My Set Is Amazing

Q magazine have a feature this month called MAD PROPS.

They trawl through a long list of artists and their props, from Alice Cooper to Slipknot. First to be mentioned in the article is our hero. David Bowie : The telephone

What was it for: On his Glass Spider tour, Bowie would be lowered from atop his spider in a chair while giving it some "0898". A Trimphone version also appeared on the '74 Diamond Dogs tour: Bowie would clamber into a giant mechanical hand which extended out over the audience while he sung Space Oddity.

Greatest Moment: When the mechanical hand broke. "David had to crawl back down the pole," said producer Tony Visconti. "The fans were trying to grab his bottom."

The caption on the photo says : " Hello, is that the hairdresser's? I want to complain about a defective mullet."....lol

How about a stage full of 'toys' for the next tour?

Thanks, Spaceface!

Bowiewonderworld Competition

BowieWonderworld.com Competition number 7 is now on, featuring one grand prize winner and two runners up.

Each winner gets a copy of The Complete David Bowie book... and the grand prize winner also gets to delve into the LW vault and choose 3 items.

Thanks, Paul!

2001: A Rock Odyssey

Future Legends

"Dennis Hopper? More like Sir Laurence Olivier!" ...was the response I got from the flamboyant Mr Michael Rock when I informed him that a popular UK music weekly had labelled him the "Dennis Hopper of rock photography". I met living image-grabber Rock, (real name Rock) in London earlier this year, while he was over to promote his Raw Power book, that excellent record of Iggy and the Stooges at their animalistic peak. Well, Mick has some more product available for public consumption: 'Legends of Rock...The Legendary Photographs of Mick Rock' which comes in the shape of a 2001 calendar.

The calendar features a different Mick Rock session for each of its months, with more than a few breathtaking pictures to satisfy your Bowie-hungry niece this Christmas. Every month has a few words from Mick regarding each session. David is the featured artist for January, and Mick had this to say about the day before that fateful announcement on July 3rd 1973:

"DAVID BOWIE - SUMMER OF 1973 - This photo was taken at Hammersmith Odeon. The night before, a wide-eyed Bowie pulled me aside. "This is it, it's over. Tomorrow's the last show. Don't tell anyone." I didn't believe him, but he announced it during the encore. It was indeed 'La Fin de Ziggy'."

Go here to order a copy of the calendar online and click on the picture above to see what other months are related to David...and to see who else gets the 'preserved for posterity' treatment from Sir Larry...and (pant, pant) for your chance to win one of these beauties for yourself.

Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)

My Set Is Amazing

Q magazine have a feature this month called MAD PROPS.

They trawl through a long list of artists and their props, from Alice Cooper to Slipknot. First to be mentioned in the article is our hero. David Bowie : The telephone

What was it for: On his Glass Spider tour, Bowie would be lowered from atop his spider in a chair while giving it some "0898". A Trimphone version also appeared on the '74 Diamond Dogs tour: Bowie would clamber into a giant mechanical hand which extended out over the audience while he sung Space Oddity.

Greatest Moment: When the mechanical hand broke. "David had to crawl back down the pole," said producer Tony Visconti. "The fans were trying to grab his bottom."

The caption on the photo says : " Hello, is that the hairdresser's? I want to complain about a defective mullet."....lol

How about a stage full of 'toys' for the next tour?

Thanks, Spaceface!

Pumpkins In Halloween Mancunian Mystery

Cha cha cha cha chan...er....chia?

It's Holiday Season, and you know what that means. Time to go out and find the perfect gift for your loved ones, spreading holiday cheer around like a budding Chia Pet. Huh?

now BowieNutters squeakie and kelmarsupervixen have come up with the ideal gift for your dearest Bowie fan - the ultimate in cha cha changes...I mean cha cha Chia!

Thanks, Squeakie

Rock The Vote!

We know, we know you've heard more than enough about voting and elections to hold you over for a good long while. BUT, hang tight because you know it's almost over. In the spirit of yanking levers and letting your voice be heard, Dot Music is hosting this year's People's Choice Award for the best music site on the Internet. In their words,

"If there is a special site out there in cyberspace that knocks spots off the rest, or if you can't tear yourself away from your favourite artist's site then vote for it here."

The polls are open until November 16th. So if you're an American and all this talk about elections makes you wanna vote again on something, here's your chance! And if you're in Europe, here's your chance to join in the voting frenzy (as if you're not sick to death of it by now....)!

Roseland

Less than one week....

Until more footage from David Bowie's concert in New York will be featured here. Stay tuned!

Pumpkins In Halloween Mancunian Mystery

Halloween erm...what's-his-name...is a real cool cat

The Smashing Pumpkins played their very last UK concerts last week, and for their Halloween show at Manchester Apollo they displayed an uncharacteristic sense of humour. Before Billy and the band returned to the stage for an encore of '1979', an announcer introduced some special guests, including David Beckham, to mark The Pumpkins' last ever performance in Manchester.

