All Saints/christiane F Are Record(s) Of The Week!

Today's UK Sunday Times (Culture) has selected not just All Saints but also Christiane F for Record(s) Of The Week! Only six of each week's new pop releases are chosen for review, along with one stand out album which takes the hallowed "Record Of the Week" spot on the far left of the "On Record" page. The reviewer obviously couldn't choose between David's two latest releases, so the section covers both albums.

The former (All Saints) draws mainly, the latter (Christiane F) exclusively, from the late 1970s, arguably Bowie's creative peak- and the time when he showed an unerring ability to pick the right collaborators. In 1977, he chose his best-ever team: the producer Tony Visconti, reinventing the sound of a drum kit; Brian Eno; the ultra-funky rhythm section of Dennis Davis, George Murray and Carlos Alomar; and occasional guest appearances by prog-guitar-god Robert Fripp.

On All Saints : These (tracks from The Buddha Of Suburbia and 'hours...') fit perfectly with their more revered predecessors, making an album that has its own coherence.

It (Christiane F) will appeal because, combining as it does the sashaying funk of Stay and Station to Station with the art-pop of TVC 15 and Boys Keep Swinging, it may just be the ideal Euro-Bowie CD for the car.

The full review is also available online. Click here to read it all.

:))

Exclusive - Joe Elliott Speaks To Bowienet

Joe Insane by Total Blam Blam

Joe is awful strong, bet your life he's putting us on...

As you know, the 'Cybernauts Live', album that we mentioned as far back as November last year (11/21/00 NEWS: CYBERNAUTS ARE COMING and 01/16/01 NEWS: CYBERNAUTS LIVE CD OUT NOW) is now available to buy online and very good it is too. I had the good fortune to catch Joe and the boys at both Mick Ronson memorial shows, and I have to say they were easily the best thing on the bill, in both London and Hull.

The 18-track 'Cybernauts Live' (16 of the tracks are Bowie songs) has managed to capture the excitement of the band in full flight. Check it out, even if Def Leppard don't occupy the larger part of your record collection, you will be very pleasantly surprised. As if this wasn't enough to tempt you, a bonus 7-track CD including six Bowie songs and Jimi Hendrix's 'Manic Depression' is included in the bargain price of £17.99

Joe has now very kindly taken time out of his busy schedule as Def Leppard front-man to chat to me about the impact the music of David Bowie has had on his life and how that fandom reached its logical conclusion with Cybernauts. And so without further ado, I give you The Joe Elliott Interview.

Marquee Special Preview

Marianne Faithfull duet's with David on a
version of Sonny & Cher?s `I Got You Babe?.

Something getting hard when you rock it up...

The BBC's Radio Two have a preview of the upcoming two-parter: 'The History Of The Marquee Club'. Scheduled for the 14th and the 21st of July, the rocumentary features contributions from many of those who played there, including David Bowie, Charlie Watts, John Mayall, Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Peter Frampton, Brian May of Queen, Bob Geldof, Manfred Mann, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, Marianne Faithfull, Rick and Francis from Status Quo and the club founders Harold Pendleton and Chris Barber.

Go here for a bit of David's fascinating contribution from where I have lifted the priceless snippet below:

?There were a lot of clubs to go to in the Soho scene in the 60?s but The Marquee was top of the list, because musicians did hang out there, pretending to talk business and picking up gigs - but picking up girls mostly. One of my keenest memories of The Marquee in the ?60?s was having a permanent erection because there were so many fantastic looking girls in there, it was all tourists, especially in summer, all flocking to London to get an R&B star.?

We will be posting a piece with, hopefully, some unpublished pictures nearer the broadcast of the first part of 'The History Of The Marquee Club'.

Bowiephiles

Bowie style : Associated press : 6/25/01 On Milan spring/summer 2002 menswear collection. Rock star David Bowie look-alikes showed off the new Versace style made up of pastel-colored silk brocade suits with tight jackets and flared trousers, worn with sheer silk embroidered T-shirts, matching lace-up shoes, and a sash - sure to be the hot accessory item for next season.

and : Corriere della Sera : 6/24/01 "Bowie e Rocky ispirano la moda uomo. Il cantante nei sogni di Versace. Il pugile nella fantasia di Dolce & Gabbana" (Bowie and Rocky are the inspirations of the male fashion. The singer is in the dreams of Versace. The boxer in the imagination of Dolce & Gabbana) In the article it is said that even if Elton John and Ron Wood were the only rockstars at Versace defilè, the real guest has been David Bowie, whose look has been the inspiration of the new Versace collection.

