Month: November 2007

New York’s in love…

David Bowie recently signed a few of Keanan Duffty’s designs from the Target BOWIE range for the 7th On Sale charity auction.

Here’s some relevant stuff regarding the auction and 7th on Sale…

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7th on Sale is back with a one-of-a-kind fashion experience that offers shoppers thousands of items direct from the world’s top designers between November 15 and December 6. You can shop online or in person at the New York shopping days. For the second time, a worldwide audience can bid online for celebrity-worn gowns, magazine-worthy home goods, brilliant jewelry and more. Look for new items daily. Once again, 100% of the money raised goes to services and housing for those living with HIV and AIDS.

This is the world’s biggest sample sale and it kicks off on November 15, 2007 with a black-tie gala in New York. That will be followed by three days of shopping open to the public, November 16-18, in New York. Click here to purchase tickets to one of the sessions. Also, make sure you check eBay often because seven-day auctions will launch daily between November 15 and December 6. All bids start at only 10% of the retail price and hundreds of designers have donated items.

The 2007 event is sure to make fashion and fundraising history once again as fashion’s biggest names join forces as major sponsors of 7th on Sale: the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), eBay, Kenneth Cole Productions, M·A·C AIDS Fund, Marc Jacobs International, Polo Ralph Lauren, Topshop and VOGUE Magazine.

In addition, the M?A?C AIDS Fund has generously agreed to match every dollar raised at the online auctions, up to $500,000.

A little history…

7th on Sale was founded in 1990 by the CFDA Foundation and VOGUE magazine. In its first three incarnations (1990 and 1995 in New York City, 1992 in San Francisco) the initiative raised more than $11 million, which was distributed by the New York City AIDS Fund to benefit HIV and AIDS organizations. The 2005 re-launch of 7th on Sale, available for the first time online through eBay, brought in an additional $1.7 million for the cause, which was distributed over the last two years through opportunity grants and requests-for-proposal. Beneficiaries over the years have included dozens of worthy organizations like AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), Alpha Workshops, amfAR, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, God’s Love We Deliver, Greenhope Services for Women, Harlem United Community AIDS Center, HIV Law Project, and the Latino Commission on AIDS, among many others.

Why your donations are important…*

While incredible progress has been made in the fight against the epidemic, HIV/AIDS remains a constant global threat. AIDS is the world’s deadliest infectious disease among adults and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Some other statistics:
– The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that there are now close to 40 million people living with HIV or AIDS worldwide.
– Since the beginning of the epidemic, AIDS has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, including more than 550,000 Americans.
– In 2002, HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death among New York City women between the ages of 25 and 34.
– 61 percent of young people living with HIV/AIDS are girls.Around the world, 95 percent of people living with HIV do not know it.
– By 2010, India will have between 20 and 25 million AIDS cases, the highest in the world.

*Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, UNAIDS, U.S. Centers for Disease Control

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The first couple of BOWIE items are live on eBay now, including a trench coat (see autograph immediately above) and a puffer vest.

And there’s a lightning bolt T-shirt, (see picture at top of page) a Let’s Dance lyric print shirt (see large autograph on second image down) and a pair of black jeans with lightning bolt design on pocket, yet to come.

Go here, or click on any of the images above to view the current 7th on Sale Bowie auctions.

Speaking of charity auctions, I’ve had a couple of e-mails asking why I haven’t posted pictures of David’s contribution to this year’s Lunch Box Fund yet. Well, that’s mainly because he hasn’t contributed this year. However, it’s still a great auction for a very worthy cause worth a look…which you can do here.

I put my foot down to the floor…

TopGear is the hugely popular (in the UK at least) BBC TV show regarding stuff you can drive. The above CDs are a spin off from it and this series of releases shows a little more imagination in the compiling than many other of these types of things.

Due to the ubiquitous nature of compilation CDs with a Bowie track on, I’ve not really been keeping up with them in recent months. However, I thought these were probably worth a mention.

For those of you interested, TopGear Anthems (above left) is a 38-track double CD which was released back in May and contains Song For Bob Dylan.

TopGear Seriously Cool Driving Music is a 39-track double CD released this week and contains Suffragette City. Ahhh, wham bam thank you Ma’am! Fill her up…

New York’s in love…

I was sent the following from Genesis Publications regarding the November 1st New York launch of FS2S. (Sorry folx, I didn’t know about the event either.)

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PAUL SMITH LAUNCHES FROM STATION TO STATION

From Station To Station: Travels With Bowie, 1973-1976 received its official US launch on November 1 at the flagship New York store of British designer Paul Smith.

It was a memorable night that saw the store packed with guests, including the author Geoff MacCormack who was bowled over by the reception he and his book received.

As well as the book, 16 limited edition prints were also on display. These 10×8 inch prints have been made especially for Genesis and each is a limited edition of 5, signed by Geoff.

