Aladdin Sane 45th anniversary silver vinyl due

“Just in time for sunrise”

April sees the release of two limited edition Bowie vinyl albums, Aladdin Sane and CHANGESTWOBOWIE.

This strictly limited one run only silver vinyl edition of Aladdin Sane will contain Ken Scott’s approved 2013 remaster and will be released on 20th April, 2018, 45 years to the day since the original release date for the album. Previously thought to have been issued on 13th April, 1973, new evidence has come to light that proves the release date was officially the 20th, but being Good Friday in the UK the album was 'made available' on the 19th.

This silver vinyl edition of Aladdin Sane will only be available to ‘bricks and mortar’ retail stores and not through on-line stores.

CHANGESTWOBOWIE will be reissued on the 13th April with all tracks remastered on CD in a digipak sleeve, high-resolution 192/24 and 96/24 digital and standard digital for streaming and download, as well as a 180gram vinyl edition available randomly on its initial limited run in black and blue vinyl before reverting solely to black vinyl.

Finally, 192/24 and 96/26 high-resolution digital versions of CHANGESONEBOWIE will be released for streaming and download on April 13th too.

Keep reading for the full press release.

#AladdinSaneSilver #BowieVinyl

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DAVID BOWIE‪

ALADDIN SANE 45th ANNIVERSARY SILVER VINYL ‘BRICKS & MORTAR’ RETAIL EXCLUSIVE: RELEASED ON PARLOPHONE 20th APRIL, 2018

CHANGESTWOBOWIE BLUE VINYL / BLACK VINYL / CD / DD / HD: RELEASED ON PARLOPHONE 13th APRIL, 2018

CHANGESONEBOWIE HD DOWNLOAD / STREAM: RELEASED ON PARLOPHONE 13th APRIL, 2018

‪ALADDIN SANE

2017 saw gold vinyl versions of Hunky Dory and The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, released 45 years to the day of the first issuing of Ziggy. To celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the ALADDIN SANE album; there will be a special limited edition silver vinyl version released.

This strictly limited one run only silver vinyl edition of ALADDIN SANE will contain Ken Scott’s approved 2013 remaster and will be released on 20th April, 2018, 45 years to the day since the original release date for the album. Previously thought to have been issued on 13th April, 1973, new evidence has come to light that proves the release date was officially the 20th, but being Good Friday in the UK the album was 'made available' on the 19th.

This will only be available to ‘bricks and mortar’ retail stores and not through on-line stores.

‪ALADDIN SANE
Side One
Watch That Man
Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)
Drive-In Saturday
Panic In Detroit
Cracked Actor
Side Two
Time
The Prettiest Star
Let’s Spend The Night Together
The Jean Genie
Lady Grinning Soul

CHANGESTWOBOWIE

This follow up to David’s hugely successful first Best Of compilation CHANGESONEBOWIE, has not officially been available since the late 1980s. Featuring iconic cover photography by Greg Gorman, it was first released in 1981 and was only briefly available on CD in 1985 but has long since been deleted.

Drawing on material spanning from HUNKY DORY (1971) to SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS) (1980) it achieved gold status in the U.K. album chart in 1982. It will be reissued on the 13th April with all tracks remastered on CD in a digipak sleeve, high-resolution 192/24 and 96/24 digital and standard digital for streaming and download, as well as a 180gram vinyl edition available randomly on its initial limited manufacturing run in black and blue vinyl before reverting solely to black vinyl.

CHANGESONEBOWIE

192/24 and 96/26 high-resolution digital versions of CHANGESONEBOWIE will be released for streaming and download on April 13th.

CHANGESTWOBOWIE
Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)
Oh! You Pretty Things
Starman
1984
Ashes To Ashes*
Sound And Vision
Fashion*
Wild Is The Wind
John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) 1975
D.J.*

*Single versions

CHANGESONEBOWIE
Space Oddity
John, I'm Only Dancing (original version)
Changes
Ziggy Stardust
Suffragette City
The Jean Genie
Diamond Dogs
Rebel Rebel
Young Americans
Fame
Golden Years

ALADDIN SANE 45th ANNIVERSARY SILVER VINYL
Will be released on Parlophone 20th April, 2018.

CHANGESTWOBOWIE VINYL / CD / DD / HD and
CHANGESONEBOWIE HD DOWNLOAD / STREAM
Will be released on Parlophone 13th April, 2018.

Ten days till ANCIANT break outs

“There’ll be others on the line filing past, who’ll whisper Low”

David Bowie was always one of the more collectable musicians, and with original second-hand vinyl copies of most Bowie albums attracting far higher prices in the last couple of years than they ever have done, the Parlophone reissues are a great starting point for those with a smaller budget wanting to build a Bowie vinyl collection from scratch.

A cursory look at recent sales on popular online sites have seen copies of Low (originally released in 1977, but unavailable on vinyl since 1991), exchange hands for an average of £35 -£45 (GBP) (USD $49-$62) and over £200 ($280) for a “used” condition promo copy just last week.

The five selected stand-alone albums from last year’s acclaimed A New Career In A New Town (1977 – 1982) (ANCIANT) box set will be released on February 23rd. Pre-order here:

Low - https://lnk.to/LowMP
"Heroes" - https://lnk.to/HeroesMP
Stage 2017 - https://lnk.to/StageMP
Lodger - https://lnk.to/LodgerMP
Scary Monsters - https://lnk.to/ScaryMMP

Go here for the press release.

#ANewCareerInANewTownBox #BowieVinyl #BowieLow

David Bowie: Glamour Issue 3

“You better not mess with Major Tom”

Here’s an exclusive first look at Helen Green’s delicious fold-out cover for issue 3 of Andy Jones and Nick Smart’s David Bowie: Glamour fanzine. (Animation here)

The fanzine is beautifully designed by Milky Cereal and Issue 3 is available for pre-order now.

The publication boasts exclusive and original content contributed by Bowie fans and collaborators...

Issue 3 includes these alphabetically listed contributors:

Jimmy C
Robin Clark
Ian Hunter
Paul Cuddeford
Terry O’Neill
Nicholas Pegg
Mark Plati
Catherine Russell
Tony Sales
Morgan Visconti

Visit the David Bowie: Glamour fanzine site to submit contributions for Issue 4 and to pre-order Issue 3.

*We are duty-bound to point out that David Bowie: Glamour is not an official publication.

#DavidBowieGlamourFanzine

Listen along with Starman...for eternity

“Can you hear me Major Tom?”

Well you may not have had the opportunity to join Starman on his fantastic voyage, but at least you can join him in spirit by having a taste of what he’ll be listening to for evermore, here.

FOOTNOTE: OK, so you can’t hear anything in space with there being no atmosphere and all that. However, do you think SpaceX would have been that cruel. Obviously they're pumping the music straight into his space helmet. Those cats are smart.

#NowPlaying #BowieForever

DB does DB with Choir! Choir! Choir!

“For ever and ever”

You’ve most likely seen this already, but it bears repeating for those of you that may have missed it.

Choir! Choir! Choir! teamed up with David Byrne and a large group of enthusiastic singers for an emotionally charged rendition of "Heroes" in NYC last month.

The event took place in the Ford Foundation lobby of the Public Theater during the Under the Radar Festival on January 13th, and this is how David Byrne announced his involvement earlier in the day...

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How Do They Do It?
I've sat mesmerized watching online videos of the Canadian group Choir! Choir! Choir!
They somehow manage to get hundreds of strangers to sing beautifully together—in tune and full-voiced—with rich harmonies and detailed arrangements. With almost no rehearsal—how do they do it??
Well, opportunity knocks! I’m going to find out their secret tonight, as I’m singing a song with them (not one of my own) in the lobby of the Public Theater in New York along with, yes, hundreds of (mostly) strangers.
David Byrne, NYC
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On his online journal, Byrne also had this to say regarding the song selection...

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Why that song?
Well, it has to be something familiar—participants get lyric sheets but aren’t expected to be able to read music. It can’t be too difficult. My own thought on “Heroes”, the song we jointly agreed to do, is that given the structure of the song, it would probably build nicely—we’d possibly get a big triumphant climax, (ahem) which we did. I also had a hunch there MIGHT be a tiny subtext in doing that song, given the present state of the world and nation. An unspoken subtext, but one felt nonetheless—I believe that happened too. People confirmed it to me afterwards. I felt it.
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It was a particularly moving performance which you can view for yourself here.

Of course, this isn't the first time that Choir! Choir! Choir! Have tackled the music of David Bowie. Follow this link to hear their versions of Space Odditty, Rebel Rebel and The Man Who Sold The World.

Finally, read more of Mr Byrne’s thoughts regarding the performance via aforementioned journal.

FOOTNOTE: The two DBs are pictured here backstage at the 2003 MSG Bowie A Reality Tour show in New York.

#WeCanBeHeroes #BowieForever

Bowie songs used for historic space flight

“There’s a Starman waiting in the sky”

History was made today (Tuesday Feb 6) with the very emotional launch of Elon Musk’s midnight cherry Tesla Roadster car into space, with David Bowie’s Life on Mars? as the soundtrack, and a character called Starman in the driving seat.

Mr Musk’s SpaceX used a super rocket – the Falcon Heavy vehicle – to send the car into orbit around Mars, deploying technology with twice the launch power of any existing rocket, and double that of the Saturn V, used for the Apollo lunar missions.

Before the launch, Mr Musk explained that the Roadster “will be in deep space for a billion years or so, if it doesn't blow up on ascent”. He needn’t have worried, the rocket successfully took off at 3.45pm local time with an estimated half a million people gathered in Florida to watch.

At the convertible’s wheel is SpaceX’s ‘Starman’, a dummy in a white-and-black-trimmed spacesuit, and on the soundtrack is another nod to Bowie: his 1969, pre-Apollo 11 song, Space Oddity, on repeat for eternity.

Imagine that, Bowie still playing somewhere in space as Earth is eventually swallowed by our sun. Sorry for the spoiler if you didn’t know about that.

Earlier in the week, in an animated YouTube video to promote the launch, Life On Mars? played as the Falcon Heavy was shown in its various flight stages. Watch the video here.

#FalconHeavy #SpaceX #StarmanBowie #HalloSpaceboy

Philip Glass Lodger tickets on general sale Tuesday

“...popular musics and aftershocks...”

As regular readers of this page will know, Philip Glass has been promising the third and final symphony of his Bowie/Eno trilogy for many years. Now his 12th symphony, based on Bowie’s Lodger album, will have its European premiere at the Southbank Centre next year following the world premiere in Los Angeles.

Lodger will be performed alongside his First (Low) and Fourth ("Heroes") symphonies by new music ensemble the London Contemporary Orchestra with innovative organist James McVinnie. Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames will be conducting.

Based on Bowie’s 1979 album of the same name, Lodger completes Glass’s reimagining of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, following 1992’s Low symphony and 1996’s "Heroes" symphony. The composer had discussed the piece with Bowie, but only now has it been realised.

In a recent statement, Glass said: “For the past two decades, I had hoped to find an opportunity to complete the trilogy of symphonies. I’m now delighted to have that chance to compose the Lodger symphony, and equally delighted that it will be heard in London at Southbank Centre.”

The work has been co-commissioned by Southbank Centre, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tickets are already on sale to members with the general sale commencing on Tuesday February 6th. Go here for more information and ticket links.

“My approach was to treat the themes very much as if they were my own and allow their transformations to follow my own compositional bent when possible. In practice, however, Bowie and Eno’s music certainly influenced how I worked, leading me to sometimes surprising musical conclusions.” - Philip Glass

#BowieEnoGlass #BerlinTrilogy

Duncan recommends book #2

“I’m lookin’ thru African eyes”

Following last month’s recommendation, Peter Ackroyd’s Hawksmoor, Duncan Jones has posted his second selection for the Bowie Book Club on Twitter.

It’s James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. Here’s a couple of posts from Duncan on Twitter.

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Duncan Jones @ManMadeMoon Jan 28
Book 2 I’m going to be reading from dad’s favs, will be James Baldwin’s THE FIRE NEXT TIME.
Hopefully not as hard to get hold of this book as the last, and possibly a quicker read.
Reading deadline? March 1st!

Duncan Jones @ManMadeMoon Jan 28
Can’t wait. 1st book of this reading marathon was lite on quotables, heavy on brain strain!
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Here’s the synopsis of a work as poignant now as it was when first published 55 years ago.

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The landmark work on race in America from James Baldwin, whose life and words are immortalized in the Oscar-nominated film I Am Not Your Negro
‘We, the black and the white, deeply need each other here if we are really to become a nation’
James Baldwin’s impassioned plea to ‘end the racial nightmare’ in America was a bestseller when it appeared in 1963, galvanising a nation and giving voice to the emerging civil rights movement. Told in the form of two intensely personal ‘letters’, The Fire Next Time is at once a powerful evocation of Baldwin’s early life in Harlem and an excoriating condemnation of the terrible legacy of racial injustice.
‘Sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle ... all presented in searing, brilliant prose’ - The New York Times Book Review
‘Baldwin writes with great passion ... it reeks of truth, as the ghettoes of New York and London, Chicago and Manchester reek of our hypocrisy’ - Sunday Times
‘The great poet-prophet of the civil rights movement ... his seminal work’ - Guardian
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The Fire Next Time is in DAVID BOWIE'S TOP 100 BOOKS list.

If you don’t do Twitter (where you can respond to Duncan directly), feel free to leave your thoughts about Peter Ackroyd’s Hawksmoor in the comments section on FaceBook.

FOOTNOTE: Apologies to the American Library Association for the appropriation of the Bowie READ campaign poster from 1987.

#BowieBookClub #BlackHistoryMonth #ReadingIsBrainFood

Duncan Jones tweets MUTE trailer

“The darkest hour and your voice is new, Love is lost, lost is love”

As we recently told you, MUTE premieres worldwide on NETFLIX on Friday 23rd February 2018, more than fourteen years since Duncan’s first draft.

Now young Jones has posted the trailer on Twitter (@manmademovies ) and from the flavour of it, it looks like MUTE has been well worth the wait.

Unsure whether he wants you to watch the trailer or not, Duncan also had this to say about this seemingly necessary evil:

“I have a love hate relationship with trailers. I would rather people go in to a movie knowing nothing about it, but that’s a bit old fashioned... for all you youngsters & hipsters, here’s the trailer for MUTE.”

And here it is.

Space Oddity in Grammy HOF - plus the story of Benj

“You've really made the grade”

The GRAMMY Awards department recently announced that David Bowie’s Space Oddity was being inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame (HOF), 49 years after its release as a 45, albeit described in the announcement as “David Bowie's 1969 time-traveling track "Space Odyssey"”!

Congratulations to all involved with the creation of this classic track, which originally reached #5 on the UK singles chart in 1969 and then hit the top spot on its 1975 reissue.

Space Oddity joins Changes (inducted last year), and the Ziggy Stardust album which joined the GRAMMY Hall of Fame ranks in 1999.

A lot has been said regarding Space Oddity over the years, so much so that if every word written about it were placed end to end, they would reach far above the moon.

However, a very moving story related to the song was posted on slate.com recently, titled: ‘How David Bowie helped my autistic son become himself’.

The story is of Benj, who learned to express himself through Bowie’s music, Space Oddity in particular. Here’s what he had to say regarding his own performance of what is possibly Bowie’s most famous recording:

“The song gives me a feeling of sublimity, I know what it feels like to be odd, I’m ready to sing and not just play guitar for my school, and I want to do a tribute to David Bowie.”

Read the full thing here.

#BowieSpaceOddity #BowieBenj

Janelle Monáe talks inspirational Bowie

“We can beat them, for ever and ever”

Back in 2014 we told you about Janelle Monáe’s cover of "Heroes", which she covered for an anti-bullying campaign and released on the Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game LP.

At the time she told Rolling Stone magazine: “Bowie knows what’s up. He’s a fan and I’m a fan of him. The respect is mutual. I hear from his wife Iman that he’s a huge supporter of me, the way I dress and my music. I just hope that we made him proud.”

Janelle promoted "Heroes" with an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman at the time.

Now Iman has reposted a moving Instagram tribute by Janelle, originally posted on January 10th, 2018:

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Janelle Monáe:
Thinking of you my Ziggy Stardust moonage day dream .
Even in your ascension to another frequency you still manage to guide me , and all of us who you inspire .
You continue to teach me what freedom looks like through the gifts you left behind .
You continue to help me and so many feel comfortable during some of our most vulnerable and fearful moments . I often find myself asking , “What would Bowie say , what would he do?” and I just go with that . Lol
Thank you for living your life as a free ass muhfugga . Freedom ain’t always free and it comes with consequences sometimes , but you still chose it tho and for that I’m thankful for you .
Sending love to your beautiful wife Iman and your family on this day . ⚡️✨
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An incredibly classy Janelle (see montage), made a heartfelt speech at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, when she spoke out in support of the #TimesUp movement. Watch it over at Rolling Stone.

#janellemonáe #JanelleMonáeBowie #TimesUp

The A to Z of David Bowie Podcast

“Give it a whirl and I'll love you till Tuesday”

Marc Riley has long flown the Bowie flag very high at the BBC over the years. His loyalty was rewarded directly many times via interviews and even a radio session in October 1999 for the show that Marc co-hosted with Mark Radcliffe. The pair introduced Bowie onstage a couple of times too. Marc also had the privilege of conducting the last ever radio interview with DB. Bowie is frequently featured on his long-running BBC Radio 6 Music show these days too.

Having been a superfan since 1972, Marc is more qualified than most for his next project, The A to Z of David Bowie by Marc Riley and Rob Hughes podcast, which launches on Tuesday 30th January at 3am, with subsequent episodes released every Tuesday at the same time.

The A to Z of David Bowie is available on iTunes, acast and all good podcast services.

Keep reading for an interview with Marc Riley regarding the show.

#BowieRiley #A2ZofDB

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Total Blam Blam in conversation with Marc Riley - January 2018

TBB: How did The A to Z of David Bowie by Marc Riley and Rob Hughes come about?

MR: Well Bowie has been a huge part of my life and I can say the same for Rob so once we’d kinda accepted the fact that he was no longer with us we tried to work out how we could channel our love of Bowie into something positive. We could have written a Book (well Rob could have written it and I could have coloured in the pictures), but the glut of books that followed David’s death almost immediately ruled that out… of course some of those books were great - which made our decision not to go down that route even easier.

I did a Podcast for Adam Buxton - who’s obviously a big Bowie fan too - and I thought maybe that was a way to get the idea out of our system. That was only a few months after David’s death in the June of 2016. Anyway… I ran it past Rob and he was up for doing a podcast.

TBB: Obviously you have taken on a massive undertaking with this, was it a bit daunting?

MR: It really was. And once we started writing down all the subjects we wanted to cover in the A to Z format we realised that there was much more work than we’d realised. I mean… since we started researching David’s life, late 2016 we started hearing of stories and events that we didn’t know anything about. No great surprise really I suppose. There are people out there who have forgotten more about Bowie than Rob or I will ever know - but it was a surprise to us! So many of the Bowie stories make you smile from ear to ear.

TBB: Any examples of that spring to mind?

MR: I love the fact that he nearly made an Album with Christopher Lee… I didn’t know he met the queen as a young boy. There was his relationship with Edgar Broughton which never reached its full potential - but did see Edgar managing to get his way into the after-show party at the 1973 farewell show and get himself - seemingly - heroically drunk. There’s loads of stuff. And then you find yourself delving deep into the albums that have been a part of your life for so long and learning stuff. Like the story of how Aladdin Sane ended up with lightning bolt on his face… ah… there’s too much to recall here.

TBB: How many episodes of the A to Z of David Bowie do you have planned?

MR: To be brutally honest we haven’t a clue. We sat down to record all the subjects we’d gotten together for ‘A’ thinking it would amount to maybe 40 minutes’ worth of podcast time. That turned out to be 110 minutes!! That’s TWO Podcasts. Our ramblings on Aladdin Sane take 25 minutes alone! So far all the letters we’ve recorded have come in at roughly the same length. 110 minutes. So A, B, C, D and E are all roughly 30-35 minutes long and in 2 parts… but F came out as 3 episodes. Looking at that as a rough guide I’d expect the whole series to be… maybe… 40+ episodes??

TBB: This isn’t the first A to Z you and Rob have done, is it? You also did the punk one for BBC 6 Music, right?

MR: Yeah - what came first, the chicken or the egg? After we’d decided to have a run at a David Bowie A to Z, I saw the opportunity for doing a less specific subject that would work for the show. It’s a tried and tested formula but I knew it would be as good (or as bad) as the content it held.

So I went for ‘Punk and New Wave' which proved to be really popular. Ironically, so much so that 6 Music decided to edit it down and put it out as a Podcast. Did really well. We’re currently doing a Psych A to Z… but I don’t know if that’s going to a Podcast or not.

TBB: How do people get to hear the A to Z of David Bowie?

MR: Our agency is called Acast. They have an App. And of course Apple Podcasts… or wherever you generally get your podcasts! It launches on Tuesday 30th January at 3am and the following episodes get released every Tuesday at the same time. That’s the plan anyway.

TBB: I notice the A to Z of David Bowie already hit the #1 on the iTunes music podcast chart before it’s even out there, just on the strength of people pre-registering their interest. How have they shown their anticipation?

MR: Positive. Though I’m sure we’ll get some ‘facts’ wrong. David’s life is littered with myths and misinformation. I’m also sure some people won’t agree with our opinions on various Bowie matters… but there’s nothing we can do about that… PUBLISH AND BE DAMNED!!

TBB: The A to Z of David Bowie logo is reminiscent of a DavidBowie.com logo which utilised letters from various Bowie album sleeves. Did it take long to get to the final version?

MR: How would I know? You designed it!

TBB: Finally, you and Mark Radcliffe met Bowie on many occasions to interview him and he was a regular guest on your various radio shows. You also introduced a couple of his concerts at Hammersmith and the Manchester Move festival, both in 2002. He was clearly very keen on you, but did he ever comment on the times you attempted to ape his look?

MR: I think he once uttered “Clown!”, which I took as a cue to make up as one for our next meeting. He didn’t blink an eyelid!

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FOOTNOTE: Swipe images to see evidence of the above.

Supro recreates Bowie’s Dual Tone Guitar

“With my guitar a Dual Tone Supro”

Supro Pays Tribute to David Bowie with Limited Edition Recreation of his Dual Tone Guitar

Developed by Supro with assistance from the David Bowie Archive, the David Bowie Limited Edition Dual Tone is based on the main guitar David Bowie played on the Reality album and throughout his final world tour, “A Reality Tour”, in 2003-2004. Although he played a variety of guitars throughout his career, Bowie enjoyed a special relationship with the iconic vintage 60’s Supro Dual Tone he had customized to his specifications.

Bowie’s guitarist Earl Slick says, “Of all the electric guitars that David played and owned over the many years that we worked together, he loved the Supro best. He was quite proud of it actually. I’ve never seen him get attached to a guitar, except that one.”

Keep reading for the full press release or visit the dedicated Supro page here.

FOOTNOTE: If today’s lyric quotation sounds ever so slightly familiar, that’s possibly because you remember the original lyric from Sweet Head: “With my guitar and me soprano”, which we clumsily adapted.

#SuproBowie

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Supro Pays Tribute to David Bowie with Limited Edition Recreation of his Dual Tone Guitar

Developed by Supro with assistance from the David Bowie Archive, the David Bowie Limited Edition Dual Tone is based on the main guitar David Bowie played on the Reality album and throughout his final world tour, “A Reality Tour”, in 2003-2004. Although he played a variety of guitars throughout his career, Bowie enjoyed a special relationship with the iconic vintage 60’s Supro Dual Tone he had customized to his specifications. Bowie’s guitarist Earl Slick says, “Of all the electric guitars that David played and owned over the many years that we worked together, he loved the Supro best. He was quite proud of it actually. I’ve never seen him get attached to a guitar, except that one.”

During the recording of the Reality album in New York City in early 2003, Bowie purchased two early-60’s Supro Dual Tone guitars on EBay. One of them, which is prominently featured on the cover art of the New Killer Star single, was a 1961 hardtail model. A second Dual Tone was modified by master luthier Flip Scipio, who inlaid the top five fret slots with rainbow colors after installing a Bigsby vibrato at Bowie’s request. “They brought me the second guitar and needed it done very fast, within one day,” recalls Scipio. “That is why I did not reinstall the top frets. The fret filler is made of dyed Japanese maple. David loved the way this guitar looked and sounded, so I chose the colors based on what I thought would look cheerful. I felt that if I can be happy with the guitar, then David would be happy with the guitar as well.” It was this highly customized Supro Dual Tone that became Bowie’s favorite guitar and main live instrument, appeared on the cover of the “A Reality Tour” live album, and inspired this limited edition 2018 re-creation.

Why did Bowie choose the Dual Tone? Guitarist Gerry Leonard, who played on both the Reality album and tour, says: “David was a discerning collector of not only art, but all things to do with music, music artifacts and specific instruments. The Supro was a guitar that nailed a few of these criteria for him. It’s a very stylish guitar and it has a great vibe and sound. It was a fantastic guitar and David loved it so much, it was the only one he wanted to play, even though we had many other great instruments from famous makers available to him.”

Although we know that the guitar’s Art Deco style appealed to Bowie’s well-known flair for design, we also know that he had a fascination with the instrument’s early legacy. He advised James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem to get a Supro Dual Tone specifically because it was the guitar played by power-chord pioneer Link Wray. The Dual Tone famously appears in the promotional artwork for Wray’s 1958 hit song “Rumble”: a recording noteworthy for being the only instrumental song ever to be banned from US radio. Bowie even chose to pay homage to Link Wray, using “Rumble” as a musical interlude during the Reality Tour. Clearly, the rock and roll mythology of Link Wray and his affinity for Supro guitars made a lasting impact on David Bowie.

The Dual Tone model first appeared in Supro catalogs in the early 1950s. The distinctive tone of the Supro Vistatone pickups has been a consistent highlight of this instrument throughout its evolution. Supro’s 1953 catalog boasted: “We sincerely believe the pickup system to be the finest we have ever produced in over two decades of electronic development. Make an honest comparison with any instrument for tone, volume, and performance–you’ll be truly surprised.” Over the subsequent five years after ’53, the neck was improved, headstock changed, body widened, pickup wiring changed, and contoured bevels added to the body. By 1958, the Dual Tone was totally dialled in, and became a bestseller for Supro.

