Month: May 2005

I keep a photograph, It burns my wall with time…

Today is the final day to get your entry in for the BowieNet-only view of the David Bowie: Pin Up exhibition.

As I said previously, the Redferns agency, the organiser of this David Bowie photographic retrospective, has kindly agreed to a special BowieNet only view at the gallery for 50 BowieNetters on the afternoon of Saturday June 25th.

Entrants will be selected randomly from a list of those wishing to attend. If you haven’t already, (and once you’re positive you will be able to make it on the day) TotalBlamBlam@davidbowie.com with a subject line of “I wanna be at the BowieNet view”.

Usual rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account and please remember to enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name.

See my original news pieces for more. (03.30.05 NEWS: SUMMER BOWIE PHOTOGRAPHIC RETROSPECTIVE & 05.07.05 NEWS: BOWIENET DAY AT DAVID BOWIE: PIN UP EXHIBITION) I’ll post the list of fifty winners over the next few days.

My burning desire started on Sunday…

If you’re in Amsterdam for Angelnr12 and Wine’s BowieFix 2005 party but are undecided about going along to tomorrow’s The Voyeur’s 2005 fan meeting, Amsterdam Oddity, that we’ve been telling you about for months, (03.26.05 NEWS: THINGS TO DO ON MAY 29TH & 04.03.05 NEWS: BOWIE-FIX 2005 IN AMSTERDAM NEXT MONTH & 05.21.05 REMINDER: NEXT WEEKEND IS DUTCH BOWIE WEEKEND) then perhaps the news that you could win a mystery signed Bowie item or an original autographed Mick Rock photograph of David Bowie for an outlay of just ?1, might just be enough to persuade you to attend.

Here’s a last minute bit from young master Smit himself…

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Your chance to win a mystery signed Bowie item or an original autographed Mick Rock photograph of David Bowie for ONLY ?1

Like every year International David Bowie fanclub “The Voyeur” is treating visitors of the annual fan(club) meeting to lots of David Bowie goodies.

This year one of the items is a signed something or other from David, courtesy of BowieNet. We don’t know what it is yet, but it will have a genuine 2005 Bowie signature on it. There will also be an original Mick Rock photograph of David Bowie autographed by Mick Rock himself. The photograph is donated by Rockarchive.

Both these items will be added to the lottery which will cost only ?1.

This year’s Voyeur meeting will feature a fantastic live performance by David Bowie coverband ‘Echo Bowie’, a photo exposition by Philippe Auliac, a photo exposition by Rockarchive and a painting exposition by Hans Oldenhof. Also exclusive videos on a large widescreen and of course you can buy rare Bowie vinyl, CDs, DVDs and other merchandise from national and international sellers. All visitor’s will receive a free “Voyeur” fanclub T-shirt.

The Voyeur’s fan(club) meeting will be held at De Heilige Zeug in Amsterdam on Sunday May 29th. De Heilige Zeug is located at the Warmoesstraat 121, only a five minute walk from the Amsterdam Central train station.

More information can be found on the Voyeur’s website at http://go.to/bowiefanclub.

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Let us know how it goes folx…Sadly, I can’t attend. Instead, I’ll be trying to take my mind off things by sweltering in a west-end cinema watching Born To Boogie!

With the bubbles and action, The little details in colour…

When the New Killer Star video was first aired, many fans bemoaned the absence of the song’s creator among the colourful, and often surreal characters that populated the thing.

Well, now you can kind of get an idea of how things may have looked if David Bowie had starred in his own video, albeit with a King Of The Hill style cartoon look about him.

BowieNetter Enrico Pecori pointed me in the direction of a strange little minute-long “video insert” on the Blink TV website. Here’s some stuff from the site:

Video Inserts
A rapidly expanding element of our production business is the creation of video based content to run on the screens during the show. As video – in particular LED technology – becomes a more integrated part of the show itself, there is an increasing need for bands to create content that makes a difference.

We work closely with the show producers and lighting designers, and then tap into a sophisticated network of expertise, to tailor make visual imagery for a whole host of high profile tours.

And here’s a little bit of what they said about their NKS video in particular:

Bowie was filmed, then traced and animated – these animations were edited onto layered backgrounds to create a 3D hologram effect.

So now you know…click on any of the badly-drawn boys above to get to the action.

Sock baby sock…

The very lovely Jerome Soligny has been in touch to provide a nice piece that came as the result of a recent interview he conducted with Jonny Buckland and Chris Martin of Coldplay. Over to Jerome…

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Up the hill backwards…

Rock journalism is not always fun. I started writing in Rock&Folk 15 years ago and sometimes it seems a century to me. But still, some months are better than others. In the last few weeks, I?ve seen Lou Reed live, just brilliant. I?ve also spent a nice afternoon with Tony Visconti (what a great friend – he actually took my picture!) and Rolan Bolan (what a cool guy – he gave me a T.Rex button for my son), in Paris for the release of the “Born To Boogie” DVD.

