TONIGHT ALBUM IS FORTY TODAY

“And you’ll believe you’re loving the alien...”

David Bowie’s Tonight album was released on 24th September 1984, 40 years ago today.

Though there were only three tracks on the album that David Bowie had no hand in the writing of at all, there were just two solo Bowie compositions and two new co-writes out of the nine tracks.

Some would argue the two solo Bowie compositions are the two best tracks on the album. Would you agree?

1. Loving The Alien (Bowie)

2. Don't Look Down (Pop/Williamson) (Originally recorded by Iggy Pop for New Values, 1979)

3. God Only Knows (Wilson/Asher) (Originally recorded by The Beach Boys for Pet Sounds, 1966)

4. Tonight (featuring Tina Turner) (Bowie/Pop) (Originally recorded by Iggy Pop for Lust for Life, 1977)

5. Neighborhood Threat (Bowie/Pop/Gardiner) (Originally recorded by Iggy Pop for Lust for Life, 1977)

6. Blue Jean (Bowie)

7. Tumble And Twirl (Bowie/Pop)

8. I Keep Forgettin' (Leiber/Stoller/Garfield) (Originally recorded by Chuck Jackson for Any Day Now, 1962)

9. Dancing With The Big Boys (featuring Iggy Pop) (Bowie/Pop/Alomar)

As ever, those Dig! chaps have dug a bit deeper, and you can read this in-depth piece by Alan York now...

Tonight: A New Dawn For David Bowie’s Overlooked 80s Album:

We’ll leave you with the intro to Alan’s piece...

“At least in the commercial sense, the success of David Bowie’s 16th studio album, Tonight, was pretty much a fait accompli. Arriving in the autumn of 1984, just nine months after the completion of his enormous Serious Moonlight world tour, the record shot to No.1 and basked in Bowie’s reputation as a global superstar – and yet history often finds it sitting in the shadow of its illustrious predecessor, 1983’s Let’s Dance.”

#BowieTonight40 #BowieDIG

'hours...' DIGITAL RELEASED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY

“Remember that everybody has to wait online...” *

Traditionally, we’ve marked 4th October as the release date for the 'hours...' album, which was the UK release date for the physical version, though there was no official vinyl back then.

However, strictly speaking today is the 25th anniversary of the release as explained by this item in Rolling Stone magazine published on 30th August 1999...

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David Bowie has pulled another cyber-coup by becoming the first major-label artist to sell a complete album online in download form. Starting Tuesday, Sept. 21, fans will be able to purchase the digital files for hours… at VirginRecords.com, BowieNet (www.davidbowie.com) and at participating record-store Web sites (unspecified at press time). More than fifty stores have signed on to offer the record for the two-week period preceding the album’s North American CD release on Oct. 5. Pricing will be left up to retailers.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to have the opportunity of moving the music industry closer to the process of making digital downloads available as the norm and not the exception,” said Bowie in a statement Monday. Bowie has long been a fan of the Internet and digital distribution. He was one of the first name-brand artists to release a single online in 1997 (the drum ‘n’ bass track “Telling Lies”), he pioneered the use of Webcasts and chats, and launched the world’s first artist-created Internet service provider in 1998 with the formation of BowieNet.

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Supported by a heavy TV and radio campaign of Bowie appearances, the David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels produced 'hours...' was another top five hit in the UK for Bowie...and downloads became quite popular too.

* As you may have noticed, today’s lyric quotation is tweaked from Blue Jean, which entered the UK Top 20 forty years ago this week. It’s a reference to the incredibly slow download speeds back in 1999, when dial-up meant that purchasing the album this way you would have been lucky to have been listening to it on the same day. Anybody out there still have their original download? Probably a collector’s item these days.

'hours...' is considerably easier to listen to these days:

#Bowie1999 #Hours25 #BowieHours

CELEBRATING THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF "hours…"

“The last of the dreamers…”

As promised yesterday when we posted about the LIVE FROM THE MANHATTAN CENTER ’99 DIGITAL EP (have you heard it yet?), here are details of more celebrations of the 25th anniversary of 'hours...' in the form of the press release.

#Bowie1999 #Hours25 #BowieManhattan #HoursRemixEP

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DAVID BOWIE

CELEBRATING THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF ‘hours…’

THE FIRST EVER DIGITALLY RELEASED ALBUM BY A MAJOR ARTIST

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE TRACKS, REMIXES & RARELY SEEN CLASSIC TV PERFORMANCES

AVAILABLE TO PRE-SAVE NOW

20th September 2024 London - Parlophone Records is proud to announce a series of digital & video releases to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the David Bowie gold certified album 'hours…'.

Initially released on 21st September 1999, 'hours…' was Bowie’s 22nd studio album. He once more proved himself to be a trailblazer as it was the first by a major artist to be made available as a download.

The decision was incredibly controversial at the time, with some established retailers calling for a boycott and a withdrawal of all his albums from their shelves, which, of course, never happened. Speaking at the time, Bowie said, "I am hopeful that this small step will lead to greater steps by myself and others, ultimately giving consumers greater choices and easier access to the music they enjoy." As with so much of his work and expression, this quote envisioned the future with uncanny accuracy.

The album itself saw Bowie harken back to his early career with the 12-stringe acoustic guitar being at the forefront of key songs on the album, including 'Survive' and 'Seven', two of three singles released in the U.K. While David didn't undertake a tour for the album, he played a handful of intimate shows and several live TV performances.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of 'hours…', Parlophone will release two digital EPs featuring four previously unreleased tracks.

'LIVE FROM MANHATTAN CENTER ‘99' is out on 20th September and features three previously unreleased live tracks recorded for the U.K. TV show Top Of The Pops but not broadcast at the time. The recording was made at the same venue as David’s VH1 Storytellers performance but two days earlier and in a different studio.

The six-track 'hours…' REMIX EP’ follows on 11th October and features two Beck remixes and an unheard 'hip hop' mix of the album's lead single 'Thursday's Child'.

On the 23rd and 30th of September, four tracks from the 4th December 1999 performance on the BBC's 'Later…With Jools Holland' including the classics' Ashes To Ashes' and 'Cracked Actor' will be released on the David Bowie YouTube account along with the footage of the three tracks from the 'LIVE FROM MANHATTAN CENTER ‘99' EP. Also beginning on the 14th October four videos from David’s performance in Paris on the 14th October 1999 will be available on his YouTube channel.

DAVID BOWIE

‘hours…’ 25th ANNIVERSARY

20th SEPTEMBER

LIVE FROM THE MANHATTAN CENTER ’99 DIGITAL EP

Thursday’s Child (Previously Unreleased)

Survive (Previously Unreleased)

The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Previously Unreleased)

23rd SEPTEMBER

LATER…WITH JOOLS HOLLAND 04/12/1999 VIDEOS

Ashes To Ashes

Cracked Actor

Something In The Air

Survive

30th SEPTEMBER

TOP OF THE POPS 03/11/1999 VIDEOS

Survive

Thursday's Child

The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell

11th OCTOBER

'hours...' REMIX EP

Seven (Beck mix #1)

Seven (Beck mix #2)

Seven (Marius de Vries mix - Original Speed)

The Pretty Things are Going to Hell (150 bpm Stigmata Film Mix)

Thursday's Child (Hip Hop Mix) (Previously Unreleased)

Thursday's Child (Rock Mix)

14th OCTOBER

Thursday’s Child (Video Live In Paris 14th October 1999)

15th OCTOBER

Something In The Air (Video Live In Paris 14th October 1999)

16th OCTOBER

Survive (Video Live In Paris 14th October 1999)

17th OCTOBER

Seven (Video Live In Paris 14th October 1999)

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LIVE MANHATTAN DIGITAL EP

“Throw me tomorrow, Everything’s falling into place…”

Tomorrow (20th September) sees the 25th anniversary of the release of Thursday’s Child, the first single from 'hours...'.

In celebration of that fact, Parlophone will issue the LIVE FROM THE MANHATTAN CENTER ’99 DIGITAL EP which features three previously unreleased live tracks recorded for the U.K. TV show Top Of The Pops but not broadcast at the time.

The songs were taped on 21st August, two days before VH1 Storytellers was recorded in the same building (The Manhattan Center) but not in the same studio.

If it’s the 20th where you are, you may already be enjoying the EP via your favourite digital platform.

20th SEPTEMBER

LIVE FROM THE MANHATTAN CENTER ’99 DIGITAL EP

Thursday’s Child (Previously Unreleased)

Survive (Previously Unreleased)

The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Previously Unreleased)

Stay tuned for details of more celebrations of the 25th anniversary of 'hours...'.

#Bowie1999 #Hours25 #BowieManhattan #BowieThursdaysChild

GOODBYE HERBIE FLOWERS

Though we’ve not managed to have it officially confirmed, if the news is correct, we are very sad to learn of the passing of Herbie Flowers in the last couple of days.

His work with Bowie and associates over the years is too long to list here.

Aside from his incredible musicianship over many decades, he was a beautiful soul and a very funny man. He will be sorely missed.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Herbie is pictured here with David and Marc Bolan in 1977 during filming of the MARC show.

#BowieFlowers

RIP DEREK BOSHIER

It is with much sadness that we learn of the passing of artist and friend of David Bowie, Derek Boshier.

Bowie fans will know him best for his artwork contributions to both Lodger and Let’s Dance.

The sad news was posted on his Instagram page earlier today. Here’s an edited excerpt...

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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Derek Boshier (1937-2024), the esteemed English artist whose work spanned decades of pioneering creativity. Born in Portsmouth in 1937, and moved to the USA in the 90s, Boshier leaves behind a lasting legacy that shaped and challenged the art world with his astute and often wry observations of popular culture.

“We are deeply saddened by Derek Boshier’s passing. An inspiration to so many, his relentless curiosity was a true force of nature. We will miss his witty sense of humour, his stories that would light up any room he was in. Above all we will miss his extraordinary drive to create and reinvent the art he was destined to share with the world. Shine bright Derek! We will do our very best to continue sharing your stories and celebrate your legacy for the generations to come.” - Mila Askarova, Founder & CEO of Gazelli Art House

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Read Derek’s recollections of meeting with Bowie and the subsequent collaborations in a piece on Vice.com from 2017 by Katie Bain titled: David Bowie and The Clash Were Fans of Derek Boshier’s Art, and You Should Be Too

If you’re not already familiar with it, check out some of Derek’s Bowie related work here:

The two DBs are pictured here with Derek’s daughters.

#BowieBoshier