Month: February 2013

“Sony wants to turn the world”

This is how the worldwide release dates for ‘The Next Day’ stand right now.

March 8
Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland
March 11
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, UK, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Latin America (ex-Mexico), Asia (ex-Japan), New Zealand
March 12
USA/Canada, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Italy, Poland
March 13
Japan (Includes fourth bonus track: God Bless The Girl)
March 15
Australia

‘The Next Day’ is available as:
14-track standard download and CD
17-track deluxe download and CD (includes 3 bonus tracks)
17-track double vinyl album (includes 3 bonus tracks)
18-track Blu-Spec CD2 in Japan only (includes 4 bonus tracks)

‘The Next Day’ tracklisting

01. The Next Day
02. Dirty Boys
03. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
04. Love Is Lost
05. Where Are We Now?
06. Valentine’s Day
07. If You Can See Me
08. I'd Rather Be High
09. Boss of Me
10. Dancing Out In Space
11. How Does the Grass Grow?
12. (You Will) Set the World On Fire
13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
14. Heat

Bonus tracks:
15. So She
16. Plan
17. I'll Take You There
18. God Bless The Girl (Japan only)

http://www.davidbowie.com/the-next-day

“All you’ve got to do is win”

A couple of weeks back we posted a contest to win ten copies of the 40th Anniversary Vinyl/DVD Edition of Ziggy Stardust, along with an A4 print of Mr Stardust himself, pictured here.

The competition was in celebration of the fact that ZS40 came in at #2 in the Top 10 biggest selling vinyl albums of 2012 in the UK.

And so without further ado, the first ten people out of the bipperty bopperty hat who correctly selected the answer, Ray Staff, are listed below.

Addy Lynn  

Adrian Rose  

Alex Offord   

Carol Monks   

Katherine Iveson   

Meritxell Rosell   

Rachel Carey   

Steve Livesley  

Thomas Gallagher

Yigal Landey  

Well done you lucky people, we will be contacting you directly to arrange delivery of your package.

“You’re playing with the spider who possess the sky”

You may remember the Drive-In Saturday 40th Anniversary 7” exclusive Record Store Day picture disc that we mentioned yesterday…we certainly hope you do!

Well, we‘re going to tell you about a second such Bowie RSD exclusive release today too.

The reason we’ve left it till now is because the record won’t be available in either the US or Canada, so we thought it best to leave it till the majority of those folk are asleep before we mentioned it!

The David Bowie 1965! EP is a 4-track 7” which collects together both of the singles Bowie released in 1965, with The Manish Boys and The Lower Third respectively.

If the release seems at all familiar, that may be because it’s been available since 2007 as a digital release. The EP was also released in the same 4-track vinyl format in 1979.

Or it may just be that you clearly remember 1965 when both the original 45s were issued. Either way, here are the details for this particular release:

David Bowie 1965! EP 7” Record Store Day exclusive 

7” black vinyl (World excluding US & Canada)

 

A

1. The Manish Boys – I Pity The Fool

2. The Manish Boys – Take My Tip

AA

1. Davy Jones & The Lower Third – You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving

2. Davy Jones & The Lower Third – Baby Loves That Way

FOOTNOTE: If you’re wondering where today’s lyric quotation comes from, you may be comforted to learn that it’s from Take My Tip, the first of Bowie’s compositions that he ever released. Good to see that spider theme started so early.

“Last night they loved you”

Singer/DJ and all-round diamond dog geezer, Boy George (@BoyGeorge), was joined by Grace Dent and David Hepworth for the second episode of Danny Baker’s Great Album Showdown on BBC4 last night.

With the previous evening’s category being Rock, the question posed by last night’s instalment was: “what makes a great pop album?”

As we mentioned before the show was broadcast, with Boy George as a guest there was always going to be just as healthy a dose of Bowie as there had been in the first episode. The Boy didn’t disappoint.

He mentioned Bowie at every turn, along with references to other great music that he found because of Bowie, such as Lou reed and Bob Dylan.

Hunky Dory was the first of three LPs he chose for the ‘Wall Of Sound’ that each of the three guests have to select albums for from their own collections.

