Month: September 2013

“Painting our faces”

A selection of portraits by renowned Pop Artist Derek Boshier is on display in the UK for the first time in a new exhibition of the artist’s work which opened at the National Portrait Gallery on Saturday. (September 27th)

Derek Boshier: Imaginary Portraits (27 September 2013 – 4 May 2014) will feature 10 works from the artist’s ‘imaginary portraits’ series, including his oil-on-canvas portrait of David Bowie, which was painted in New York in 1980 while Bowie was rehearsing for his role in Bernard Pomerance’s play The Elephant Man at the city’s Booth Theatre. Based on the life of a nineteenth-century man who developed severe bodily deformities and travelled as a circus performer, the production required Bowie to distort his face and body, holding poses for long periods of time. It was Bowie’s first major theatre role and he received huge critical acclaim for his performance. He talked about the role with Boshier at the artist’s studio, resulting in the striking portrait of Bowie in character.

Bowie fans will be familiar with the name Derek Boshier on account of his work on both the 1979 Lodger album and 1983’s Let’s Dance LP. Here’s a bit from DerekBoshier.com regarding his work on both the albums…

David Bowie’s “Lodger” album, 1979

“The cover for “Lodger” was a collaboration between David, the photographer Duffy, and myself. I loved this solution to the problem of David being photographed falling. Shooting him from above, on a specially made table built to match the falling form. The table was designed to be completely obscured by David’s body (You can see the table in the photograph right centre on the inside of the book-style cover). The wash hand basin was laid underneath the table on the floor.” D.B.2003.

The cover for Bowie’s subsequent “Let’s Dance” album included the projection of a Boshier painting across David Bowie’s figure in boxing gloves. The inner sleeve of “Let’s Dance” had line drawings by Boshier including his characteristic heads and walking figures.

If you didn’t already see it at the David Bowie is exhibition, check out this page to view Polaroids of three models of sets by Boshier commissioned by Bowie for his stage shows in 1978.

“He’s a broken man”

While we’re on the subject of The Elephant Man (see previous Derek Boshier item) it was 33 years ago last week that David Bowie triumphed on Broadway with his stunning performance in the play at The Booth Theatre.

The Broadway run was preceded by presentations in Denver and Chicago with unanimous praise heaped upon Bowie for his portrayal of John Merrick.

29 July – 3 August 1980 Denver Centre of Performing Arts

5 August 1980 – 31 August 1980 Blackstone Theatre, Chicago

23 September 1980 – 3 January 1981 The Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St, New York

Sadly, it seems there is no complete record of Bowie’s performance and so we have to rely on the bits of film that do exist and the memories of those who witnessed the play first hand.

If you can’t make out the words in the image here, scroll the picture for a larger version of the text.

Check out the superb BOWIEGOLDENYEARS for a page relating to Bowie’s time in The Elephant Man.

“And another day”

It gives us much pleasure to announce details of a 3-disc version of David Bowie’s brilliant The Next Day album.

Called The Next Day Extra, the set includes the original 14-track CD, a 10-track CD of bonus tracks and a DVD of the four promotional films made for the album: Where Are We Now?, The Stars (Are Out Tonight), The Next Day and Valentine’s Day.

The 10-track bonus CD includes four previously unreleased tracks, two new mixes and God Bless The Girl, the track that was only released on the Japanese issue of The Next Day. The remaining three tracks gather up the bonus tracks from the deluxe version of the album.

The whole thing comes in a wonderful new Barnbrook package with a lyric booklet and a book of stills from the promo films. Scroll the image here to view a mock-up of the package.

In addition to the physical release of The Next Day Extra, there will be a 7-track digital EP bundle.

Keep reading the press release below for tracklistings and more details.

PRESS RELEASE

DAVID BOWIE ‘THE NEXT DAY EXTRA’ 3 DISC COLLECTORS EDITION RELEASED NOVEMBER 4th

FIVE UNHEARD TRACKS

TWO BRAND NEW REMIXES 

DVD FEATURING THE VIDEOS FROM THE NEXT DAY

‘THE NEXT DAY’ the critically acclaimed and Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize nominated album is to be released as a three disc edition on November the 4th. 

The critically lauded ‘THE NEXT DAY’ album released in March was number 1 in 15 countries.

‘THE NEXT DAY EXTRA’ will feature the original 14 song album, a 10 track companion cd with five unheard songs, two remixes (including one by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy) and a DVD featuring four videos from ‘THE NEXT DAY’.

‘THE NEXT DAY’ companion album track listing

ATOMICA

LOVE IS LOST (HELLO STEVE REICH MIX BY JAMES MURPHY FOR THE DFA)

PLAN

THE INFORMER

LIKE A ROCKET MAN

BORN IN A UFO

I’D RATHER BE HIGH (VENETIAN MIX)

I’LL TAKE YOU THERE

GOD BLESS THE GIRL

SO SHE

ATOMICA, THE INFORMER, LIKE A ROCKET MAN, BORN IN A UFO and GOD BLESS THE GIRL are previously unheard tracks and the epic 10 minute LOVE IS LOST (HELLO STEVE REICH MIX) is remixed by LCD Soundsystem mainman James Murphy fresh from production duties on the new Arcade Fire album, which also features Bowie on the title track ‘Reflektor’.

