Month: July 2006

Float on a river for ever and ever…

It is with much sadness that we report the death of Syd Barrett who passed away on Friday of a diabetes-related illness at the age of 60.

Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Roger Waters and wrote many of the band’s early songs, including their first ever single, Arnold Layne, which DB performed with Dave Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall last month. (05.30.2006 NEWS: DB SURPRISE GUEST AT LONDON GILMOUR GIG) Bowie also recorded a remarkable version of their second single, See Emily Play, for his 1973 covers album, Pin Ups.

Bowie’s love of Syd and his music was made obvious over the years during many interviews, and not least of all in this brief tribute from David which we’ve just received…

“I can’t tell you how sad I feel. Syd was a major inspiration for me. The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the sixties will forever be etched in my mind. He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter.

Also, along with Anthony Newley, he was the first guy I’d heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent. His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed.” – David Bowie, July 11th 2006

G’night Syd…thanks for pushing things forward and giving others the courage to tread where they might not have otherwise.

Take your protein pills and put your fucking helmet on…

OK, it’s probably best to use the words of the Chicago Tap Theatre themselves for the background to this one…

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CHANGES… a Science-Fiction Tap Opera, featuring the music of David Bowie
Changes is the fourth story show created by Chicago Tap Theatre following last year?s sold out The Tell-Tale Tap: Stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Featuring the music of rock innovator David Bowie.

The story of Changes is grounded in science fiction, with the starting point being Bowie?s seminal work ?Ground Control to Major Tom.?

The raw, visceral power of Yonally’s choreography communicates itself to audience members not only through their eyes and ears, but right up through their seats. Changes is yet another example of how Yonally and his company of sensual, intelligent dancers are changing the face of American dance.

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Pretty normal stuff, I think you’ll agree. But I thought it polite to run this one past DB before I posted it, seeing as how I wasn’t sure if he was big on science fiction tap operas these days.

This was his measured response…

“It had to come to this? A tap musical. Bowie on tap? And what is that fucking helmet like?” – DB

Frankly, I thought that a bit rich considering Major Tom‘s own headgear in that original Space Oddity video.

At least the Chicago Tap Theatre have safety in mind…I’m sure Major Tom’s helmet (see above) would afford little protection in a meteor storm. The CTT’s helmet is a far sturdier affair, even if not quite as stylish as MT’s.

Anyway, if anybody reading this manages to get along to see Changes, we’d love to read a report and might even publish it here.

For more details regarding this feast of sound and vision, click on any of the above helmets.

Switch on the TV we may pick him up on Channel Two…

Julien Temple’s Glastonbury film that we told you about back at the beginning of the year, (01.26.2006 NEWS: DB IN JULIEN TEMPLE’S GLASTONBURY FILM) is to be released as a Region 2 double DVD set through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on July 17th.

It’s unlikely that the extra disc will contain any more from David Bowie’s headline performance on June 25th, 2000, but “Heroes” remains intact on disc one.

If, however, you’d rather get a flavour of the thing before you splash your hard-earned, BBC2 in the UK are scheduled to show the whole 135 minute film two days before the DVD release (sounds like a good business plan) at 10:30pm on Saturday July 15th.

Every magazine on every shelf…

A few nice Bowie bits in the August editions of the UK music mags out now. Obviously we already told you about Q in yesterday’s news. And so, on with the rest of them…

No, that’s not BowieNetter DTS above, it’s the legend that is Scott Walker, with part of a quote he gave to MOJO shortly after receiving The MOJO Icon Award recently. Here’s the relevant bits from the brief interview published in this month’s issue…

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Who would you most like to give a MOJO award to?

Dead or alive? Alive it’s difficult…Just for changing things so radically, and hanging in there, you’d probably have to give it to David B. And he makes it pay, which I don’t!

You had the chance to work with him…

I don’t remember that. We had a couple of conversations… But he’s always very kind to me, always tells people, “You gotta hear this guy.” And every time I do a record, he always sends me a great message.

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David Bowie is an executive producer of the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man which is due later this year.

Elsewhere in the mag there is the shot of Brian Rasic‘s that we first used exclusively in the BowieNet news last month. (05.31.06 NEWS: MORE EXCLUSIVE BOWIE PIX FROM RAH AND REVIEWS) The same shot was also reprinted in aforementioned Q magazine, and in UNCUT magazine…of which more in a second. Not sure about The Word, as I haven’t seen that particular publication just yet.

The wonderful shot above is from a great 4-page picture special in UNCUT magazine of David Bowie greeting fans on his return to the UK, at Charing Cross station on May 4th 1973.

