Month: March 2015

 

“Didn’t they teach you to get your hair cut at school?”

 

Fifty years ago today, publicity of the rumpus caused by the length of 18-year-old Davy Jones’ hair culminated with a live performance on BBC 2.

You’re possibly familiar with the story of The Manish Boys’ public quarrel with Barry Langford, producer of Gadzooks! It’s All Happening. Langford had insisted that Jones have his hair trimmed before he would be allowed to appear on the show to perform his new single, I Pity The Fool, with his band of merry Manish Boys, to which the handsome young heart-throb retorted: “I wouldn’t have my hair cut for the prime minister, let alone the BBC!”

A compromise was reached when the group agreed to donate their fee to charity if there were any complaints regarding the young lead singer’s hair. There were none.

David’s manager of the time, the late Les Conn, apparently played a large part in setting up this stunt along with DB’s first known television interview on the BBC’s Tonight show the previous November, during which Jones bemoaned the hard time he had been having to Cliff Michelmore and how this had led to the formation of ‘The Prevention Of Cruelty To Long Haired Men’.

 

“I recall how we lived on the corner of a bed”

 

The music of David Bowie has been utilised to great effect in recent motion pictures such as Foxcatcher (Fame) and Guardians of the Galaxy (Moonage Daydream), not to mention TV shows such as American Horror Story: Freak Show which had Jessica Lange performing Life On Mars? for the premiere and “Heroes” for the finale.

We also had the trailer for the upcoming Game Of Thrones season 5, which featured TV On The Radio’s version of “Heroes”, along with various adverts (2015 Cadillac Escalade Evolution of Indulgence (Fame)) and a couple of console games.

But one of the more unexpected nods to Bowie came in the shape of Yann Demange’s superb film, ’71. The movie has been around for a while (we caught it in October), but it’s released commercially (in the UK at least) on Monday (March 9).

For those of you that have yet to see it, here’s a brief synopsis.

 

’71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier (Jack O’Connell) accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, and increasingly wary of his own comrades, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorientating, alien and deadly landscape.

 

Hard to imagine where Bowie might pop up in that context, but keep reading to find out exactly how, if you don’t mind having the surprise spoiled in advance.

 

Without giving too much away, the character played by O’Connell goes into hiding after being injured.

 

The action cuts from a particularly tense street scene to the scene in question. O’Connell is lying in bed when the camera settles on the cover of Melody Maker pictured here.

The battered soldier is being attended to by a young woman and the dialogue commences thus…

 

Woman: Do you like David Bowie?

Soldier: Eh?

Woman: Do you not like him?

Soldier: He’s alright, for girls really inni?

 

We’re wondering if it was just gratuitous usage by Yann Demange, simply because he wanted Bowie in the film somewhere! Who knows? Either way, it’s a quite bizarre but welcome diversion.

Pedants might point out that Bowie never had a full Melody Maker front cover until the following year and that Ray Stevenson’s shots of Bowie in bed at Foxgrove Road in Beckenham, in July 1969 couldn’t really be described as backstage either.

But worse than this was the outrageous suggestion that Bowie is for girls. We think there are a few gentlemen reading this that may just disagree with that claim.

’71 is released on the usual formats vis Studiocanal on Monday.

Thanks to Ray Stevenson for the Bowie shots and MP-A for the grab of the Melody Maker cover.

 

“You drive like a demon from station to station”

 

Champion of all things Bowie, Matt Everitt from BBC Radio 6 Music, kindly offered to send us a few words regarding the Paris version of David Bowie Is, on account of him being invited to the opening gala.

However, on the day, his check-in time came and went and though we knew he wasn’t one for sleeping In (he’s a regular co-presenter for the 6 Music Breakfast Show), he is allegedly a bit of a daydreamer.

We worried he was going to miss the stardust and glamour of the gala opening, and, being brave, we decided to give him a call.

It transpired that he hadn’t been involved in a crash or anything too serious, but he had been hampered by outrageous transport delays! When we quizzed him on the likelihood of his getting to the opening in time, he confidently assured us: “I’ll manage somehow”.

And manage he did, just one of the reasons we love you little drummer boy.

 

The ‘David Bowie Is…’ exhibition started in the grandiose Gothic revival halls of The V&A in London, moving through Ontario, Sao Paulo and Berlin to the clean, modernist ’60s setting of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and now (appropriately enough) its backdrop has changed once more. This time to The Philharmonie de Paris, a vast concert hall that (also fittingly) was once described as a spaceship crash-landed on the edge of the city.

 

On the opening night there are long queues trailing into the park that surrounds the hall, Inside TV crews, radio teams, music fans and personnalités culturelles all crowd into the foyer, supping drinks, eating tangerine-coloured candyfloss and enjoying a very popular make-up stall, which provides the multicolored glittered Ziggy flashes that adorn every other face.