The third and final instalment this evening has Baker and his three guests exploring the essential elements of a great R&B album. Could they make it a Bowie hat trick by discussing Young Americans?

Tune in to BBC4 at 9:00 this evening to find out and if you have access to the BBC’s iPlayer, you still have eleven days left to view the previous episodes.

“Just about the best you can hear”

David Bowie was the subject of much praise on the first instalment of Danny Baker’s Great Album Showdown on BBC4 this evening.

Genius record producer Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur) chose Ziggy Stardust as one of the albums that each of the three guests have to select from their own collections.

Explaining that the 1972 classic was the first LP he ever bought, he then went on to describe the record as life-changing. Street also pointed out that the musicians he has worked with over the years have a love of Bowie’s music in common.

Baker was in agreement with Street’s ‘life-changing’ theory when he suggested of Ziggy Stardust: “It seems absurd in these days to talk about an LP that could culturally change everything. But it did.“

Bowie was also mentioned favourably when the chat turned to Hunky Dory and when Street unveiled the third of his three albums, Lou Reed’s Bowie-produced Transformer.

This was the first of three shows and tomorrow’s broadcast looks to being even more Bowie-heavy, bearing in mind that Boy George is one of the guests.

The other guests joining Baker and Street this evening were Jeremy Clarkson and writer Kate Mossman, who certainly knows her stuff.

You can view the whole thing on the BBC iPlayer now, or on the BBC4 site.

Finally, check a very informative preview of the show on the BBC’s Art and Culture site, wherein Danny Baker relates a wonderful anecdote about how the young Ziggy was so near, yet so far for the schoolboy Baker.

The second of three instalments is on BBC4 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 21:00.

“Became the special man”

The latest Vogue is on the shelves and it includes a lovely piece by Designer Luella Bartley entitled The Prettiest Star.

Here’s the introduction:

Designer Luella Bartley returns to fashion to celebrate the legendary music icon David Bowie. As the Victoria and Albert Museum gets ready to pay homage to the musician with a dedicated exhibition, Bartley explores his legacy, his influence and why he remains king.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

“He changed my life.” That quote could be attributed to hordes of famous musicians, fashion designers, artists, writers, accountants, florists and politicians for whom Bowie has been the conduit for a huge cultural, musical, sexual and aesthetic release. And it’s sincere: he did change their lives. He brought individuality to the masses. Call him what you will – teacher, prophet, rebel, inspirator, star man – he’s simply part of the furniture round at our house, like a benign spiritual presence that prods you into creative action, reminding you to be different. And if you think I’m obsessive, you should meet my husband.

The March edition of Vogue is available now (#MarchVogue) as both the traditional bulky hard copy magazine and in the storage-friendly iPad format.

“Watching them come and go”

The brilliant Steve Schapiro has recently published a book of his photographs from across the years entitled Then and Now.

Here’s publisher Hatje Cantz‘s blurb regarding the collection:

Master photographer Steve Schapiro unlocks his archive, allowing a look behind the scenes. More than fifty years’ worth of pictures. Robert Kennedy was the most imposing politician he ever met. And Johnny Depp is incredibly photogenic. Steve Schapiro ought to know, because he has actually photographed them all: his expressive portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Barbara Streisand, Marlon Brando, David Bowie, Jodie Foster, and Robert de Niro are part of our collective visual memory.

Besides his work with the stars, Schapiro and his camera accompanied the greatest political and social upheavals of the sixties and seventies. These photographs have also achieved iconic status. This volume includes a selection of photos taken over a period of more than fifty years. In the accompanying essays, Schapiro explains how they were created, describing his experiences in a lively, humorous way. Along with previously unpublished photographs, the book also features new works by the timeless master.

That description is accurate too. It‘s incredible just how many of the images you remember, but probably didn’t realise they were Schapiro‘s photographs, when you leaf through this astonishing 240-page hardback.

All that and it has Bowie portraits too, including the cover shot shown here. With that kind of content to draw on, how flattering is that? Go to hatjecantz.de for more. 

“You little wonder you”

David Bowie released his ‘Earthling’ LP sixteen years ago today reaching #6 on the UK album chart.