David Bowie : Sunday Times : 07/01/01 From an interview with Prefab Sprout whose new album is produced by Tony Visconti. "He called Young Americans his 'plastic soul album'; well this is my 'plastic country album'." "McAloon talks in awe of Visconti's tales of Bowie turning up at the studio mid-afternoon, announcing that he had to leave for the theatre by 6pm, and bashing through two or three songs before the limo came to pick him up."

Ziggy : Q : August 2001 From a letter taking issue with an article in July's Q, entitled "Why Is Pop So Gay?". "You seem to forget that....the gay movement is inseparable from the rise of rock 'n' roll. Where would rock culture be without Ziggy Stardust?"

Man Who Fell To Earth : Telegraph : 06/30/01 From an interview with Perry Farrell - former frontman with Jane's Addiction. With his startling facial features (elfin jawline, hooked nose, satellite-dish eyes) and his outlandish garb (skinny-rib orange T-shirt, purple shades), he's every inch the Bowie-style "Man Who Fell to Earth", a rock star-cum-space cadet.

(contributors : queen janine, pozie, velvet goldmine, spaceface)

:))

Midge Ure On Sound And Vision

In a Guardian interview last week to promote his new self-produced album Move Me, Midge Ure discussed his influences and in particular, production techniques which have inspired him.

It soon becomes clear that Ure is inspired by production as much as anything in music - Bowie's 1977 album Low is a case in point. "When I first heard Sound and Vision, I remember having never heard anything quite like the drums - they sounded like they had been recorded on dodgy 1960s technology. Bowie had put this thing called a harmoniser on the drumkit, which nobody had ever done before, and tuned the drums into the harmoniser to make this funny snare sound. That mixed with Brian Eno's synthesisers - and Bowie's hundreds of telexes to the producer Tony Visconti saying how the album should be mixed - created this groundbreaking piece of music, in the year that the Sex Pistols were knocking down dinosaurs everywhere."

Click here to read it all.

:))

Whatever You Say, Fred

Anyone remember "I'm Too Sexy"? Yeah, it was the early Ninties. A band called Right Said Fred. Errr.... you don't remember? Well you guys being you, I'm sure you'll remember a bassist looking like a dodgy porn producer in the video for "Blue Jean" then. That was Richard Fairbrass of Right Said Fred. They're back now with a hit called "I'm Your Mate" here in Central Europe. I talked to Richard earlier this afternoon. And of course I also asked him about working with David. Check out the audio clips below!

Clip 1

Clip 2

Record Collector Round Up

The July issue of Record Collector, magazine has a round up of current and future Bowie projects, with nothing much to add to BowieNetter's knowledge of what's going on in the world of DB product.

However, they do use a small but perfectly formed live shot of Ziggy strutting his stuff in '72 to accompany the piece. For copyright reasons I can't post it here, but I just bet some naughty tinker posts it on the MBs!

Happy Fourth Of July!

Happy Independence Day!

New Journal Entry!

Check out the latest Rotten Journal from David, just in time for the fireworks!

You're not gonna sing for us, are you Frank?

Signed Bowie's Going For A Song*

Rex Ray designed Roseland and Ziggy 2002

Well, ain't that poster love?

At a charity auction at London's Hotel Inter-Continental last Friday (June 29th) in aid of the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Charity, two signed David Bowie prints/posters went for an incredible £3,700. The posters, both designed by 'Screaming' Rex Ray of San Francisco, included a Roseland poster signed by Mr Ray himself and a Ziggy 2002 print signed by DB and Rex!

So if you've been lucky enough to win either or both of these beauties in BowieNet competitions (the prints I mean, not David and Rex) then perhaps you should check the small print of your contents insurance.

As for the chap who donated a signed-by-Rex Roseland poster to the raffle at the BowieLand party last week, if you're kicking yourself, just contact me and your generosity will be rewarded. Instant Karma!

*No, I've never really understood that saying either.

Doors Fans Flock To Paris

Thousands of Doors fans are expected to turn up at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris today to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Jim Morrison.

Thanks to BowieNetter technicolour who posted the following excerpt from "American Prayer" on the boards today. A BowieNet toast for Mr. Mojo Risin'!

We're perched headlong
on the edge of boredom
We're reaching for death
on the end of a candle
We're trying for something
That's already found us

Go here for more info.

Second Quarter Points Winners!

The Grand Prize Winner is.....

Noggy!!

