Month: April 2005

And we frightened the small children away…

The producers of the marvellous play Shockheaded Peter have placed an advert (see above) in this week’s NY Time Out, highlighting a wonderful quotation from David Bowie which goes thus:

“A vile and repulsive story told by reprehensible characters in a thoroughly degenerate fashion – ABSOLUTE BLISS.”

When I asked David about the production, he said that he hopes that along with The Pillowman, Shockheaded Peter will run and run.

I’m sure you’re all aware of the grisly characters that populate Shockheaded Peter, all based on the original Struwwelpeter book for children which was first published in l845, written and illustrated by Dr Heinrich Hoffmann.

Click on the image above to go to the official Shockheaded Peter website where you can view some of the original illustrations from the book and read all about the current NY stage production.

Commencing countdown…

Following on from BBC Radio2’s BRITs 25 – best song, (01.03.2005 NEWS: VOTE FOR HEROES, PLUS 3 DB SONGS IN ALL-TIME TOP 100) Ken Bruce of Radio 2 is now hosting The Songs Of The Decades to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ivor Novello Awards.

Over a five week period, Ken will be playing five songs from five decades: 1955-1964 (17 April), 1965-1974 (26 April), 1975-1984 (3 May), 1985-1994 (10 May) and 1995-2005 (17 May) and you, the public, have to vote on your very favourite.

The results are already in for the first batch of five songs with The Kinks’ You Really Got Me clinching the top spot.

Here are the nominees for the second batch of songs:

A: Yesterday – The Beatles
B: My Generation – The Who
C: Space Oddity – David Bowie
D: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
E: Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks

Some tough competition for David there, and while I’m not suggesting you should automatically vote for Space Oddity, I’ll be round your place with the boys if you don’t!

Click on the image above to take you to the voting page where you can cast your vote until May 2nd.

Thanx to BowieNetter jungtheforeman for the pointer.

If I did casually mention tonight…

Sunday night is MINT night, and, as you’ve no doubt already gathered, host Marc Riley has Mick Rock as his most flamboyant guest this week.

The mad lensman is in the middle of an intensive promotional schedule that culminates in the launch of a commercial edition of Moonage Daydream with a massive Mick Rock retrospective in Manchester from September 22nd.

The exhibition will take place at the URBIS and will include rare video footage and interactive elements as well as all the usual suspects and loads of new additions.

Anyway, we’ll give you a full breakdown of the event nearer the time, but it’s well worth tuning in tonight, as I’m sure Mick will be talking fast and loose with Marc about this and various other projects, including the upcoming 2006 David Bowie by Mick Rock calendar.

Both Rocket Science and MINT are online and on DAB radio every week, and both frequently have Bowie content. But, don’t fret if you miss the initial broadcast as you can still listen to both shows online up until the following week’s instalments.

Hand in hand in love with love…

Today is the thirteenth anniversary of David and Iman‘s wedding in Lausanne, Switzerland and I’m sure you’ll all want to join me in wishing them both a wonderful day.

BowieNet members can join in the well wishing by adding to a message board thread that BowieNetter Bianca has already started, here.

The picture above is from Wednesday’s Vanity Fair Party to celebrate the opening of the 4th Annual Tribeca Film Festival, (04.21.05 NEWS: TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL PARTY) and it’s just one more example of why David and Iman are considered by many to be the world’s most beautiful couple.

Let the children use it…

UK children?s charity, Barnardo?s, has reported that its stocks of old LP records are running low, and now the charity is urging people to donate their old vinyl. Here’s an edited excerpt from the website of the charity that used to employ one Haywood Stenton Jones as a promotions officer until his death in 1969…

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Due to a surge in demand for ?vintage vinyl? records at its nation-wide network of stores, Barnardo?s, the UK?s leading children?s charity, has reported that stocks are running low, and the charity is urging people to donate their unwanted discs to meet the demand.

