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They could do with the money…
With just under six days left to go, the signed leather jacket from The Hunger TV show that David Bowie contributed to support the completion of the recording studio at
If this item has passed you by so far, see the previous news story (04.04.2008 NEWS: BOWIE DONATES HUNGER JACKET TO IMA EBAY AUCTION) or check out the
I should point out that the IMA logo at the top right on the image above, isn’t actually on the jacket.
I’m stuck with a valuable collection…
As we said last week, due to the enthusiastic response to last month’s piece about French Bowie collector Jean-Charles Gautier, (03.02.2008 NEWS: BOWIE 45 SELLS FOR $3,550 ON EBAY – THE BUYER TALKS) we’ve decided to try and make a monthly feature which will highlight the collections of BowieNetters from around the globe.
Eventually, each of these features in the news will be expanded to include more about each collector/collection and housed in a special section here on BowieNet.
Today we’re looking at just a few bits from the collection of BowieNetter pmfwoods.
I’ll start with the images above with the relevant information that Paul supplied for each of the 45s…clockwise from top left:
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1 & 2 – Space Oddity Portugal with promo insert. This is a rare sleeve and early copies came with this lyric insert. There is actually a white label promo which is very rare as ‘stock’ copies were also used as promos.
3 – Love You Till Tuesday German picture sleeve. This turns up occasionally and always makes big bucks. I doubt if this ever had a full release as most copies (although not all) have the ‘not for sale’ sticker and the fact that so few have surfaced suggests a very limited distribution (or perhaps near zero sales!).
4 – Space Oddity original 1969 Greek issue. I have only seen a couple of these up for sale and both trashed. Greek pressings especially from the 60’s are difficult to come by and in original company sleeve. Other mega rare non-pic sleeve Space Oddity releases from this period often overlooked, include releases from Turkey, Lebanon, Brazil and South Africa and with pic-sleeve there is a release from Singapore and a Portuguese white label.
5 & 6 – Prettiest Star Italian promo. A particularly rare sleeve and the promo copy is rarely seen, great image.
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As if to reinforce what he says about the rarer issues of the Philips Space Oddity 45, Paul pointed me in the direction of the above South African pressing which just sold on eBay for $2,202.00 USD!
The 45s are only a small part of Paul’s collection, he also collects early press kits such as the Mercury one for The Man Who Sold The World, above, about which he says this:
“TMWSTW UK press kit. As you can imagine this is pretty rare, probably only issued to 20-30 key industry people. Never seen another on Ebay or elsewhere.”
It’s astonishing that these things remain in such good condition after all these years, and it’s thanks to collectors like Paul that they will remain that way.
As you can see from the image above, this particular press folder contained two live shots, press clippings and a personal letter from David dated November 17th 1970.
BowieNet members who want to read the letter can view a larger version
I’ll leave you with a piece Paul wrote for Record Collector magazine regarding the very first Bowie album and specifically the New Zealand pressing (pictured below).
Please excuse the low quality images, the discoloration is simply shadows as opposed to staining on the sleeve.
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DB?S KIWI DERAM DEBUT
David Bowie?s first venture into the LP format came in April of 1967 as a twelve track, self-titled American release on the newly formed Deram label. Promos were circulated (actually stock copies with covers stamped ?Not for Sale?) and both mono (DE 16003) and stereo (DES 18003) versions were available to the general public. Early copies came with a ?songbook?; a booklet with David?s portrait on the cover, containing the lyrics to his latest batch of songs, a bizarre collection of music hall style ditties with a nod to Anthony Newley and the English theatre. A very desirable package now, but not desirable enough then, to influence sales, the album sold poorly and mint copies with booklet intact are now extremely collectable.
A stereo only Canadian pressing was issued alongside its US cousin and followed the same format and catalogue number. This variation is even more difficult to come by as sales were near non-existent north of the border. It would be five more years and four more albums before Bowie had anything resembling success in North America.
UK fourteen track versions followed in June (mono DML 1007 and Stereo SML 1007 respectively) adding “We are hungry men” and “Maids of Bond street” to the mix and with slightly different artwork. Despite polite reviews from music industry insiders and fellow musicians, sales again went nowhere. As with the US releases mint copies turn up only occasionally and the rarer stereo versions tend to cause some excitement amongst collectors.
The only (other) European release was in Germany (stereo only); where it followed the UK format and catalogue number but is instantly distinguishable by a ?Royal Sound Stereo? logo on the back cover and labels.
Disregarding a Japanese release (DL.44), which did not in fact hit the shops until the height of Ziggy mania in 1973; this was generally considered to be the full international release schedule for Bowie?s Deram debut LP. One of the joys of collecting is surely to unearth an obscure release, previously undocumented by official discographers and known only to those few souls who actually purchased the record on release or have acquired a copy from this source.