Last but not least, I?ve listened more than 500 times to “Another Day On Earth”, the new Brian Eno album which I seriously consider as one of his best. Obviously, Brian doesn?t do promo. (Blammo Note: I have to agree, there’s some great stuff on this album…current favourite track being How Many Worlds)

…And I?ve talked to Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland of Coldplay. Again. I know them very well and I?ve been writing about them since their very first EP. They?re both in one of the best bands in the world and they?re not sure about that. Bono is. I love them for that also.

“X&Y”, their new album, is a fantastic one. Brave, rich, soulful, honest. During our last conversation, and because we?re all into music, we didn?t talk about “HER” (even though she?s a fine actress) but, guess what, David Bowie was mentioned. And yes, I started the fire but they didn?t feel like putting it out.

Here?s the Bowie bit for you.

JS: “X&Y” is one of these records that takes time to discover?

Chris Martin: Some of the songs are actually very simple which gives us the freedom to do some more complicated stuff. We like the idea that people can fin new things in the album in 10 years. I keep finding new elements in my favourites records and that?s what we?re aiming for. You can see things very quickly and others take you a while to discover.

JS: “Scary Monsters” is definitely one of these albums?

Chris Martin: Yes and it contains the greatest song ever written which is “Ashes To Ashes”. I think that?s my favourite song, it?s definitely incredible? It?s interesting you mention “Scary Monsters”, because Jonny and I went through a big Bowie phase during the last stage of the recording and we listened to “Ashes To Ashes” in the studio to deconstruct every sound on it and find out what they were doing?

Jonny Buckland: Funnily enough we both kinda found that album at the same time, separately strangely, it?s very odd.

Chris Martin: You know, I adore the cover of “Pablo Picasso” on “Reality”. I kept listening to that again and again. And I really love the first song (he sings) : See the great white scar/ Over Battery Park? I thought that was a great song.

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Thanx for that Jerome. Very cool of you to keep us in mind.

To those of you who have been wondering if I’ve started my own Bowie clothing company since you spied the picture at the top of this piece, sadly not.

What you see is a pair of socks that Jerome’s teenage son, Tom, bought for his father while in Norway from a Swedish company called Blammo. Tom has always had good taste, reflected in the fact that he has named his new band Cracked Actor. Thanx also to Jerome for the lyric quotation suggestion!

My friends talk…

For those of you that missed it the first time around, the final part of the current re-run of Chain Reaction on BBC Radio Four has Brian Peter St. John Le Baptiste de la Salle Eno as the featured guest tonight. Though first aired back in February, it’s a very entertaining half hour in which Eno is interviewed by comic book writer Alan Moore, and definitely worth another listen.

If you’re not familiar with the format, Chain Reaction is a simple idea where a well-known figure from the entertainment industry begins the series interviewing the person of their choice. The following week the interviewee becomes interviewer and chats to their chosen guest. And so on and so on… Sadly, being the last interviewee of the series, Mr Eno doesn’t get to sit in the interviewer’s chair.

Without giving too much away, in tonight’s show Brian talks about leaving Roxy Music, working with David Bowie and the advantages of a giant man-eating spider.

The 30 minute programme starts at 23:00 GMT tonight (Tuesday 24th May) on BBC Radio Four (92-95 FM and 198 LW). Listen online here. Thanx to One Brain for the pointer.

The latest studio album by Brian Eno, Another Day On Earth, is released through Ryko on June 13th…and it even has some songs on it!

Honest guv, I wasn’t even there…

Due through Sony Music on August 2nd is the Region 1 triple DVD set: The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons. Of most interest to Bowie fans is the infamous broadcast from December 1974. Here’s the breakdown of the three DVDs:

Disc 1
August 19, 1969 : Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, Steven Stills, David Crosby
July 13, 1970 : Sly & The Family Stone, Debbie Reynolds, Pancho Gonzales, Senator & Mrs. Fred Harris
New Dick Cavett Interview

Disc 2
July 19, 1969 : Janis Joplin, The Committee, Michael Thomas
June 25, 1970 : Janis Joplin, Raquel Welch, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Chet Huntley
August 3, 1970 : Janis Joplin, Gloria Swanson, Margot Kidder, Dave Meggyesy

Disc 3
August 11, 1970 : Stevie Wonder, Elsa Lanchester, Alain Delon, Tex Ritter
November 23, 1971 : George Harrison, Gary Wright, Ravi Shankar
December 5, 1974 : David Bowie

The original broadcast (which I think was actually the 4th, not the 5th as stated above) has been a favourite among fans via scratchy pirate tapes for some time. But, excepting Young Americans on the Best Of Bowie DVD, none of the rest of the broadcast has been made available officially.