 

When inside the exhibition itself, we’re once again inside Bowie’s life. A staggering collection of objects that illustrate the creative forces that pushed him forward and the music and images that he created as a result. It would be disappointing if the show was identical to its predecessors, and indeed, in addition to new documents (including a book singed at the Parisian Golf Drouot venue where David Bowie & The Lower Third appeared live in 1965) the layout of the show is less linear. While you’re still aware of the chronology of his story, the display rooms are more random, throwing you off into different times, spaces and songs in a way that reminds you again just how restless and creative Bowie has been.

 

Some elements however need no reframing; the Top Of The Pops Starman jumpsuit still elicits gasps (“It’s actually there!”) the meticulous drawings, paintings and plans provide an insight into a mind throwing out ideas faster than the music world could keep up with, and the final immersive video room (complete with one of the exhibitions greatest finds, the previously unseen Diamond Dogs live footage) filled with a supporting cast of happily dancing Ziggy clones is a wonderful as ever.

 

The first time Bowie left England it was to go to Paris, the studios at Château d’Hérouville just outside the city were the location for Pin Ups and much of Low, and years later he proposed to Iman under the Pont Neuf bridge (the romantic lad that he is) so the city clearly holds special memories. And judging by the reaction to  ‘David Bowie Is…’, Paris loves him too. 

 

Matt Everitt – March 2015

 

Thanks for that Matt, much appreciated.

 

FOOTNOTE: Our montage shows (anticlockwise from top left) the stickered version of the blue vinyl “Heroes” 45 (thanks for the scan Alison Jean Baker), Bowie’s hand-written lyric for Be My Wife from The Château d’Hérouville Guest Book, the French issue of Be My Wife and finally, the album from which the song came, Low.

 

We’ll leave you with the exhibition note regarding that guest book entry.

 

The Château d’Hérouville Guest Book – Laurent Thibault Collection

After recording Iggy Pop’s album The Idiot in Spring ‘76, David Bowie returned in September to record several pieces for the album Low, which would subsequently be mixed in the Hansa Studios in Berlin. David Bowie signed the “guest book” of the Studio with the lyrics from a verse of “Be My Wife”, 4th piece on the A-side of the album Low.

 

 

“It can all but break your heart, in pieces”

 

March 6th 1970 saw the release of both an album and a single for David Bowie in the shape of the Mercury 45, The Prettiest Star/Conversation Piece, and the Decca album, The World Of David Bowie.

The Prettiest Star was the beautifully melodic and worthy follow-up to Space Oddity and yet another label change for Bowie. Mercury was the sixth label that David had released UK singles on.

However, it looked like the label’s faith was well-placed with the signs looking good for another top ten UK hit, as suggested by an NME review of the single.

Sadly that was not to be and taking in to account the gentleness of both sides of the 45, it was an unusual follow-up considering David was plugging his new, rather loud, electric band, The Hype, in both the press and on stage around the time of the single’s release.

Bowie obviously recognised how strong a song The Prettiest Star was as he rescued it for the 1973 Aladdin Sane album, with Mick Ronson affectionately recreating Marc Bolan’s original solo.

The B-side, Conversation Piece, was also re-recorded thirty years later for the Toy project and finally issued in 2002 as a Heathen bonus track.

DECCA realised it was time to cash in their chips following the Philips label’s success with the Space Oddity 45 a few months earlier, and they did exactly that with The World Of David Bowie on March 6th 1970.

With David’s blessing the compilation rounded up ten tracks from the original fourteen-track UK Deram album, (marked thus * in the tracklisting below) discarding We Are Hungry Men, Join The Gang, Maid of Bond Street and Please Mr. Gravedigger.

Joining the ten album tracks were The London Boys, plus three unreleased tracks recorded with Tony Visconti in 1968. Here’s the tracklisting…

 

Side 1

1 Uncle Arthur*

2 Love You Till Tuesday*

3 There Is A Happy Land*

4 Little Bombardier*

5 Sell Me A Coat*

6 Silly Boy Blue*

7 The London Boys (From Deram single DM 107)

 

Side 2

1 Karma Man (Previously unreleased)

2 Rubber Band*

3 Let Me Sleep Beside You (Previously unreleased)

4 Come And Buy My Toys*

5 She’s Got Medals*

6 In The Heat Of The Morning (Previously unreleased)

7 When I Live My Dream*

 

Originally, the single versions of both Love You Till Tuesday and When I Live My Dream were meant to replace the album versions for this compilation, but this didn’t transpire.

Illustrated in the montage here is the original copy of the album, complete with the nineteen shillings and eleven pence recommended retail price sticker (this was pre-decimal), as advertised in the trade press advert, also pictured.

As well as the German picture sleeve for The Prettiest Star, the other item pictured is the UK 8-track cartridge along with its outer cardboard slipcase. This format had the same content as the vinyl version, albeit with the tracks in a different running order.

Listen to the original recordings of The Prettiest Star and Conversation Piece below.

