August 1st, and Middlesbrough on August 15th, venue tba. They also play The Venue in South London, tonight.

:))

Db Interview And Slow Burn First Play On Radio 2

And the doors shall have ears…

As pointed out by a few of you on the MBs since last Saturday, Radio 2 are scheduled to have the first official play of ‘Slow Burn’ via the The Jonathan Ross Show tomorrow. You can also expect to hear a New York telephone conversation between Jonathan and David during the show.

Regular visitors to BowieNet will know just how big a Bowie fan JR is, this was amply illustrated last Saturday when Jonathan played not only ‘Heroes’/’Helden’, but ‘The Jean Genie’ and Iggy Pop’s version of ‘China Girl’!

Click on the ‘Slow Burn’ sleeve above to take you to a page where you can listen to the show, which commences at 10:00am London time.

The Heathen Journals – Part 5

David Bowie rehearsing ‘I Would Be Your Slave’, with Tony Visconti and the
Scorchio Quartet, for the Tibet House Benefit at Carnegie Hall back in February.

You show respect…

In the fifth instalment of The Heathen Journals, David pays his respect to the Scorchio Quartet, Neil Young, Charles Michael Kitridge Thompson IV, aka Black Francis of The Pixies (or indeed, Frank Black as he’s better known these days), and Norman Carl Odam, aka The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.

In celebration of David’s version of ‘Cactus’, we have posted the lyrics to this classic Pixies’ song below.

Total Blam Blam – (European Correspondent)

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Cactus (Black Francis)

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore

I put it on when I go lonely
Will you take off your dress and send it to me?

I miss your kissin’ and I miss your head
And a letter in your writing doesn’t mean you’re not dead

Just run outside in the desert heat
Make your dress all wet and send it to me

I miss your soup and I miss your bread
And a letter in your writing doesn’t mean you’re not dead

So spill your breakfast and drip your wine
Just wear that dress when you di yi yi yi yine

D -A -V -I -D

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore

Bloody your hands on a cactus tree
Wipe ’em on your dress and send it to me

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore

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The Heathen Journals – Part 4

“He’s the man in the middle…” Carlos Alomar pops in to do his thing to
‘Everyone Says Hi’, while TV contemplates yet another groovy string part.
…That’s David Bowie in the middle. Picture courtesy of Tony Visconti.

All my trials, Lord, Will be remembered…

David Torn, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Grohl, Pete Townshend, Gerry Leonard, Carlos Alomar and Tony Visconti all get a mention in today’s instalment of The Heathen Journals.

But, while you’re waiting for it to be uploaded, you can check out David’s words to the first track on ‘Heathen’, ‘Sunday’. We will be adding all of the lyrics to the ‘Heathen’ area as David gives them to us.

Total Blam Blam – (European Correspondent)

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Sunday

Nothing remains
We could run when the rain slows
Look for the cars or signs of life
Where the heat goes
Look for the drifters
We should crawl under the bracken
Look for the shafts of light on the road
Where the heat goes

Everything has changed
For in truth, it’s the beginning of nothing
And nothing has changed
Everything has changed
For in truth, it’s the beginning of an end
And nothing has changed
And everything has changed

(first voice)
In your fear
Of what we have become
Take to the fire
Now we must burn
All that we are
Rise together
Through these clouds
As on wings

(2nd voice)
In your fear, seek only peace
In you fear, seek only love
In your fear, seek only peace
In you fear, seek only love
In your fear, in your fear
As on wings

This is the trip
And this is the business we take
This is our number
All my trials, Lord
Will be remembered
Everything has changed

David On The Ledge

The original promo 45 of ‘I Took A Trip’ from Blammo’s collection.

The stardust trail, Leading back to you…

You all know that David has no less than three covers on ‘Heathen’, The Pixies’ ‘Cactus’, Neil Young’s ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’ and a truly magnificent version of The Legendary Stardust Cowboy’s ‘I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship’.

David has dropped the name of ‘The Ledge’ to anyone who cared to listen since the days when The Ledge’s slogan was “A legend in his own time…No other time would have him.” But, it’s taken David over thirty years to record his tribute to Norman Carl Odam, (The Ledge’s real name) and below he explains how he finally got round to recording a Legendary Stardust Cowboy tune:

“The third (cover on ‘Heathen’) is a song by my one time muse The Legendary Stardust Cowboy. He was a stablemate of mine on Mercury records in the late 60’s and I chewed off the last part of his name for Ziggy, of course. When I read on his site that he thought that because I’d borrowed his name that, at least I should sing one of his songs I got guilty and wanted to make amends immediately. So I covered one of his best songs, ‘I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship’ although he sings Spacecraft on the record.”

So now you know. I do hope to do a page on The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, including a full discography, as there seems to be a general lack of an accurate online record of The Ledge’s erratic career. We’ll leave you with the lyrics to ‘I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship’ and a great quote from when The Ledge was asked about his favourite interests:

“The Old West and Space Exploration…Everything in-between is all garbage, and I’m not interested!”

Total Blam Blam – (European Correspondent)

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I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship (Cowboy)

I took a trip on a gemini spacecraft
And I thought about you
I passed through the shadow of Jupiter
And I thought about you
I shot my spacegun
And boy, I really felt blue

Two or three flying saucers
Parked under the stars
The winding stream
Moon shining down
On some little town
And with each beam
The same old dream

I took a trip on a gemini spacecraft
And I thought about you
I shot my spacegun
And I thought about you
I pulled down my sun visor
Boy, I really felt blue

You jumped into your Gemini
I jumped into mine
We’ll orbit the moon
For just one time
Tomorrow night
Tomorrow night
Will you hold hands
With me in the moonlight

I took a trip in a gemini spacecraft
And I thought about you
I shot my spacegun
And I thought about you
I took a walk in space
Boy, I really felt blue

Well, I peeked through the crack
And I looked way back
The stardust trail
Leading back to you
What did I do
What could I do
What did I do
Well??

I thought about you

The Heathen Journals – Part 3

“Bang Bang I got mine…” DB does it Pixies style.

I like the beat of your drum…

In part three off the ‘Heathen’ journals, you can read about David’s Damascene experience, Matt Chamberlain’s approach to percussion and how David tackled The Pixies all by himself! Click on the image above to take you there.

If today’s journal isn’t live right now, pop back shortly or keep an eye on the MBs where Starla or Seven are bound to herald its arrival! };-)

While we’re on the subject of ‘Heathen’ cover versions…