The Ziggy Stardust Companion has just been updated for the month of July, 2000!
The Special Feature is an extensive Masayoshi Sukita Gallery of Ziggy Stardust images.
Other main features added this month include interviews, images, articles and reviews about a Dec 1972 RCA Press Conference and the Pirates World Amusement Park concert of 17 November 1972 plus transcripts from Part 1 of the recent BBC 2 Radio Show called Golden Years.
Go to the Ziggy Stardust Companion
Thanks Mike
DB's talent scouting skills are impeccable! David's 'One To Watch' for the first half of the year, the beautiful and talented, Kina, is ready to break onto the Diva scene with a vengence! This snippet was taken from Billboard.com:
By the time DreamWorks Records issues rising diva Kina's sterling eponymous debut on July 18, the label and the artist will already have spent roughly six months preparing for its release. And they've been doing it the old-fashioned way -- nonstop touring.
The singer initially started playing small clubs around the U.S. in late January to test out the album's material. "From the first gig, it was clear that she was an amazing performer," says Leah Reid, product manager at DreamWorks. "She truly brought the record to life. The intensity and passion she exudes onstage was remarkable."
Go to Billboard.com
Well done to all of you that found the secret 'Seven' promo CD competition that is now closed, please remember that I need your snail mail addy to actually send the thing. To those of you that didn't notice it, all I can say is don't worry, the next competition (to win the three UK CDs) will be announced in the usual style.
The New York Premiere of "Mr. Rice's Secret" is coming up at the 5th Annual Soney Brook Film Festival. The fest takes place at the State University of New York (SUNY) Stoney Brook school in Stoney Brook, Long Island, New York, and runs from July 19-29, 2000. Click the image above for a larger version of the poster.
For $30, you can get a Festival Pass, which allows you to see 47 films! You can get the passes by either calling (631) 632-ARTS, or by going to the following website:
Still riding the wave of the Glasto-experience! mtv.co.uk sent their delightful reporter "Billy Scumbag" to cover the fest. Here is a snippet:
"David Bowie is headlining at the Pyramid Stage and more out of curiosity I have to check it out. Yet again I?m torn though and had to miss some of The Old White Duke (who pleasantly surprises me) because I?m gagging to check Doves who are closing the New Band Tent........ As they wind up their encore, flares fall over the main stage as Bowie still reels in my mind.
Walking out Gate 6 there was a festival newspaper on the floor with an aerial view of the site and the headline 'Best Glastonbury Ever'. And that it was."
Go to mtv.co.uk
David Bowie and BowieNet were mentioned on the radio yesterday morning on National Public Radio (NPR).
Go to NPR.org
thanks pam
Here is a snippet from this month's MOJO.
MOJO's Time Machine section features the Ziggy farewell concert at Hammersmith Odeon this month. David is still being misquoted after 27 years! What he actually said was "It's the last show that we'll ever do.", by which he meant that particular band. Mind you, I think there may have been a little bit of mischief in there......lol
Go here for the snippet.
:))
thanks spaceface
Ooops - Due partly to a Mac to PC translation error, but mainly to gross stupidity on my part, the version of the press release that went up on BowieNet yesterday had two fundamental errors in it. A search and replace that I did on the piece removed all of the figure ones from the original and meant that David Bowie's Glastonbury debut changed from 1971 to 97. The error also created the lie that he performed to a mere 20,000 festival-goers instead of the actual 120,000 happy punters that attended the show.
I would like to offer my apologies to The Outside Organisation, BowieNet, David Bowie and not least to my mother, for my shaming of the family name! Please go here for the corrected version.
Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)
Every day, the Swedish channel TV4 celebrates "name of the day". On June 25th, the name was David. David Bowie was therefore mentioned as a famous person with the name. The narrator described Bowie as, quote: "The chameleont David Bowie is perhaps the most influential mucisian of all times". If you can read Swedish, the link is:
thanks calle
"He's had many pretenders to his crown as the Godfather of Cool. But even those young enough to be his grandchildren could identify an original, a one-off"
- Richard Wallace Daily Mirror June 27th 2000
Some 30 years on from his debut Glastonbury performance in 1971, David Bowie stole this year's prestigious festival and has earned his place in the rock 'n' roll history books with one of Glastonbury's most definitive performances. Promoter Michael Eavis, who has booked acts like Radiohead, Oasis, Elvis Costello, Blur and REM over the years described David's set as; "one of the best appearances in the history of the event".
Bowie, resplendently dressed in a 3/4 length one-of-a-kind Alexander McQueen jacket (not too dissimilar to his Hunky Dory look) held his audience captive with a set that included killer tracks from his accomplished 30 year career, including Life On Mars?, Changes, Let's Dance, Under Pressure, Heroes, Fame, China Girl, Ashes To Ashes, Ziggy Stardust, Rebel Rebel, and from more recent years, crowd pleasers such as Hallo Spaceboy and I'm Afraid Of Americans. Artists such as The Dandy Warhols, Kelis, Happy Mondays and Embrace were tripping over themselves to watch the 2 hour strong set from the side of the stage. Out front in excess of 120,000 people stretched as far as the eye could see, resembling nothing so much as a medieval gathering of the clans.
So far reaching were the effects of David's Glastonbury performance that UK papers looked somewhat like Bowie fanzines the following day. Even the notoriously critical 'credible' British music press had to take their hats off to David and cited him as this year's highlight. NME chose David as the Pyramid Stage pick of the day and reported; 'DAVID BOWIE, Blimey he's good. No, better than that, David Bowie bloody well patented pop music, and we all forgot.'
Following a set that many would claim impossible to better, David rocked an intimate audience just days later at a special show for the BBC, to be broadcast on TV later this year. Entertaining this specially invited crowd (faces in the audience included Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, Lulu, Bob Geldolf, Richard E.Grant, Simon and Yasmin Le Bon amongst others) David filled the evening with amusing anecdotes of his past antics including many ribald tales that are best left in the BBC archives! The set was varied and included previews of some new interpretations of 60's songs, such as 'The London Boys', that he is planning to record.
Preparations for both events weren't easy amidst rumours that David would be forced to cancel due to his laryngitis but in typical David Bowie fashion he rose above it all to give arguably two of the best performances of his career.
In what's been a very special week for David in the UK he has more than proved why he has been at the top of his game for some 30 years now. He has shown himself to be as relevant now as he has ever been.
The Bowie media blitz continues unabated here in the UK with reports about the BBC show still appearing, along with with news stories surrounding certain guests present at the show. Both The Sun and the The Daily Star have related pieces with pictures in today's newspapers, and the BBC news site carried this review of the show.
The Outside Organisation in the UK also released this press release today.
Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)
The next David Bowie single, 'Seven', is now receiving airplay in the UK. A four-track promo CD is currently doing the rounds, and the 'hours...' outtake is already single of the week on Chris Evans' Virgin Radio breakfast show here in the UK. The promo boasts four different versions of the song, being:
There are several formats of the single planned, including three different CD singles for the UK alone. Go here for our previous BowieNet report.
Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)
The News and Reviews keep coming after Bowie's memorable set at the Glastonbury Fest! To the lucky bunch who were at the festival, remember to share your stories and thoughts on the 'Discuss' Message Boards!
Now on to the news!
David Bowie provided this year's Glastonbury Festival with one of its biggest finales, playing a two-hour set on Sunday night that a generous helping of hits including "Fame," "The Man Who Sold the World" and "Under Pressure." Playing Glastonbury for the first time since 1971, Bowie told the crowd, "I'm having a fucking brilliant time."
"David Bowie has told a British newspaper that his Glastonbury appearance will be his last for 18 months. "
"He is clearly enjoying himself as Bowie regales the crowd with anecdotes of his previous appearances at the festival..."