Such is the case for a New Zealand Deram release from 1967 (stereo SMLM 1007) coming to light and claiming its place as the rarest of all known formats. This version follows the UK format although the cover picture is considerably darker and the back image is reduced to make room for the copyright warning and, interestingly, both ?His Masters Voice (NZ) Ltd? and Deram script.
The fact is that David Bowie as an artist, and Deram as a label are both considerably collectable in their own right. That this release has remained in obscurity for so long is quite remarkable and testament to its rarity.
It is incredibly difficult to value these releases accurately as prices fluctuate wildly among the more ?common? releases, and the rarer variations turn up so infrequently on the collectors market as to frustrate accurate assessment. As a guide the US/UK standard releases hover between £150-£250 (50% more with booklet or as promo) although a mint mono UK issue recently sold for £511 on Ebay, highlighting the fact that when it comes to collecting, top condition together with reasonable rarity can mean serious returns on investment! The Canadian and German formats can reach £350 and £400 respectively on a good day and should a mint copy of the NZ version become available, expect to write a cheque for £450 or more.
Paul Woods, Sudbury, Suffolk.
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Thanx so much for sharing this with us Paul, it’s fascinating stuff.
All you’ve got to do is win…
I know we’ve been promising this one for an age, (11.20.07 NEWS: REX RAY BOOK SIGNING IN LA TONIGHT PLUS NEW MINI-SITE) but, due to a whole bunch of feeble excuses, today is the very earliest opportunity we’ve had to run it.
For most of us, owning any kind of original Rex Ray artwork is a dream beyond our financial means, but over the coming weeks ten lucky BowieNetters will do just that.
First up, the image above is a rare withdrawn
For this reason the print alone is a valuable collectable. However, this version is a limited run of ten untrimmed 20″ x 14″ (508mm x 355mm) hand-numbered prints, customised by Rex in the Reality style and signed by both Rex Ray and David Bowie in 2006.
We have numbers 2 to 10 to give-away and one copy of the beauty below.
This print is even rarer, being a 19.5″ x 13″ (495mm x 330mm) artist’s proof (AP) of an unpublished portrait of DB by Rex Ray and again signed by them both in 2006. As far as I am aware, there are no more than three or four of these in existence.
I should point out that each of the prints has a very slight crease in one corner due to transit damage, but that’s unlikely to show once the print is framed.
I had plotted all sorts of cruel and mischievous tasks to win these, but in the end I felt it was fairer to give everybody an equal chance to win.
So, the plan is that we’ll be giving away one print every Sunday, starting next week (13th).
All you have to do to be in with a chance of being that first winner is contact me here before midnight NY time on Saturday the 12th.
We’ll start with the nine Berkeley prints in descending numbered order followed by the AP.
After they have been plucked from the week’s entries, the winner of each individual print will be announced every Sunday until all ten prizes have gone. If you don’t win, you can re-enter each week to give you a total of ten chances.
Usual BowieNet rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account per week, and please remember you must enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name. If you do neither of these things you won’t be eligible to enter.
The first winner will be announced next Sunday the 13th and the contest for the second artwork will commence at the same time.
BowieNet members can view larger versions of both of the above
Uncage the colours…
Due to the enthusiastic response following on from last month’s piece about French Bowie collector Jean-Charles Gautier, (03.02.2008 NEWS: BOWIE 45 SELLS FOR $3,550 ON EBAY – THE BUYER TALKS) we’ve decided to try and make it a monthly feature highlighting the collections of BowieNetters from around the globe.
On the first Monday of each month we will endeavour to bring you details of some of the rarer and more interesting Bowie items collected by fans, kicking off this coming Monday with just a few bits from the collection of BowieNetter pmfwoods.
Paul is a UK collector with some very valuable pieces which I know many of you will appreciate.
Meanwhile, in aforementioned news item from last month, Jean-Charles mentioned a US RCA Station To Station multi-coloured vinyl album which, judging by the e-mails I’ve received, was previously unknown to the majority of you.
Well, there’s a tantalising glimpse of it above to prove its existence, though we don’t really want to make the counterfeiters’ jobs any easier by supplying the finer details of items such as this.
Don’t forget that we’re interested in featuring any collection that you think may excite other fans…doesn’t have to be financially valuable, just an area of Bowie’s career you’ve collected with a passion.
Mike Garson ? CONVERSATIONS WITH MY FAMILY ? Resonance Records RCD-1004
Release date: April 8, 2008
On April 8th, Conversations with My Family, the auspicious new album from celebrated keyboardist Mike Garson debuts on jazz producer, engineer and entrepreneur George Klabin?s Resonance Records imprint. This collection of original works, some of them dating back 30 years and others written as recently as during the Conversations sessions themselves, heralds Garson?s arrival in the front rank of jazz piano performance and composition.
Based on Garson?s longtime practice of creating music inspired by members of his family, Conversations is both adventurous and accessible, animated by extended sections of improvisation involving Garson, bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Gary Novak, enhanced by guest appearances from upcoming Resonance artists that include flutist Lori Bell, violinist Chris Howes, guitarist Andreas Oberg, and trumpeter Claudio Roditi, and adorned with arrangements by Kuno Schmidt.
From the breezy swing, bracing unaccompanied piano intro and spare but illuminating charts of the opener, “The Child Within,” to the hushed eloquence of the closing title track, Conversations reveals a depth of artistry only hinted at in Garson?s affiliation for more than 30 years as keyboardist and creative collaborator with rock legend David Bowie.
“Mike has built an enormous following through his work with Bowie,” says George Klabin, president and founder of Resonance Records. “But because of that association, Mike has had very little time to focus on bringing his own music to the world, until now. With his extraordinary playing and writing, and with the contributions of Kuno Schmidt and the artists that we?ve gathered for this project, I know we?ve got something special here.”
Garson?s unique talents bloom throughout Conversations, but his influences are evident too. Born in New York, he began studying classical piano at age seven, studied in depth with the brilliant iconoclast Lennie Tristano, and absorbed a year?s worth of insight during a six-hour lesson with the great Bill Evans. Throughout his career he combined his studio and touring commitments to Bowie with stints in innovative bands such as Brethren and Free Flight, freelance work with Stan Getz, Thad Jones, Mel Tormé, and other giants, and solo albums dating back to a highly r egarded set of unaccompanied piano, Avant Garson, in 1979.
His range has extended from the standard songbook through experimentation on the fringes of jazz, classical, and unclassifiable cross-genre explorations. And while all of these elements feed into Conversations, the results reach toward informed listeners as well as all who would sense a song in the play of their children, the wisdom of their parents, and the time shared with their loved ones.
“I started writing music for people in my life when I met Susan, my wife,” Garson explains. “I was 16 at the time. Then, when our older daughter was born, I wrote ?Jenny?s Waltz.? For our next daughter, I wrote ?Miracle of Love.? And as time passed, I began expanding with ?Longings,? ?Yearnings,? ?The Awe and the Mystery? ? pieces with a more global vision of the family, which I felt could apply to everyone.”
After Garson joined the Resonance Records roster, he and Klabin conceived the idea of presenting these compositions together as an album. Because of their diversity, though, Klabin proposed that hey might best be integrated through use of small interludes, which would function as segues. Garson agreed and wrote these brief instrumental moments, each one haunting in its own way and all of them critical in channeling the larger performances into a conceptual flow.
Garson pursued this goal in part by utilizing a technique he?d never embraced on any of his previous jazz sessions: He and his rhythm section recorded to a click track. But he had a reason for going outside the rules. “When George and I decided to bring Kuno in to do arrangements based on sounds he?d acquired from the Vienna Symphonic Sample Library, I realized that keeping the tempo steady would make his job easier,” Garson says. “When Kuno and I spoke on the phone for the first time, we clicked. It was actually like magic. He is a very good pianist himself and a tremendous orchestrator, so I decided to not interfere with his work at all. Instead, I sent him my charts and let him do his thing. I trusted him completely, and consequently he found the essence of this music on his own.”
They do so by following Garson?s example in taking creative risks. Rather than adhere to the usual practice of tailoring arrangements tightly to the structure of the tune, Schmidt reflects on the music more freely, at times creating an impression of almost random placement of figures, motifs, and chords. Yet as the core trio digs into the changes on “The Child Within,” for example, Schmidt floats clusters of flute and muted trumpet, or flurries of strings, into the space around the groove, more like whispers of I nvisible muses than mere reflections of what?s being played.
“Kuno is one of the top two or three people in the world for working with orchestral samples,” says Klabin. “It?s one thing to have these sounds at your disposal and another to use them creatively, as he proves throughout Conversations.”
Conversations with My Family
ranks at the top of any list of recent musical endeavors that set and then achieve high goals. It also heralds Garson?s ascendance as an artist, fully merited and long overdue. More than that, it also provides an auspicious launch for Resonance Records, whose mandate is as ambitious as the work slated to fill its catalog through upcoming releases.
“We?re not just another record label,” Klabin sums up. “Our motto is ?Creating Jazz Legacies,? but even more fundamental is the fact that whatever we do, it will be first and foremost about the music. Whether releasing previously unheard music by major artists through our Heirloom Division or introducing young talent that will change the world in their own way, that?s our commitment.”
Talking ’bout his family…
I know there are many of you reading this that are big fans of Mike Garson‘s work and have no doubt already taken advantage of the exclusive offer on his site.
Conversations With My Family is Mike’s brilliant new CD/DVD, released officially next Tuesday the 8th. But, you can order your copy of a limited pre-release of 500 signed and numbered editions now.
Go
Also, check out
Check out the press release for Conversations With My Family via the BowieNet press release section above.
With my black-jack and jacket…
As promised last month (03.14.2008 NEWS: GAD DONATES A PIECE OF BOWIE HISTORY TO IMA EBAY AUCTION) here are the details of David Bowie’s contribution to support the completion of the recording studio at
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To support the completion of the recording studio at The Institute for the Musical Arts, David Bowie contributes an autographed leather jacket from The Hunger television series, which he hosted in the late 1990s.
About the Item
This is a very stylish black hip-length, collared, lined leather jacket, with angled besom pockets and an interior chest pocket; acetate lining; no manufacturer?s tag visible; hand written on garment care tag at neck ?Man L?. Stitched/embossed on left sleeve at shoulder ?Telescene / The Hunger.?
Autographed by David Bowie in silver ink on the inside right flap.
Approximate size is a Men?s Large. Specific measurements are as follows:
Zipped-front chest; 25 ½ inches
Length from top of shoulder at neck seam to hem; 30 inches
Back, measured at yoke: 18 1/2/ inches
Back, measured at center: 25 ½ inches
Sleeve, measured at top of shoulder insertion to sleeve hem: 25 ½ inches
Sleeve, measured from neck seam to sleeve hem: 32 inches
About the Donor
Just a guess, but you probably already know a lot about David Bowie. He first caught the public eye in 1969 with the single Space Oddity. And over the last 40 years, he?s consistently caught the international public eye with history-making recordings and concert tours. A few of the rankings are right off the Bowie page on Wikipedia:
In the BBC?s 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie ranked 29. Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 196 million albums and ranks among the ten best-selling acts in UK pop history. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 39th on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time, noting that he is a musical chameleon and one of the more restless and venturesome classic rock survivors.
In addition to his musical performances, Bowie is an actor and TV host. The donated leather jacket is a promotional item for The Hunger TV series, which Bowie hosted in the late 1990s. He also acted in one of the segments.
The quote is famous, and the expletives will be deleted, but here?s what David Bowie said about Fanny, the band founded by IMA co-founder June Millington and her sister Jean: ?One of the most important female bands in American rock has been buried without a trace: Fanny. They were one of the finest f-ing rock bands of their time. They?re as important as anyone else who?s ever been, ever; it just wasn?t their time. Revivify Fanny. And I will feel that my work is done?
Now that?s some pretty tall praise from one of the world?s most popular and successful artists?for nearly 40 years! David Bowie has great taste in music, and he has great taste in clothes, side musicians, and worthy causes..
In donating the jacket to IMA, Bowie said, ?We?d do anything for the girls.?
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The auction is now live and you can reach it
The aforementioned previous auction of
Speaking of Bowie band members…
One flash of light but no smoking pistol…
We set this one a couple of weeks back (03.15.2008 NEWS: ASHES TO ASHES SOUNDTRACK OUT MONDAY…WIN IT HERE) when we asked you to identify the five tracks on the above CD that were originally released in the 70s, as opposed to the decade the series was set in, the 1980s.
These were the songs the winners correctly selected:
The Stranglers ? No More Heroes (1977)
The Clash ? I Fought The Law (1977)
Joe Jackson ? It?s Different For Girls (1979)
Flying Lizards ? Money (1979)
Bryan Ferry ? Let?s Stick Together (1976)
And the five BowieNetters that fortune smiles upon today, are:
chris_carry
NavalHero
Steffrox
thebewleybro
unclearthur
If you lot could please send in your names and addresses, we’ll have your CDs out to you quicker then you can shake a stick at a brass monkey. Well done.
Series one of Ashes To Ashes will be available on DVD from next month and apparently it won’t be too long before we have a second series airing on TV.
Tell the truth, Tell the truth, Tell the truth, We tricked you, We tricked you, We tricked you…
OK, so there wasn’t that much truth to yesterday’s Will item…DB doesn’t go anywhere near a bike in the movie, he wears the clobber he’s wearing above, and he doesn’t own a big red shopping bag…a small red box at most.
The other story in yesterday’s news was actually true, even if it did seem even more ridiculous than the fabric of lies I had spun for Will.
Anyway, here’s another pic, taken expertly by Jimmy ‘Shirt-Shrinker’ King…
Both shots are of David relaxing between takes on the set of Will, which was shooting in Greenwich Village in NY on the 20th of March.
I asked David exactly what he is wearing in the shots, because I know that’s the type of thing you lot like to know, and he graciously responded thus:
“Kicks – Fred Perry. Jeans – years-old Helmut Lang. Coat – Nick Hart (for Aquascutum). Chair – Mae West probably.”
Well, I guess I have to admit after my attempt at dressing David in yesterday’s spoof, he is clearly considerably better at doing it himself.