Our very own bald bloke in a dress, Curly Stockton, was there: "The boos soon turned to cheers when we realised that Becks was actually Billy Corgan in a United strip. The rest of the band followed, all made up as famous Mancunians; Melissa Auf Der Maur was dressed as Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice to you young Americans), then James Iha came on as that geezer from Man City, and Jimmy Chamberlain was convincing as George Best. The two keyboard players looked happy to be the Gallagher brothers."

But what's all this got to do with the picture above of Warren Beaty in Shampoo, I hear you mumble. Well look again. Does that hairdo look familiar, and those trademark shades? But what about that mouth...Hmmm, something not quite right here. Solve the puzzle by clicking on the strange fellow's nose.

Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)

Turkish Delight For Christmas?

"I kiss you, I like sex, I invitate you..."

...so went David Bowie's introduction to the audience of his Kit Kat club show in New York almost exactly a year ago (19th November 1999). "You haven't got a clue what I'm talking about..." he continued. Some of us knew what he was referring to, and a year later everybody knows exactly what he was talking about, as Mahir Cagri rockets ever closer toward unintentional world domination.

As Spaceface pointed out yesterday, Mahir enters the pop arena next month with the sublime 'I Kiss You'. The track is released as a 3-track CD single (CDS SNOG 001) and a cassette single on the EMI subsidiary, Liberty, on December 11th, and the smart money is on Mahir's debut being a UK Christmas number one! The song is already a hit in chez Blam Blam, and it is really quite touching to hear my children wandering around signing: "My eyes are green, I have car, I like music, I watch the stars."

The track itself is certainly in keeping with the type of release that populates the top of the UK chart these days, a sort of bizarre hybrid of Yello's 'I Love You' and any recent Madonna offering. And for those of you that consider a single edit nowhere enough of the good looking, not-that-young Turk, don't fret...The CD not only contains a 'banging' seven minute mix of 'I Kiss You', but also Mahir's own heart-wrenching 'Message To The World', which, had Bono done the voice-over instead of Mahir, honestly wouldn't be out of place on the new U2 album.

This time next year? Mahir for President of Earth? At least I'm sure there would be no need for a recount!

Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)

Vote For Bowienet!

Don't worry, this controvertial "butterfly" ballot making news in the U.S. elections in Florida is NOT the one you have to use to cast your vote for BowieNet. Instead, all you have to do is go to Dot Music and cast your vote for this year's People's Choice Award for the best music site on the Internet. You still have one more week to get your vote in. Oh, and, er....read that ballot carefully, please.....

The Return Of Mahir!! : He Sings!!!!

Benzedrine records have this just in! I don't know about you, but I just cannot wait to listen to this one!

According to Music365, "Internet legend and unlikely sex symbol Mahir is bidding to become a pop star. The Turkish web star, whose site (http://members.xoom.com/primall/mahir) attracts over 100,000 visitors each day logging on to hear the man spout a selection of bizarre, yet endearing phrases such as 'I kiss you', 'I have 3 bed -I invite she' and 'at last I like sex as every are having active sexual life', is to release his debut single I Kiss You on EMI Liberty on December 4. Given the Turk's huge world-wide popularity - Mahir's site is the most popular non-commercial site in the world - industry insiders are tipping I Kiss You, which features some of Mahir's best-loved sayings, as a potential Christmas Number One single. I Kiss You is released on EMI Liberty on December 4."

Thanks, Spaceface!

November's Pictorial Lyric Puzzle...puzzling!

"This one is so easy that we haven't even bothered with extra clues."

OK OK...It's easy when you know I guess. While at least 70% of you are guessing correctly the song that Don Atkins has illustrated with the picture above, I think the other 30% need a little extra help. Plus it gives me a chance to use the absolutely ridiculous picture below for an extra clue from the same song.

If you really feel you can stomach any more of the creature above, simply click on it to go to the full length pin-up from 'Baby' Stephen King's book of Exotic Birds, in which Stephen admits that he actually dated above pink lady for almost four days. Go to Monday's news page (11/06/00 NEWS: IT'S THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH...GUESS THE LYRIC TIME!) if you missed the original competition.

Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)

Vote For Bowienet!

Dot Music is hosting this year's People's Choice Award for the best music site on the Internet. They have this to say :-If there is a special site out there in cyberspace that knocks spots off the rest, or if you can't tear yourself away from your favourite artist's site then vote for it here.

You have until November 16th to cast your vote.

The top five short listed sites will be announced on November 17th and the actual winner will be unveiled at the ceremony itself, which takes on November 23rd at the Roundhouse in London's Camden Town.

The venue has an infamous musical history and has hosted many gigs by the likes of David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.

The star-studded event will be hosted by TV personality Gail Porter and an exclusive after-show bash will take place at the nearby Dingwalls venue. Top DJ Dave Clark will be spinning some tunes and there will be an appearance from another very special guest.

Voters can win prizes too! There is a Playstation 2 for the lucky voter who is picked at random and also the chance to win £500 ($730) if you vote for the winning site.

Go vote!

Thanks, Spaceface!

Roseland

A rose is a rose....

So much for subtle hints, but....suffice to say, there will be more Roseland footage coming up in the very near future!

