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S2s Special And Deluxe Edition Boxes Due In September

Such is the stuff from where dreams are woven...

It's always nice to start a new month with some good news and I think you'll agree this is rather good news.

We first mentioned this one almost a year ago (08.11.2009 NEWS: STATION TO STATION FOUR DISC SET DUE NEXT YEAR) and it is with much pleasure that we are now able to exclusively announce the release of EMI's 3-CD Special Edition and 5-CD, DVD and heavyweight vinyl Deluxe Edition of David Bowie's massively influential 1976 album, Station To Station ...along with the much bootlegged fan favourite: Live Nassau Coliseum '76.

Both the Special and Deluxe Editions are due on September 20th.

Here's the breakdown of what you can expect to find in each of these brilliant packages...

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Station To Station Special Edition and Digital Download
CD ICPN 50999-647583-2-9 / UK Catalogue no. BOWSTSX 2010
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ICPN 50999-647597-5-3

The Special Edition of Station To Station (above) is a CD sized box with lift off lid which contains the following.

~ CD 1: 2010 transfer of Station To Station from the original stereo analogue master in mini replica sleeve

1. Station To Station (10.11)
2. Golden Years (4.02)
3. Word On A Wing (6.01)
4. TVC15 (5.31)
5. Stay (6.12)
6. Wild Is The Wind (6.02)

~ CDs 2 & 3: Live Nassau Coliseum '76 (Recorded live at the Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, USA. March 23rd, 1976) in gatefold CD wallet

1. Station To Station (11.53)
2. Suffragette City (3.31)
3. Fame (4.02)
4. Word On A Wing (6.06)
5. Stay (7.25)
6. Waiting For The Man (6.20)
7. Queen Bitch (3.12)

Nassau Coliseum concert continued...
1. Life On Mars? (2.13)
2. Five Years (5.03)
3. Panic In Detroit (6.03)
4. Changes (4.11)
5. TVC15 (4.58)
6. Diamond Dogs (6.38)
7. Rebel Rebel (4.07)
8. The Jean Genie (7.28)

~ 16-page booklet with sleevenotes by Cameron Crowe and chronology by Kevin Cann

~ Three period photocards of Bowie in various settings

The digital download will feature the same audio content as above but with the added bonus of an unedited alternative mix of Panic In Detroit that clocks in at 13:09.

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Station To Station Deluxe Edition
ICPN 50999-647601-2-4 / UK Catalogue no. BOWSTSD 2010

The Deluxe Edition of Station To Station (above) is an album sized box with lift off lid housed in a foam-packed box, 325 x 325 x 50mm and contains the following...

~ CD 1: 2010 transfer of Station To Station from the original stereo analogue master

~ CD 2: Station To Station 1985 CD master

~ CD 3: Station To Station single edits five track EP containing Golden Years, TVC15, Stay, Word On A Wing and Station To Station

~ CDs 4 & 5: Live Nassau Coliseum '76

~ DVD containing the following...

Station To Station (original analogue master, 96kHz/24bit LPCM stereo)
Station To Station (new Harry Maslin 5.1 surround sound mix in DTS 96/24 and Dolby Digital)
Station To Station (original analogue master, LPCM stereo)
Station To Station (new Harry Maslin stereo mix, 48kHz/24bit LPCM stereo)

~ 12" heavyweight vinyl of Station To Station from the original stereo analogue master in replica sleeve

~ 2 x 12" heavyweight vinyl of Live Nassau Coliseum '76 in gatefold sleeve

Aside from all of this marvellous audio content, here's what else you get in the Deluxe Edition box...

24-page booklet with sleevenotes by Cameron Crowe and chronology by Kevin Cann and also including...

~ Previously unpublished Steve Shapiro photo
~ Geoff MacCormack photos
~ Andrew Kent live Nassau photos

Both the 16 and 24-page booklets will be illustrated with record sleeves and extensive memorabilia from the BowieNet archives.

Finally, the deluxe box also contains facsimile copies of two very collectable folders with most of the original content reproduced...

Replica David Bowie On Stage 1976 press kit folder containing the following...

~ Replica Nassau ticket from night of the show
~ Replica backstage pass
~ Replica A4 biog
~ Replica band line-up
~ 3 x 10x8" press shots

~ Replica 1976 Fan Club Folder containing the following...

~ Replica fan club membership card
~ Fan club certificate
~ 2 small collector cards
~ 2 A4 photo cards
~ Replica 4-page biography
~ 2 badges
~ 6 panel folded Steve Shapiro photo poster of Bowie kneeling

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Stay tuned for more on this shortly. Feel free to send me any questions you want answered in my next item regarding this release.

categories: News
Wednesday 06.30.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Gary Kemp And A Generation Of Confused Heterosexuals

We may pick him up on Radio 2...

Ahead of his two part documentary, The Glory of Glam, which kicks of at 22:00 on BBC Radio 2 this evening, Gary Kemp has a full page piece in today's Guardian entitled Life on Planet Glitter, or more succinctly: Gary Kemp: My teen crush on David Bowie...as the online version has it.

It's a great piece, the sentiment of which I know is shared by men of a certain age...not least of all myself. (07.30.2006 NEWS: SAY GOODBYE TO TOP OF THE POPS TONIGHT) Here's the introduction to the article...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time I fell in love it was with a man. It happened one Thursday evening in the bedroom of a flat in King's Cross. I was a wide-eyed boy of 12 and the object of my passion had dyed orange hair and white nail varnish. Looking out from a tiny TV screen was a Mephistophelean messenger from the space age, a tinselled troubadour to give voice to my burgeoning sexuality. Pointing a manicured finger down the barrel of a BBC lens, he spoke to me: "I had to phone someone, so I picked on you." I had been chosen.

Next to him, in superhero boots, his flaxen-haired buddy rode shotgun with a golden guitar. As my singing Starman draped his arm around him, I felt a frisson of desire and wanted to go to their planet. I had witnessed a visitation from a world of glitter. That night, I planned my future. After all, "If we can sparkle," he'd told me, "he may land tonight."

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Ring any bells boys...and girls?

You can read the full article online here and you can tune in to The Glory of Glam here.

categories: News
Monday 06.28.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Jewel Case Version Of Ziggy Mopi Due In September

Never saw in all my life a more shining jewel case...

Speaking of Mick Ronson, (see yesterday's news) ... EMI will be releasing a standard jewel case version of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - The Motion Picture Soundtrack on September 6th to ensure it remains available on catalogue, as supplies of the limited edition box version have long since been exhausted.

This version will most likely contain an eight-page booklet with none of the extras that came with the limited edition box.

All of the Bowie live albums originally released by EMI in special packaging are now available in the standard jewel case format and prices for the original limited versions of the Bowie back-catalogue special packaging CDs are constantly on the rise...particularly the 30th Anniversary editions of the studio albums: Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and Diamond Dogs which are selling for two to three times their original RRP on Amazon.co.uk.

categories: News
Sunday 06.27.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Bowie Recommends Ronno For Hall Of Fame

I've got ninety-nine ways to play my guitar...

Speaking of Mick Ronson, (see yesterday's news) David Bowie recently wrote to the committee at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, recommending that Ronno be inducted into their hallowed ranks.

Bowie/Ronson fan, Colin Blade, had been running a petition to this end for some time and news of Bowie's communication first broke on MickRonson.com last month.

I wasn't going to announce David's involvement as it's my guess that he probably likes to do these things quietly.

However, I've had so many e-mails asking if it's true that I thought it was time to verify the story and I'm sure that confirmation of his involvement can only help the cause.

The petition is now closed and Colin managed to gather over 3,500 signatures...so fingers crossed that the combined effect of your signatures and David's recommendation will oil the wheels somewhat and Ronno will be given his rightful position in the Hall of Fame.

David Bowie himself, (that's his arse next to Ronno's top right in the above montage) was inducted in 1996. You can view his entry here.

categories: News
Friday 06.25.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Memory Of A Free Festival (part 1 & 2) 45 Is Forty Today

The Sun Machine is coming down, And we're gonna have a party...

Speaking of festivals, (see yesterday's news) David Bowie's re-recorded version of Memory Of A Free Festival was released as a single forty years ago today.

Issued on June 26th in the UK and the following month elsewhere, the 45 was released around the globe on the Mercury label as a follow up to The Prettiest Star. (03.06.2010 NEWS: THE PRETTIEST STAR AND THE WORLD OF ARE FORTY)

Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 1 & 2) was notable for being the debut on a Bowie disc of a certain Michael Ronson, who certainly helped electrify the track, particularly when compared to the album version.

The Beckenham Free Festival at Beckenham Recreation Ground, Croydon Road on August 16, 1969, (08.16.2009 NEWS: BECKENHAM FREE FESTIVAL FORTY YEARS AGO TODAY) was the inspiration for the original song.

Like it's predecessor, Memory Of A Free Festival didn't bother the UK singles chart...indeed, it would be two long years, almost to the day, before another Bowie 45 entered the charts...but that's another story.

categories: News
Thursday 06.24.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Bowie's Glastonbury 2000 Set Among Best Of All Time

Someone passed some bliss among the crowd*...

As music lovers ready themselves for an evening of top flight popular music on the first day of the 40th Glastonbury Festival in England today, it's appropriate that various polls have been published highlighting the popularity of David Bowie's 2000 set at the world's most famous annual music festival.

Today also happens to be exactly ten years since that sublime Bowie performance and it's thirty nine years since his June 23rd appearance at the second ever Glastonbury in 1971.

The first poll is from the current issue of NME (above) under the banner of Glasto's Most Historic Sets. There's a full page on Bowie's 2000 Pyramid Stage performance with the following standfirst: "With a career even longer and as colourful as that of Glastonbury, one man had enough mighty crowd-pleasers to leave Worthy Farm reeling."

For those of you that haven't internalised it, here's that 21-song, crowd (and long-term-fan) -pleasing set list from June 25th, 2000...

Wild Is The Wind
China Girl
Changes
Stay
Life On Mars?
Absolute Beginners
Ashes To Ashes
Rebel Rebel
Little Wonder
Golden Years
Fame
All The Young Dudes
The Man Who Sold The World
Station To Station
Starman
Hallo Spaceboy
Under Pressure

Encore
Ziggy Stardust
"Heroes"
Let's Dance
I'm Afraid Of Americans

What a night, what a band, what a man!

Two other polls have been published in the last 24 hours. First up, 6 Music had the following...

BBC 6 Music listeners' top 20 Glastonbury performances

01. Blur - 2009
02. Radiohead - 1997
03. Radiohead - 2003
04. Pulp - 1995
05. David Bowie - 2000
06. Orbital - 2004
07. Coldplay - 2000
08. The Cure - 1990
09. REM - 2003
10. Elbow - 2004
11. Johnny Cash - 1994
12. Jeff Buckley - 1995
13. The Chemical Brothers - 2000
14. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page - 1995
15. Manic Street Preachers - 1999
16. Morrissey - 2004
17. Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros - 1999
18. Portishead - 1998
19. Beastie Boys - 1994
20. Suede - 2003

The Top Ten Glastonbury individual song performances as voted for by 6 Music listeners

01. Blur ? The Universal (Pyramid Stage, 2009)
02. Radiohead ? No Surprises (Pyramid Stage, 1997)
03. Radiohead ? Karma Police (Pyramid Stage, 2003)
04. Pulp ? Sorted For E?s & Wizz (Pyramid Stage, 1995)
05. David Bowie ? "Heroes" (Pyramid Stage, 2000)
06. Orbital ? The Box (Other Stage, 2004)
07. Coldplay ? Yellow (Other Stage, 2000)
08. The Cure ? Just Like Heaven (Pyramid Stage, 1990)
09. R.E.M. ? It?s The End Of The World As We Know It (Pyramid Stage, 2003)
10. Elbow ? One Day Like This (Other Stage, 2008)

I'll leave you with the results of a survey conducted by music video website www.muzu.tv ...this is their top ten Glastonbury sets of all time...

01 - Radiohead - 1997
02 - Sir Paul McCartney - 2004
03 - Blur - 2009
04 - Jay-Z - 2008
05 - David Bowie - 2000
06 - Pulp - 1995
07 - White Stripes - 2005
08 - Bruce Springsteen - 2009
09 - Coldplay - 2002
10 - REM - 1999

* It was David Bowie.

categories: News
Thursday 06.24.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Wayne Hemmingway And The Importance Of Bowie Style

You know you got something, you know you got style...

Wayne Hemingway, British fashion designer, taste-maker and co-founder of Red or Dead, has made five style observations in the latest Observer Magazine in the UK.

It's not the first time Wayne has highlighted David Bowie as an important catalyst and innovator in the world of style and fashion, but here he is on the event that first triggered his imagination...

"Seeing David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust tour in 1972 in Blackburn changed everything for me. The next day I bought a black tank top with a white star on it, some bright trousers and platforms. From that point on, my life revolved around music and fashion."

Wayne was actually talking about a show on the Aladdin Sane tour on May 31st 1973 (not 1972) at King George's Hall, Blackburn. But I'm sure the effect was just the same.