Though no more detail about the exact content of the Bowie section of the DVD, than that above, has been released, we can reveal that it is most likely to include Young Americans, 1984 and the infamous interview with Dick Cavett.

Here’s a bit about the performance which I did for BowieNet back in 2000. (12.13.2000 NEWS: BOWIE, CAVETT AND THE YEAR OF THE DIAMOND DOGS)

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“It was horrendous. I had no idea where I was, I couldn’t hear the questions. To this day, I don’t know if I bothered answering them, I was so out of my gourd.”

So ran David’s mid-Nineties painful recollection of his appearance on Dick Cavett’s Wide World Of Entertainment twenty years earlier. I Personally found the whole thing fascinating, and although the drugs had clearly taken a hold, (think it was Lemsip…he was doing an awful lot of sniffing!) as a character he came across as fundamentally the same David Bowie that had chatted with Russell Harty almost two years earlier, but quite different to the David Bowie that Harty would encounter in his next meeting with the man. But that’s another story.

The whole interview was high camp. Bowie was shy, nervous and flirty, and the campness was taken further by exaggerated shoulders, even more exaggerated cheekbones, a shock of blood-red hair and constant fidgeting. The finishing touch was a thin black cane, which it seemed Halloween Jack was trying to comfort by tenderly stroking, if not more than a little suggestively at times.

David would occasionally play to the strong Bowie contingent in the audience, but not at the expense of Dick Cavett, who seemed as enchanted by the aberration before him as the fans out front. The topic of conversation (a generous description) flitted between the aforementioned Bowie fans, who David applauded for their individuality, (even admitting getting the idea of the cane as a prop from them), to the purchase of the patent for the Black Noise Bomb by William Burroughs and its awful potential. David also mentioned nicking the idea to use Guy Peelleart for Diamond Dogs, after seeing Rock Dreams at Mick Jagger’s house and plans for a book of his own based on his experiences on the Trans-Siberian-Express.

But, award for the best joke has to go to Mr Cavett when he suggested that the sleeve of Diamond Dogs was the picture that David sent in to the Draft Board. Three or four seconds later the statement was greeted with hearty laughter from Bowie who admitted “I just got that!”. Almost as funny as the sight of a wide-eyed Earl Slick in huge flares and big hair, and Mike Garson also sporting a load of hair as they helped bring Bowie’s soul vision to life. If you haven’t seen it yet, you must track down this classic piece of Bowie television history. Great stuff.

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If you didn’t manage to track it down in the four and a bit years since I wrote the above, your wait is finally over…or at least it will be on August 2nd. Meanwhile, check out a transcript of the interview over at the excellent Golden Years website.

Isle Of Wight 2004 DVD
I’ve had a few e-mails asking about the Bowie content of the upcoming Isle Of Wight 2004 DVD due next month. Well, despite being listed as being on the DVD at certain online stores, it looks like David will not be included on the IOW release after all.

In the port of Amsterdam, where the Sailor fans meet…

As mentioned previously on these pages (03.26.05 NEWS: THINGS TO DO ON MAY 29TH & 04.03.05 NEWS: BOWIE-FIX 2005 IN AMSTERDAM NEXT MONTH) next weekend is going to be a bit of a treat for the Bowie fan who finds themselves in Amsterdam.

Firstly, next Saturday the 28th is the BowieFix 2005 party organised by BowieNetters Angelnr12 and Wine. Here’s the latest update from them…

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In less than a week, we’re heading to the Sneeuwbalweg in Amsterdam for the BowieFix 2005 party. Especially organised for those who love David Bowie’s music and are going through a serious detoxification phenomena now Himself ain’t to be seen live for a while yet.

It’ll be THE chance to meet other Bowiefans, not only Dutch ones, but also from USA, Belgium, England, Germany and Ireland to name a few. And it’ll be THE chance to see Dutch tribute band The Ziggy Stardust Experience in full action!

There’s also the possibility to join dinner at the same place. Tickets for the dinner are only to be ordered on-line before May 23. Party-tickets are to be ordered on-line or for sale at the doors between 20.30 and 21.30, but remember there’s a limited amount of tickets available! More info can be found right here.

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For those of you still able to function the following day, (29th) you may want to shuffle over to The Voyeur’s 2005 fan meeting, Amsterdam Oddity. As we told you a couple of weeks back, (05.03.05 NEWS: MAY 29TH VOYEUR FAN MEETING VENUE CHANGE) this event will now be held at ‘De Heilige Zeug’. You can read more about how to get involved in this second day of exciting fun by going here.