Paul Smith is so delighted with From Station To Station that the whole store-front is dedicated to it, except for one window dedicated to other classic Genesis titles. And the window dressers have worked exactly the sort of magic worthy of a Genesis limited edition.

You can see the magnificent display throughout the whole of November at Paul Smith, 108 Fifth Avenue, New York where you can also view and buy copies of the book and the limited edition prints.

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Check out the short cuts in the pictures above to find out more and pop along to Paul Smith at 108 Fifth Avenue for a browse if you’re in the New York avenue.

We still need a whole bunch of questions to ask Geoff for our upcoming interview/contest. (08.04.2007 NEWS: ASK GEOFF A QUESTION FOR EXCLUSIVE BOWIENET INTERVIEW)

Come on folx, get your thinking caps on, you know the one with ‘spark imagination’ button on the side as we’ve now extended the deadline to the end of November.

Johnny plays the sitar, he’s an existentialist…

This week’s Music Week honours one of the live industry’s most highly-respected promoters with an 18-page tribute feature.

Solo Agency‘s John Giddings has been behind David Bowie’s live shows since the dawn of time, and here’s what DB had to say in acknowledgement of that fact…

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“Back in 1982 I had a gig on the old Dieppe-Newhaven ferry which should have started at the stroke of 9.15. Well, as it would happen I had the mother of all earaches so I shut myself in the cabin for the night.

The next morning I was told that John had jumped up on the bar, dressed as me and performed the entire set faultlessly and for an encore had done two rounds of ‘Love You ‘Till Tuesday’ and a revealing ‘Build Me Up, Buttercup’ Nobody ’till now knew that it was John and not myself. Those were the days. Ferries. Grand stuff. Good old John” ~ db

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For those not familiar with John and his work since he graduated from Exeter university in the early seventies, you can read all about him on the internet.

Could laugh at the ocean…

It appears that the original scheduling we were given for the first airing of the SpongeBob SquarePants episode: SpongeBob?s Atlantis SquarePantis has been moved from today (Sunday 11th) to tomorrow.

We’ve already posted several items about this episode (10.05.2006 NEWS: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IN NEW BOWIE JOURNAL & 05.21.2007 NEWS: ATLANTIS SQUARE PANTS TO AIR IN NOVEMBER & 10.05.2007 NEWS: EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT LORD ROYAL HIGHNESS) which has the voice of David Bowie for the appropriately flamboyant Lord Royal Highness, below.

However, you can learn more over at www.nick.com where you can find related goodies including the trailer, a game and schedule information.

Late night, big town, police, shake down…

This story first broke on TSG a couple of days ago, and it’s in relation to the above police ‘mug shot’ taken of David Bowie on March 25th 1976.

Fans of a certain age will remember well the nervousness they felt when DB was arrested, along with three others, at the Americana Rochester Hotel in the early hours of March 21st after a show at the War Memorial in Rochester, New York.

Press reports on both sides of the Atlantic screamed “Bowie Busted” (still have the cuttings) and there was genuine concern that our man could be sent down for fifteen years after he was charged with “fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana”.

Anyway, after raising the $2,000 bail each for himself and his companions (who included one James Osterberg, Jr.) David returned to have his picture taken four days later on the 25th.

Above are the fruits (steady) of that photographer’s labour in what has to be the coolest busted rock star photograph of all time.

Well now, if you have the right cash, you can enjoy a slightly more dog-eared version of the above print in the comfort of your own home, as the original is up for auction on eBay (Bids currently at US $610.01)…how do people get hold of stuff like this in the first place?

In the event, as you may have noticed, DB didn’t go down for fifteen years and he emerged from the incident squeaky clean.

Still kind of ironic that he was busted for possession of marijuana, particularly during this period of ‘experimentation’…somebody at Rochester PD wasn’t doing their research properly.

I like the tee shirts…

Two vintage David Bowie T-shirts going under the hammer at the Christie’s New York Rock & Pop Memorabilia Auction at the end of the month have been estimated at between $1,500 and $2,000 USD.

That’s the shirts above, (not in scale) and, according to Christie’s, they have designs on the back and front too.

Here’s the lot description…

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ROCK AND POP MEMORABILIA – Nov 30, 2007 – David Bowie – Lot Number 0108

A pair of David Bowie Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars T-shirts circa the early 1970s, including a long sleeved shirt with Ziggy on the front and the Spiders logo on the back, and a Tower Theater, Philadelphia, Nov. 30, Dec.1, Dec. 2, 1972 concert shirt. Accompanied by a copy of the book Vintage Rock T-Shirts.

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With estimates as high as that, it makes one wonder what the holy grail of Bowie T-shirts (below) would fetch at auction these days.

I can remember one of these 1972 RCA promo Ziggy shirts with the classic George Underwood Ziggy cartoon design on eBay in the early days of the popular auction site. I let it pass for some paltry sum…a decision that still makes me weep to this day…Anybody got a swap?