Month: September 2014

 

“Coming Tuesday I feel better, even Mayor Rahm looks good”

 

Kudos to Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, for declaring Tuesday, September 23rd (the opening day of David Bowie Is at the MCA), David Bowie Day in the Windy City.

Emanuel describes Bowie as “an undisputed global icon boasting a catalogue of 26* critically acclaimed studio albums,” whose “remarkable half-century career has bridged cultures and faiths while both transcending and fortifying the music, art, fashion & design, and theatrical canons.”.

Hopefully this accolade will catch on and in the future every day of the year will be Bowie Day somewhere on the planet.

If you can’t read the declaration in the montage here, check out ConsequenceOfSound for a bigger version.

Apologies to Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, David Bowie and the late Brian Duffy for the clumsy PhotoShop application of the Aladdin Sane lightning bolt.

 

(* actually 27 http://smarturl.it/27BOWIEalbums …but this is no time to quibble!)

 

“And Peter tried to climb aboard”

 

David Bowie narrates Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is reissued as a numbered limited edition red/gold mixed vinyl (illustration here is a guide only) via RCA/Music On Vinyl on October 23rd.

Originally released thirty six years ago in 1978 on the RCA Red Seal label, the music is performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

Bowie apparently recorded the Prokofiev favourite as a Christmas present for his seven-year-old son, Zowie (AKA film director Duncan Jones), and this reissue comes in good time to brighten up the festive season for the Bowie-loving ‘child’ in your life.

Read more about the release over on the MOV site.

 

“I was going, round and round, the Highbury Garage…”

 

The chap on the left in our picture will be performing songs written by the bloke on the right at the first of four UK shows this evening.

Good luck to Tony Visconti and his merry men, AKA Holy Holy, for the sold out show at The Garage in London tonight, and indeed, at the remaining performances of The Man Who Sold The World in Sheffield, Glasgow and again in London at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. All three of which have available tickets.

Check out the Holy Holy FB page for more info.

 

“Till there was Rock”

 

The current issue of NME celebrates the reissue of Mick Rock’s 256-page Exposed paperback book in the shape of three posters, including the iconic double-page shot of Ziggy and Ronno ’enjoying’ British Rail nosh on their way to Scotland for shows in 1973.

The original hardback (bottom left in montage) featured Bowie on the cover, but the new paperback (published by Palazzo, September 25), sports a 1973 shot of DB on Kate Moss’s chest, not to mention a foreword by Tom Stoppard and an afterword by Andrew Loog Oldham. 

The attendant exhibition at SUMO in NY, opens to the public on September 23. Full details here.

We’ll leave you with a link to a recent Mick Rock interview courtesy of Hit-Channel.com, wherein he discusses the work featured in Exposed.

In the interview, Mick also teases news of an upcoming co-signed (with Bowie) limited edition Ziggy Stardust book for Taschen due next year.

At the moment, the book is planned to feature a ton of previously unseen Bowie photographs from the 72/73 era and it will be released as one of those beautiful Collector’s Edition books with a stand that Taschen do so well.

Read that Hit-Channel.com interview here.

 

“Seven days to see my life”

 

In just seven days (September 23) the documentary film about the blockbuster exhibition, David Bowie is, will be screened in theatres across the US. Canada from September 25 and then worldwide from November 5.

View a clip from the film over on SPIN.com and check ticket availability at your nearest participating cinema here.

Stay tuned for details of further screenings as they happen.

Meanwhile, here’s an interview about the film with director Hamish Hamilton on Radio.com.

 

“In my life I’ve never stopped to worry about a thing”

 

Due next month (October 14th) via Legacy Recordings in North America, is the 48-track compilation, The Essential Kinks, released in celebration of 50 years of Kinkdom.

David Bowie has written the sleeve notes for the 2 CD set and here’s an excerpt from them.

 

“Of course, from their noisy and brash beginnings, the Kinks have come to stand for some of the most enduring and heart-clutching pop of all time. They are in the gut of every British song-writer who followed them and are indisputably a cornerstone of everything pop and rock. I love ’em. The world loves ’em.”