I have to point out that this is not an official BowieNet weekend, and indeed, I’m sure half the activities will only be legal as it’s taking place in Holland! Having said that, please send any embarrassing pictorial evidence of rum goings on directly to me if you feel it should be shared with the Bowie Community the world over.

Elvis is Irish…

Speaking of Elvis yet again, (see yesterday’s news again) listeners to the very Bowie-friendly Ian Dempsey’s Breakfast Show on Today FM in Ireland, may have heard an approximation of what might have been in 1977, had Elvis taken delivery of that Golden Years tape before his tragic death.

The show has been exclusively broadcasting Elvis impersonator Kevin Doyle‘s rendition of the track in recent weeks. Kevin, along with his group Elvis – The Way It Was (pictured above) performed the song at the behest of BowieNetter Chris Gaffney, and now it has become a favourite with listeners to the show.

As a result, Today FM decided to post the song on its website for everybody’s listening pleasure, and you can finally hear Elvis singing his hip-shaking, lip-curling rendition of Golden Years by going here and scrolling down to the shortcut to the song.

Thanks to Chris, Kevin, Elvis – The Way It Was and Ian and Adelle at Today FM for making all this possible…not to mention The Thin White Duke and The Pelvis.

I ain’t never did no wrong…

Speaking of The King, (see yesterday’s news) the latest Uncut Legends magazine special is a tribute to the brilliance of one Elvis Aaron Presley. We all know DB is a big fan of The Memphis Flash, to the point of performing I Feel So Bad and One Night in Seattle in 2002 on the 25th anniversary of The King‘s death. (08.17.2002 NEWS: BOWIE DOES PRESLEY ON LAST NIGHT OF AREA 2)

So it was no surprise when full page adverts started appearing in music magazines last week (see above) advertising David Bowie as a contributor to aforementioned Uncut Legends Elvis special. However, as good as the mag is, the Bowie content is not immediately apparent.

After scanning through the magazine a couple of times, my eye finally settled upon a well-known Bowie quotation among a half-page of similarly well-used snippets from other stars, such as John Lennon, Jim Morrison and Carl Perkins, none of whom are mentioned in the list of living stars in the ad above…I’m sure this can’t have been a cynical ploy by Uncut to make the quotations seem contemporary?

Anyway, Uncut used the first two sentences from the following 1996 Bowie quotation, which you can now read now in full, for free:

“Elvis was a major hero of mine. And I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something. I came over for a long weekend. I remember coming straight from the airport and walking into Madison Square Garden very late.

I was wearing all my clobber from the Ziggy period and had great seats near the front. The whole place just turned to look at me and I felt like a right idiot. I had brilliant red hair, some huge padded space suit and those red boots with big black soles. I wished I’d gone for something quiet, because I must have registered with him. He was well into his set.”

If anybody else has already been suckered into buying the mag expecting a new contribution from David, please get in touch if you found more than I did and I’ll post an immediate apology. I’m praying that I’m really not that dumb though.

British girls and British boys, Come and buy my singles and albums…

With the publication of the 18th Edition of the British Hit Singles & Albums book on Friday 20th May, the compilers of the book have announced the latest Top 100 Most Successful Acts Of All Time.

The list is based on the total number of weeks each contender has spent on the official UK Singles and Albums charts showing the staying power and endurance of consistently successful acts.

As expected, there’s little movement at the top end of the chart again this year, where the King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll retains his title with an incredible 2,463 weeks spent on the UK charts.

That lad from South London who shares a birthday with Mr Presley retains a spot in the Top 10 with a very healthy 1,459 weeks…That’s the equivalent of just over 28 solid years on the UK charts!!

Here’s the Top 20 as it stands right now:

01 – Elvis Presley – 2,463
02 – Cliff Richard – 1,972
03 – The Beatles – 1,749
04 – Queen – 1,725
05 – Madonna – 1,653
06 – Elton John – 1,615
07 – The Shadows – 1,578
08 – Michael Jackson – 1,477
09 – David Bowie – 1,459
10 – U2 – 1,402
11 – Rod Stewart – 1,381
12 – Frank Sinatra – 1,332
13 – Diana Ross – 1,303
14 – Dire Straits – 1,255
15 – Simon And Garfunkel – 1,201
16 – The Rolling Stones – 1,173
17 – Abba – 1,137
18 – Fleetwood Mac – 1,103
19 – Phil Collins – 1,062
20 – Paul McCartney – 983

Well done David. Just goes to prove that despite some of the names above you, the British buying public have proved they do have some taste after all!

You can view the full Top 100 over at the Xfm website.