Election Day

Well, it's finally here, Election Day in the U.S. At this early juncture, it's anybody's guess who will come out on top in what is being hailed as the most close presidential race in at least 40 years.

And as for David Bowie, what does Election Day in the U.S. mean to him? Well. As we learned during the Halloween chat, the elections here are terribly important to David:

I make it a point to always vote in the American elections. As I'm not an American, this has proved difficult, so I'm content to write up my own forms in the living room, and by means of the serving hatch into the kitchen, I post them through to Iman who reads them and tells me if I'm right or wrong. This is democracy in its complete fruition. Long live Joan of Ark, and anybody else who's good with flames!

If you're looking for updates on the race watch TV. Hah hah. If you're looking for updates online, try these links:

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6228

http://www.msnbc.com

Bowie Contributes To Life's Ups And Downs

Detail from East Side Other by David Bowie

Blue skies above...

You may remember David's journal entry for Wednesday, October 4th 2000, where he described the work of a sculptor whose work he had chanced upon while on a break from recording, whom he simply referred to as Eddy. The journal was illustrated with several pictures that David had taken of a glorious towering construction, a sculpture of Eddy's that has been a work-in-progress since 1984.

Well, one of the pictures that wasn't used for the journal has been donated to a new book called 'Life's Ups & Downs' that is published in the UK on November 22nd. A host of celebrities (click here to see those who contributed) were asked to provide a photograph that looked up or down in an attempt to change our perspective of the world we live in. The picture David supplied is entitled 'East Side Other' and you can see the full photograph by clicking on the detail above.

Everybody involved with the project has donated their services free of charge to the book which is limited to 5,000 numbered copies.The proceeds from 'Life's Ups & Downs' will go to help place homeless people into good homes, good jobs, good health, good life. The book which is published by the The Big Issue in the North Trust in partnership with Communication Design & Trade Book is available for £25 (inc p&p in the UK) from:

The Big Issue In The North,
135-141 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LL
Tel: 0161 834 6300


or from

Trebruk/Monken Paper Ltd.,
Quadrant House, 47 Croydon Road, Surrey CR3 6TD.
Tel: 01883 331 816

If you do order one of these highly collectable tomes, tell 'em we sent you. On a final note, I have had it on good authority that David responded immediately to the request for a photograph and "didn't need chasing at all"...I think there's possibly a few of you reading this that wouldn't agree with that statement..."Chase me, chase me" indeed!

Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)

Markplati.com

Odds & Sods

....at least that's what Mark calls it, referring to bits of writing about all the recent work on the Toy album. But there's so much of it there, perhaps he should have named it "Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy?"

Either way, there are some very interesting little tidbits in the NEWS section of Mark Plati's new website about the making of the Toy record. Among other things, Mark expounds on the process of caging in the muses, quite literally:

'Afraid' was a track written on my mini-guitar. David was in the process of writing it, but he was a little behind (studio time ticking away..) so we had to take a page out of the old-school book (courtesy of Andrew Loog Oldham, ex-Rolling Stones manager) and lock him in a room to finish it! (and aren't we glad we did).

Thanks, Mark!

It's The First Monday Of The Month...guess The Lyric Time!

I put him on a train to Eastbourne...

At least 90% of you got this one right. The other 10% of answers ranged from Station to Station (understandable) to Little Wonder (don't ask). Of course the song title we were looking for was The Laughing Gnome via the line: "I put him on a train to Eastbourne". I think the answer was obviously there in the picture, but if further clues were needed a click through from the picture above took you to a larger version that, after about ten seconds, flashed up a "little old man in scarlet and grey". Easy wasn't it? The bad news is that The Laughing Gnome is one of the tracks not being re-made for Toy. };-)

Stephen 'Baby Hair' Breach who actually hails from Eastbourne, wins a signed Bowie poster for his wonderful effort, and aam@davidbowie.co.uk (Alan Morgan) wins a copy of the boxed Bowie at the Beeb eight-track promotional sampler for being the name that was spewed out of the random selector with the correct answer. Your prizes will be winging their way to you as soon as you have furnished me with your real world addresses.

While we are on the subject of winners, the following people haven't supplied me with their name and address for the Beeb T-shirt competition yet. Please send your info to: MrTotalBlamBlam@AOL.com with "Bowie at the Beeb T-shirt Winner Stragglers" in the subject line.

squeakie@davidbowie.com

debaser@davidbowie.com

queenjanine@davidbowie.com

lunamagic@davidbowie.com

Go here for this month's even easier competition picture that was sent in by Don 'Husband of Spidey' Atkins, from up north somewhere.

Total Blam Blam - (European Correspondent)

Smashing Pumpkins (with Mike Garson) On Vh1 Tonight

Don't miss VH1's Storytellers featuring the Smashing Pumpkins with the master Mike Garson on the keyboards! The show premiers tonight on VH1 (Saturday, November 4th) at 10:00PM EST. As always, Mark's playing is, er.....brilliant!

Site Of The Month

Election day is closing in for BowieNutters in the U.S. Hence the new Site of the Month, as submitted by Sailor himself. Check it out and get your suggestions in for next month!