No, Noggy - THIS is as good as it gets! ;-)

Congrats on a job well done! Your active participation over the last three months has kept us smiling, scratching our heads and of course laughing. AND you've racked up the most points anywhere in BowieNet land! Your prizes include:

• 1 year free Premium BowieNet membership
• A personal phone call from David Bowie
• The Entire David Bowie CD Catalog including an autographed CD
• PLUS A Personalized Photo!

Yahoo! As always, there are LOTS of winners! 2 1st Place winners, 5 2nd Place Winners and 10 3rd Place Winners!!!

Go HERE to see the complete winners list!!!

Please note: the prizes for the next quarter will be different than this time around, and will not be announced until the end of the quarter! Who knows what's in store this time around....

All Saints Re-issue Comp Winners

...some cat from Japan

Getting the hang of this now...if the questions are very hard (like the Blood n Glitter comp) we don't get so many entrants, but if they're as easy as this 'All Saints' competition you go berserk! I guess there is some pretty obvious logic there. As I say, very popular competition this one, as is the current competition for the original private pressing of 'All Saints' that we posted on Friday.

Anyway, you don't want my waffle, you want certainty...erm, I mean the answers and a list of the winners. Here ya go then:

'All Saints' promo competition

I asked you to tell me three different releases that have included the instrumental track 'Crystal Japan'...there were more than only three different 'releases' that contained the track of course, especially if one takes into account releases from different territories around the world...but the formats above from my own collection all include the track, and the formats most of you mentioned are included in the picture: clockwise from bottom left we have:

Up The Hill Backwards/Crystal Japan - Cassette Single - UK RCA 1981
Bowie Rare - Vinyl LP - UK RCA 1982
Up The Hill Backwards/Crystal Japan - 12" Single - USA RCA 1981
Up The Hill Backwards/Crystal Japan - 7" Single - UK RCA 1981
Scary Monsters (as a bonus track) - CD - UK EMI 1992
Crystal Japan/Alabama Song - 7" Single - Japan RCA 1980

These are just the versions illustrated above, so before you write in to ask "what about the Italian Bowie Rare?" etc etc, I allowed all of the versions released as valid answers. I also allowed the original Japanese advert that the track was commissioned for, but while I hear what you are saying regarding NIN's track 'A Warm Place' on their 'The Downward Spiral' album, I'm afraid that wasn't allowed. So, if the ten people below would like to send their real name and address to me at MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.Com with a subject heading of: 'All Saints' promo competition winner, they will receive their promo forthwith.

'All Saints' promo competition winners:

jaredscott@davidbowie.com
blackout80@davidbowie.com
RuneKJ@davidbowie.com
superpriest@davidbowie.com
spacebo@davidbowie.com
heelheadover@davidbowie.com
vosje@davidbowie.com
uwe@davidbowie.com
torty@davidbowie.com
antoine.loogman@davidbowie.com

'All Saints' stock copy competition

Even easier this one, I asked you to name the tracks common to both this issue of 'All Saints' and the 'Christiane F' soundtrack album. Hundreds of you correctly stated that 'V-2 Schneider', 'Sense Of Doubt' and 'Warszawa' are the names of those very tracks. The ten winners below should send their real name and address to me at MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.Com with a subject heading of: 'All Saints' stock copy competition winner, to receive their CDs .

'All Saints' stock copy competition winners:

shtratman@davidbowie.com
ruth@davidbowie.com
pisceanvelvet@davidbowie.com
corinap@davidbowie.com
shanejohns@davidbowie.com
suikkanen@davidbowie.com
martyn@davidbowie.com
redosyre@davidbowie.com
wtu@davidbowie.com
popstar@davidbowie.com

Final Drink At The Last Chance Saloon*

Someone to claim us...(part 386)

Today is the last day that the signed by Bowie, Blood and Glitter set is open exclusively to BowieNetters. (05/29/01 NEWS: HOW TO RESERVE YOUR SIGNED BOWIE PRINT SET) There are still a few of the limited sets containing a signed Bowie print left, but from tomorrow any sets unclaimed by BowieNetters will be made available to the public. The five winners of the Bowie Blood and Glitter set competition will be contacted by Showcase Editions in the coming week.

While we're on the subject of deadlines, today is also the last day of the 'All Saints' re-issue competition, (06/25/01 NEWS: ALL SAINTS ALL SET - WIN IT NOW) and very popular it's been too. I knew I made those questions far too easy!

*I don't know what I'm on about either! };-)

Bowieland Party A Big Success!

