Month: April 2011

Oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh…***

Though it didn’t particularly strike me as incongruous at the time, TVC 15 was a bit of sore thumb on Station To Station in that it seemed uncharacteristically playful given the overall mood of the album.

Apparently based on an Iggy Pop tale regarding the consumption of his girlfriend by a ravenous TV set, the song was never going to have the gravitas of The Bewlay Brothers. But it remains a cracking track nevertheless.

Released on the eve of Bowie’s 1976 London shows and performed during them, TVC 15 had the poorest UK chart performance of any of David’s RCA 45s since Changes, up to that point.

Despite getting to the chorus 20 seconds sooner via a 3:29 single edit (down from 5:28) the single only managed to reach #33 in the UK.

This must be due to some degree to the fact that TVC 15 wasn’t advertised in the music press in the UK (that’s a US advert in the montage above) in fact it’s the only UK RCA single I can think of that there was no press ad for.

It also seems that the record was pressed in smaller quantities than usual in the UK (it’s the first of the UK RCA singles for which there exists no solid centre pressing) so perhaps people wanted it but just couldn’t buy it.

In other territories RCA got their act together with various picture cover releases, a small sampling of which above.

*** I was still at school when this record came out and I was checking the lyrics in Disco 45 or Songwords magazine during lessons. However, my geography teacher, Mr Maynard, caught me in the act and decided it would be fun to share with the class.

He took the mag from me and stood at the front to say something to all assembled along these lines: “It seems Mark thought his education would be served better today by reading the words to David Bowie’s latest release, rather than bothering with geography. So I thought it would be nice if you could all hear a bit from the song TVC 15 and make up your own minds.”

Then, in the slowest, most deliberate deadpan voice, and for what seemed like a couple of hours, he read out the following selection…

“Oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh. Transition, Transmission, Transition, Transmission. Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five, Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five, Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five, Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five.”

Of course, the kids were in fits of laughter and I thought Bowie had been done a great injustice. Why hadn’t it been a song that worked better on paper, such as Life On Mars?

Anyway, geography was as much use to me as David Bowie lyrics were to Mr Maynard. The following year I was discussing the merits of David Bowie’s latest album, “Heroes”, with one of my young and enthusiastic new tutors at art college.

On his 2nd birthday, told her that he’d found a Rebel Rebel New York remix credit…***

As we said when we posted this one a couple of weeks back, (04.16.2011 NEWS: WIN LAST TWO BOWIE UK 45s IN RECORD STORE DAY CONTEST) this contest closes on Saturday, April 30th, at midnight New York time with the winners being announced at the start of May.

If you were struggling with the questions, we suggested that Chas Pearson’s indispensable Discography of David Bowie 7? vinyl records is the resource that will help you with both the answers…And appaerntly that’s exactly what you have been doing as Chas noticed big increases in traffic to both the relevant pages.

Anyway, the Discography of David Bowie 7? vinyl records is two-years-old today, so congratulations to Chas for a job well done and here’s to many more years of ever-expanding, train-spotting fun and excitement…yes, I am being sincere and I do need help! 😉

*** Sorry folx, private birthday joke for Chas.

Gorgeous girls are bound to meet…

David and Iman attended the DKMS’ 5th Annual Gala this evening (Thursday).

The Gala, Linked Against Leukemia honouring Rihanna and Michael Clinton, was hosted by Katharina Harf at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

In the picture on the right above, David is introduced to Rihanna who you may remember shared the spotlight with DB for the recent Renault Clio advertising campaign. (01.06.2011 NEWS: SPACE ODDITY FEATURED IN NEW RENAULT CLIO ADVERT)

It’s not known what the pair discussed, but it’s likely Rihanna took the opportunity to thank David for the stage costume tips. (02.05.2010 NEWS: THE LONG SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINAL ASYMMETRICAL)

Speaking of fashion advice, DB was dashing and debonair in completely comfortable CoSTUME NATIONAL while Iman looked wonderful wearing Wu.

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

Thought I’d do a quick round-up of a few bits I’ve spotted on TV in the UK this week. First up is an advert for the 3CD UMTV/EMI TV compilation, Best Of British, which contains Life On Mars?.

The ad features an animation of a handful of the sixty British artists that appear on the CD, with a snippet of their featured song.

As you can see, they have portrayed Bowie as he is in the video for Life On Mars?, albeit with an Aladdin Sane flash on his phizog…and I’m sure you’ve all noticed that they’ve used the wrong telephone box too…That’s a K6, not a K2…but you knew that.

Next up is one of the new iPhone 4 adverts for the ‘If you don’t have an iPhone’ campaign.

It’s only 30 seconds long, but the Best of Bowie gets a couple of onscreen seconds which can only help spread the word. You can view it here on YouTube.

Finally, this one is hard to talk about if you’re not already familiar with Channel 4’s brilliant new comedy, the hilarious CAMPUS…

If you’ve been watching it, you will know where this is leading, if you haven’t, get yourself acquainted now via 4od.

CAMPUS concerns itself with the often surreal goings on at KIRKE University and the latest instalment (episode four: Come Together) sees the sexually persistent Professor of English Lit, Matt Beer, closing in on the rather delicate Senior Maths Lecturer, Imogen Moffatt, with the help of David Bowie’s Suffragette City.

Without giving too much away, around 21 minutes into the episode we see Imogen strolling around the campus grounds, completely lost to the world around her, listening to Ann-Margret‘s What Am I Supposed To Do? via her iPod.

The tranquillity is shattered by jump cuts between Imogen and the predatory Matt Beer enjoying Suffragette City on his own iPod.

When he spies Imogen, Matt approaches her and removes her ear pieces while inserting his own into her ears during the line: “She’s a total blam blam”.

He then sweeps her off into a tango-like dance to the song, much to the clear delight of them both.

Check it out here, and if you’re not already familiar with CAMPUS, treat yourself to all four episodes while you’re there.

Like some cash for Japan…

The EMIfamily4Japan eBay auction for a complete EMI David Bowie back catalogue set that we told you about ten days ago, (04.11.2011: PRESS RELEASE: SECOND PHASE OF EMIfamily4Japan AUCTION + 04.12.2011 NEWS: SIGNED BOWIE BACK CATALOGUE FOR JAPAN AUCTION IS LIVE) has come to a very pleasing end.

The set, which contains 35 CDs signed by David Bowie, made an incredibly useful $10,173.98 USD (approx. £ 6,201.00)

If you’re the lucky winner of the auction and you’re reading this, we’d love to have a shot of you proudly displaying your win.

Who will love Aladdin Sane? Heathen? Low? Hunky Dory? Scary Monsters? Earthling?

The folks at MOJO magazine are doing one of their regular HOW TO BUY features and this time they want you to help choose the best from David Bowie’s vast back catalogue.

The results will be printed in the July edition of the magazine and whatever the selections are, you’ll only have yourselves to blame. Expect heated debates to follow.

Go here to contribute your selections.

Maybe I should announce it?…

The headline says it all, but here’s the bit we’re interested in from the Music Week announcement today…The nominations for the 2011 Music Week Catalogue Marketing Campaign of the Year…

~ Jo Brooks & Nigel Reeve from EMI for David Bowie Station to Station
~ Johnny Hudson from Universal Music /UMSM for Paul McCartney & Wings Band On The Run
~ Peter Loraine from Polydor for ABBA Gold
~ Shyamala Tharmendiran & Nicola Melly from Mercury Music Group for Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits
~ Sue Armstrong from Universal for Sandy Denny Box Set

Of course, Jo Brooks and Nigel Reeve are no strangers to this award. You may remember they picked one up for the 2004 Music Week Catalogue Release of the Year. (03.06.2004 NEWS: TWO BOWIE WINS AT MUSIC WEEK AWARDS)

That time the gong was awarded to EMI for Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

I don’t know if that reduces their chances for this year’s award, but fingers crossed anyway. You can view the full announcement here.

This year?s awards take place on May 24 at The Roundhouse in Camden.

I live above the record store…

In recognition of the planet-wide Record Store Day we are giving away ten sets of the two most recent UK David Bowie vinyl 7″ singles, even if one of those was released as long ago as the year 2000!

There have been other 7″ UK singles that bear Bowie’s name since 2000, such as Arnold Layne, but not as a solo artist. And there have been box sets that contain a Bowie 7″, War Child’s “Heroes” box springs to mind and The Boat That Rocked promo 7″ box set, but these are compilations and don’t count as a Bowie only release.

Granted, the above release of Cat People doesn’t have Bowie on the B-side, but nevertheless, both of the above are UK vinyl Bowie 7″ 45s, however you look at it.

The 2002 orange vinyl Slow Burn 45 is considered to be an EU-wide release (some listings even have it as Germany only) so that doesn’t count either.

Sorry, I’m rambling, but I’m just trying to qualify the headline of this piece. And so, on to the contest…

To be in with a chance of winning both the Survive picture disc and the Inglorious Basterds pressing of Cat People, we have two very easy questions…actually, before I forget, did I mention that the Cat People singles are all signed by David Bowie? Well, they are.

And so…

Question 1: Name the artist and song on the B-side of the above Inglorious Basterds pressing of Cat People.

Question 2: Only one of the six discs in the animation below is the true B-side image for the Survive picture disc. Tell us which is the correct one: A, B, C, D, E or F?

If you’re scratching your head for the answers to this one, it won’t help and you may get splinters. However, Lanky Chas Pearson’s indispensable Discography of David Bowie 7? vinyl records is the resource that will help you with both these questions.

While you’re there, have a look around, if you’re not already familiar with the site, and click on a few adverts too…I know Chas would appreciate your patronage.

Anyway, once you have the two answers, send them to me here. (Link is only active when logged in to BowieNet)

This contest closes on Saturday, April 30th, at midnight New York time with the winners being announced at the start of May.

Usual BowieNet 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. If you do neither of these things you won’t be eligible to enter.

Good Luck and happy browsing, kidz!

I live above the record store…

In recognition of the planet-wide Record Store Day we are giving away ten sets of the two most recent UK David Bowie vinyl 7″ singles, even if one of those was released as long ago as the year 2000!

There have been other 7″ UK singles that bear Bowie’s name since 2000, such as Arnold Layne, but not as a solo artist. And there have been box sets that contain a Bowie 7″, War Child’s “Heroes” box springs to mind and The Boat That Rocked promo 7″ box set, but these are compilations and don’t count as a Bowie only release.

Granted, the above release of Cat People doesn’t have Bowie on the B-side, but nevertheless, both of the above are UK vinyl Bowie 7″ 45s, however you look at it.

The 2002 orange vinyl Slow Burn 45 is considered to be an EU-wide release (some listings even have it as Germany only) so that doesn’t count either.

Sorry, I’m rambling, but I’m just trying to qualify the headline of this piece. And so, on to the contest…

To be in with a chance of winning both the Survive picture disc and the Inglorious Basterds pressing of Cat People, we have two very easy questions…actually, before I forget, did I mention that the Cat People singles are all signed by David Bowie? Well, they are.

And so…

Question 1: Name the artist and song on the B-side of the above Inglorious Basterds pressing of Cat People.

Question 2: Only one of the six discs in the animation below is the true B-side image for the Survive picture disc. Tell us which is the correct one: A, B, C, D, E or F?

If you’re scratching your head for the answers to this one, it won’t help and you may get splinters. However, Lanky Chas Pearson’s indispensable Discography of David Bowie 7? vinyl records is the resource that will help you with both these questions.

While you’re there, have a look around, if you’re not already familiar with the site, and click on a few adverts too…I know Chas would appreciate your patronage.

Anyway, once you have the two answers, send them to me here. (Link is only active when logged in to BowieNet)

This contest closes on Saturday, April 30th, at midnight New York time with the winners being announced at the start of May.

Usual BowieNet 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. If you do neither of these things you won’t be eligible to enter.

Good Luck and happy browsing, kidz!

I think my spaceship knows which way to go…

In a piece entitled The making of William Shatner in The Times back on March 12th, Captain Kirk himself announced how he planned to take on fellow space traveller, Major Tom, in a rock opera.

Well, at the time I thought I had dreamt it and the suggestion seemed to go away. But, with the recent announcement on his website of a collection of space-themed cover songs, entitled Searching For Major Tom, it seems The Shat is one step closer to that realisation.

Here’s what the 80-year-old star of sitcom, Shit My Dad Says, said about Space Oddity in aforementioned Times piece…

“Major Tom is a character in several David Bowie songs. I?m doing a rock opera, if you will, that involves what happened to Major Tom. What was he thinking out there in space? He begins to think about how he learnt to fly and the love of his wife; as he dies he begins to imagine Heaven and Hell. All these are dramatised by the songs I?ve chosen. It?s either going to be the best thing you?ve ever heard or terrible things will be written about it.”

Well, I will do William the honour of at least hearing the track before I judge it. I won’t even take into account his previous convictions that saw him make the main protagonist of Elton John‘s Space Oddity…I mean Rocket Bloke, glad he was no longer of this Earth.

Space Oddity features Alan Parsons on keyboards and ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore…you’d think they would know better.

Searching For Major Tom is scheduled for release later in the year via Cleopatra Records. You can check out the full tracklisting on williamshatner.com and read some background to the project on EW.com.