David was accompanied on the crossing from Paris (after an 8,000 mile overland journey from Japan, via Russia on the Trans-Siberian Express and the Orient Express through East Germany, Poland and France!) by Melody Maker writer Roy Hollingworth and the paper’s snapper, Barrie Wentzell.

They had both managed to join with the Bowie entourage to get an exclusive interview before David’s Aladdin Sane tour of the UK.

It’s a great read, packed with lots of pictures like the one above, and is really worth the price of the magazine for this feature alone.

On a final note, the girl at the window in the picture above looks suspiciously like Ãœber fan Claire Mansfield (aka Mistress Chloe) who started one of the very first fan run Bowie fan clubs, Subterraneans.

Claire went on to write the superb Dominatrix, a memoir of her life growing up as a Bowie fan and punk rocker, (with lots of great Bowie references) up to her present day occupation as a dominatrix and lots of other stuff in-between.

Get in touch if it is you, Claire. Indeed, get in touch if it isn’t…but don’t spank me if I’m wrong…not into all that kinky stuff, it’s far too scary!

Let’s dance, To the song they’re playing on the radio… (possibly)

I’m sure the majority of you are already aware of this latest batch of Bowie covers, but it’s good to catalogue these things anyway.

First up, The Futureheads have recorded an exclusive version of Let’s Dance for a cover-mounted CD with the latest edition of Q magazine which is billed as The 80s Issue. DB’s own version of the song makes it to #21 in the mag’s selection of the 40 best 80s tracks.

Elsewhere in the mag, the Aladdin Sane version of Let’s Spend The Night Together is listed as one of the essential 50 download tracks this month. We’ve mentioned the album Paint It Black (from which the track is taken) on these pages a couple of times. (06.11.2006 NEWS: BOWIE TRACK ON STONES COVERS COMPILATION & 06.29.2006 NEWS: PAINT IT BLACK WEBSITE AND STONES TICKETS CONTEST)

Here’s what Q had to say about the track: “The highlight of mostly rubbish Stones cover compilation Paint It Black. A sprint through their masterclass in sexual threat that first surfaced on 1973’s Aladdin Sane.”

Next up, you may already know that The Raconteurs have covered Ziggy Stardust‘s only cover version: It Ain’t Easy. Of course it could be argued that they haven’t covered Bowie if it’s not a Bowie original. But, anybody who has heard the band perform the song live would have to agree that it definitely owes much more to the Ziggy arrangement (although strictly speaking it’s a Hunky Dory arrangement as that was the album it was originally intended for) than the Ron Davies original from his 1970 album…or indeed any of the numerous versions since.

Anyway, the band have now decided to include a live version of the track on one of the 7″ issues of their forthcoming Hands single…so you’ll be able to make up your own mind when it’s released at the end of the month.

The re-reformed Bauhaus have been playing their biggest hit on their current American tour with NIN. That song being Ziggy Stardust which reached #15 in the UK singles chart in 1982. This live version is also available for your listening pleasure on any number of live CDs from the current Bauhaus tour via INSTANT LIVE.

Finally, the reformed Guns N’ Roses (who are as much Guns N’ Roses as Velvet Revolver are) have also tackled Ziggy Stardust at recent live shows, which is very nice of Axl to give his former guitarist’s ex-occasional babysitter a nod…but who really cares?

When I needed soul revival…

Hopefully the above banner hasn’t excited you unduly…the 5.1 re-issue of Young Americans isn’t actually in stock just yet. I’m afraid the advertisement above is simply a 31-year-old record store poster that I blagged at the time.

However, I have been assured by EMI that this release, which we’ve now been talking about for the past sixty three years, (02.21.05 NEWS: YOUNG AMERICANS 30TH ANNIVERSARY CD DUE & 03.01.05 NEWS: TV TALKS ABOUT 30TH ANNIVERSARY YA 5.1 MIX & 11.16.2005 NEWS: YOUNG AMERICANS COLLECTORS EDITION DUE IN MARCH) will definitely still happen.

I couldn’t crowbar a date out of my much-hassled (by me) man at EMI, but I thought you’d be pleased to learn that the 5.1 re-issue of Young Americans is still actually on the release schedule.

Over at EMI Japan, plans are afoot to re-issue all of DB’s albums from Space Oddity through to Tin Machine in those very groovy replica mini-sleeves.

The Japanese are very good at this kind of thing, with an almost fanatical attention to detail. The Roxy Music mini-sleeves being a great example, and indeed DB’s own Deram Anthology and Tin Machine ll CDs are certainly very well done, though I’m not 100 per cent sure of their legitimacy.