The UK Bowie event of the year so far, took place last Saturday in Atherstone in Warwickshire. We had an evening filled with non-stop Bowie music (Laughing Gnome was the surprise hit of the night - check out the image above ;) , raffles, a quiz and a special appearance by John Mainwaring of Jean Genie, performing with just an acoustic guitar. Many prizes were generously donated for the raffle, including lots from Bowienet (Thanks TBB!). Overall, the wonderful amount of £318 was raised, which will be split between the two charities.

A very big thank you to Bowienetter, Charly, who planned the night superbly, down to the last detail, which meant all we had to do was enjoy ourselves from dusk till dawn.

For the full rundown and a few giggles, be sure and check out Charly's great party pages, now online with photos, write-ups and more.

(Charly is already planning next year's event, so take the plunge and sign up now. We want to meet you all!)

:))

Win All Saints Ultra-rarity

The original private pressing of 'All Saints' from 1993

Someone to claim us...

As promised earlier in the week, today we are giving you the chance to win one of the most sought after David Bowie rarities of all time; the original private pressing of 'All Saints'. The 18-track double CD was pressed in an edition of 50 as Christmas presents for David's friends and family in 1993. A further 100 were pressed for promotional purposes etc. These extra 100 CDs were identical to the first fifty, apart from the fact that they didn't have a hand-written personal message from David, and it's one of these 100 we are giving away...hang on...what's that David? Make it two? Thank you sir, most generous.

One of these copies we are giving out as a prize will be signed by David, and a runner-up will receive a sealed copy unsigned. Unsigned copies of these CDs have sold here in the UK for £600! For more information regarding the original private pressing of 'All Saints', go here.

On with the competition. So what evil task have I set for you to be in with a chance of winning one of these two incredible prizes? Well it's all very straightforward actually. I have constructed the title 'All Saints', below, using letters from various Bowie album covers. All you have to do is give me the titles of the nine albums I have taken the letters from, in order, starting from the first 'a' on the left. Simple enough isn't it?

As we are well into the holiday season, this competition is open for the whole of July to allow everybody a chance to enter. Send your answer to me at MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.Com with a subject heading of: Original 'All Saints' CD competition. AS WITH ALL COMPETITIONS I SET, YOU MUST POST FROM A BOWIENET ADDRESS. ANSWERS NOT SENT FROM A BOWIENET ADDRESS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED. This may seem harsh, but I'm sure you don't want to have to compete with non-members. Good luck kidz.

Q & A With Coco Schwab!

Everyone who knows David Bowie knows the close friendship he shares with Coco Schwab, his confidante and personal assistant of nearly 30 years. Not one for the spotlight (she rarely gives interviews), we are very grateful that she has agreed to partake in a Q&A session on BowieNet to share her unique insights on David's life and art with us!

Questions will be accepted through July 13th, at which point they will be passed on to Coco. She will in turn select the most interesting questions and respond, the final questions and answers to be posted on BowieNet on July 20th!

BOWIENET MEMBERS ONLY
For information on becoming a member
click here.

Mojo Bowie Reviews Archive

In their weekly e-mail news letter entitled 'Letter From The Editor', Mojo4Music.com has suggested we "Revisit the Thin White Duke's golden years with this link to every Bowie review that's ever appeared in Mojo."...and frankly, who are we to argue? Even though you won't agree with every word they've written, the page is worth a visit for the new and interesting cover of 'Best Of 1974-1979' alone.

Q & A With Coco Schwab

Everyone who knows David Bowie knows the close friendship he shares with Coco Schwab, his confidante and personal assistant of nearly 30 years. Not one for the spotlight (she rarely gives interviews), we are very grateful that she has agreed to partake in a Q&A session here on BowieNet to share her unique insights on David's life and art with us!

You will find the link to submit your questions on the home page in the Mutations Box (you can also access it from here). Questions will be accepted through July 13th, at which point they will be passed on to Coco. She will in turn select the most interesting questions and respond, the final questions and answers to be posted here on July 20th!

We are very excited that Coco has provided us with this opportunity. Let's make the best of it and round up some good questions!

Blondie's 'heroes' Re-issued

I, I can remember...

Blondie's 1980 live recording of David Bowie's 'Heroes' is due for release as a bonus track on 'Eat To The Beat' in the upcoming re-issue of the Blondie back catalogue. The recording first surfaced on the 12" of 'Atomic' after Deborah and the boys performed the song at London's Hammersmith Odeon on January 12th 1980. This particular performance is notable for a rare live guest appearance by guitarist Robert Fripp who also played on the original version.

Although unavailable on a Blondie release since that original 12", the song was available on the excellent, if hard-to-find, 'David Bowie Songbook' CD. 'Eat To The Beat' is scheduled for a September 11th release.