Wayne is also co-founder of the Vintage at Goodwood three-day doo dah, which runs from August 13th to 15th. You can find out more about it by clicking on Bowie's beauty spot above.

categories: News
Saturday 06.19.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Three Bowie Tracks On Kids Are All Right Soundtrack

Boogie down with daddy now...

Three of David Bowie's finest songs have been used for the soundtrack of Lisa Cholodenko's Sundance Film Festival hit, the upcoming The Kids Are All Right, with two of those tracks making it to the soundtrack CD.

The film stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a same sex couple whose sperm bank children, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, decide to search for their biological father, played by Mark Ruffalo.

Here's a bit from an interview with Liza Richardson, Music Supervisor for The Kids Are All Right...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Defining character, in fact, may be the principal role that songs play in The Kids Are All Right. In addition to the specific choices for the mothers, Richardson looked for music, old and new, that would define Ruffalo?s biological father character as well as their two children. ?David Bowie represents Mark Ruffalo?s character,? says Richardson. ?I made a package deal for three Bowie songs ? ?Win,? ?Panic in Detroit,? and ?Black Country Rock.? Mia Wasikowska?s Joni character ?has really cool taste,? says Richardson ? ?Deerhoof and Fever Ray.?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the full tracklisting...

01 - MGMT - The Youth
02 - David Bowie - Black Country Rock
03 - Tame Impala - Sundown Syndrome
04 - Fever Ray - When I Grow Up
05 - Leon Russell - Out In The Woods
06 - Deerhoof - Milk Man
07 - X - The New World
08 - Uh Huh Her - Same High
09 - David Bowie - Win
10 - Quadron - Slippin'
11 - Joni Mitchell - All I Want
12 - CSS - Knife
13 - Geology ft. Yukimi Nagano - Blues Alley
14 - Gabor Szabo - Galatea's Guitar
15 - Betty Wright - Good Lovin'
16 - Deerhoof - Blue Cash
17 - Little Dragon - Fortune

The soundtrack will be available digitally on July 6th ahead of the film's theatrical release in the US on July 9th. The CD will be available the following month on August 3rd.

Visit the official The Kids Are All Right website for all the usual wotsits.

Two more recent film soundtracks that included a Bowie song are Bus Palladium and Hot Tub Time Machine.

Bus Palladium features Rock 'N Roll Suicide and Hot Tub Time Machine has Modern Love.

categories: News
Saturday 06.19.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Beatles To Bowie And Ron Wood At The Sfae

A gentle face you've seen before...

The headline says it, but here follows the detail from the SFAE press release too....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEATLES TO BOWIE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE AT SAN FRANCISCO ART EXCHANGE, JULY 2010 - London?s recent National Portrait Gallery exhibition finds counterpart at San Francisco gallery.

SAN FRANCISCO ? From British invasion to glams and punks, San Francisco Art Exchange offers a visual journey, showcasing the revolution of the 60s and early 70s. Over 50 photographs will be on display from American and European photographers whose lenses were inside witnesses capturing the most iconic images from 1962-1974, along with photos from archives that have never before been seen or printed.

Last year London?s National Portrait Gallery opened a groundbreaking visual exploration into the musical evolution from the bookends, the Beatles and David Bowie.

?We want to highlight the influence on culture and fashion by musical avant-garde change agents,? said Theron Kabrich, San Francisco Art Exchange co-owner.

The journey starts with The Beatles in Hamburg and travels to their stroll across Abbey Road. Moving west, Bay Area bands and San Francisco?s blossoming counterculture are chronicled, before showing the shattering emergence of the Punks, and ending with the spectacle of oddity provided by Glam.

Beatles to Bowie will be showing at the San Francisco Art Exchange from Saturday, July 17 through mid August. Photos of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Mothers of Invention, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Debbie Harry, David Bowie, and others will all be showing at the gallery starting July 17.

Featured photographers include Brian Duffy, one of the true giants of English photography who recently passed away, never before seen images by Terry O?Neill, Mick Rock, Joel Brodsky, Ethan Russell, Gered Mankowitz, Ian Dickson, Barry Feinstein, Paul Saltzman, Baron Wolman, Bob Seidemann, Jerrold Schatzberg, and Astrid Kirchherr.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems this exhibition is stretching the brief of the original London version which concerned itself strictly with the 1960s. Not sure how they are intending to include images from the punk era though, as they claim the exhibition covers the period 1962 to 1974.

You can view a great gallery of some of the Bowie images likely to be on display here and if you're in the UK, there's still a touring version of the original Beatles To Bowie at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery which runs until September 5th.

There's no mention of the exhibition on the SFAE site just yet, but they do currently have a huge online gallery of Ronnie Wood paintings here.

You may or may not recognise the above painting of David Bowie from 1987 by Ronnie...and I have to say, though he has done some fine work over the years, this isn't one of his best.

In fact, if you look at the picture long enough it looks like he found it hard to get out of the habit of painting one of his fellow band members!

categories: News
Friday 06.18.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Upcoming Live Bowie Tributes

Who will love AladdinSane? (...and Diamond Dogs and Echo Bowie?)

Welcome to another update in an occasional series. We don't always manage to post the details of all of the Bowie tributes we receive information about, and still by far the best way to find out what each of them are up to is to check out the gig guides on their own pages.

Apologies to those of you that haven't got a mention this time around, we will endeavour to give you some news page space next time...Remember though, you can only be included if you send in your details.

First up is AladdinSane (that's lead singer Paul Henderson above) who play the Princess Theatre Hunstanton in the UK on June 19th. See their gig page for more forthcoming shows and further details of this one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next up is Diamond Dogs who play the following Saturday, June 26th, at 8:00pm on The Kent Stage, 175 East Main Street, Kent, Ohio 44240 in the USA. You can find more details about these chaps on their myspace page.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, Echo Bowie have already played a couple of dates on their 2010 European Festival Tour, but you have a few more chances to catch them in July and August with details of each show here.

categories: News
Thursday 06.17.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Malcolm Green Makes Himself Known To The Word

I like your face in the crowd...Part 2

The July edition of The Word magazine has a follow up to the piece they did about Bowie arriving at Hammersmith Odeon on the afternoon of the last Ziggy show on July 3rd, 1973.

One fan in the welcoming crowd responded via the letters page of The Word. Malcolm Green, 51, recalls his 14-year-old former self thus...

We'd love to hear from any more of you out there in this shot. In fact, we'd love to see any shots of you with David Bowie from any time or place and the story behind your picture.

categories: News
Wednesday 06.16.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Criterion Merry Christmas Blu-ray Due In September

War made him a soldier...

Another Bowie film finally reaches the Blu-ray format in September, via the safe hands of The Criterion Collection.

Nagisa Oshima's harrowing Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is due on September 28th on both DVD and Blu-ray with the following features...

Disc Features

~ New, restored high-definition master (with DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition)
~ The Oshima Gang, an original making-of featurette
~ New video interviews with producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Paul Mayersberg, actor Tom Conti, and actor-composer Ryuichi Sakamoto
~ Hasten Slowly, an hour-long documentary about author and adventurer Laurens van der Post, whose autobiographical novel is the basis for the film
~ Original theatrical trailer
~ PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film writer Chuck Stephens and a 1983 interview with director Nagisa Oshima by Japanese film writer Tadao Sato

For those of you that have never seen the film for one reason or another since its 1983 release, here's a brief synopsis from the Criterion site...

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In this captivating, exhilaratingly skewed World War II drama from Nagisa Oshima, David Bowie regally embodies the character Celliers, a high-ranking British officer interned by the Japanese as a POW. Music star Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed this film?s hypnotic score) plays the camp commander, who becomes obsessed with the mysterious blond major, while Tom Conti is British lieutenant colonel Mr. Lawrence, who tries to bridge the emotional and language divides between his captors and fellow prisoners. Also featuring actor-director Takeshi Kitano in his first dramatic role, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a multilayered, brutal, at times erotic tale of culture clash that was one of Oshima?s greatest successes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm presuming that the Blu-ray is Region A, as with Criterion's TMWFTE Blu-ray, which you should bear in mind if pre-ordering from The Criterion Collection.

categories: News
Monday 06.14.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Gibson's History Of 'amazing' Bowie Guitarists

Boy, could he play guitar...

Gibson.com has published a list of seven Bowie sidemen with the title: Heroes: A History of David Bowie?s Amazing Guitarists.

Here's a bit from the introduction...

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Among his many gifts, David Bowie?s knack for recruiting spectacularly talented guitarists ranks near the top. From Mick Ronson to Robert Fripp to Stevie Ray Vaughan and beyond, Bowie?s six-string sidemen have done some of their best playing while recording and performing on the glam-rock pioneer?s albums. Not surprisingly, Les Pauls have figured prominently in the bulk of those recordings.

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You can view the full list here on the Gibson site, I won't spoil it completely for you now, but you've probably already guessed that the two gentlemen above made the grade.

On the left above is a full-page advert for Framus guitars featuring Earl Slick from the July 2010 issue of Guitarist magazine. The advert bears the catchline: Earl and the Thin White Duke made history from "Station To Station" to "Reality". Now Slick is backing another Rock 'n' Roll legend: Framus.

As you can see from the stunning cover on the right above, the same magazine also has a large Ronno feature described thus: 40 years on from Ronson and Bowie's historic collaboration, Charles Shaar Murray celebrates this underrated guitar hero PLUS 10 Great Glam Guitarists.

Murray writes affectionately and it's clear that he's as big a fan of the Ronson sound as you or I. The article is illustrated with several pictures of Ziggy, Ronno and the other Spiders in full flight.

Thanx to guitar-mental Zardoz for the pointer to Guitarist magazine, which he did actually tell me about last week. Zardoz has a new angle on playing the guitar with his teeth, he takes out his full set of dentures and picks the strings with his sparkling gnashers that way...probably.

One Bowie guitarist that didn't make it into the Gibson list, even though he deserves to be there in my humble, is one Gerry Leonard who nearly made me choke on my Cornflakes when he popped up on morning TV in some live footage from Suzanne Vega's current UK tour. Suzanne has regularly employed Gerry over the years and the current show is a stripped-down affair that features just Vega, Leonard and bassist Michael Visceglia. You can view an audience member's mobile footage from the Isle of Wight on the official Suzanne Vega site.

Finally, Crowded House gave fellow antipodean, New Zealander Connan Hosford, (of Connan Mockasin) the impossible task of recreating Ronno's Moonage Daydream solo at a Manchester Apollo show at the end of last month. He was helped along by Johnny Marr, though Connan created the more convincing Ronno sound...albeit a little lost in the mix in a film of the performance on the band's website.

Crowded House have been playing Moonage Daydream sporadically throughout their tour, including at two out of their three recent Hammersmith Apollo shows in London, and Neil Finn has hinted that the band may yet record a studio version of the 1972 classic.

categories: News
Monday 06.14.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Bowienet Discount For Latest Supersize 45

Looks like you've been there too...

In our recent poll regarding the record label you'd most like to see on your chest or on your wall, you may remember that Rebel Rebel was the clear winner. (04.11.2010 NEWS: BOWIE 45 POLL RESULTS AND SIGNED REBEL REBEL WINNER)

We had previously reported on Morgan Howell's artworks over on supersizeart.com, (02.22.2010 NEWS: GREAT BIG BOWIE 45 PLUS WIN SIGNED REBEL REBEL CARD & 03.02.2010 NEWS: GREAT BIG BOWIE 45 NOW IN CORRECT RCA BAG) and when Morgan saw the results of our poll he produced the painting above especially for BowieNet members.

It's based on the American single version of Rebel Rebel. I've seen the 27" square beauty in the flesh and it's pretty impressive. That's the painted label above and the original ultra-rare "Remixed in New York" 7" 45 label below...of which only one copy is known to exist at the moment. Go on, prove me wrong! ;-)

Normally the prints that Morgan sells of each original artwork retail at £375, but he is offering this one to BowieNetters for £325. Here's the spec...

Limited Edition Supersize Print of Painted Single
~ Printed canvas sleeve, fixed inner disc with printed label
~ Complete with chrome wall mount fitting
~ Strictly limited to just 30 numbered copies
~ Signed and numbered by Morgan Howell
~ Size: 68cm (27") square

Follow this link to the BowieNet discount page

categories: News
Sunday 06.13.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Dumdumboy Reviews Taylor Mac And Michael Clark

Fill your heart with love today...

BowieNetter DumDumBoy has kindly sent in his impressions of two Bowie-related events recommended on these pages. Over to DumDumBoy himself...

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COMPARISONS ARE POINTLESS - Taylor Mac at The Soho Theatre, Thursday June 3rd.

Even the start time of 9.30pm means that anticipation is heightened that little bit more. The Soho Theatre is a tin of packed sardines. Taylor's entrance is wonderfully understated - a simple stroll from off-stage as we all slide slightly to the right to accommodate the last few ticket holders.

The look is a little Noh Theatre, a soupçon of Aladdin and a lot high camp - Ziggy's outfits look like business suits by comparison (whoops, there I go making a comparison) The auburn Ethel Merman wig is worn back on the forehead in that nonchalant manner of a man confident in drag.

Like the NYC show the set list is essentially Ziggy in track order. And it's an absolute blast! Taylor's in-between-song banter is both funny and moving (including a couple of lovely email trails he recounts)

You want highlights? Well the Starman/Tiptoe Through The Tulips segway makes frightening sense! And Taylor tickling the ivories himself to perform Stephin Merritt's 'Asleep and Dreaming' (ok not DB but, hell, everyone should own this track)

But the finale of Taylor with ukulele performing "Heroes" tops it all! Complete with frail audience backing vocal responses during the 'By the Wall' section.

Like the Michael Clark show - hearing Bowie this intimate, this dramatic only reminds one once again why he is simply the finest rock star alive.

DumDumBoy

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For those of you wondering about DumDumBoy's COMPARISONS ARE POINTLESS headline, the show was entitled Comparison Is Violence as we mentioned in our original piece. (05.31.2010 NEWS: TAYLOR MAC'S ZIGGY/TINY TIM SHOW HITS LONDON)

I think the point that Taylor Mac was making was that comparisons are very often made in a negative way, if not as a complete put down, and he used some great examples of his theory on the night I attended.

It was a hugely uplifting show and DDB is right, as unlikely as it sounds, "Heroes" with ukulele accompaniment was quite emotional, as was Fill Your Heart. It's the kind of show that leaves you wanting to be nice to everybody and that's even without any chemical assistance.

Back to you, DDB...

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Michael Clark at The Barbican Monday June 7th.

Saw the show last year and (on my toes of course) headed to the Barbican for this 'revamp'. Essentially it's last year's line-up. The programme titles have altered slightly - not sure why!

Still opens with the fine white noise of Wire and Bruce Gilbert. Still moves onto the VU section (complete with syringe costume)

BUT...and it's a big but. The BOWIE section now begins with SWEET THING/CANDIDATE/SWEET THING (reprise)! For me still The Sailor's finest moment (oh that deep baritone-like delivery...and I'd argue JUST as strong on David Live)A really nice piece (including a long metal bar that - almost - alludes to the US set design) Ending with a dramatic "Jump in the river holding hands" moment with two dancers (hand in hand) literally walking off the front of the stage and disappearing from view into the orchestra pit!

The remainder of the show is the same Bowie stuff (complete with 'Heroes' video completely overpowering the dancers, although I do love the shrunken leather jackets they wear as a nod to Bowie's apparel)

Michael does wear a banana costume this time round - don't remember that from last year!

Rather like the Taylor Mac show - Come Been and Gone's greatest charm is allowing oneself to be immersed in Bowie's ouvre at volume. It's an easy statement to make but, by heck, his music STILL has the power to surprise and move one.

Dum Dum Boy

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Thanx for those DDB, much appreciated...and I'm completely in agreement with your observations too. Hope Taylor Mac doesn't leave it too long before he returns to these shores.

categories: News
Wednesday 06.09.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Un Chien Andalou At The Barbican Friday Night

I am the blood in the corner of your eye...

If you're thinking of attending Michael Clark's penultimate show at The Barbican on Friday evening (June 11), you may want to relive 1976 by nipping along to Cinema 1 in the interval for Buñuel and Dali's surrealist masterpiece, Un Chien Andalou...not sure of the timing will work though, so best to check that out first.

It's showing with L'Age d'Or, as it often does, and I personally haven't seen it on the big screen since Monday May 3rd, 1976, at Wembley Empire Pool, when it was used as the introduction to David Bowie's 1976 World Tour shows.

The most famous image from the film was even utilised for the front of the August 1976 David Bowie Fan Club newsletter and I'm sure I don't need to go in to detail of what's about to happen.

Un Chien Andalou + L'âge d'or (15)
20:45 / An evening of collaborations between Buñuel and Dali.
Friday 11 June 2010 at 20:45
Cinema One

"Got me a movie, I want you to know, slicing up eyeballs..."

categories: News
Wednesday 06.09.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Db Reports On Last Night's Jeff Beck Show In Ny

"I know what kind of welcome you're gonna give to...Jeff Beck!"

David Bowie e-mailed me in the early hours with a brief report from Jeff Beck's gig at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York to commemorate what would have been Les Paul's 95th Birthday. Here's what he had to say...

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Just got back from seeing Jeff Beck at the Iridium Club in New York (tribute night to Les Paul) with Imelda May doing all the Mary Ford vocals on songs such as How High The Moon...classic stuff. They also did a blinding version of The Shangri-Las' Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) as a bonus.

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Thanks for that David. Sounds like you had a complete blast, as you rock 'n roll types occasionally say.

That's Jeff Beck with David last night for those of you not familiar with the Beck visage...I'll leave you with a shot of Brian Setzer and David from the same event.

Brian must be wondering how Bowie now looks younger than him...perhaps the ex-Stray Cat should have bothered chasing mice around after all. Sorry, couldn't resist...still got very cool hair though.

Check out Getty Images and Wire Image for more of Larry Busacca's great shots.

categories: News
Monday 06.07.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Last Few Uk Dates For Come, Been And Gone

Well, he's come, been and gone... (Almost)

We told you about the new run of UK dates for Michael Clark's come, been and gone in March and April (03.24.2010 NEWS: TICKETS FOR NEW RUN OF COME, BEEN AND GONE ON SALE NOW & 04.09.2010 NEWS: NEW MICHAEL CLARK DATES FOR UK, AUSTRALIA AND LUXEMBOURG) and if you want to see it (and you really should) you need to try and grab the few remaining tickets now.

Currently in the middle of it's Barbican re-run, June 3rd to 12th, the final UK performance of come, been and gone is in Brighton on June 15th. There's then a break following the Brighton date until October shows in Melbourne and November dates in Luxembourg. Go here for more details and booking information.

I had hoped to attend the June 3rd London date but got stuck at Abbey Road listening to the upcoming Deluxe Edition of Station To Station...though I have to admit, it wasn't a chore! Anyway, more of that shortly.

I will be going back to the Barbican before the end of the London run, but if anybody has seen any recent dates, please send in your review and we'll publish it here...Are they still using the "Heroes" video?

Meanwhile, check out a short snippet from The Jean Genie on this page and whet your appetite further with this five star review from The Financial Times.

categories: News
Monday 06.07.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

David And Iman Attend Cfda Awards

Icon see the clothes you wear...

As we mentioned on Sunday, Iman was at the Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York last night to receive the Fashion Icon Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

As you can see from the shot above, her husband of eighteen years accompanied her to the ceremony and they both looked quite stunning, with her in a custom-made, black strapless Giambattista Valli and him in CoSTUME NATIONAL.

The award was presented to Iman by actress Isabella Rossellini and it seems Iman has taken to her new role of icon like a swan to water...Here's a bit from neoows.com...

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And Iman, there to receive the CFDA?s Fashion Icon award, decided it simply wasn?t her job to be in charge of the trail of black feathers at the bottom of her Giambattista Valli gown. ?I am the icon,? she said. ?They can walk around.?

Iman?s efforts to embody her icon status were among the most delightful moments of the evening. In her speech, she thanked her mom and dad for giving her ?a neck longer than any other girl on any go-see anywhere in the world,? and thanked everyone present ?for the right to finally say to my husband, ?You?re not the only icon in the house.?? Afterward, she told us that David Bowie has started calling her ?icon? and exits every room she?s in backwards, bowing and repeating, ?Icon, Icon, Icon.?

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See WireImage.com for more of Kevin Mazur's pictures from last night.

categories: News
Monday 06.07.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 

Exclusive Official 2011 David Bowie Calendar Details

Just watch me now...

The Rise Of Ziggy Stardust, (the official 2011 David Bowie calendar) will feature rare and unpublished shots from 1971 and 1972 as Bowie metamorphosed into Ziggy Stardust via the Hunky Dory album cover shoot...not to mention his brief Ancient Egyptian look which lasted for approximately one photo session.

Collectively referred to as The London Sessions, the period also includes the Ziggy Stardust album cover shoot (two photos are included here that weren't used in the 2009 Heddon Street outtakes calendar) and the remaining Brian Ward Ziggy sessions that took place afterwards.

Though you may have seen some of the images before, you won't have seen them in such high quality or with the colour balance as it should be, as in the Egyptian shot at top left in the above montage.

The cover of the calendar in the middle of the montage is only a mock-up, and though it will feature the same shot as illustrated, it will be a different design.

The Rise Of Ziggy Stardust will be published by Slow Dazzle and will feature fourteen of Brian Ward's photographs in total...that's half of them above.

We'll give you more details as we get them.

categories: News
Sunday 06.06.10
Posted by Mark Adams
 
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