Ten years ago David Bowie''s death shook the world. An inventor, a seeker, a musical chameleon and an ace vocalist who was at the forefront for four decades. He brought a touch of avant-garde into the mainstream.
While he left an impressive stack of studio albums, it's important to remember that he was a force on stage. Watch full shows filmed at the Loreley Festival in Germany (1996), celebrating his 50th birthday @ Madison Square Garden in New York (1997), and at L'Oympia in Paris (2002).
David Bowie's performance on the 8th September, 2003 @ Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London, will be released as a 2LP and CD on for Record Store Day (April 12). Ready, Set, Go! (Live, Riverside Studios ’03) contains the Reality album in its entirety, plus Hallo Spaceboy from Outside, and Cactus and Afraid from Heathen.
The show was broadcasted live and it was the first time that the audio was available in 5.1 DTS surround sound, a feat overseen by producer Tony Visconti. Footage of New Killer Star is up on YouTube.
Bass maestro Tony Levin has worked with a lot of the big guns. He looks back on some of those sessions in an interview with Vulture. On recording The Next Day with David Bowie:
I had to be working on a Sunday, which was the wedding day of a close friend of mine. I was to be the best man at that wedding. This close friend was a David Bowie fan. Here was my conundrum: What do I tell him? Do I turn down the session to be there for the wedding or do I do the opposite? Should I tell him at all? I was sworn to secrecy by the production team, so it was tricky. The compromise I came up with was I did say no to the Sunday session, but I did the Saturday session, which meant I wasn’t there for the rehearsals of the wedding. And I didn’t tell my friend. I had to be like, “I’m sorry, I can’t be your best man. I can only be there at the wedding.” So how’s that for a cryptic compromise? About a year later, I had, frankly, forgotten about this secret session and the album coming out. But the producer, Tony Visconti, emailed me at midnight of the day it could be spoken about. Immediately, I called my friend and said, “Remember when I couldn’t make the rehearsal dinner? I was doing a David Bowie session. I hope you appreciate that and forgive me for not telling you about it.” He did, thank God.
His new solo album Bringing It Down to the Bass is available here.
English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1972, discussing albums by David Bowie, Roxy Music, The Rolling Stones, T-Rex, and a whole lot more. This is part #1 about this year. The pair can be watched on YouTube as well.
English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted another video of their live version of their podcast The Album Years @ West Hampstead Arts Club in London on June 7th. They go on about the most mentioned artists: Momus, John Martyn & Nick Drake, Van Morrison, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Talk Talk, Scott Walker, Robert Fripp and Peter Hammill.
English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1987, discussing albums by Roger Waters, Yes, Pink Floyd, and a whole lot more. This is part #2A, the third episode about this year.
Watch The Last Town Chorus' promo video for her version of the David Bowie classic Modern Love. It was released on her Wire Waltz album in 2006.
Watch the Bauhaus promo video for their take on the David Bowie classic Ziggy Stardust. The clip directed by Mick Calvert for Standard Pictures in 1982.
English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1995, discussing album by Tricky, Goldie, Radiohead, David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Scott Walker, Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and a whole lot more.
Boston indie singer Leah Callahan navigates between pop and art-rock on her new album Cut-Ups. It is a collection of songs about relationships. The good ones (Let's Go Dance) and the bad ones (Diabolique) are covered as equals with lush '80s arrangements, as she takes a scalpel to her love life, making small incisions with deceptively straightforward lyrics. The suicide of the very successful Cordelia is used as a wake-up call not to chase after fame at all cost, but cherish some kind of anonymity.
As a veteran of the scene - she was a member of Turkish Delight, Betwixt, and The Glass Set - she knows what it takes to make a mark, basking in the spotlights. She can be a self-deprecating Enfant Terrible or go all out with the ode to night life City Lights, when the possibilities seem endless and the hassles of everyday life take a back seat to living in the moment. On the album's sole cover, David Bowie's Look Back in Anger, Callahan sings both lead and backing vocals, just like her hero did. It is not a slavish reproduction, but a tribute to a man who has been ingrained into her musical DNA as a major touchstone for decades.