 

Indeed it seems Bowie does love ’em with two wonderful Kinks covers released thirty years apart in the shape of Where Have All The Good Times Gone and Waterloo Sunset, released in 1973 and 2003 respectively.

 

Listen to them both on Spotify.

Where Have All The Good Times Gone

Waterloo Sunset

 

Bowie also performed the latter live with main Kink, Ray Davies, in 2003 at the Tibet House Benefit in New York. (See picture) View a very shaky hand-held recording of that performance here.

For more details of the upcoming Legacy Kinks campaign and a full tracklisting of The Essential Kinks, check out the press release on PR Newswire.

 

“Watching all the world and Warcraft”

 

You may have already seen this item, but it bears repeating here.

We’re sure you all know that Bowie’s son, director Duncan Jones, finished filming Warcraft (the film of the game World of Warcraft), recently.

There’s been very little to report on Warcraft thus far as the whole thing has been shrouded in secrecy.

However, last Saturday The Belfast Telegraph snatched a few words with actor Ben Schnetzer (who stars in new British comedy Pride, as well as Warcraft), and though he had nothing to say about the film itself, he was very complimentary about its director. Here’s a bit of what he said.

 

“Duncan is a genius, and he’s the kindest most amazing person. I’d follow him into battle, he’s amazing, and I’m very, very excited about it. I’m kind of under lock and key about what I can say about it but it’s going to be great.”

 

That’s the kind of stuff that would make any parent proud!

Read the full Belfast Telegraph article here and stay tuned to Warcraft Movie Fans for more news regarding the film as it happens.

 

“Fashions may change, heaven knows”

 

Rita Ora paid tribute to David Bowie at Tuesday evening’s (September 9) Fashion Rocks 2014 charity event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

She echoed Bowie’s own October 1996 performance of Fashion at the VH-1 Fashion Awards at Madison Square Garden in NY, by performing a cracking version of the same song in similar attire.

Bowie’s original Union Jack coat (designed by Alexander McQueen in collaboration with Bowie for the Earthling album cover), was approximated for Rita’s performance, complete with distressing and burn marks.

Some took the 23-year-old Brit’s wearing of the flag as a nod toward next week’s Scottish referendum poll, though her only comment seemed to be this Instagram message to DB accompanying pictures of her in the outfit; “David Bowie. For you.”

Coincidentally, in October 2003 Bowie contributed a specially filmed version of Fashion as part of Fashion Rocks for the Prince’s Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

You can view Rita’s performance here and Bowie’s 1996 VH-1 Fashion Awards rendition here.

 

“It’s a real mean team”

 

Mott The Hoople released their David Bowie produced album All The Young Dudes this week in 1972. (September 8, UK)

The very next day the Bowie-penned title track peaked at #3 on the UK singles chart giving the band their first and biggest hit.

Indeed, at the time it was the highest charting Bowie composition thus far, though that changed a few months later with the success of The Jean Genie which reached #2 in January 1973.

The album sleeve was designed by Mick Rock with colour tinting by George Underwood.

Aside from production duties, Bowie played saxophones and provided unmistakable backing vocals on the album.

Mick Ronson scored a beautiful string arrangement for Sea Diver, typical of the arrangements he did for Bowie at the time and for tracks such as Perfect Day on Lou Reed’s Transformer.

The All The Young Dudes album eventually reached #21 on the UK album chart. You can listen to this Glam Rock classic here on Spotify.

See how many of Bowie’s contributions you can hear and don’t forget to check out the bonus version of All The Young Dudes with a Bowie lead vocal in the verses alternating with Ian Hunter’s chorus vocal.

 

“Everybody’s waiting for the Go-Go Boy”

 

Just fourteen days until David Bowie Is opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

The atmosphere is building nicely and what a lovely touch with the steps of the MCA adorned with Bowie lyrics.