The album was preceded by the Top 20 single, Little Wonder, which was accompanied by the incredible Floria Sigismondi-directed video, complete with contributions from Tony Oursler…which brings us right back round to Where Are We Now?.

If you’ve not listened for a while, go check out ‘Earthling’ now. It‘s a very fine album indeed. 

“Who will love Aladdin Sane”

Press release: DAVID BOWIE – 40TH ANNIVERSARY REMASTER OF ALADDIN SANE

Formats: CD / Mastered for iTunes digital download / standard digital download

RELEASE DATE: 15th APRIL 2013

Parlophone Label Group are excited to announce the release of a 40th anniversary edition of David Bowie’s groundbreaking Aladdin Sane – the follow up to 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.

Originally released through RCA Victor on 13th April 1973, Aladdin Sane was David Bowie’s sixth album, co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott.

This was an incredibly busy time for Bowie – Ziggy Stardust had made him a massive star in the UK and he was touring extensively in the US, where most of the album’s songs were written whilst on the road.

Recorded at Trident Studios, London and RCA Studios, New York and Nashville, between 6th October and 24th January 1973, it was be to be the last album that the Spiders’ line-up of Mick Ronson (guitar, piano, backing vocals), Trevor Bolder (bass) and Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey (drums) would appear on.

It was to feature the debut of one of Bowie’s new collaborators, avant-jazz pianist Mike Garson. In addition to vocals, Bowie himself played guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone on the album.

Described by Bowie as “Ziggy goes to America,” Aladdin Sane saw him create a rockier, more frenetic album than its predecessor, with The Rolling Stones a possible influence on album opener ‘Watch That Man’ and a transgressive cover of their song, ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’.

Elsewhere, Muddy Waters’ influence could be heard in the riff of the UK #2 single, ‘The Jean Genie’ and the “futuristic nostalgia” of ‘Drive-In Saturday’ – which charted at #3 in the UK – was inspired by 1950s doo-wop.

‘Cracked Actor’, possibly David’s most decadent moment, was written after he had toured Hollywood Boulevard, translating the images and environment into raw rock ‘n’ roll.

The addition of Mike Garson and his remarkable talents, infused some of the album’s key tracks, in particular the title track with its dissonant improvisation, the Brechtian cabaret of ‘Time’ and album closer ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ with an edgy, schizophrenic quality.

Pre-orders for the album in the UK were a staggering 100,000 (not seen since the heyday of The Beatles). It was Bowie’s first UK #1 album, and a US Billboard #17 album.

This 40th anniversary edition has been remastered by Ray Staff at London’s AIR Studios. Ray cut the original LP during his time at Trident Studios and has received plaudits for his remastering of the Ziggy Stardust 40th anniversary edition last year.

Aladdin Sane 40th Anniversary Edition tracklisting:

1. Watch That Man

2. Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)

3. Drive-In Saturday

4. Panic In Detroit

5. Cracked Actor

6. Time

7. The Prettiest Star

8. Let’s Spend the Night Together

9. The Jean Genie

10. Lady Grinning Soul

The 40th anniversary remaster of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars will also be made available on iTunes as ‘Mastered for iTunes’ on the same date.

www.davidbowie.com

“I like the beat of your drum”

Drummer Zachary Alford has been speaking with Rolling Stone magazine’s Andy Greene about working with David Bowie for the first time since the late nineties.

Here’s an excerpt.

RS: Do you know any of the songs titles?

ZA: They’ve changed. The only ones that have remained from my initial days are “The Stars (Are Out Tonight) and . . . is there one called “Ya Ya?”

RS: I don’t think so. How many songs total did you work on?

ZA: Twenty-four.

RS: There’s only 17 on the album when you count the bonus tracks. Do you think the others will come out eventually? Maybe another album?

ZA: Yeah, I would think so. There’s plenty of stuff there. One of the songs we worked on was a leftover from Lodger. I think it was called “Born in a UFO” when we worked on it, but I didn’t see that title on the record. Maybe he changed it. I don’t know.

Check out the full thing over at RollingStone.com