‘THE NEXT DAY’ DVD features the visuals for ‘WHERE ARE WE NOW?’, ‘THE STARS (ARE OUT TONIGHT)’ ‘VALENTINE’S DAY’ and the title track ‘THE NEXT DAY’.

In addition to the ‘THE NEXT DAY EXTRA’ there will be a 7-track digital EP bundle featuring…

ATOMICA

LOVE IS LOST (HELLO STEVE REICH MIX BY JAMES MURPHY FOR THE DFA)

THE INFORMER

LIKE A ROCKET MAN

BORN IN A UFO

I’D RATHER BE HIGH (VENETIAN MIX)

GOD BLESS THE GIRL

Critical acclaim for ‘THE NEXT DAY’

NME 

“These songs feel like stories that insisted on being told”

Rolling Stone

“A triumphant album”

Q 

“Start arguing for it’s merits as an equal to Low or a Heroes”

The Guardian

“The Next Day makes you hope it’s not a one-off, that his return continues apace: no mean feat, given that listening to a new album by most of his peers makes you wish they’d stick to playing the greatest hits”

The Independent

“The greatest comeback album ever”

The Telegraph

“An absolute wonder: urgent, sharp-edged, bold, beautiful and baffling

The Times

“A great album and something that is rare in an age when everything is explained and revealed: a sense of mystery”

Los Angeles Times

“Breathtaking… a marvelously successful return”

The Quietus

“David Bowie, then. History, but still happening. And the next day, and the next. Greatness. It can’t go on. It goes on”

‘THE NEXT DAY EXTRA’ will be released on November 4th  

#TheNextDayExtra

“Waiting for the gift”

The quite beautiful Sonjay Prabhakar 2013 Sound and Vision remix we’ve been telling you about, is now available to view as a lyric video on YouTube. 

The track is released by Parlophone Records as a digital download only on October 7th and you can pre-order it here on iTunes. 

#soundandvision2013

“Elvis is English…”

Mike McCarthy of Guerrilla Monster Films has been in touch with the news that he has posted a shaky, albeit fascinating, bit of silent super 8 footage from Ziggy and The Spider’s evening performance in Memphis in 1972.

The film went live on the eve of the 41st anniversary of the show, which originally took place on Sunday, September 24th, 1972 at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee.

Despite the fact that the quality is not good and there is no sound, it’s still definitely worth a watch just to see the brilliant young Bowie throwing a few shapes which are pure Elvis (The Memphis Flash) via the Lindsay Kemp school of mime.

The footage is accompanied by a wonderful essay by Elizabeth Dollarhide, from which, this excerpt.

“And then, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars arrived in Memphis, their second tour stop in America. No one attending any concert at Ellis Auditorium had ever before witnessed anything like this. There are no words. The energy was so electrified I swear we were levitating. The red-orange hair, the bright colored costumes, the flash, the music, that voice. I had never seen anything so spectacular. This was far grander than the moon landing. Ziggy had landed right in front of me like a glittering star, firmly establishing himself as the king of all he surveyed. The footage shown here is what Danny and I shot of the concert. We had a Super-8 camera with no sound and were trying to capture as many different moments from the concert as could be held on the two-minute reel. Looking at this footage for the first time in 40 years is exhilarating, bringing the memories of that night solidly home. Stage lights flash and strobe the dark stage and then suddenly Bowie is there, glowing magnificently.”

To see the footage, which Elizabeth actually filmed, and to read her essay, go here.

Elsewhere on the site, Ron Hall has written a great review from his memory of the same show. Here’s a bit from that…

“I thought this was going to be something people would be talking about for years. Something we had never quite seen before. I was right. There was no way, you could describe the vibe, visual and physical charge that was felt that night. Those that missed it, blew it. They could go to later shows, but this one was special, one of a kind.

When Bowie came on that stage in a green and orange jumpsuit, red boots, with the strobe lights flashing, hi-lighting his orange hair and giving a ghostly effect aided by his white makeup, I remember thinking “Holy shit, here we go!” I know I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire show, I didn’t want to miss a damn thing. The band smoked. Mick Ronson was every bit as good as advertised and I’m sure the early shows are what built his legend and stature and a true rock guitarists. And Trevor Bolder, what the fuck was going on with those mutton chops?! The clothes, the boots, the hair, the lights, you tried to take it all in, without missing a thing. But you were always sucked back to that specter in the center of the stage. His voice, grew you back in, bringing you back from watching Ronson’s fingers, or even glancing around to see how others were responding. Most of the crowd sat like zombies, their mouths agape, with a “what the fuck?” look of wonderment, totally into the entire scope of this man. ”

Read Ron’s full piece here.

Finally, take a look at a few other Memphis related Bowie items that Mike McCarthy has posted here. Have a good poke around, but beware, you’ll be lost in there for some time.