Tape Op has posted a new episode of their DISCussion podcast series. They get on the phone with an artist or producer to discuss an album they love. In episode 26 Deep Sea Diver singer, guitarist and keyboard player Jessica Dobson talks about the David Bowie album Scary Monsters.
There have been quite a few documentaries about David Bowie but when director Brett Morgen (Cobain: Montage of Heck) does yet another one, it might be worth watching. Moonage Daydream will be in cinemas in September. A teaser is now up on YouTube.
Watch David Bowie tackle the Iggy Pop classic Lust for Life. Recorded live at the Rockpalast Open Air Festival 1996 @ Loreley, St. Goarshausen, Germany - June 22, 1996. They wrote the song as a team in 1976 and it became the title track for Iggy's album that was released in 1977.
Watch David Bowie and Moby perform the Pixies classic Cactus live on the Jay Leno '02 tour.
Watch an animation by The Brothers McLeod of David Bowie explaining why he wore a clown suit in the Ashes to Ashes video.
Watch Phish tackle the David Bowie classic Life on Mars? live @ The Clifford Ball, Platsburgh, NY 1996/08/16. Released on The Clifford Ball box set in 2009.
A previously unreleased David Bowie show will be released for Record Store Day (June 20) as a 2LP and 2CD. I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) was recorded in the USA. The setlist previewed some of the songs that would end up on his Young Americans album:
Taken from recently discovered sources in The David Bowie Archive®, I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) was recorded mostly during David’s performance at the Michigan Palace, Detroit on 20th October, 1974, with the encores taken from the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville on 30th November, 1974. The only song missing from the full set on the 20th October performance is ‘Diamond Dogs’ which was unfortunately only recorded in part. To make up for that it was decided to include the encores from the 30th November performance which featured ‘Diamond Dogs’ but also enables a fuller representation of the set from The Soul Tour including such numbers as ‘Knock On Wood’ and the ‘Foot Stomping / I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate’ medley.
The folks at Mattel try to cash in on the 50th anniversary of Space Oddity with a Barbie doll dressed in Ziggy Stardust attire. From The Guardian:
Complete with red boots to match a backcombed mane of hair and a striped jumpsuit, plus some cosmic accessories and face paint, Barbie replicates the look of Bowie’s bisexual messenger from the stars – though her usual pleasant smile doesn’t quite match the intense stare usually associated with the character.
Can somebody explain to the Yanks that Space Oddity was released three years before David Bowie's creation of his alter ego?
BBC Radio 2 dedicates a show to the 50th anniversary of Space Oddity, the song that got David Bowie his break after he had been struggling for years to make a mark. The shows airs on July 13th at 21:00:
July 2019 is the 50th anniversary not only of the Apollo moon landing but of the original release of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ single, which was his first ever hit. ‘One Giant Step’ examines the origins and legacy of ‘Space Oddity’ – arguably Bowie’s best known song, and its importance as a shadowy presence throughout his whole career cannot be underestimated. With new interviews from those who were there – including musicians, record company personnel and friends – as well as archive and unbroadcast interviews with David and producer Gus Dudgeon – we track ‘Major Tom’ from ‘Space Oddity’, through ‘Ashes to Ashes’ ‘Hello Spaceboy’ to ‘Blackstar’ with unheard studio outtakes and live performances. Contributors include: Pet Shop Boys, Dana Gillespie, Kevin Cann, and Olav Wyper.
David Bowie's Revolutionary Song baked by Marlene Dietrich singing Just A Gigolo will be released on a split 7" for Record Store Day.
After legendary English musician David Bowie started his movie career by playing the lead in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) he was starring in Just a Gigolo Bowie contributed a piece of music to the film; his so-called "Revolutionary Song", played by a band called The Rebels. Later it became a collector's item. Besides this track the 7-inch include the 1928 title song Just a Gigolo, performed by Marlene Dietrich. It was her last film appearance and last song she recorded during her lifetime.
Limited to 10,000 (other sources mention 8,000) numbered copies on blue vinyl.
