Meek Collection Sells For £170,000 Gbp...but No Db

"Here woman, what about this Konrads tape in lieu of rent?" Joe Meek at 304 Holloway Road.

You're squawking like a pink mocking bird...

Much has been made in the UK press recently of the sale of the entire collection of legendary 60s producer Joe Meek's personal master tape recordings by liveauctioneers.com. Indeed, it is a valuable collection important to the history of recorded music.

The value of the vault of approximately 1850 tapes was reflected in the final auction price of £170,000 GBP yesterday.

However, David Bowie's purported presence on one of the tracks, (a Konrads Meek-produced recording of the song Mocking Bird) is unlikely to be true.

I asked David about his involvement, and this is what he had to say: "Well, I never worked with Joe Meek, never even met him...would have loved to have though. But, I believe The Konrads did do a track or two with him."

So, it's most likely true that Mocking Bird is a Konrads recording, but it seems it was made long after David left the band in 1963.

Official Ziggy Stardust Calendar Due Next Month

And it was cold and it rained, So I felt like an actor...

We are pleased to be able to announce that Slow Dazzle is once again producing the official David Bowie calendar this year and we can exclusively reveal that the theme this time around is the Ziggy Stardust album cover session.

The calendar is a twenty eight page, thirteen month affair (Jan 09 to Jan 10) and it's approximately the size of the original vinyl album.

The pictures inside are out-takes from the Ziggy Stardust cover session which was photographed in London's Heddon Street in January 1972 by Brian Ward.

Most of the session has only ever been available as small low quality files online, but now you'll be able to view a dozen or so of the out-takes from the session as large format high resolution images for the very first time.

Stay tuned for further details shortly.

Harry Potter As Tj Newton In Details Magazine

What kind of magic spell to use?

BowieNetter bowieindundee told me about the item below published in today's Sun newspaper in the UK.

It's a teaser for a feature in Details magazine which I've not yet managed to get my hands on, so I'm not sure how many other TJ Newton poses Daniel Radcliffe has attempted other than the one shown here.

With the red Star Trek style trousers and red calf-length zip-up boots, the stylist for this particular shot was clearly in a bit of a hurry to wrap this one.

Anyway, you can read an interview with Mr Radcliffe on the DETAILS site here, and view a video interview where some graphics wizard in the DETAILS art department has hilariously superimposed Daniel's head on various Bowie album sleeves.

Perhaps the stylist and the graphics person should swap jobs. Anyway, keep reading if you're interested in aforementioned Sun article.

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HARRY Potter?s DANIEL RADCLIFFE looks more like DAVID BOWIE than a boy wizard in a magazine shoot.

With a menacing stare and slicked-back hair, the 19-year-old seems to copy Bowie?s pose in the 1977 film The Man Who Fell To Earth.

The futuristic snaps appear in the October edition of Details magazine.

Daniel has been keen to ditch his boyish image after playing JK Rowling?s Harry.

Judging by this snap, Dan?s the man.

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And just because I haven't mentioned it, don't think we've forgotten the Aladdin Sane flash scar on the young Potter's forehead!

Cat Power Covers Space Oddity For Lincoln Tv Ad

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, lift off...

A TV advert for the 2009 Lincoln MKS in the US features a cover version of David Bowie's Space Oddity.

Made by the Berlin Cameron Team Detroit agency, the 30-second advert is entitled Lift Off and it features Cat Power's cover of Bowie's 1969 (and 1975) worldwide smash.

Recorded in June, the song is fairly laid back compared to the original, with the breathy vocal of Chan Marshall floating above it. It is not yet known wether Chan intends to release a full-length version of the track.

Though the ad is entitled Lift Off, this version of Space Oddity actually omits the lift off section which has been approached in various ways by Bowie over the years.

Cat Power almost covered David Bowie back in 2000 with a version of Wild Is The Wind on her The Covers Record. Though in fairness, the recording probably owed more to Nina Simone's original arrangement.

You can view the full Lift Off advert here.

Previously Unpublished Bowie Shots In Photoicon

I keep a photograph...

BowieNetter Zardoz pointed us in the direction of the Summer issue of PHOTOICON, which is still in the shops despite the fact that it's now September. It's a Rock 'n' Roll photography special and obviously there's a Bowie page...

Photographer Tony McGee was responsible for the shots above which he took in 1990 as part of a session "for an album called Pin-Ups - a retrospective album of all his greatest hits to date". I guess that album became CHANGESBOWIE which didn't utilise any contemporaneous pictures in the end.

Anyway, here's a bit of what Tony had to say about David...

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"We became very good friends at the time and we enjoyed on many occasions discussing the arts: cinema and literature were popular topics, and David is a devoted fan of painting. Francis Bacon would constantly come up in conversation and in many ways this triptych is dedicated to Francis Bacon.

Bowie was a very intense and inspiring subject and I would normally only shoot one roll of film on each different costume change. In fact, these frames are chosen from a roll of film of which only eight frames were exposed."

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It's actually a good issue that's worth picking up, if not only to be able to read all of Tony McGee's words, but to view the above triptych in a much larger form, unobscured by the ROCK 'N' ROLL stamp as above.

Finally, the back of the magazine has a full-page advert for a Richard Young photographic exhibition which ended on August 15th, sadly. However, you can still view and purchase fifty four of Richard's Bowie shots at his online gallery.

Happy Tenth Birthday Bowienet!

Tapping out your memories...

In the first few seconds of September 1st, 1998, the internet gave birth to www.davidbowie.com - It was a momentous occasion reported around the globe...you can still read the BBC's report published on the day, here.

Many of us were here right at that very moment eager to sample the delights of David Bowie's latest project...and we weren't disappointed.

It became apparent quite quickly that one of the strengths of this place was the community atmosphere where many life-long friendships were forged and even a few marriages have been witnessed.

In celebration of that fact we want to hear your personal stories about your time here, be you a newbie or a member since day one.

Please post your story on this message board thread and we'll select some of the best contributions and post them here in the news throughout September.

We'll be handing out some appropriate prizes to those we use and running some other contests to tie in with this 10th anniversary.

Finally, thank you all for your continued support and for keeping the faith...here's to even better things to come in the not too distant future.

Get tapping!

Jewel Case Version Of Sm 72 Due In October

Never saw in all my life a more shining jewel case...

Following the success of the limited edition, (which has sold out in many places around the globe) EMI will be releasing the standard jewel case version of David Bowie - Live Santa Monica '72 on October 13th in selected territories.

This version will be unnumbered and it will contain an eight-page booklet with none of the extras contained in the limited edition numbered box.

Those territories who still have stock of the limited edition may follow with the standard jewel case version at a later date.

The Script's Cover Of Heroes Chosen For 2012 Olympics

We can be Heroes, for ever and ever...

Scottish newspaper, The Daily Record, today exclusively report that Irish trio, The Script, have had their version of David Bowie's "Heroes" chosen as the official track of the 2012 London Olympics.

The selection came as a bit of a surprise to the boys who are currently at #1 in the UK album chart with their self-titled debut album and at #2 in the UK singles chart with The Man Who Can't Be Moved.

Drummer Glen Power said: "We were just messing around when we decided to record it and it doesn't even really have a proper drum beat. We really just put it together using a foot pedal for the beat."

Singer Danny O'Donoghue added: "We wanted to cover it because we just thought it was a great song. It's the only cover we've ever done and we can't believe it's just been taken on for the Olympics."

The band have been performing the song at recent shows and you can get a flavour of the live version via low quality YouTube clips if you can't wait for an official studio version release.

I've not had this story officially confirmed yet, but it seems The Feeling got a sniff of this news even if their own version didn't get picked up. (08.25.2008 NEWS: THE FEELING PERFORM HEROES AT OLYMPIC CELEBRATION)

Four Pages Of Hammersmith Odeon 1973 In Uncut

When the kids had killed the man...

The October issue of UNCUT magazine has a four-page feature on Ziggy's last stand with words and pictures by Robert Ellis, who was obviously there on the night. Here's just one of the things he had to say about the creator of the Hammersmith Odeon's most famous show...

"What separated Bowie from other acts who dressed up on stage at the time was his stagecraft, and the conviction with which he carried it off. It was the difference between a great actor and a bunch of bit part players. He became the personality he'd created. That you were in the presence of greatness, there was never any doubt."

It's a great feature worth picking up and I'll leave you with a personal plea from editor, Allan Jones...

DID YOU SEE ZIGGY? Any Stardust memories out there? If any of our Bowie-loving readers saw the Dame perform live as Ziggy back in the day, then email Allan Jones with your memories, and we'll publish the best stories.

Keep A Child Alive Vote Request From Sailor

This just in. It would be great if you added your name to this project. Exceptionally worthwhile. Many thanks for reading.

Sailor

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Dear friends of Keep a Child Alive,

Please use your juice and any mailing lists you may have or your own address book to garner support for our efforts to save lives. It's really simple and we are strong in the race.

Please nominate Keep a Child Alive for the American Express Members Project award! Your vote online now will help us become one of the Top 25 nominated projects to win $2.5 million in funding. Voting takes one minute and you do not have to be an Amex card member to vote.

How to vote:

1 - Log on to: www.membersproject.com/project/view/23E7H1

2 - Click "Nominate This Project".
~ If you are an AMEX Card Member, click "Log-In"
~ If you are not an AMEX Card Member, click "Guest Member Sign-Up"

3 - Click "Nominate" to vote for "Keep a child with AIDS alive for just $1 a day."

4 - Forward this e-mail to EVERYONE you know, and spread the word via text, blog, website, Facebook, Myspace, and YouTube!

Thank you for using your voice to support the work of Keep a Child Alive!

The Feeling Perform Heroes At Olympic Celebration

We played our songs and felt the London sky, Resting on our hands...

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has received the Olympic flag at the closing ceremony in Beijing, China, to signal the start of London's reign as Olympic host city.

The event triggered the start of predicted "wild celebrations" in London, as thousands of people attended a concert party in The Mall outside Buckingham Palace yesterday, where they were entertained by popular heavyweights including The Feeling, McFly, Scouting For Girls, Katherine Jenkins and Will Young.

The party was broadcast live on BBC One and Radio 2 and Bowie fans may be pleased to learn that The Feeling performed an emotionally charged version of "Heroes", complete with an enthusiastic brass section which sounded better than it sounds...if that makes sense.

You can view a ninety minute highlights broadcast of the concert via the BBC iPlayer, including "Heroes", (which starts at 0:46.46) until 4:59pm, UK time, on Sunday 31st August.

Congratulations are due to London, which will become the first city to stage the Olympics for a third time when the games start in the capital in 2012.

Criterion Tmwfte Blu Ray Release Details

It will tumble from the sky...

As we told you back in May, (05.17.2008 NEWS: THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH DUE ON BLU RAY) The Man Who Fell To Earth is to be released as a Blu-ray disc as part of The Criterion Collection.

The disc will be available in North America from November 18th with pretty much the same special features as the Criterion DVD...

Special Features
- DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES:
- High-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Nicolas Roeg
- Uncompressed stereo soundtrack
- Audio commentary by Roeg and actors David Bowie and Buck Henry
- New video interview with screenwriter Paul Mayersberg Performance, video interviews with actors Candy Clark and Rip Torn
- Audio interviews with costume designer May Routh and production designer Brian Eatwell - Audio interview from 1984 with author Walter Tevis, conducted by Don Swaim
- Multiple stills galleries, including Routh?s costume sketches; behind-the-scenes photos; and production and publicity stills, introduced by set photographer David James
- Gallery of posters from Roeg?s films
- Trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Graham Fuller

Release Info
Catalog Number: CC1781BD
ISBN: 978-1-60465-103-4
UPC: 7-15515-03412-8

Looking forward to seeing this latest enhancement...not that I ever need an excuse to watch The Man Who Fell To Earth again...and again.

Gerry Leonard And Db On 32a Film Soundtrack

Boys always work it out...

You may have read an article in the Irish Times recently, wherein director Marian Quinn talks about her coming-of-age film set in 1970s Dublin, 32A.

In the interview she says how Gerry Leonard (composer of the original musical score for the film) managed to get David Bowie's permission to use Boys Keep Swinging.

I asked Gerry how this came about and the likliehood of there being a soundtrack release on CD. Here's what he said...

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Hi Blam. We were low on fuel but with great hopes. So I emailed David and told him about our project, our 'short trousers' film, 32A. I told him we need someone to step in with some benevolence. And that is exactly what he did. We are set in 1979 so he had the great suggestion of "Boys Keep Swinging" as the perfect time capsule.

He called all his people and made it happen on our budget. I sent him the movie but he just said "I trust you"... The song is in the pivotal scene in the movie. I used to go to that dance as an under age teenager myself. I am sure I shook my head to that song. We shook our heads to everything that rocked.

As yet there is not a soundtrack CD, but the film will be in the Woodstock Film Festival this Oct. - Gerry

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32A is already showing at selected cinemas in Ireland and you can book tickets and watch the trailer for the film on the Janey Pictures site.

Meanwhile, don't forget the last of the current run of Spooky Ghost shows at The Living Room in NY on Friday. See our previous Spooky news item for details: 08.01.2008 NEWS: SPOOKY GHOST RETURNS TO THE LIVING ROOM

Iselectbowie Release Details

It was a day in that blue month September...

Last month we told you of EMI's plans to release iSELECTBOWIE in territories outside of the UK and Ireland.

Now due on September 29th, the CD will be identical to the Mail On Sunday release apart from the fact that it will be housed in a jewel case and will contain a booklet with the English language version of David's song-by-song comments.

Translated versions of David's notes will be available here on BowieNet in the following languages:

Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Portuguese
Spanish

Just in case you somehow managed to miss it in our previous news items, I'll leave you with the iSELECTBOWIE tracklisting...

01 - Life On Mars?
02 - Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing
03 - The Bewlay Brothers
04 - Lady Grinning Soul
05 - Win
06 - Some Are
07 - Teenage Wildlife
08 - Repetition
09 - Fantastic Voyage
10 - Loving The Alien
11 - Time Will Crawl (MM Remix)
12 - Hang On To Yourself (From David Bowie - Live Santa Monica '72)

The Chance, Poughkeepsie - Five Years Ago Today!

Can't we give ourselves one more Chance...

Incredibly, it was five long years ago today that David Bowie played a warm up show for his A Reality Tour with an intimate performance for BowieNetters at The Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Sadly, it was a show I was personally unable to attend (a fact DB cheekily made reference to during the show) but obviously an army of BowieNetters from around the globe did make it to the show.

One of those that did attend was LizSK2 who wrote a great review for us which you can still read here: 08.19.2003 NEWS: BOWIE TAKES THE CHANCE TONIGHT

Also, check out the following day's news item for more pictures from the show and a review from the Poughkeepsie Journal: 08.20.2003 NEWS: MORE PIX AND ANOTHER REVIEW FROM THE CHANCE

I'll leave you with the eighteen song setlist from the night, which, as impressive as it was at the time, pales when compared to some of the shows on A Reality Tour a few months later. The thirty three song show in Berlin on November 3rd being a great example of that.

THE CHANCE THEATER, POUGHKEEPSIE, NY. AUGUST 19TH 2003

Reality
Modern Love
New Killer Star
Cactus
Battle For Britain (The Letter)
Pablo Picasso
Afraid
Fall Dog Bombs The Moon
Sister Midnight
I'm Afraid Of Americans
She'll Drive The Big Car
Suffragette City

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Fantastic Voyage
Never Get Old
The Man Who Sold The World
Rebel Rebel
Hang On To Yourself
Heathen (The Rays)

Final Issue Of The Voyeur Available Now

So I said "So long" and I waved bye-bye...

As we reported ten months ago (10.22.2007 NEWS: OCTOBER ISSUE OF THE VOYEUR AVAILABLE NOW) the current issue of The Voyeur will be the last.

The Voyeur has enjoyed many previous incarnations over the years and it is the longest running David Bowie fanzine of all time. It started as "Stage" in the Netherlands in February 1979 and was renamed "Bowie Now" in 1982.

In 1990 it became "Best Of Bowie Now" and was published in English for the first time. The final name change came In 1995 and it has been "The Voyeur" for the past thirteen years.

I know you'll want to join me in thanking all the people who helped make it what it was since its inception in 1979 right up to the present day staff: Antoine Loogman, Angela Palermo, Peter Smit and Ludo Wopereis.

One of the features that made The Voyeur so much more visually interesting than its predecessors was Antoine Loogman's excelent full page photographs. See the final issue's cover, above, for a great example.www.davidbowiefanclub.com

The organisers do intend to continue with an online presence at www.davidbowiefanclub.com but without regular contributor Ton van der Horst who has decided to call it a day.

Anyway, here's what to expect from the final issue...

~ Welcome to "The Voyeur"
~ Every picture tells a story - Antoine Loogman talks about his
Bowie photography over the years
~ An exclusive interview with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
~ Four page full colour David Bowie centrefold
~ TMWFTE soundtrack by Bert Slappendel
~ The history of the Dutch unofficial fan clubs
~ Report from the 2007 Voyeur Meeting
~ David Bowie - Magical Name, Magical Man by Tineke Guise
~ Wim Hendrikse talks about his Dutch language Bowie biography: Een Star Die Op Aarde Viel

Further details regarding the content of the latest edition and information about back issues can be found on The Voyeur homepage at http://go.to/bowiefanclub, usually.

Weller Wants To Work With Bowie

The boy in the Fred Perry, jumped up on the stage...

BowieNetter Lunamagic posted this item on the MBs from French site Canoë. Here it is in English, very kindly translated by BowieNetter Celine...

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Paul Weller and David Bowie - A joint project?

Paul Weller wants to get on stage with David Bowie. The singer who released the album 22 Dreams earlier this year admits that he listened to Bowie's music a lot during the recording of the album and that he would like the chance to get on stage with the legendary rocker.

He said: "We played a lot of Bowie during the creation of 22 Dreams. I wouldn't go as far as saying that that was a direct influence, but our roadie helped me re-discover Bowie's albums when we were in the studio."

"I haven't been able to talk to Bowie. However, I would love it if he could join us for a show. It would be great if we could get together to make some music with my new band".

The singer, who recently turned 50, confesses that this landmark birthday gave him additional motivation to make sure his latest album would be one he could be proud of.

He explained thus: "I didn't want to find myself in the skin of someone whose greatest achievements are behind him once he reached a certain age. I wanted to prove the opposite by offering something different".

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For those of you that haven't been reading these news pages in recent months, Weller first expressed the rekindling of his interest in Bowie's music back in May. (05.14.2008 NEWS: WELLER IS BORN AGAIN BOWIE FREAK & 05.22.2008 NEWS: BOWIE ASKS WELLER FOR HIS HAIRCUT BACK VIA E-MAIL & 06.05.2008 NEWS: WELLER WEARS BOWIE BUTTON FOR TV RECORDING)

Somebody else who has admitted listening to extra Bowie this week are the staff of NME magazine. In their regular "What's on the NME stereo?" column under the heading: DAVID BOWIE - A LOT OF IT, they stated: "We whiled away Friday afternoon with a Thin White Duke marathon."

And why not? Who among us hasn't whiled away an afternoon listening to David Bowie? Come to think of it, a morning, an evening, the night time...a lifetime?

Lexi Is Eight Years Old Today

And tell you that you're eight, but sister you won't care...

Today is the eighth month of the eighth year and it's Alexandria Zahra Jones' 8th birthday. I believe the Chinese would see that as a sign of much luck to come...why else do you think the Beijing Olympics kicked of at 08:08:08 am on 08:08:2008?

Anyway, I've posted this at 08:08 am NY time to continue the theme and you can join in the well-wishing via Simone's thread on the MBs here.

Moma Looking At Music Exhibition Opens Tomorrow

And the stars look very different today...

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a new exhibition running from tomorrow (13th) through to the day after David Bowie's 62nd birthday in 2009.

It's entitled Looking at Music and here's the blurb:

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In the 1960s, the decade that saw astronauts land on the moon, artists were likewise seeking to expand boundaries of time and space and to have new experiences. At the same time, portable video equipment reached the consumer market?suddenly simultaneity and "now," the present and the past, became content. Musicians led the way in developing new working methods, and music was at the forefront of interdisciplinary experimentation during the early days of media art. This exhibition looks at the dynamic connections that occurred from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s with a display of early media works by Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Steve Reich, Joan Jonas, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, and David Bowie presented alongside related drawings, prints, and photographs by John Cage, Jack Smith, Ray Johnson, and others.

Looking at Music
August 13, 2008?January 5, 2009
The Yoshiko and Akio Morita Gallery, second floor
Organized by Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media.

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David Bowie is apparently represented via Mick Rock's iconic 1972 Space Oddity video.

If you manage to get along, please do give us your impressions and let us know what's in the exhibition brochure, etc.

Bowie Almost Forces Will Young To End Career

And these children that you spit on, As they try to change their worlds...

I know Will Young is the kind of artist to make BowieNetters switch off automatically, but he's really not a bad person and he has good taste, a good sense of humour, and he knows his own music really isn't all that much cop...though I don't mind admitting I personally enjoyed the chorus tune of Leave Right Now.

Anyway, young Will was the subject of yesterday's Soundtrack Of My Life feature in The Observer newspaper and this was his entry entitled: After I split with my boyfriend.

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Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1973)

I didn't really 'get' David Bowie until a few years ago, when I watched a documentary on his 1973 US Spiders From Mars tour. I texted my ex-boyfriend, who is obsessed with Bowie, to tell him I'd finally got it. It was a revelation. If I were a teenager back then I'd be dressing up like him.

It makes things now seem a bit shit and tame, and after watching it I thought, 'I may as well stop music because it's pointless compared to what Bowie did three decades ago.' It's amazing theatre, with tricks like going up on a giant telephone. He's really sexy, but sexless at the same time.

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I think Will is actually recalling the Cracked Actor documentary, but I'm sure everybody knows where he's coming from.

Also in the piece there is another section entitled: The record that started it all. Here's a bit from it...

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Peter And The Wolf Prokofiev (1936)

My gran had a record player, and she had a sunroom at the top of her bungalow where we listened to this. She threw away her record, which I wish she hadn't, because I'm sure someone fabulous like Peter O'Toole narrated it. It's the only music I remember from when I was really young, four or five.

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Well, I can't find any record of Peter O'Toole having narrated Peter And The Wolf. And given that the above Bowie-narrated version is thirty years old, I'm wondering if Will was actually a fan of David Bowie's voice much earlier than he realises.

Will's album, Let it Go, is out on September 29th and his single, Changes, is released on September 14th. However, the title of the single is the only thing the track shares with the Bowie song of the same name.