Though my Japanese is limited, as far as I understand it, EMI Japan intend to start this series of re-issues around the time of David’s 60th birthday next January.

Grown inside a plastic box…

I think everybody has the hang of this one by now, but if you’re not familiar with the monthly BowieNet give-away take a look at the first day of the last couple of month’s news.

Above is an addition to the vault this month, an original set of three laminates from the historic live webcast recording of David Bowie and Alex Grant’s winning entry in the 1999 BowieNet cyber-song contest. The set includes VIP, CREW and PRESS passes and would only otherwise been available if you were at the event, and even then you would have only qualified for just one of these highly-collectable laminates.

There is also printing on the back of each one, but we won’t reproduce it here in case some bright spark decides to knock out a few fakes on eBay.

Anyway, here are the lucky five BowieNetters who won the June draw, three of whom could claim a set of these passes right now:

1st prize = 500 points to welwnrose
2nd prize = 400 points to gaz
3rd prize = 300 points to gromit
4th prize = 200 points to johnnie_7
5th prize = 100 points to cherokeelady1970

Here are the items in the vault at the moment, items in red have now all gone, and items in green are newly-added. Newly-added items stay green for three months, unless they are all gone before that time.

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CDs
Best Of Bowie – 39 track double CD (UK version) = 20 points
Best Of Bowie – 6 track European promo in slimline case – Tracks are: Space Oddity / Life On Mars? / The Jean Genie / “Heroes” / Under Pressure / Let’s Dance = 10 points
Bowie At The Beeb Sampler – 8 track promo in replica tape box (BEEBPRO 6872) – Tracks are: In The Heat Of The Morning / Let Me Sleep Beside You / Amsterdam / Kooks / Hang Onto Yourself / Changes / Oh! You Pretty Things / Lady Stardust = 20 points
Everyone Says ‘Hi’ – European 1 track promo radio edit in slimline case = 10 points
Heathen – CD in 12″ LP style gatefold packaging = 10 points
Heathen – 4 track promo CD in card slipcase – Tracks are: Slow Burn (edit) / Everyone Says ‘Hi’ (Album Version) / I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship (Album Version) / Sunday (Moby remix) = 10 points
‘hours…’ – 10 track full album promo in card slipcase = 10 points
Never Get Old – 2 track promo CD in slimline case (SAMPCS 13495 1) – Tracks are: Never Get Old / Waterloo Sunset. = 15 points
New Killer Star – European 1 track promo in slimline case = 10 points
Pictures Of Lilly – Substitute The Songs Of The Who – 3 track Daily Telegraph promo in card slipcase – Tracks are: David Bowie – Pictures Of Lilly / Ocean Colour Scene – Anyway Anyhow Anywhere / Fastball – The Real Me = 5 points
Reality – 11 track full album promo in slimline case = 10 points
Rebel Never Gets Old – 4 track promo CD in jewel case (SAMPCM 14071 2) – Tracks are: Rebel Never Gets Old (Radio Mix )/ Rebel Never Gets Old (7th Heaven Edit) / Rebel Never Gets Old (7th Heaven Mix) / Days (Album Version) = 20 points
Seven – 4 track promo CD in card slipcase (SEVENDPRO1) – Tracks are: Seven (Marius de Vries Mix) / Seven (Remix by Beck) / Seven (live) / Seven (Demo) / I’m Afraid Of Americans (video) = 10 points
Slow Burn – European 1 track promo radio edit in slimline case = 10 points
Slow Burn – European 3 track single in card slipcase – Tracks are: Slow Burn / Wood Jackson / Shadow Man = 10 points
Slow Burn – European 5 track EP in slimline case – Tracks are: Slow Burn / Wood Jackson / Shadow Man / When The Boys Come Marching Home / You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving = 10 points
Survive – 3 track promo CD in card slipcase (VSCDJ 1767) – Tracks are: Survive (Marius de Vries Mix)/Survive (Album Version) = 10 points
Thursday’s Child – 3 track promo CD in card slipcase (VSCDJ 1753) – Tracks are: Thursday’s Child (Radio Edit) / Thursday’s Child (Rock Mix) / Thursday’s Child (Album Version) = 10 points
Ziggy Stardust – 1 track Bowie At The Beeb promo only CD (BEEBREP 2) = 5 points

Vinyl
Hunky Dory – Ultra rare Simply Vinyl withdrawn album with rejected sleeve = 300 points
Set of 6 x 180gm sealed limited edition Simply Vinyl deleted LPs – From Space Oddity to Pin Ups = 240 points
Rebel Never Gets Old – 12″ picture disc = 20 points
Slow Burn – 7″ orange vinyl = 15 points
Survive – 7″ picture disc = 10 points
Ziggy Stardust The Motion Picture – Limited edition numbered red vinyl double LP = 30 points