"Proof, if you need it, that Bowie's contribution to late 20th Century pop culture has been immense."
Every member of BowieNet gets one! If you have not yet filled out the Live and Well Address Confirmation Form , go there now by clicking HERE!! The CDs will start to ship in the next week, so keep an eye out for a special double-disk CD package!
Jamming good with Slick and Plati...
David Bowie last night finished a recent string of performances with a stunning show at the BBC's Radio Theatre in central London. As I'm sure you have already gathered from the message boards, 130 lucky BowieNet members and 120 invited guests enjoyed what was for most of them, the best Bowie performance they had ever witnessed.
In a twenty one and a half song set David battled on against a persistent tickly cough, (bronchitis upon laryngitis) which tried its hardest to deprive us of an encore, but didn't reckon on Bowie's stubborn insistence that the show would go on. Laughing and joking throughout the evening, David was in full story-telling mode as he related several comic anecdotes and had everybody in fits with his Norman Wisdom impersonation...sort of.
Lulu, Russell, David and Meg having a laugh yesterday.
A long list of celebs which included; Bob Geldof and girlfriend Jeanne Marine, Russell Crowe, Lulu, Meg Ryan, Boy George, Richard E Grant, Nick Moran, Simon and Yasmin le Bon...and by no means least, favourite of Emm, Nick Rhodes, were present at the show which has a planned Autumn screening to tie in with the release of the BBC sessions album.
As ever I intend to post a more detailed impression of the show within the context of the journal which is being updated as we speak. Don't worry by the way, my journal take-over is not permanent, and I'm sure we can expect David's own impression of the last few weeks quite soon, probably. Go here for more pictures from the show and here for the set-list.
Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)
Press Swoons Over Glastonbury Performance
Coverage in the U.K. press was widespread and flowing with praise with articles appearing in The Sun, The Mirror, National News, London Metro, The Tuesday Review and The London Times. Clearly the verdict is unanimous: Bowie and this current lineup continue to blow people away with classic sets and awe inspiring musicianship, this time in front of record crowds topping 100,000.
In spite of a Woodstock-like frenzy in which as many as 15,000 fans may have entered the concert grounds without paying, the festival was an overwhelming success by all accounts with the David Bowie band at the helm. Organizer Michael Eavis called it "the best festival yet."
In a review of the festival, a correspondent from nme.com writes: "Leaving the others aside for a second, it should be noted that David Bowie worked at a level beyond and above anyone else at this festival." Go here to read the entire article.
The Daily Mirror writes:
"His constant quest for the new, whether on record or on his pioneering internet site, has won him a third generation of fans...other big name acts watched open-mouthed." Go here to read the entire article.Other excerpts from the press include:
"At 53, David Bowie looks no different from how he did 30 years ago."
"His bill-topping performance in front of a crowd of 100,000 was a mater class in superstardom."
"?David Bowie stole the show?"
Bowienetter David, age 7, was spotted at the Glastonbury Festival in a sharp looking t-shirt....
Playing Glastonbury for the first time since 1971, Bowie told the crowd, "I'm having a fucking brilliant time." Enough brilliance, hopefully, to hold us over for a while, as Glastonbury 2000 may be the last time Bowie brings out the old tunes until who know when. With wife Iman expecting a baby in August, Bowie told London's Daily Mirror that "After Glastonbury, that's it for about eighteen months. I'm becoming a recluse now!"
There are still a few people who have yet to respond to the confirmation that was sent out to the winners of a place at the BBC recording tomorrow. Please check the list here to see if your name appears on it. All confirmations were sent to the davidbowie.com or davidbowie.co.uk address' that you have supplied.
It should be restated that, if you are on the list and it has now become impossible for you to attend, then let us know NOW - failure to do so is extremely unfair to fans who can make it, and could also jeopardise your chance of success in future competitions.
Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)
The weekend at Roseland was truely special. Everyone knew it, and simply enjoyed that fact to the fullest! Here are two summaries of last weekend's gigs: