Happy Holidays and thanks for the love throughout 2019.
#BowieForever #PeaceOnEarth
Bowie and Bing with strings
“It's a pretty thing, isn’t it?”
Last month (22nd November), Decca records released Bing At Christmas - Bing Crosby With The London Symphony Orchestra. On the collection is a newly orchestrated version of the David Bowie and Bing Crosby duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.
In celebration of the UK broadcast of Bing Crosby's 1977 Merrie Olde Christmas TV Special (Christmas Eve 1977), on which the duet was first shown (along with "Heroes", see yesterday’s post), Nacho’s Videos has married the new version of the audio to the original footage.
Watch the full thing and read Nacho’s notes regarding the creation of this one here:
FOOTNOTE: Though he has used pretty thing in more than one lyric, today’s Bowie lyric quotation is actually the line Bing says at the end of the duet.
#BowieBing #PeaceOnEarth #NachoBowie
"Heroes" on Bing 1977 gets the Nacho treatment
“For ever and ever”
Back in 2016 we posted the then oft overlooked performance of "Heroes" recorded for Bing Crosby's 1977 Merrie Olde Christmas TV Special.
Notable for the wonderfully bizarre, but nevertheless beautiful David Bowie and Bing Crosby duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy, the broadcast also contained aforementioned video of "Heroes".
In the promo film, Bowie sings one of the most heartfelt and emotional performances of "Heroes" he ever delivered. The vocal was sung over a backing track, with some not so subtle phasing and echo effects on his voice that may well have been added after the event.
Looking amazing, he sings close up straight to camera while he also performs several set mime pieces superimposed along with the main performance.
Now Nacho, along with a little help from Particledots on the audio, has produced a new version without Bing's spoken introduction encroaching on the performance. Go here to view it and to read his notes about how the video was made.
The show was filmed in Elstree just outside London in the UK on September 11th, 1977. Originally broadcast in the US by CBS on the 30th of November 1977, the UK had to wait another month to see exactly what the fuss was being reported in the music weeklies, when the show was finally aired there on Christmas Eve 1977.
FOOTNOTE: The shot of a shirtless Bowie was one of several stills taken during this "Heroes" filming session, though he didn't appear like this in the actual broadcast.
#BowieBing #BowieHeroes #NachoBowie
Tony Visconti on revisiting The Wild Eyed Boy
“For the smile stayed on the face, Of the Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud”
After kicking it off, Tony Visconti also closes the current run of Bowie TV: The Space Oddity Series.
In episode six of this series he talks about revisiting David Bowie’s favourite track on Space Oddity for the 2019 remix.
Bowie TV: The Space Oddity Series - All six episodes available to view:
Bowie TV Episode 18: The Space Oddity: Series Episode 1 - Tony Visconti #1
Bowie TV Episode 19: The Space Oddity: Series Episode 2 - John Hutchinson
Bowie TV Episode 20: The Space Oddity: Series Episode 3 - Bob Harris
Bowie TV Episode 21: The Space Oddity: Series Episode 4 - Ken Scott
Bowie TV Episode 22: The Space Oddity: Series Episode 5 - Vernon Dewhurst
Bowie TV Episode 23: The Space Oddity: Series Episode 6 - Tony Visconti #2
See the Conversation Piece book for DB’s second favourite track on Space Oddity.
#BowieTV
Last Bowie interview of the sixties
“So now you could spend the morning talking with me quite amazed”
If not the last feature, this must be the last actual Bowie interview published in the 1960s. It’s a piece by Kate Simpson in the 20th December 1969 issue of British music magazine, Music Now!, and in the interview, the new star spoke on various subjects including success, money and the failure of the hippy ideal.
Kate was clearly a fan and she talked of her conversion after a recent Bowie show in the introduction to the piece:
“Several people I know see David Bowie as a one-hit-wonder. Until recently I shared their doubts as to his future beyond the song-that-made-him-famous, 'Space Oddity.' Then there was his recent concert at London’s Purcell Room. I changed my mind.
His performance was astounding. He had the audience bewitched with his words, his music, his voice, and his professionalism. With simplicity and sincerity he sang his songs. He has his own style, but also great imagination and versatility.”
You can read the full feature in the Conversation Piece book.
The picture used in the article was from a session by David Bebbington. Bowie is wearing the jacket gifted to him by Calvin Mark Lee, which he wore for Top Of The Pops and the session that was used for the original The World Of David Bowie album cover a few months later. We’ve taken the opportunity to remove the colour cast from the photograph so you can see the jacket in its full splendour.
#BowieBebbington #BowieCalvinMarkLee #SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019
Alabama Song 40th anniversary picture disc
“It’s time to say auf Wiedersehen...“
DAVID BOWIE - ’ALABAMA SONG' LIMITED EDITION 40th ANNIVERSARY 7" PICTURE DISC
14th February 2020 sees the release of the latest special limited DAVID BOWIE 7" picture disc, the 40th-anniversary edition of ‘ALABAMA SONG’.
Originally released in the UK on 15th February, 1980, ‘ALABAMA SONG’ was initially written as a poem by Bertolt Brecht in 1925 and was put to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 play The Little Mahogany. David Bowie was a longstanding Brecht fan and included the song in the setlist for his 1978 Isolar II tour.
The studio version of ‘ALABAMA SONG’ on the A-side of this release was recorded on July 2nd 1978, the day after the final show of the European leg of the tour, at Tony Visconti’s Good Earth Studios in Soho, London.
The AA-Side features two previously unreleased tracks; A rendition of “Heroes” track ‘JOE THE LION’ recorded at the soundcheck of the tour’s final Earls Court show on the 1st July 1978. Though rehearsed for the Isolar II tour ‘JOE THE LION’ would not make its live debut until the Serious Moonlight tour of 1983.
The second track on the AA-side is a live version of ‘ALABAMA SONG’ also recorded July 1st 1978—a different performance than the one featured on the live album Welcome To The Blackout.
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DAVID BOWIE - ’ALABAMA SONG' LIMITED EDITION 40th ANNIVERSARY 7" PICTURE DISC
A-Side (45 r.p.m)
ALABAMA SONG
(Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht)
Produced by DAVID BOWIE and TONY VISCONTI
Recorded at GOOD EARTH STUDIOS, LONDON on 2nd July, 1978
AA-Side (33 1/3 r.p.m)
1 JOE THE LION
(LIVE EARLS COURT ’78 SOUNDCHECK) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
(David Bowie)
Recorded live by TONY VISCONTI with the MANOR MOBILE at EARLS COURT, LONDON, 1st July, 1978 Recording engineered by JEREMY ALLOM and KEN CAPPER
Mixed by JOHN PRESTAGE at AIR Studios, London, July, 2019
2 ALABAMA SONG
(LIVE EARLS COURT ’78) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
(Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht)
Produced by DAVID BOWIE
Recorded live by TONY VISCONTI with the MANOR MOBILE at EARLS COURT, LONDON, 1st July, 1978 Recording engineered by JEREMY ALLOM and KEN CAPPER
Mixed by DAVID BOWIE and DAVID RICHARDS at MOUNTAIN STUDIOS, MONTREUX, 17th - 22nd January, 1979.
The images used on the A and B sides of the picture disc are by (A-side) DEAN CHAMBERLAIN © THE DAVID BOWIE ARCHIVE® (AA-Side) CHRIS WALTER © CHRIS WALTER COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
‘ALABAMA SONG’ is released on Parlophone 14th February 2020.
#DBALAS40 #BowieVinyl
How Bowie waved bye bye to the 70s on SNL
“And now he is a puppet dancer”
Forty years ago today a whole new persuasion of young Americans awoke having been converted by David Bowie’s appearance on Saturday Night Live the previous evening.
For it was on 15th December 1979 that this live broadcast in New York had a similarly persuasive effect on a receptive group of US youngsters that Starman on TOTPs in 1972 and the BBC’s 1975 Cracked Actor documentary had on UK teenagers.
Of course, the youth of America looking for something new had already had their hearts and minds captured by broadcasts of both The 1980 Floor Show and The Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture more than half a decade earlier, but the SNL appearance helped to cast the net further.
Bowie performed The Man Who Sold The World, TVC 15 and Boys Keep Swinging, with Klaus Nomi, Joey Arias and a toy pink poodle/TV monitor all making extraordinary guest appearances. The show was hosted by actor Martin Sheen.
For The Man Who Sold The World Bowie was lifted and positioned in front of the microphone by Klaus and Joey in a costume designed by Mark Ravitz and Bowie, inspired by Sonia Delaunay’s designs for Tristan Tzara’s 1923 play Le Cœur à gaz (The Gas Heart).
The skirt suit that David is wearing on the right of our montage was designed by Brooks Van Horn costume house, New York, and was worn for TVC 15, the song that also showcased aforementioned pink poodle.
The other picture shows DB operating a puppet while utilising green-screen technology for Boys Keep Swinging to hilarious effect.
In an absurd move the show’s producers blanked the line “Other boys check you out” but seemingly missed the puppet’s obvious excitement at the climax of the song.
Words cannot do Bowie’s SNL appearance justice, suffice to say, it remains among the most surreal television performances broadcast anywhere, ever.
If you've never seen this piece of TV history, prepare to be captivated by all three songs here on Vimeo.
#BowieSNL #BowieBKS
Bowie Official Store exclusive Supro deal
“The bitter comes out better on a Supro guitar”
Save $400 (40%) on Bowie Limited Edition Dual Tone Guitar.
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.”
#SuproBowie #BowieStore
Are you on the map yet?
“Look out world you know I've got mine”
Have you been lucky enough to pick up a silver or gold vinyl copy of Tony Visconti's 2019 Mix of the Space Oddity album?
If so, don’t forget to plot your spot 📍 on the Space Oddity coloured vinyl map to receive an exclusive David Bowie tote bag.
#SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019 #SpaceOddity2019TVmix
Bowie’s 1999 appearance on Later
“Never saw in all my life a more shining Jools”
David Bowie’s 2nd appearance on BBC TWO’s Later... with Jools Holland, was broadcast twenty years ago this evening, 4th December 1999.
Recorded a few days earlier on 30th November while DB was in London for his mini tour to promote "hours...", the full performance was never broadcast. Five and a half songs and an interview were taped, with just four songs and part of the interview shown on the night.
Ashes To Ashes, Something In The Air, Survive and Cracked Actor were shown, but Changes (partial) and I’m Afraid Of Americans were not.
It was a hugely powerful performance by DB and the band, you can view Cracked Actor on the BBC site here.
Go here to view a few backstage pictures of DB taken after the recording:
#BowieLaterJools #BowieAtTheBBC
The last London Bowie show of the 20th century
“We played our songs and felt the London sky”
David Bowie was in London twenty years ago today (2nd December 1999), for his last London concert of the 20th century, with the now demolished Astoria as the venue of choice.
The show followed a signing session at the Virgin Megastore earlier the same day. The Astoria gig was part of a mini tour to promote "hours...".
A powerful 18-song set kicked off with an emotionally charged version of Life On Mars?, performed by David and Mike Garson. Here’s the full setlist:
Life On Mars?
Word On A Wing
Thursday’s Child
Ashes To Ashes
Survive
Can’t Help Thinking About Me
China Girl
Always Crashing In The Same Car
Something In The Air
Drive-In Saturday
Stay
Seven
Changes
Rebel Rebel
Encore:
Repetition
The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell
Cracked Actor
I'm Afraid Of Americans
The musicians for the mini tour were alphabetically: David Bowie (vocals, 12-string guitar), Sterling Campbell (drums), Gail Ann Dorsey (bass guitar), Mike Garson (keyboards), Emm Gryner (backing vocals), Page Hamilton (lead guitar), Holly Palmer (backing vocals) and Mark Plati (guitar, bass guitar).
Though filmed for Japanese TV, to the best of our knowledge the show was never broadcast.
Go here to view a few pictures taken at both events, twenty years ago today.
#BowieByBlam
CYBER WEEK has started!
For those of you that don't subscribe to the David Bowie Official Store newsletter, CYBER WEEK has started!
Offer ends 11:59pm ET on 8th December 2019. Excludes media and items printed on demand.
#BowieStore
Bowie at The Palladium fifty years ago tonight
“And the magic in the stare, Of the Wild Eyed Boy”
On 30th November, 1969, David Bowie performed solo versions of Space Oddity and Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud at the ‘Save Rave ‘69’ charity concert at the London Palladium.
Performing in front of a backdrop featuring a NASA astronaut, David agreed to the appearance which was a benefit concert for the Invalid Children’s Aid Association.
The president of the association was lucky enough to meet the young new chart star afterwards (see inset pic), and coincidentally, David had already met the president’s sister, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a young boy...but that’s a whole other story.
Others in the line-up with David presented to Princess Margaret included Dusty Springfield (whose rehearsal for the event had apparently impressed DB greatly), and Tiny Tim who seemed to be struggling to present something to Margaret from a carrier bag.
Tiny Tim had recorded the Williams/Rose composition, Fill Your Heart, on the B-side of his Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me 45 in 1968. Bowie would later release his own version of the song on Hunky Dory in 1971.
FOOTNOTE: Apologies to whoever took the pictures in today's montage. Ray Stevenson did take the superb shots used for the recent Space Oddity double 45 box, but not sure any of these are his.
#SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019
Survive video shot twenty years ago today
“And I’m floating in a most peculiar way”
Twenty years ago today (26th November 1999), the second and final day of filming for the Survive video at Tower Bridge Studio in London, wrapped.
Survive was the follow up single to Thursday's Child and the videos for both were directed by Walter Stern.
Both tracks were taken from the 'hours...' album, though the video features an edit of the Marius de Vries Mix of Survive.
For twenty years, the mystery of how David Bowie managed his remarkable feat of levitation in the video has left (some) viewers scratching their heads.
SPOILER ALERT: It's all done with wires, as you can see from our montage.
If you’re a member of the BOWIE KOOKS Facebook page, you can view a few more behind-the-scenes snaps here.
#BowieHours
Join the silver and gold Space Oddity world map
“Mustn't grumble at silver and gold”
Have you been lucky enough to pick up a silver or gold vinyl copy of Tony Visconti's 2019 Mix of the Space Oddity album?
If so, you might want to declare your treasure on the specially created Space Oddity 2019 World Map and win yourself a tote bag while you're about it.
Take a picture of yourself holding your copy and go here to join in.
All should be clear once you've watched the short How It Works video.
#SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019 #SpaceOddity2019TVmix
Bowie on The Southbank Fifty years ago tonight
“I can work the scene babe”
David Bowie’s concert at the Purcell Room on London’s Southbank on 20th November, 1969, was a real ‘sliding doors’ moment for him.
By all accounts his performance was astonishing, but sadly there was no press aside from a solitary reporter from The Observer to spread the word.
Here’s a small excerpt from manager Kenneth Pitt’s Bowie – The Pitt Report.
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The concert at the Purcell Room was a personal triumph for David. It started promptly at 7.30 and every seat was occupied by an invited audience and others who had paid either ten, eight or five shillings for their ticket. Juniors Eyes were on the bill, also a band from David's neighbourhood named Comus, in which he was showing an interest. David performed superbly, faultlessly.
There were a few people who were disappointed that he should accompany Space Oddity acoustically when he had all the musicians necessary for a sound more akin to the record. Gus Dudgeon thought to himself “Oh no, you can't do this David.”
Perhaps this was part of David’s determination to resist the pressure from a hit record: his way of saying that Space Oddity, to him, was not the most important of his songs he was singing that night.
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We’ll leave you with the setlist…consider for one minute just how good it must have been to hear.
Buzz The Fuzz
Port Of Amsterdam
Space Oddity
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
London Bye Ta Ta
Karma Man
Cygnet Committee
Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed
Janine
Occasional Dream
The Width Of The Circle
Letter To Hermione
Conversation Piece
Memory Of A Free Festival
God Knows I’m Good
FOOTNOTE: Titles listed as presented on the PRS form.
#SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019
Bowie at the Kit Kat Klub 20 years ago tonight
“And there's something in the air”
On 19th November 1999, David Bowie played to an invited audience of fans and contest winners for a gig promoting 'hours...' at the Kit Kat Klub in New York.
The show was recorded and filmed for a webcast the following month via Liveonline.net. If this wasn't the first broadcast of a live show on the web, then it was certainly among the very first. However, it seems the web wasn't quite ready yet as the viewing experience wasn't particularly smooth.
A 12-track bootleg of the show was enjoyed by fans in the absence of any official release, though the source was most likely the official 12-track promotional CD pictured in our montage.
Compare that against the 17-track setlist to identify the five missing tracks.
At the time, cub reporter Andrew Barding wrote a review for Paul Kinder’s brilliant BowieWonderWorld, accompanied by pictures taken by BowieNetters and BowieWonderWorlders at the show.
Andy has revisited the evening and has sent us a new review that captures the moment beautifully.
Over to you, Andy.
#BowieKitKatKlub #BowieHours
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David Bowie Kit Kat Klub 19th November, 1999, by Andy Barding
Take it from someone old enough to remember – the end of the 20th century was a mad old time.
The technological breakthroughs we witnessed in the 1990s were spectacular, but they sent us all a bit loopy. Life was exciting, for sure, but we were struggling to grasp all the new concepts that our inventions were offering us. Remember the “Millennium Bug”? Remember wondering if it would suck planes from the sky, or cause a rift in space-time?
David Bowie, ever the curious little alien, had already thoroughly explored the paranoia of these ultimately anti-climatic non-end times through the pagan savagery of 1.Outside and the techno-fear of EART HL I NG... the first in a trio of albums to be perpetually misnamed by his audience.
Concerts around those releases had been agreeably stark and mysterious – both artful and confrontational. Classic Bowie, you could say.
But by 1999, Bowie had changed (again). He had become readier than ever to reflect on what had happened and on what might come to be in his life. He released a new album full of uncharacteristically pensive, emotional reminiscences and called it ‘hours...’ Everybody else called it Hours.
Meanwhile, the internet was his new obsession. Bowienet, launched in 1998, had been steadily growing over the year but it was nothing like as huge as it would become. There were one or two rudimentary fan sites, too. By today’s scale, this was all very small fry. But it must have been a big enough buzz in 1999 to spark a light-bulb moment for Bowie: “Let’s play a gig! And let’s make it free! And let’s open it up to these kids on the internet!”
And so we emerged, blinking, out of the chilly Autumnal night into a warm little Manhattan nightclub. We, the faithful and true of the internet, had been summoned by fan-site contests, via newsgroup invitations, by promotional emails and other electronic tittle-tattle. We were brought to this place by bits and bytes, a virtual global community united for the first time. We had been handed identical laminate passes to hang around our necks, but we were strangers when we met. We had come from all over the (real) world for this. And it’s very easy to underestimate, two decades on, the importance of that moment.
And so we sat, or stood – either around or in front of little cocktail tables lit by little lamps. When Bowie and Mike Garson stepped silently onstage to open the show with a stripped-back ‘Life On Mars?’ It couldn’t have felt more intimate. This was a supper date for no more than a cool couple of hundred of us.
As the tiny stage filled with musicians, the gig seemed no less informal. ‘Thursday’s Child’, fleshed out by a full band, sounded big and bold, and ‘Always Crashing In The Same Car’ gathered enough swing to get the crowd bouncing.
Somewhere in the set, ‘Something In The Air’ crept in to mash my head. I could only stand agog as I bore witness to what I truly consider to be Bowie’s finest vocal performance, ever. With his eyes snapped shut, and his throat visibly rippling, I saw his breath fly like a jet of steam from his mouth into the smoky air of the Kit Kat. Such power! He sang like his flight home to London depended on it. A remarkable performance and one which I will never forget. As you can probably tell.
There were no lame ducks in the set. ‘Can’t Help Thinking About Me’ rocked like it probably did in the 60s, and a dusted-down ‘Ashes To Ashes (complete with Mark Plati funky bass parts – he and near-birthday girl Gail Ann Dorsey had swopped instruments for the song) was a genuine and welcome surprise.
David was witty and wicked: “I told you it should have been the single,” he muttered very obviously to Page ‘Helmet’ Hamilton after the rousing reception for ‘Drive-In Saturday’. Then to the first few rows: “Industry joke”. And to the record label freeloaders on the balcony: “Or maybe not.”
So it went on. David picked up a harmonica to rock like a bastard through ‘Cracked Actor’, took the vibe back down for a sublime ‘Survive’, then brought it back to business with a guitar-heavy ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans’.
Bowie would go on to pull plenty more rabbits out of his hat for us in future years, of course. But this night in the Kit Kat Klub was the time that felt most special to us fans who were lucky enough to be there. The division lines between his characters are easy to draw – Ziggy is as different from the Thin White Duke as the Soul Tour is to Tin Machine – but this little show is a line in the sand, too. It marked the beginning of a new relationship between Bowie and his audience.
And it was a cracking good way to see out the century.
FOOTNOTE: The photos here are by Alison Hale. I met her at a Bowie gig in Birmingham in 1990 and we became partners in life as well as partners on future Bowie adventures. The pictures she got with a smuggled camera over so many Bowie shows were truly amazing, and her Kit Kat Klub photos – snatched under the glare of security personnel – are among her best. Sadly, Alison passed away in 2012.
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Goodbye Terry O’Neill
“To be right in that photograph”
As you will know, this morning, Iconic Images announced the sad passing of Terry O’Neill, who has died at the age of 81.
Bowie fans will be familiar with his work, not only through the recent Bowie by O’Neill book and the many times we have focused on his pictures here, but also through the myriad newspaper and music weekly spreads. For UK fans at least, these publications were always a very welcome first glimpse of each new Bowie project, particularly during the years from 1973 to 1976.
It's hard to imagine the impact of picture-led Bowie features once Bowie left the UK. Hungry for news and pictures of David's latest activities, fans would be particularly grateful for Terry’s beautiful pictures, and as David himself once said: “The great thing about Terry was that I was always guaranteed a centrespread in the papers after a photo session with him.”
One such item was the Melody Maker exclusive published in October 1974, partially pictured here. Sadly, this is among the sessions for which the original negatives have been lost…which is why we featured it. The picture of Terry bottom right in our montage was taken during that very session, captured for posterity by the BBC while filming Alan Yentob’s Cracked Actor.
David’s gratitude was reciprocated by Terry, as highlighted when he compiled the images for Bowie by O'Neill: “When I first started to collect all my images and contact sheets of David Bowie, I didn’t realize how many I had! That first phone call I received to work with Bowie resulted in a real partnership between us; I was lucky enough to get that call and smart enough to say yes. He was a one-of-a kind, always changing and a true genius. It gives me great pleasure to be able to share with the world the images I captured and my memories of working with this extraordinary artist. He has the most loyal fans I’ve ever come across and I truly hope this book brings them a lot of joy.”
We'll leave you with this morning's announcement.
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Terry O’Neill CBE, 30th July 1938 – 16th November 2019
It is with a heavy heart that Iconic Images announces the passing of Terry O’Neill, CBE.
Terry was a class act, quick witted and filled with charm. Anyone who was lucky enough to know or work with him can attest to his generosity and modesty. As one of the most iconic photographers of the last 60 years, his legendary pictures will forever remain imprinted in our memories as well as in our hearts and minds.
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#BOWIEbyONEILL #BowieAtTheMarquee #BowieDiamondDogs
Stream Space Oddity 2019 now – coloured vinyl out Friday
“I found the secrets I found the gold”
As you know, today (14th November) is the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s 1969 album which became better known as Space Oddity.
To mark the occasion, Tony Visconti's 2019 Mix of Space Oddity is available to stream now, if it’s past midnight of Wednesday into Thursday where you are.
Tomorrow (Friday 15th November) sees the physical release of Tony Visconti's 2019 Mix of Space Oddity. This vinyl version of the album has been randomly distributed worldwide with a mix of hand-numbered labels.
Of these, numbers 1 - 1969 will be on silver-coloured vinyl and 1970 - 2019 will be on gold-coloured vinyl. The remainder will be black. The two coloured versions of the vinyl are pictured in the video here.
Pre-order here.
#SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019 #SpaceOddity2019TVmix
Tony Visconti’s Space Oddity liner notes on Apple Music
“And I can't see the water, For the tears in my eyes”
You've possibly noticed by now that 14th November marked the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s 1969 album, David Bowie (aka Space Oddity).
As you also probably know, Tony Visconti's 2019 mix of the album has been released on streaming services in celebration.
His extended liner notes also feature on Apple Music, from where this excerpt regarding his memories of Conversation Piece, which never made the original cut of the album.
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Conversation Piece (2019 Mix)
“This was really hard to leave off [the original vinyl]. That was a tragedy. We had three very long tracks ‘Cygnet Committee’ ate up the space of three songs and on vinyl, you only had 20 minutes before you hit the out groove. If you went over the 20-minute mark, you would get one dB lower, for every minute over.
This is a very, very sad song. Only years later, I realised that the person in the song who tells the story jumped off a bridge and drowned. That made me make a more sad mix. I was in a space like, ‘This has got to come off with a lot of gravity in the mix,’ even though it’s kind of bouncy. There’s a way of mixing a bouncy song a little sadder. Not make it so bright. It’s one of my favourite, favourite songs. I loved playing it live.”
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Listen now on Apple Music
#SpaceOddity50 #DBCP2019 #SpaceOddity2019TVmix #AppleMusicBowie