 

The Prettiest Star – Stereo Version

Conversation Piece – Stereo Version 

 

“All right, you want the young American”

 

David Bowie’s ninth studio album, the Bowie/Visconti/Maslin produced Young Americans, was released in the UK on this day in 1975.

A top ten album in both the US (#9) and the UK (#2) it also furnished Bowie with his first ever #1 single in the shape of the Bowie/Lennon/Alomar composition, Fame.

Young Americans still sounds a remarkable work today and that’s not just because it was written and sung by a 27-year-old white man, it’s a true classic however you look at it.

But don’t take our word for it, if you’ve not listened in a while, check it out again on Spotify now.

Also, have a listen to this episode of In The Studio with Redbeard, wherein we hear from Bowie regarding the creation of the Young Americans album.

 

“You gotta act tall, think big”

 

Released on this day fifty years ago was David Bowie’s second stab at storming the hit parade (though he was still Jones at this point), I Pity The Fool, the follow up to the previous year’s debut, Liza Jane.

The single was notable for having the first ever released Bowie composition in Take My Tip on the B-side, good to see a spider reference in his first ever published lyric.

Both sides were recorded and issued under the name of The Manish Boys, with David again taking care of a very enthusiastic and convincing vocal.

The A-side has an urgency that still cuts through today, no doubt helped somewhat by a lead guitar played by the young Jimmy Page and a brass section that included David Jones himself.

As you might suspect, this record is far more sought after now than it was fifty years ago, with a stock copy fetching £1750 GBP on eBay last year.

And despite the record’s age, it’s travelled extremely well as you can hear for yourself here.  

 

“Pour juste une journée”

 

Eric Dahan has been in touch with details of a French Bowie TV special he is a guest on this evening.

In celebration of the opening of David Bowie Is at Philharmonie de Paris, Entrée Libre on France 5 has divided the broadcast into the following four sections.

 

-Visite de l’exposition “David Bowie is”

-David Bowie, pionnier de la musique pop

-Bowie acteur

-En modes Bowie

 

Entrée Libre airs this evening at 20:15, with encore broadcasts on France Culture at 7:40 AM on Friday and on France 2 (national television) on Friday night. If you intend to catch any of these shows live, do please check local listing times.

 

FOOTNOTE: Don’t forget to stay tuned to the David Bowie Is at Philharmonie de Paris events page, for a schedule and updates of Bowie-related events around the exhibition over the coming days and weeks: http://smarturl.it/DBisParisEvents 

 

“It’s happening now”

 

Following last night’s preview gala, today (March 3rd) sees the public opening of David Bowie Is at Philharmonie de Paris. 

The anticipation for this event has been building over the past few weeks, culminating in lots of media coverage and huge billboards at Gare du Nord station in Paris, announcing the arrival of the exhibition with the slogan: David Bowie Is At Home In Paris.

If you’re wondering about the four faces of fans made up as various Bowies in our accompanying montage, they’re all participants in the #DavidBowieIsMe contest which you can join in here.

Stay tuned here for more updates and events around the exhibition over the coming days and weeks.

 

#DavidBowieIs

PHILHARMONIE DE PARIS

3 March – 31 May 2015

 

“Zane, Zane, Zane”

 

Hot-on-the-heels of his Writing On The Edge tome released last year, Jérôme Soligny launches a new book today (details on yellow poster) in the shape of the considerably slimmer volume, Ouvre le Chien. 

We asked Jérôme how this latest publication came about and what was its function. Here’s Jérôme…

 

The function of the Bowie Ouvre le Chien book couldn’t be simpler. When la Cité de la Musique got in touch with me for translating the texts of the exhibition (they appear in both languages – French and English), they also asked me to present two conferences. So I thought about one revolving around this subject of “Bowie et la France”, France being an important territory for David in many aspects, and another one about David’s guitar players through the ages, the guitar being crucial in his music. This one is called “Ziggy Played Guitar!”.

 

Then we realized only the people going to the conferences would know their content. So my publisher (Editions La Table Ronde), in quite a brave move (the same week they published Writing On The Edge – 1750 pages about my 25 years rock (fantastic) voyage) proposed we gather the text of the two conferences in one small book for the people who won’t be able to attend. 

 

So the book features readable versions of the two conferences. The “Bowie et la France” chapter, focusing on the recording of Pin Ups, The Idiot and Low, is more developed (hence the title of the book) with extensive interviews (Alain Lahana / David’s French promoter, Nicolas Godin / Air) and a few quotes I gathered through the years by French people like Guy Peellaert (right, he’s Belgian but lived in Paris) and Kuêlan Nguyen, original “china girl” who inspired the song.

 

Also the book features an Alphabet (B comme Bowie), with French Bowie related things or people for every letter. There’s also a list of all the French concerts given by David in France. Last but not least there are 16 exclusive pix of David taken live in 1995 and 1999.

 

Thanks Jérôme and good luck with the book launch and the conferences.

Ouvre le Chien is published on March 5th.