John Ellis, Head of Retail Development at Barnardo?s explains: “Music is a big part of our retail business and though demand for CDs has far outstripped that of vinyl in the past 15 years, in recent months we have noticed a distinct up-turn in vinyl sales, and many of our shop managers are deluged with requests for certain artists and records. Music is now so readily available, with the rise of the internet, MP3 players etc, so for music aficionados there is real cachet in owning original vinyl. It appears that records and albums from the seventies and eighties are proving most popular.”

Vinyl trends at Barnardo?s stores also indicate regional differences in demand. In Wales for example, there is a huge demand for eighties artists such as Madonna and Prince, while vinyl addicts in the Midlands and South West prefer bands from the seventies such as The Clash and Pink Floyd. Interestingly, those in the North West, support their home-grown talent, and request albums by The Beatles and The Happy Mondays, while the Scots seem to be big Bowie fans.

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The site goes on to publish a top ten of most requested vinyl albums at their stores across the UK…

Barnardo?s Top 10 Requests
1. Sergeant Pepper?s Lonely Hearts Club Band ? The Beatles
2. Country Life ? Roxy Music
3. Sticky Fingers ? Rolling Stones
4. Rapper?s Delight ? The Sugarhill Gang
5. True Blue ? Madonna
6. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ? David Bowie
7. Purple Rain ? Prince & the Revolution
8. Dark Side of the Moon ? Pink Floyd
9. Pills Thrills & Bellyaches ? Happy Mondays
10. London Calling ? The Clash

A strange list I’m sure you’ll agree and a good explanation as to why I couldn’t find any second-hand Bowie vinyl in Glaswegian charity shops back when David played the city in November 2003.

Good to see another of my very favourite albums right up there, Roxy Music‘s Country Life. Though I can’t help thinking it may be a record requested as much for its cover as it is for its musical content…particularly by young men approaching puberty!

I digress…you can read the original unedited piece here.

Meanwhile, BowieNet now gives a couple of lucky BowieNetters the opportunity to donate some valuable Bowie vinyl to Barnardo’s in our latest competition, that’s presuming the winners won’t want to keep their spoils for themselves.

Back in 2001, the UK company Simply Vinyl re-released the first six post-Deram Bowie albums as part of their celebrated programme of quality vinyl repackages. All six of the Bowie LPs were pressed as limited editions on 180g virgin vinyl, housed in high quality faithfully reproduced covers, with lyric sheet inserts and sealed in heavy duty PVC outers.

We’re giving away one complete set of six albums, from Space Oddity to Pin-Ups, and an ultra-rare withdrawn Hunky Dory. The original version (top left) was quickly withdrawn and destroyed as it didn’t meet the exacting standards of the quality control department…yours truly.

All but a tiny handful (we’re not even talking double figures here) of the original sleeves were incinerated due to the poor colour reproduction and the fact that the black border had been left off…not to mention the bad crop on the reverse of the sleeve. I guarantee you have never seen and will never see one of these incredibly rare original Simply Vinyl copies for sale on eBay, or anywhere else for that matter.

As for the set of six albums, they regularly go for around $25 each and sets in this condition (mint) are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Expect to pay upwards of $150 for a full set of six.

To bring this item to a close before you all fall asleep, this is going to be a names-out-of-the-hat type thingy. But, you can only enter for one or the other: The six albums or the withdrawn Hunky Dory.

Enter by clicking on the link of your choosing below:

I want the complete set of six albums

I’d rather the far rarer withdrawn Hunky Dory

Usual rules: Only one entry per BowieNet account. Please remember to enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name. It may also speed things up for you if you include your real name and address, as we won’t then have to wait for another e-mail from you in the event you are a winner.

This draw will end once I have gone two days without receiving any more entries, (or for at least one week, whichever is longest) and the winners will be announced shortly after that. Good luck all you vinyl junkies…and if you’re in the UK get that old vinyl down to Barnardo’s now…David’s father will smile upon you.

The Sun machine is coming down, and we’re gonna have a party…

Iman was spotted out last night with a mystery man who was keen to keep his identity hidden (above) at the State Supreme Courthouse in New York for the Vanity Fair Party. The party was held to celebrate the opening of the 4th Annual Tribeca Film Festival.

Apart from the picture above, the bloke with Iman managed to get into shots with a few of the other celebrity guests (of which there were gazillions) and I have seen pix of him with the following: Jay Z, Nicole Kidman, Amy Sacco, Lisa Robinson, Graydon Carter, Griffin Dunne, Christopher Walken, Kevin Bacon, Darren Aronofsky, Rachel Weisz, George Whipple and Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs.

I’m pretty sure I saw a shot of him with Willem Dafoe too. But, I’ll be buggered if I can find the blighter anywhere now. Did I imagine the whole thing?

Anyway, BowieNet members can view some larger versions of pix from the event by clicking on the dainty little pin on the lapel of “Mystery Bloke”.

Millions weep a fountain…

Had a few e-mails regarding DB’s involvement with a rock opera version of Alan Moore‘s comic Watchmen and a new version of Space Oddity for Darren Aronofsky‘s upcoming movie, The Fountain.

It seems the rumours were started online by a Montreal set visit report from The Fountain by Moriarty on the Ain’t It Cool News website, from where, this excerpt:

“We heard some cool news about David Bowie, who is working with Mansell to write a new Major Tom song for the end of the film. His ?Space Oddity? was one of the things that first inspired Aronofsky, and the way he portrays the desolation of deep space travel certainly calls that song to mind. We also learned that Bowie grilled Aronofsky about his involvement with WATCHMEN. Turns out Bowie?s working on a rock opera version of WATCHMEN on his own, although details about that production are still tentative.”

Well, plainly put, David Bowie definitely isn’t involved with a rock opera version of Watchmen, even if such a thing is happening. And, as much as the Space Oddity re-record is a nice idea, (I still love the beautifully sparse remake that graced the B-side of the 1980 Alabama Song 7″ single) Major Tom is not about to be reawakened from his deep space slumber.

However, the good news is that Aronofsky has asked David to write a song for the movie…so fingers crossed, kidz. Give me a new song over a remake any day…well, 99 out of a hundred days.