In keeping with the spirit of innovation that evolved the 1953 Dual Tone into the 1958 model favored by Link Wray, the construction of the Bowie guitar has been further developed with subtle tweaks and refinements to carry the torch into the present day—while retaining the vibe of the original instrument. This incarnation of the Dual Tone guitar features a 24 ¾” scale maple neck with a rosewood fretboard and set-neck construction. The alder body has a tummy cut for increased playing comfort, as well as an ergonomic neck joint, allowing full access to the high frets. Hardware appointments include Bigsby vibrato, Wilkinson roller bridge, butterfly tulip tuning pegs and a matched set of vintage-correct Vistatone pickups, designed to replicate the genuine Supro sound that David Bowie loved.

As a final touch, the David Bowie Limited Edition Dual Tone features a mirror-finish Bowie lightning bolt insignia on the face of the headstock. In further tribute to Bowie’s personal favorite Supro guitar, the top five frets have a multi-colored rainbow pattern inlaid into the fretboard to replicate the look of the custom work done by master luthier Flip Scipio for the Reality album and subsequent world tour.

• Official David Bowie Supro Dual Tone
• Individually numbered limited edition
• Mirror-finish Bowie headstock logo
• Rainbow fret lines on top 5 frets
• Authentic Bigsby vibrato
• Supro Vistatone pickups
• 24 ¾” scale length
• 12” fretboard radius
• Ergonomic set-neck design
• Supro/Bowie hard case included
• Signed and numbered certificate of authenticity included

Duncan Jones Announces MUTE Premiere

“I’m living in a silent film…”

@Unklerupert has been in touch with hot news and an update regarding Duncan Jones and MUTE...take it away, fellah...

Duncan Jones announced via Twitter today that his new film, MUTE, will premiere Worldwide on NETFLIX on Friday 23rd February 2018.

In a thread of tweets building up to the much anticipated announcement Duncan gave us the back story to the development...

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“So some of you may be aware that I have previously called MUTE my “Don Quixote.” I did this, as much like Terry Gillian’s fabled film of that name, it seemed everything was against MUTE ever being made.
Back then the film was a very different beast. It was set in London, contemporary and the cast would have been Cary Grant, Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi. OK. Maybe not that cast...
It was going to be my first film. I sent it to Sam Rockwell who loved it! ...but he wanted to play Leo, the part that would later go to Alex Skarsgård. I wouldn’t budge but was so enamoured with Sam, I decided to write something just for him. That was MOON.
Years past, MUTE kept being pushed to the back burner. Life filled up with SOURCE CODE, my amazing wife’s successful battle with cancer, WARCRAFT, dad’s cancer, baby, the wonderful woman who raised me, Marion’s sad loss to brain cancer. We’d do a graphic novel with Glenn Fabry.
But sadly that book never fully came to fruition.
But one day...
NETFLIX came to town!
NETFLIX, these crazy new kids on the block, had this totally crazy philosophy on film making straight out of the 70s. Don’t make 4 quad “please everyone” homogenous blobs! Make films filmmakers are passionate about & let the audience find them!
So here we are.
MUTE, Starring Alex Skarsgård, Justin Theroux & Paul Rudd.
Out on NETFLIX February 23.
Got there in the end!”
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Filmed on location in Berlin between Sept 28th 2016 - 17th Dec 2016 at the World famous Babelsberg Film Studio, located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin (Where Fritz Lang's Metropolis was filmed in 1925) Duncan Jones’ latest film MUTE is described as a Sci-fi Casablanca that Duncan has previously also described as a love letter to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Here’s the full blurb...

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Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca.
Leo Beiler (Alexander Skarsgård), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Paul Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue, and Leo can’t tell if they can help, or who he should fear most.”
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MUTE is a spiritual sequel to Duncan’s multiple award winning debut feature MOON being set in the same ‘Mooniverse’. Fans of MOON will be pleased to discover that MUTE sees the welcome return of Sam Rockwell so we *may* discover Sam Bell’s fate following on from the end of MOON… Further MOON related good news is the return of Clint Mansell on soundtrack duties, cinematography from Gary Shaw and Duncan’s long-time producer and partner at Liberty Films, Stuart Fenegan who commented back when MUTE was announced “can’t do sci-fi without Sam and Clint!”

As part of that original announcement in November 2015 Duncan said:

“I’ve been working towards making MUTE for 12 years now. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that we’re finally going to shoot this utterly unique film. The fact that I get to make it with Alexander Skarsgård and Paul Rudd makes it all the more exciting! MUTE is a film that will last. It is unlike any other science fiction being made today.”

Commenting further once MUTE had been picked up by NETFLIX Duncan said:

“Mute is an encapsulation of everything I am fascinated by; noir, science fiction, and unique people in trouble because of who and what they are. I’m delighted to be able to return to Berlin for the shoot, a place I lived for a period of time growing up, and I’m excited to be working with NETFLIX on a film that is so close to my heart.”

So unlike anything is it, that Duncan has been referring to MUTE as Marmite, or Marmute even ;) Which basically means you’re going to love it or hate it. MUTE then promises to be pure undiluted Jones.

Duncan recently tweeted:

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“Dad quote, and, in a nutshell, why I'm making MUTE”
“If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
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Commenting on working with NETFLIX at the end of 2017 Duncan said

“This year I was particularly thankful to NETFLIX for letting me make a movie as a work of artistic therapy for the last few incredibly difficult years.”

MUTE premieres Worldwide on NETFLIX on Friday 23rd February 2018

Keep up to date with all things MUTE by following Duncan on Twitter and the official MUTE Twitter account.

Full MUTE cast and crew available on IMDb.

FOOTNOTE: While you will understand the MarMute visual gag in our montage, you may be wondering what's going on with Duncan’s hat and beard... maybe keep your eyes peeled when watching MUTE to find out what's what!

#MUTEmovie #DuncanJones

ANCIANT break outs due February

“'Cause Low is on sale again”

Following the release of last year’s acclaimed ‘A New Career In A New Town (1977 – 1982)’ box set, break outs of five selected albums from the set as stand-alone releases will be released on February 23rd and are now available on the links below for pre-order:

Low
"Heroes"
Stage 2017
Lodger
Scary Monsters

These releases haven’t been available on vinyl officially for more than a quarter of a century since the very limited EMI reissues in 1991.

Keep reading for the press release.

#ANCIANTbox #ANCIANTBreakouts #ANewCareerInANewTownBox #BowieVinyl

DAVID BOWIE - LOW, “HEROES”, STAGE (2017), LODGER & SCARY MONSTERS (And Super Creeps)

2016 REMASTERS TO BE RELEASED ON AUDIOPHILE 180g VINYL, CD AND DIGITAL ON 23rd FEBRUARY

‘A glorious summation of Bowies’ most creative period’ - The Times

‘Breathtakingly audacious’ - The Sunday Times

‘The Greatest achievement in a career peak packed decade’ - Classic Rock

‘Captured the imagination of a generation’ - Uncut

Parlophone is proud to announce that remastered versions of DAVID BOWIE’s classic albums LOW, "HEROES", STAGE (2017 version 3 x LP, 2 x CD), LODGER and SCARY MONSTERS (And Super Creeps) are to be released individually on audiophile vinyl, CD, Mastered For iTunes and standard digital. Hi-res digital downloads in 24-bit/192kHz and 24-bit/96kHz are also available.

The albums were remastered for the critically acclaimed ‘A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN (1977 – 1982)’, which includes the ‘Berlin Trilogy’ of albums on which Bowie collaborated with Tony Visconti and Brian Eno, and is the third in a series of box sets spanning Bowie's career including ‘FIVE YEARS (1969-1973)’ and ‘WHO CAN I BE NOW? (1974-1976)’.

DAVID BOWIE 2017 REMASTERED VINYL TRACK LISTINGS:

LOW
Released on RCA PL 12030 (U.K.) / CPL1-2030 (U.S.) on 14th January, 1977.

Side 1
1. Speed Of Life
2. Breaking Glass
3. What In The World
4. Sound And Vision
5. Always Crashing In The Same Car
6. Be My Wife
7. A New Career In A New Town

Side 2
1. Warszawa
2. Art Decade
3. Weeping Wall
4. Subterraneans

“HEROES"
Released on RCA PL 12522 (U.K.) / AFL1-2522 (U.S.) on 14th October, 1977.

Side 1
1. Beauty And The Beast
2. Joe The Lion
3. "Heroes"
4. Sons Of The Silent Age
5. Blackout

Side 2
1. V-2 Schneider
2. Sense Of Doubt
3. Moss Garden
4. Neuköln
5. The Secret Life Of Arabia

STAGE 2017 VERSION
Originally released on RCA PL 02913 (U.K.) / CPL2-2913 (U.S.) on 8th September, 1978.

2017 version released on Parlophone as part of ‘A New Career In A New Town’ on 29th September, 2017

Side 1
1. Warszawa
2. "Heroes"
3. What In The World

Side 2
1. Be My Wife
2. The Jean Genie
3. Blackout
4. Sense Of Doubt

Side 3
1. Speed Of Life
2. Breaking Glass
3. Beauty And The Beast
4. Fame

Side 4
1. Five Years
2. Soul Love
3. Star
4. Hang On To Yourself
5. Ziggy Stardust
6. Suffragette City

Side 5
1. Art Decade
2. Alabama Song
3. Station To Station

Side 6
1. Stay
2. TVC 15

LODGER
Released on RCA PL 13254 (U.K.) / APL1-3254 (U.S.) on 18th May, 1979.

Side 1
1. Fantastic Voyage
2. African Night Flight
3. Move On
4. Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Live)
5. Red Sails

Side 2
1. D.J.
2. Look Back In Anger
3. Boys Keep Swinging
4. Repetition
5. Red Money

SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS)
Released on RCA BOWLP 2 (PL 13647) (U.K.) / AQL1-3647 (U.S.) on 12th September, 1980.

Side 1
1. It's No Game (Part 1)
2. Up The Hill Backwards
3. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
4. Ashes To Ashes
5. Fashion

Side 2
1. Teenage Wildlife
2. Scream Like A Baby
3. Kingdom Come
4. Because You're Young
5. It's No Game (Part 2)

David Bowie is… in Bloomingdale’s: Part 2

I ran to the window, Looked through a pane or two”

Yesterday we told you that in celebration of the upcoming David Bowie Is at the Brooklyn Museum exhibition, Bloomingdale’s in New York has two windows given over to some of the exhibits and a few of Freddie Burretti’s 'daywear' outfits that won’t be in the exhibition.

As promised, our montage shows the other window and a shot of David wearing the featured outfit at Union Station, Los Angeles, in March 1973.

The windows will be up through the end of day on January 28th and are at the 60th Street and Lexington Avenue entrance.

Brooklyn is the final stop of the David Bowie Is world tour and it runs from March 2nd to July 15th.

FOOTNOTE: Yes, the original lyric from Panic In Detroit is: “I ran to the window, Looked for a plane or two...” - The other liberty we have taken (which the eagle-eyed among you may have spotted), is the horizontal flipping of the Bowie LA 73 pic. Very naughty.

#DavidBowieIs #DavidBowieIsBKM #BowieBloomingdales

David Bowie is… in Bloomingdale’s

“I see you see me through your window”

As you know, the V&A’s critically acclaimed David Bowie is exhibition will make the final stop of its world tour at the Brooklyn Museum from March 2nd to July 15th.

In celebration of that fact, Bloomingdale’s in New York (1000 Third Avenue, 59th Street and Lexington Avenue), have two windows given over to a few of the exhibition pieces and some Freddie Burretti 'daywear' outfits.

Our montage shows one of the windows and a picture of David wearing the featured outfit at a press conference at the George V Hotel in Paris on May 3rd, 1973.

The windows will be up through the end of day on January 28th. Pop back tomorrow for a snap of the other window.

#DavidBowieIs #DavidBowieIsBKM #BowieBloomingdales

David Bowie: January 8th 1947 - January 10th 2016

#BowieForever

Let’s Dance (Demo) available now

Because my love for you, Would tear my heart in two”

#BowieLetsDance

DAVID BOWIE - LET’S DANCE (DEMO)

VERY SPECIAL DIGITAL ONLY BIRTHDAY SINGLE AVAILABLE HERE NOW

To celebrate what would have been the 71st birthday of David Bowie, the previously unreleased LET’S DANCE (DEMO) is available now as a special digital-only single via Parlophone for streaming and download.

In late 1982, David Bowie was visited at his home in Switzerland by Nile Rodgers to listen to songs for the album that became LET’S DANCE.

Inspired by the new songs that Bowie had written the pair decided to record a set of demos straight away. Without a band, the Montreux Jazz Festival organiser, Claude Nobs, was asked if there were any local musicians that could join the sessions to work on the demos. Turkish born Erdal Kızılçay, who would later work extensively with Bowie on Labyrinth, The Buddha Of Suburbia & 1. Outside, was recruited to play bass along with an unidentified drummer and second guitarist.

On 19th and 20th December, 1982, this makeshift band entered Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland with David Richards (who also worked with Bowie on "Heroes", Under Pressure, Labyrinth, The Buddha Of Suburbia and 1. Outside) engineering. On their first day, they recorded a funky stripped back demo for Let’s Dance.

Thirty five years later the track has been mixed for the first time especially for this release by Nile Rodgers and Russell Graham at Nile’s Le Crib Studios in Westport, Connecticut.

Speaking of those early LET’S DANCE pre-production sessions, Nile Rodgers commented:

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“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career but my creative partnership with David Bowie ranks very, very, very high on the list of my most important and rewarding collaborations. This demo gives you, the fans, a bird's eye view of the very start of it! I woke up on my first morning in Montreux with David peering over me. He had an acoustic guitar in his hands and exclaimed, “Nile, darling, I think this is a HIT!”.
This recording was the first indication of what we could do together as I took his 'folk song' and arranged it into something that the entire world would soon be dancing to and seemingly has not stopped dancing to for the last 35 years! It became the blue print not only for Let’s Dance the song but for the entire album as well.
If you played 2nd guitar or drums let us know who you are!
The time we spent mixing it just before Christmas was full of tears as it felt like David was in the room with us. Happy Birthday David, I love you and we all miss you!".

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At the end of the track, Bowie’s voice can be heard laughing saying "That’s it, that’s it! Got it, got it!”. Within four months ‘LET’S DANCE' would be one of the biggest and most influential hits of the decade.

DAVID BOWIE - LET’S DANCE (DEMO)
(David Bowie)

Produced David Bowie and Nile Rodgers
Engineered by David Richards
Recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland 19th December, 1982
Mixed by Nile Rodgers & Russell Graham at Le Crib Studios November, 2017
Arranged by David Bowie and Nile Rodgers
Vocals: David Bowie
Guitar: Nile Rodgers
Bass: Erdal Kızılçay

Swipe the image for a bigger version of the cover artwork.

No Plan EP Tops 2017 Vinyl Chart

"My-my, Someone fetch a priest…”

On the day that David Bowie’s Beauty And The Beast limited edition 40th-anniversary 7" picture disc is released (today), we thought it relevant to mention that the Official UK Charts Company has announced that Bowie has topped the Official Top 40 biggest selling vinyl singles of 2017 with his No Plan EP.

Along with the #1 placing, Bowie also claims three more spots in the Top 10, and he shares #25 with Placebo.

The Official Top 40 biggest selling vinyl singles of 2017 were:

01 - NO PLAN EP - DAVID BOWIE
02 - THE QUEEN IS DEAD - THE SMITHS
03 - "HEROES" - DAVID BOWIE
04 - WALL OF GLASS - LIAM GALLAGHER
05 - INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE - PINK FLOYD
06 - SOUND AND VISION - DAVID BOWIE
07 - THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE - THE SMITHS
08 - BE MY WIFE - DAVID BOWIE
09 - SPENT THE DAY IN BED - MORRISSEY
10 - HOLY MOUNTAIN - NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS
25 - WITHOUT YOU I'M NOTHING - PLACEBO featuring DAVID BOWIE

In the Official Top 40 biggest selling vinyl albums of 2017, Bowie's greatest hits collection, Legacy, is at #10, while The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars is at #20 and Hunky Dory is #30.

Check out the full article here.

Meanwhile, fans that fancy winning some of that Bowie vinyl should checkout the comments section in the FB version of this story, here.

#BowieNoPlan #BowieLegacy #BowieVinyl