Miscellaneous
David Bowie’s 2002 Meltdown programme signed by David Bowie and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy (2002) = 200 points
David Bowie’s 2002 Meltdown aftershow pass for night of Bowie show signed by David Bowie (2002) = 50 points
David Bowie’s 2002 Meltdown Access All Areas pass for night of Bowie show = 15 points
Heathen promotional postcard signed by David Bowie (2002) = 40 points
Reality bookmark + Reality DVD bookmark + Rebel Never Gets Old promotional badge = 5 points
Reality canvas – 14″ square reproduction of Reality cover = 60 points
Rex Ray designed 17.5″ x 13″ poster print for first BowieNet show at The Roseland Ballroom, New York City, June 19th 2000 = 30 points
Rex Ray designed 18″ x 13″ poster print for first BowieNet show at The Roseland Ballroom, New York City, June 19th 2000 – Rare enhanced Ziggy flash version signed by Rex Ray with colour bars at top = 50 points
Rex Ray designed 17.5″ x 13″ poster print for second BowieNet show at The Roseland Ballroom, New York City, June 11th 2002 – Signed by Rex Ray = 40 pointsRex Ray designed 17.5″ x 13″ poster print for second BowieNet show at The Roseland Ballroom, New York City, June 11th 2002 – Signed by David Bowie, Rex Ray and Mask, aka photographer Myriam Santos-Kayda whose shot was used for this poster = 200 points
Rex Ray designed 19″ x 13″ poster print for Bill Graham presents January 2004 Bowie shows in Denver, Seattle and San Jose – Rare poster signed by David Bowie and Rex Ray. Photograph by Total Blam Blam = 200 points
Rex Ray designed 19″ x 13″ poster print for two Bowie shows in April 2004 at Berkeley Community Theatre – Ultra rare withdrawn poster with “Berkley” misspelling = 300 points
Sound + Vision 2003 box set print – Ultra rare withdrawn 30″ x 20″ Kodak Professional Endura promotional print (Only 5 made…never used) = 200 points
The Month September ’03 – Interactive CD ROM with Bowie cover given away with The Sunday Times Culture magazine to promote Reality. Bowie feature includes 30 minutes viewing and reading time = 10 points
What’s Really Happening – Original set of three laminates from the historic live webcast recording of David Bowie and Alex Grant’s winning entry in the 1999 BowieNet cyber-song contest. The set includes VIP, CREW and PRESS passes = 250 points
Ziggy Stardust 30th anniversary – Black 30″ x 20″ poster with great Ziggy image and text about CD release = 20 points
Ziggy Stardust 30th anniversary – French promo only, 24-page 6″ square glossy booklet = 20 points

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Mail me with your claim as soon as you have decided on the item(s) you want…or just save up for something else you find more desirable.

We’re finally dispatching the backlog of prizes so far claimed now, and from now on you should receive your prizes within 28 days of making your claim.

Please note that sometimes incomplete claims may not be despatched until a complete claim has been made, as we don’t want to be posting several different packages to the same person, and we don’t want to make you feel bad about your carbon footprint.

However, don’t fret, as soon as you stake a claim on a certain prize, that will be put aside for you until your claim is complete.

In the meantime, all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning some points in the July draw is send us an e-mail here.

Usual rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account, and please remember you must enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name. (Believe it or not, some entrants still don’t bother with either.)

There will be a fresh chance each month to send in your name, and don’t wait for us to tell you so, you can just start sending in on the first day of each new month

Each contest will close at midnight UK time on the last day of each month, with winners being announced a day or two later.

So, next month we will announce the winners for July and so on every month until you empty the vaults…if that ever happens!

As ever, we’ll be posting details of the new items as we get them, so you don’t have to worry about choosing anything just yet. Good luck kidz!

Hey babe, let’s go out tonight…

If for some strange reason you find yourself in London this evening reading this instead of being out and about and enjoying life, perhaps you may want to go and drown your sorrows over England’s exit from the football world cup, or indeed, celebrate Portugal’s win at Rebel Rebel‘s first birthday party.

Plugged in this week’s NME, the club currently has a David Bowie tune at the very top of its playlist…Rebel Rebel itself, strangely enough.

Anyway, it’s the place to be and they play top tunes until 3:00am. You better sling on your satin ‘n tat quickly though, as it’s a very popular evening which kicks off at 10:00pm.

Click on the Rebel Rebel logo above to read more about the club.