“So swishy in your satin and tat”

The Canadian media is gearing up for the arrival of David Bowie is at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto tomorrow. (Wednesday 25th)

The original curators of David Bowie Is, Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh from the V&A in London, appeared in two three and a half minute behind-the-scenes news items on the City News breakfast show this morning.

Breakfast Television’s Jennifer Valentyne got a sneak look at the AGO exhibition and interviewed the pair who explained some of the exhibits.

View both reports here:

Part One

Part Two

Meanwhile, The AGO is asking Bowie fans to get into the spirit by showing up in costume tomorrow. The first 200 Thin White Dukes, Halloween Jacks or Ziggy Stardusts, etc. to show up get admission to the “opening night spectacular,” which is otherwise sold out. There will also be live music and Bowie impersonators at the gallery between 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm for the opening tomorrow.

Two nights later (Friday 27th) The AGO will host a David Bowie is Here Official Opening Party from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am, featuring music by DJs Luis Jacob and Odessa Paloma Parker, video tributes to Bowie by Toronto new media artist Lorna Mills and an exhibition of memorabilia collected by Toronto artist Andrew Zealley and others. There is limited capacity to this event so go here now for tickets to this and the exhibition itself.

“All you’ve got to do is win”

Just in case you’re not subscribed to the Parlophone David Bowie newsletter service, here’s a link to their latest communication which includes a contest to win both the Sorrow and Life On Mars? 40th Anniversary limited edition picture discs.

Go here for your chance to win and why not sign up to the newsletter while you’re about it. It would be churlish not to.

“When I needed soul revival, I called your name”

“Rediscover the music of Milky Edwards & The Chamberlings“ runs the catchline on the rather sparse home page for this intriguing outfit. 

Milky Edwards & The Chamberlings is not a name that has particularly endured over the years, and that’s despite having apparently released an album of fine Bowie covers in the Motown tradition, sometime in the 1970s.

The 11-track LP (pictured here), is called Starman and it features versions of all of the tracks on Ziggy Stardust. However, information regarding the group is hard to come by as are pressings of the record itself.

Comments left on their YouTube page suggest the band came to a premature end after a spell on Mercury records amid rumours of Satanism and suicide.

Sadly, the evidence points to this actually being a modern day hoax and that Milky Edwards & The Chamberlings never really existed.

But don’t let that put you off. The three tracks available on YouTube (Soul Love, Moonage Daydream and Starman) are still well worth a listen and let’s hope that whoever is behind this deceit gets around to recording the rest of the album soon.

We’re looking forward to Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide with a Detroit Emeralds twist and Star in the style of The Temptations.

FOOTNOTE: If that album sleeve looks at all familiar to you, check out Reflections the Diana Ross and The Supremes long player from 1967. 

“Put you all inside my show”

Artist Stephen Collings has been in touch with details of an exhibition he has curated at the Parlour Showrooms in Bristol in the UK, which runs until this Sunday, September 22nd. 

The show includes an incredibly diverse collection of works, with Bowie as the theme, from the following artists: Stephen Collings, Cyril Crentsil, Joseph Kelly, Philip Collings, Joe Wakeman, Jak Flash, Morgan Howell, Incwel, David Collings, Andrew Scaife, Stanley Chow and James George.

You can view many of the beautiful pieces including the compelling and quite bizarre Boyz Keep Swinging film on the dedicated tumblr page.

Also, stay tuned to the davidbowie.com community forum for updates.

We’ll leave you with a bit from the press release…

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

 

David Bowie is many things to many people. Gateway to the avant-grade, pioneer of art rock and sexual plurality. Wearer of masks, musician, performer, actor, comedian and fashion icon.

Following on from my 2010 exhibition The Importance of Being Vincent dedicated to my own ‘fan art’ of Vincent Price, I wanted to further explore fan art, and the creative compulsions that turn inspiration into music, art, fashion or performance.

Back in 1997, I attended Turner Prize-winner Jeremy Deller’s exhibition The Uses of Literacy, which comprised art created by fans of Manic Street Preachers. Beyond idolatry, these pieces expressed nascent independent creativity where the artist – the inspiration – were curators. The fans were both audience and creators, each bringing their own identities, experiences and desires into play. We are at once constant, yet unknowing collaborators in art, and arguably no other artist as much as David Bowie has displayed the art of the possible.

Certainly few other modern artists can claim to such a cultural ripple effect, whether it be the New Romantics of the 80s, acolyte Britpop bands of the 90s or modern pop such as Lady Gaga, whose branding owes much to Bowie’s cross-cultural transgressions in the 1970s and beyond.

This project gained momentum as Bowie sprung back into popular consciousness this year with a new album and the timely V&A exhibition, David Bowie Is, heralding die-hard, brand new and transitory fans alike to pick up plectrums, paintbrushes, pencils and pins.

The V&A exhibition set a challenge – If Bowie is a catalyst for art, for the obscure and the new, condensed for a new audience, then where next for this creative exchange? The works displayed in this exhibition are merely a microcosm, a ripple, but also perhaps a love letter to an artist who continues to challenge and inspire.

 

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +