Win One Of Ten Aladdin Sane Anniversary Cds

Watching him flash away...

Courtesy of EMI, we've got ten copies of the Aladdin Sane double disc 30th anniversary edition that we've told you about a couple of times here. (05/08/03 NEWS: ALADDIN SANE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DUE SHORTLY & 03/16/03 NEWS: ALADDIN SANE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DUE IN MAY)

The CD is due next week, and this competition ends midnight this Friday UK time, so some of you will hopefully receive your prize on, or shortly after, the day of release.

I've tried to create this competition in such a way that you can all enter, regardless of your Bowie knowledge. Flashing away above are five single sleeves related to Aladdin Sane, in that the A-sides are all tracks from the album. I have removed the titles from the sleeves... you guessed it, all you have to do is tell me what those five A-sides are.

I've made it a little harder by animating the covers at a ridiculous speed, but if it proves too hard for most of you, I'll slow it down a bit. You should be able to find all of the sleeves online (I just found four of them in about 30 seconds), but I've thrown in one not so easy to find... again if this proves too hard for most of you I'll remove it.

So, all I need from you are five song titles, and it's not necessarily five different titles... though it could be! Send your answers to me at TotalBlamBlam@davidbowie.com with a subject line of "Irritating Aladdin Sane singles competition."

Usual rules apply: i.e. you must send from your BowieNet address, or at least supply your user name if this is not possible. Only one entry per member. If possible, include your real name and address in your e-mail to speed things up for the winners.

Competition ends midnight Friday UK time, when ten winners will be randomly selected and sent one of these very special packages. Good luck! };-)

Virgin Records To Release 30th Anniversary Edition Of Classic David Bowie Album, Aladdin Sane

Classic David Bowie Album, Aladdin Sane Includes Bonus CD of Unreleased and Rare Tracks
Digitally Remastered and Beautifully RepackagedIn Stores June 24, 2003

(Hollywood, CA ? April 10, 2003) Virgin Records will release a 30th Anniversary edition of Aladdin Sane on June 24, 2003. The 2CD set includes the classic album, now digitally remastered, and a bonus disc of unreleased and rare tracks from the Aladdin Sane era. Beautifully packaged - in keeping with the style of the 30th anniversary edition of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust issued last year - the Aladdin Sane special edition will feature sleeve notes by David Buckley. Also included are unseen photos by Mick Rock, single sleeves, an Aladdin Sane chronology and other memorabilia.

Recorded during and after an American tour with his group, The Spiders From Mars, Aladdin Sane was released in May 1973 to an unsurpassed wave of public interest. It marked the last time that Bowie - who co-produced the album with Ken Scott - played with The Spiders on record.

Among the high points were the rockers ?Watch That Man? and ?Panic In Detroit?, and two classic Bowie singles, ?The Jean Genie? and ?Drive-In Saturday?.

With Aladdin Sane, Bowie showed that he was on a roll - one of the greatest rolls in rock history

Aladdin Sane Tracklisting:
CD 1:

1. Watch That Man
2. Aladdin Sane
3. Drive-In Saturday
4. Panic In Detroit
5. Cracked Actor
6. Time
7. The Prettiest
8. Let's Spend the Night Together
9. The Jean Genie
10. Lady Grinning Soul

CD 2:

1. John, I'm Only Dancing (Aladdin Sane session version)
2. The Jean Genie (Original UK Single mix)
3. Time (single edit)
4. All The Young Dudes
5. Changes (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 10/1/72) **
6. The Supermen (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 10/1/72) **
7. Life On Mars? (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 10/1/72) *
8. John, I'm Only Dancing (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 10/1/72)**
9. The Jean Genie (Recorded live at the Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica 10/20/72)
10. Drive-In Saturday (Recorded live at the Public Hall, Cleveland on 11/25/72 *

* previously unreleased
** previously only available on the extra disc in the Sound and Vision box set

Lou Reed Competition Extended

First thing you learn is that you always gotta wait...

Due to a wonderful bit of generosity from Lou Reed, we have extended the competition that we set last week (05/10/03 NEWS: LOU REED TALKS ABOUT NYC MAN AND DAVID BOWIE) to the end of the month. It looks like we'll be getting five signed Lou Reed CDs as opposed to the one prize we originally offered. If you've not yet entered the competition then visit the aforementioned news story to take part.

Thanx a lot Lou, and don't forget kidz...the 31 track, 2 CD, retrospective NYC Man - The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection is on the shelves now. Stay tuned for another BowieNet competition in the next couple of days.

Good Luck To New York Aids Walkers

It's happening now...

With the Aids Walk New York now underway, BowieNetter Jim Hyde (aka Floidoip) only needs another $85 to reach his new target of $1,500. Kimberly Smith (aka Chamomile) has now passed her target of $500 by $25, and it seems BowieNetters really made a difference to the funds of both walkers.

If you're not there in person, I'm sure you are in spirit, and you'll join me in wishing Jim, Kim and Leeza the best of luck.

More Praise For Ziggy Motion Picture Dvd

Ziggy - "Streamlined to greasepaint-splattered weasel slickness"
and the object of "unrequited, loin-lubricated lust"... it says here.

Let's turn on with me and you're not alone...

The Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture DVD continues to garner great reviews since we posted a bunch of them a couple of months back. (03/22/03 NEWS: ZIGGY STARDUST MOTION PICTURE COMPETITION) Recent praise includes a four star review in the current June issue of Mojo, and a top of the list placing in the UNCUT (June issue also) recommended DVDs of the last three months.

But possibly one of the more enthusiastic pieces was hi-lighted by BowieNetter Susans who sent in a great review from the May edition of Classic Rock, (She's a hard-rockin' chick!) from which the picture above was taken. The review, by Ian Fortnam, is worth reproducing here in its entirety (almost):

Hello Goodbye - The night when Bowie spectacularly killed off his greatest creation

A CARICATURE ROCK SHOW if ever there was one, Bowie's 'farewell' performance at London's Hammersmith Odeon on July 3, 1973, still serves to epitomise the ultimate dream gig for every fledgling pop idol that has ever postured heroically before their bedroom mirror.

Streamlined to greasepaint-splattered weasel slickness; accentuated beyond earthly dynamism by eye-boggling costume changes, expertly choreographed, androgynous provocation and arms-aloft, guitar god gurnings; its star deified by a pansexual phalanx of mesmerised and submissive stormtroopers stretching their hands toward the stage while unself-consciously drizzling their dolly-brooched Biba drag with desperate tears of unrequited, loin-lubricated lust.

It made the Beatles at Shea Stadium look like a vicar's tea party, and set an unattainable benchmark that will guarantee the likes of Manson and Molko teddy bear-strangling sleepless nights of unbidden jealousy for the rest of their natural lives.

Oh yes, it was (by all accounts) quite a gig. But you don't have to take received glam rock wisdom's word for it, because DA Pennebaker (a filmmaker who previously alerted the planet to Jimi Hendrix's epoch-scarring guitar conflagrations via Monterey Pop) immortalised every last Stardust death throe.

Bowie's performance is exemplary, his 2,500-strong supporting cast of pit-bound glitterati compelling in their exquisite distress, and the Technicolor sonics of the Mick Ronson-arranged Spiders majestic.

But I guess you all knew that anyway. };-)

Bowienet/ebay Auction Of Final Mick Rock/mtr Prints

There's a bar at the end where I can meet you and your friend...

These two items up for grabs today are the last of the Mick Rock prints from the MTR Bowie exhibition. These latest items will be posted live sometime later today and you can reach the BowieNet Auctions page by clicking on any of the images in this post.

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Mick Rock's shot of Cyrinda Foxe and David Bowie as Ziggy in a
Beverly Hills bar, October 1972. Approx. 17" X 12.5" in the frame.

The first item is this wonderfully atmospheric shot which was taken in a bar in Beverly Hills in October 1972. The girl in the picture is the late Cyrinda Foxe, a good friend of David's at the time, who lent him various items of her clothing during his short Ziggy Stardust tour of the US. In fact the jacket David is wearing in the picture above is the one that Cyrinda wore during the video shoot for The Jean Genie.

This shot was one in a series used as the basis for George Underwood's drawing that became a full page ad in the original press campaign for the release of the single The Jean Genie.

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Mick Rock's still of David Bowie during the Life On Mars? video
shoot, London, May 1973. Approx. 16.5" x 12.5" in the frame.

The second item is a print of a still from Mick Rock's Life On Mars? video shoot. Mick filmed and directed Life On Mars? backstage at Earls Court on the 12th May 1973 specifically to accompany the single's release on 22nd June 1973.

Mick Rock has said that Life On Mars? was produced for less than $350, shot in one day and edited in less than two. Here he talks a bit about Life On Mars? and he explains how shooting the early Bowie promos was not quite the big deal that video production is today

Life On Mars was the final in a quartet of 16mm promo films I produced and directed for Bowie. John I'm Only Dancing, The Jean Genie and Space Oddity were the other titles. In all cases I waived any fee for their promotional usage. Nobody had any idea at the time that people would one day pay money for such things.

In truth, if I had solicited compensation, these films would not have been made. Promos were not part of any regular budget and only David and I were enthusiastic. DeFries agreed to spring for the expenses to keep David happy and I got to further my interest in film.

The key for me was that, within the confines of tiny budgets, I had total creative control. David was happy to let me make all the shooting and editing decisions. What was important to him was that they got made. As in all aspects of his career, at this point, David exhibited uncannily prescient instincts.

It's important to note two special ingredients which made Life On Mars such a memorable promo. The dazzling turquoise suit made by long-time Bowie confidant and clothes designer Freddie Burretti, and the exquisite make up rendered by glammeister Pierre Laroche, the man who applied the lighting bolt motif on Aladdin Sane.

Though David never wore the suit again, it was recently brought out of storage for the Vogue/Kate Moss photo shoot that we told you about last month. (04/10/03 NEWS: BOWIE INTERVIEW AND CLOBBER SPECIAL IN VOGUE)

Both of these professionally framed prints were on display during the MTR Bowie exhibition last year, and you're unlikely to have the chance to get a framed Mick Rock print at the price they've been going for in these auctions, ever again.

Kristeen Young Collectable And London Date

In New York two years ago to this very day, Kristeen Young and
David Bowie at CBGB's, May 15th, 2001. Picture by Bob Gruen.

Replaced her uniform with dresses silk and green, Called herself Kristeen, Came to London town...*

We first mentioned Kristeen Young some time ago, (05/21/01 NEWS: BOWIE LENDS SUPPORT TO YOUNG) when we posted the picture above, which was taken exactly two years ago today at a KY show in New York. Kristeen's fan base has grown steadily since, and now she is scheduled, finally, to play a London date.

Kristeen will be playing at the Camden Underworld on Monday June 9th at around 7.30pm. She also plans to play more dates in town during the weekend that she's over here, and we'll let you know any further developments as soon as we have them. Thanx to BowieNetter FredTheGnome for the info.

Meanwhile, those of you that were smart enough to get your hands on a promo CDR of Kristeen's latest album, Breasticles, (either via our competition here (10/07/02 NEWS: KRISTEEN YOUNG AT CBGB's TONIGHT - WIN HER ALBUM NOW!) or directly from Kristeen herself) should put the CD somewhere safe as you have an instant collector's item in your possession.

The album is due on N Records of Portugal at the end of the month, and it will contain two new songs and "a new improved version" of Saviour, as David has re-recorded this wonderful duet with Kristeen. So hang on to your promo as it contains what is now the rare original version of Saviour.

* What a spookily appropriate lyric quote... I only had to change three letters!

Let?s Dance ? The Bolly Remixes

-- THIS JUST IN --

EMI Records will be releasing some interesting Asian influenced remixes of a few classic Bowie songs. First up is Let?s Dance, which has been remixed by Shawn Letts, Ben Galvin, and Kelvin Singh at Schtung Music Singapore.

The remix features vocal performances Komal and Kumaresh Rajagopolan along with additional musicians from Southeast Asia.

Check back soon for updates, press releases and information, but in the meantime, click here for some info from MTV Asia.

** NOTE: if you receive a message that the site will be up 15/05/2003, it's because BowieNet has gotten the scoop first - no joke!

Bowie Bits On Latest Album Releases

What you need you have to borrow...

A Bowie link unites the new and recent releases above, albeit rather tenuous in some instances. Here follows those links anyway, in no particular order...apart from left to right...

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The Dandy Warhols have never made a secret of their love for all things Bowie, and there's not the room here to mention all of the Bowie links to the band. However, the new album, Welcome To The Monkey House, had more of a Bowie influence on it than usual, according to lead guitarist Peter Holmstrom:

"Bowie has always been a big influence, He's always there, along with other people. When we first started making this album we were approaching it as if it was a Bowie collection. We'd say 'That song sounds like that Bowie song', 'This is Scary Monsters'."

Helping add a bit of that flavour was long term Bowie fan, Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes who produced the album. The song I Am A Scientist has a Courtney Taylor-Taylor & David Bowie writing credit, no doubt due to the use of a sample from Fashion used on the track.

Tony Visconti plays bass on a couple of tracks and he also sings backing vocals on the one track that he produced, Hit Rock Bottom. To be honest, the track is more T Rex than David Bowie, but I guess if anyone's qualified to give a track a T Rex taste, it's TV.

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Novelty song singer Liam Lynch, the chap who brought us United States Of Whatever, has an affectionate Bowie spoof on his Fake Songs CD, entitled, surprisingly enough, Fake David Bowie Song. Though it has to be said it sounds more like a Suede song sung by Bowie impersonator John Mainwaring... No offence meant to anybody here, just an observation.

Liam has also covered songs by Björk, Pixies, Depeche Mode and Talking Heads on the album, but has made it clear that his heart is in the right place: "I'm not making fun of those artists, because I love them, I just wanted to feel what it was like to do what they do. The truth is, there are so many different artists that do parodies of other artists but never admit it." OK Liam, we believe you... kind of.

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The song On The Way To The Club from Think Tank, Blur's seventy five per cent brilliant new album, hints at a Bowie lyric with this: My eyes aren't blue, there's nothing I can do. I told you these were tenuous, but legal action has been launched for less before now. Speaking of which, you may remember the Blur song M.O.R., which was apparently considered indebted enough to Boys Keep Swinging to earn a Blur/Bowie/Eno credit. (12/20/00 NEWS: BOWIE'S INFLUENCE BECOMES A BIT OF A BLUR)

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Finally, on her latest album, American Life, Madonna has sampled a teeny bit of the intro of Beauty And The Beast. At least I'm ninety nine per cent certain that that's what that noise is about thirty seconds into the rather good I'm So Stupid, a song that is surely a future hit for London's latest adopted superstar. What say you David?

Bowie In Conan 'clay Animation'

There's a shop on the corner that's selling papier mache...

BowieNetter 'Nightlight' was first to post on the boards about a new episode of Late Night With Conan O'Brien which airs in the USA this Thursday. Here's what the show page has to say about this unique episode:

In an unprecedented move, NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will broadcast an entire episode in clay animation. The experimental and groundbreaking episode airs Thursday, May 15 (12:35 AM - 1:35 AM on NBC).

"This may be the best show we've ever done...in clay," noted O'Brien. The show, which has been in production for months, is a complete clay animated re-creation of an episode of "Late Night" from October 2002 - from the opening, to the monologue, comedy, guests - even the bumpers that lead in and out of commercial.

This episode (10/02/02 NEWS: DB ON LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN) featured an interview with David and also a live performance, so don't forget to check it out and see what the animators have come up with!

According to Undercover, the show will air in Australia on Friday 16th at around 10.15pm, and for those of you in the UK, there are episodes of Conan airing on CNBC on Sky TV on Saturday 17th at 8.45PM and 9.30PM, and on Sunday at 8.45PM.

Enjoy!

:))

Lou Reed Talks About Nyc Man And David Bowie

I'm just looking for a very good friend of mine...

Lou Reed releases the 31 track, 2 CD, career-spanning retrospective NYC Man - The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection on BMG Heritage on Monday.

Throughout much of January this year, Lou oversaw the remastering of NYC Man, and selected the content, choosing from over 150 source tapes, (masters, multi-tracks, reference copies) making this by far the highest quality sounding collection of his work.

But, rather than sequencing the album chronologically, Lou decided to organise the compilation sonically, juxtaposing the songs by how they sound next to each other.

Indeed, NYC Man begins with Who Am I, in an unreleased alternate take to the version that appears on The Raven, and ends with the 1969 Velvet Underground recording of Pale Blue Eyes.

Now, in a BowieNet exclusive, Lou talks to our friend Jerome Soligny about working with David on The Raven and Transformer. Over to you Jerome...

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The New York City man about David Bowie

A few weeks ago, despite the SARS paranoia and the fact of being a peaceful French guy when American soldiers were storming the desert, I flew to NY to interview Lou Reed. The purpose of my visit in his Sister Ray Office was the reissue of all his RCA period albums and a great compilation coming out next week, ?NYC Man?, that Lou Reed handled himself, obviously choosing the songs but also taking much care of the sound.

I spent little more than an hour with Lou I had already met him before (at la Fondation Cartier near Paris, when the Velvets got back together - he didn?t remember). I really enjoyed the chat (he?s obviously one of my heroes) and we ended up doing some pictures with Bob Gruen, another privilege.

Jerome Soligny with the "King of New York", Lou Reed. Picture by Bob Gruen.

Just because I thought BowieNetters would be interested in knowing what Lou told me about David Bowie, ?Transformer? and ?The Raven?, here are, a few days before the whole feature in Rock&Folk, his exact words. Enjoy.

?You know, David?s on my Raven album. I asked David if he would do this thing with me, he lives here... People don?t realise we?ve been friends for a very long time. I played him some of the songs and he picked ?Hop Frog?. that?s the one he wanted to sing. Who knows why? I was happy he was gonna do anything. So he came and did it.

I was very pleased, I like what David does. Specially when he?s doing background vocals and starts singing up high, I like that. I love what he did on ?Transformer?, that?s why it came out that way.

What Mick Ronson did, the strings for example were also pretty good for a little guy from Hull... He was a talented guy... Which was amazing cause you could not understand a word when he was talking. It was impossible. But David?s really good. It was fun to have him do these background vocals because it?s really got a sound to it when he sings them.?

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Thanx so much for sharing that with us Jerome, most generous of you. NYC Man - The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection is a great starting place for those of you not already familiar with Lou's work, and it's also a damn fine compilation for those of us that know and love the man's work, as evidenced by this tracklisting:

Disc 1
01. Who Am I
02. Sweet Jane
03. Rock & Roll
04. I'm Waiting For The Man
05. White Light/White Heat
06. Street Hassle
07. Berlin
08. Caroline Says
09. The Kids
10. Walk On The Wild Side
11. Kill Your Sons
12. Vicious
13. The Blue Mask
14. I'll Be Your Mirror
15. Magic and Loss
16. Ecstasy

Disc 2
01. I Wanna Be Black
02. Temporary Thing
03. Shooting Star
04. Legendary Hearts
05. Heroin
06. Coney Island Baby
07. The Last Shot
08. The Bells
09. Perfect Day
10. Sally Can't Dance
11. Satellite Of Love
12. NYC Man
13. Dirty Boulevard
14. Rock Minuet
15. Pale Blue Eyes

Pretty impressive stuff. Off the top of my head, the 8 tracks in bold have some sort of Bowie connection, to a lesser or greater degree. The first person out of the hat to mail me with the connections will get a suitably Lou flavoured prize for their efforts. Usual rules apply, and the winner will be announced this time next week.

Rjyan Kidwell Pays Tribute To Db

Think about the Cex thing...

I was prompted to contact the man behind Cex, Rjyan Kidwell, after a small ad for his album, Being Ridden, in the current NME. The blurb for the ad made the recording sound interesting enough: Cex is just about the freshest mashing of genres ever unleashed. They mix hip-hop party jams, warm IDM glitch and shades of emo and folk. ...but it was the album sleeve which initially caught my eye.

Two versions of Being Ridden are released this coming Monday, (vocal and instrumental) I think you can work out which is which in the above pic. Anyway, here are a few words that Rjyan kindly wrote exclusively for BowieNet:

I love the music of David Bowie. And I love just as much the way he has always refused to be restrained by any notion of genre or musical boundaries. Down here in the muck of "underground music," there tends to be a lot of sabre-rattling in the name of originality, but few artists are really willing to step outside of a very specific style whose flag they wave. There's been very, very few cats since Bowie who have dared to cross the lines, do drastically new things, and interbreed disparate sounds.

I've been releasing records and touring as Cex for the past four years, and each record has been really different from the one before it. Some of the critics have seemed a little baffled by this, so I wanted to help them out and remind them how the blueprint for the pigeonhole-proof artist of the future has been in front of us for a while.

Thanx so much for that Rjyan, and good luck with the album.

You can visit the Cex site by clicking on either of the images above.

Bowienetter Alboreto Reaches Charity Walk Target

And mountain magic heavy hung...

In a kind of follow up to yesterdays item about the generosity of BowieNetters when it comes to donating to charity, I thought I'd give you an update on BowieNetter Alboreto's charity walk in aid of Amnesty International. Unfortunately, due to the SARS outbreak, Alboreto's Great Wall Of China walk has been cancelled, but instead he will be off in a couple of days to walk in Cuba. Here's an edited excerpt from a piece posted on his website at the end of last month:

Last week the WHO and British Foreign Office declared all travel to Beijing unsafe due to the outbreak of SARS. This now meant that I would be unable to go to China. My options were as follows: wait until I could do the trip (probably September 2004), do another expedition some time next year, cancel it all, or go to either Peru or Cuba instead.

I came to the conclusion that Peru or Cuba would be best. But, the Inca Trail in Peru is very high and I didn't have time to prepare myself for the altitude sickness. And so Cuba, a country I have long wanted to visit, was the option for me. I was then advised that the trip would be brought forward to 10th May! I shall be flying to Havana and walking the Escambray Mountains down the east coast to Trinidad from where I will fly back. The whole trip takes 10 days.

The two items above, (donated by Tony Visconti and Rex Ray, and signed by David and each of the donors) sold on ebaY for an incredible total of £662 ($1,062). This now means that Alboreto has not only achieved the minimum amount he needed for the trip, but he has exceeded it by around £1,000 ($1,604)!

Well done Alboreto, have a safe journey, and we look forward to your report on your return. Click on the image above to take you to Alboreto's home page.

Aladdin Sane 30th Anniversary Edition Due Shortly

Aladdin Sane (1973-1990-2003)

We can now confirm that Aladdin Sane double disc 30th anniversary edition that we detailed a couple of months back (03/16/03 NEWS: ALADDIN SANE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DUE IN MAY) will be released on May 26th world-wide, and the following day in the US. As ever we'll be running some sort of competition for the 20 track CD, which will take place some time next week... so stay tuned.

For those that can't be bothered to scroll back to March, here are the bonus disc details again:

01 John, I'm Only Dancing (Aladdin Sane session version)
02 The Jean Genie (Original UK Single mix)
03 Time (single edit)
04 All The Young Dudes
05 Changes (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 1/10/72)
06 The Supermen (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 1/10/72)
07 Life On Mars? (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 1/10/72)
08 John, I'm Only Dancing (Recorded live at the Music Hall, Boston 1/10/72)
09 The Jean Genie (Recorded live at Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica 20/10/72)
10 Drive-In Saturday (Recorded live at the Public Hall, Cleveland on 25/11/72)

Bowienetters Are A Good Bunch!

Helping one another...

It seems the generosity of BowieNetters knows no bounds. Within two days of posting our piece (05/05/03 NEWS: SPONSOR BOWIENETTERS IN AIDS WALK NEW YORK) about BowieNetters Jim Hyde (aka Floidoip) and Kimberly Smith (aka Chamomile) entering for the Aids Walk New York on May 18th, you had boosted Jim's funds past his $1,000 target to $1,110 and helped Kimberly reach 70 per cent of her $500 target!

With eleven days to go, there's still plenty of time to donate if you want to. Click on either of the above images to take you to the relevant donation page, and on behalf of both Jim and Kimberly, thanx to all of you who have given something towards this very noble cause.

David On Last Night's Tribute To Susan Sarandon

David and Iman arriving at the Susan Sarandon tribute.
Picture courtesy of Jim Spellman and WireImage.com.

I'll give my, complete attention to a very good friend of mine...

David and Iman were out looking gorgeous again last night at The Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute to Susan Sarandon. The event took place at the Avery Fisher Hall, at the Lincoln Center in New York. David had this to say about the evening:

"Great tribute to Susan last night. We popped in only for a short while, I took a break from recording and then I went back to finish off a lyric. Speakers included Harry Belafonte, Gore Vidal, Geena Davis, Paul Schrader, Tim Curry and myself.

Susan had all her children there and looked radiant and beautiful. Partner Tim Robbins delivered a superb and moving speech and clips from countless movies were shown. All in all it was really well done. Hard to believe that she has made so many films and so many great ones at that."

"Heh Geena. Remember that great shower scene in The Hunger? Hot stuff!"
Geena Davis, David Bowie and Tim Robbins give Susan a round of applause.

Among those great films of course, was Susan's appearance, along with David and Catherine Deneuve, in The Hunger, which you really should track down a copy of if you haven't already seen it.

Fashion watchers among you (Hi Keiths) may like to note that Iman wore Donna Karan, while David wore a little ensemble he "picked up in Hong Kong years ago".

BowieNet members can view a larger version of the David and Iman pic by clicking on it, while the whole world can view thumbnails of the whole evening over at wireimage.com by going here.

Sponsor Bowienetters In Aids Walk New York

Leeza and Jim enjoying a pre-walk group hug recently.

And they walk in two's or three's or more...

Back on World Aids Day in December of last year, we posted the moving story of BowieNetter Jim Hyde's (aka Floidoip) 21 years of living with HIV/AIDS. (12/01/02 NEWS: WORLD AIDS DAY - A MESSAGE FROM JIM) It was a truly heartbreaking piece that highlighted the dreadful statistics behind the virus, and if you didn't read it then, you really should go take a look now.

Now Jim has got together with BowieNetters Leeza and Kimberly Smith (aka Chamomile) for the Aids Walk New York on May 18th. Here are a few facts about the event you may want to know:

~AIDS Walk New York is the world's largest AIDS fundraising event.

~In 2002, nearly 42,000 people, a group as diverse as the city itself, participated in the AIDS Walk, collecting more than $4.7 million.

~AIDS Walk New York stands out as a model of community action and cost-efficient fundraising. The priority has always been to have the money raised go directly to vital services to help people living with HIV or AIDS.

~AIDS Walk New York benefits GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis), the nation's oldest and most comprehensive AIDS Service organization. The organization's staff of 169 and 6,600 dedicated volunteers provide services to more than 11,000 men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS and their families.

~A portion of the net proceeds from the AIDS Walk also goes to dozens of other AIDS organizations within the tri-state area.

Don't be confused by any other AIDS Walks...this one's been around 18 years and is very important and cost-efficient. Your money WILL get to the AIDS service organizations.

BowieNetter Kimberly Smith, aka Chamomile.

Leeza has kindly decided to show her support by joining in the walk, but you can help with nowhere near that kind of physical contribution, by sponsoring Jim and Kimberly by clicking on either of their pictures.

Both pictures are linked directly to their donation page, where you can easily help the cause with a donation of your own. Jim and Kimberly are both half way to meeting their eventual target, and with your help they'll hopefully both reach and even pass their targets.

David And Lou Get Together Next Weekend

One more, weekend, of lights and evening faces...

Hope the headline didn't mislead you there folks, but Stefano of the unofficial Italian David Bowie fan organisation, Velvet Goldmine, has sent me details of an event to interest fans of both David and Lou Reed. The fun starts next Friday, and here's the timetable of events:

www.velvetgoldmine.it in conjunction with www.loureed.it is proud to present ROCKICONS - two nights for David Bowie & Lou Reed fans in Rome, Italy, at the Jailbreak, Via Tiburtina 870. The Lou Reed night takes place on Friday 9th May and includes Lou Reed cover band, VICIOUS UNDERGROUND, and the David Bowie night takes place on Sunday 10th May and will include music from David Bowie cover band, ALLAD INSANE.

You can check out the finer details by clicking on the image above, and if you do manage to get along, say hallo from us.