?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? DVD CERTIFIED PLATINUM IN THE U.S.The ?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? DVD (ISO/Columbia) has been certified Platinum, with U.S. sales exceeding 100,000. Commemorating his first major world tour in nearly a decade, ?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? was filmed November 22 and 23, 2003, in front of emotionally charged audiences at the Point Depot in Dublin, Ireland and marks the influential rock legend?s first concert film in over 15 years. The force of BOWIE?s unrivaled voice and charisma–which consistently garnered him the best live reviews of his career night after night–is powerfully underlined in the DVD?s 30 songs spanning his illustrious career. As he delivers one incredible song after another over the course of two-and-a-half hours–including “Five Years” and “Hang On To Yourself,? which BOWIE hasn?t played live in over 20 years–fans will feel the intimacy and passion of BOWIE?s performance that doesn?t rely on any tricks, any bells and whistles, any costume changes, any special effects or gimmickry. The program runs in Stereo or 5.1 Surround Sound and includes a Jukebox, Discography and a ten-page booklet full of live photos from the concert.Feeding off the overwhelming response from the Dublin audience, BOWIE said on the first night: “If we’re going to film a DVD anywhere, this is the place to do it. I know it, you know it and they (the film crew) know it!” ?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? is produced by Blink TV, edited by Emmy Award winner Guy Harding and the Creative Director is Marcus Viner. The DVD?s 5.1 surround sound mix was engineered by Tony Visconti, BOWIE’s long-time producer of such classic albums as THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, YOUNG AMERICANS and HEROES; Visconti also co-produced with BOWIE his most recent critically revered albums HEATHEN (2002) and REALITY (2003).Armed with a rotating list of 60 songs, BOWIE and his band–Gerry Leonard (band leader/guitar/vocals), Sterling Campbell (drums/vocals), Earl Slick (guitar), Gail Ann Dorsey (bass guitar/vocals), Catherine Russell (keyboards/vocals/percussion/guitar) and Mike Garson (keyboards)–made their mark with shows constituting what many described as one of the best treks in his career. The hugely successful and critically acclaimed ?A Reality Tour? began last October in Europe, visiting countries all over the world while attracting over 700,000 fans and earning the tour #1 top-grossing honors for the first half of 2004, according to Billboard Boxscore. It was also hailed as ?Best Tour: #2 (after Radiohead)? in the ?Critics? Picks? section in the ROLLING STONE ?Music Awards 2003? poll (2/5/04).?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? mixes an array of classics and deep album cuts with songs from BOWIE?s most recent works, HEATHEN and REALITY, both of which critics ranked among his best works. HEATHEN entered the top 15 in 14 countries, including the U.S., while REALITY claimed the #1 position on Billboard?s Pan European chart, debuting in the Top 10 in 15 countries. BOWIE truly continues to raise the standard for ongoing adventurousness and artistry in popular music. Here?s what critics had to say about ?DAVID BOWIE – A REALITY TOUR? DVD:“David Bowie fans not lucky enough to catch him during his most recent world tour can witness the career-spanning spectacle on a new DVD capturing his magnetic Dublin performance from last November…Bowie fans both young and old will find plenty of favorites to satisfy them on this DVD….Bowie?s almost two and a half hour performance…is captivating.”–Derrik J. Lang, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 10/26/04?…ranks as one of the best live DVDs of the year…”— Timothy Hiatt, ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER, 12/1/04?For anyone who saw Bowie on his recent tour, this DVD will serve as a reminder of how vital he remains. Bowie performs with the energy of someone half his age. This DVD provides a glimpse into the magic he created during the tour.?–Eric Schelkopf, KANE COUNTY CHRONICLE, 11/28/04??a well paced, 30-song, 140-minute program that this diehard modernist doesn?t allow to become a greatest-hits revue. It?s especially arresting visually, with eye-popping and innovative effects that keep pace with the music, which varies from moody surrealism to apocalyptic blowouts.?–Peter Puterbaugh, SOUND & VISION, February/March 2005?…David Bowie continues to impress as a vital, forward-minded rock artist. The Dublin stop on Bowie’s 2003-04 ?Reality? tour with his white-hot band was documented for this DVD. Reasons to listen: The imaginatively filmed DVD boasts a great, 30-song set list, with a programmable jukebox feature. Bowie leavens his hits with left-field inspirations, including a revamped ?Rebel Rebel,? the ghostly ?Heathen (The Rays)? and a moody, muscular reclaiming of Iggy Pop’s ?Sister Midnight.??–Bradley Bambarger, NEWARK STAR LEDGER, 12/19/04 ?With sleek camera work blended with the concert?s video and lighting effects, this DVDtakes the viewer for a concert ride that proves that after four decades in music, Bowie?s still got it. Singing former hits such as ?Fame? and ?Under Pressure? with the passion of an artist singing his songs for the first time…”–Mari Fong, CAMPUS CIRCLE, 2/23/05

While a hundred thousand found me in demand…

David Bowie’s A Reality Tour DVD has been certified Platinum in America with U.S. sales exceeding 100,000.

Wow! That’s pretty cool eh kidz? I’m sure you’ll all want to join me in congratulating David on this wonderful news.

Check out the press release section above for the official announcement including snippets of reviews, etc.

And I’m busting up my brains for the words…

Those of you that entered this obviously know what it’s all about. If you don’t, go see the original story. (04.05.2005 NEWS: DB STUFF IN LONDON AND D&D CD COMPETITION)

Of the three quotations we posted, the first was the actual one supplied by DB himself. A fair few of you chose the second quotation and a few other poor lost souls even selected the last one as that most likely to have been uttered by David.

I did try to make things easier by directly linking (no less than 3 times!) to the official Darkness and Disgrace site where the correct quotation is proudly displayed at the top of the page. (Click on the CD cover above to get there again.)

In the event, the ten names below are the lucky BowieNetters who knew the correct quotation and were selected by The Random Generator.

Andrewa
danlevy
eedsud
fshion
georgina23
lady_stardust
Littlebombardier
marcustandy
scotty
twozpots

Well done you lot, hope you like the CD. If you’ve not already done so, please send me your real world name and address pronto!