Bowie Quotation On Sleevface Book

Really you and really me...

We first told you about this phenomenon almost three years ago, long before the term sleeveface was even coined. (01.16.2006 SNIPPET: BOWIE SLEEVES HELP CREATE NEW WORKS OF ART)

Earlier this year, sleeveface.com started appearing in the UK press and it seemed that David Bowie album sleeves were one of the more popular subjects chosen by many of those swept along by the craze. (02.13.2008 NEWS: BOWIE COVERS PROVE POPULAR ON SLEEVEFACE.COM)

Now David Bowie has returned the favour by supplying this quotation for the front cover: "Just the best sight gag in ages."

Despite the popular choice of Bowie's boat race for many participants, there are just two Bowie entries in the book, see above.

Sleeveface: Be the Vinyl by Carl Morris and John Rostron is available all over the place now. Check out the official website here.

Breaking Glass Ep Released 30 Years Ago Today

Baby, I've been, breaking glass in your room again, Listen...

The Breaking Glass EP was a brave release unrewarded with a decent chart position in the UK, (it only reached #54) but this was most likely on account of it coming out after Stage (09.08.2008 NEWS: STAGE RELEASED THIRTY YEARS AGO TODAY) an album which included the three tracks that made up the EP.

A Dutch 7" issue of the EP (top right in the above montage) was a first for Bowie collectors in that it was pressed on coloured vinyl.

The Peter And The Wolf album released earlier the same year was issued in the USA on translucent green vinyl, but that doesn't really count as it was just DB's narration of Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf accompanied by The Philadelphia Orchestra.

These were the tracks on the EP, which were all obviously live versions: Breaking Glass, Art Decade and Ziggy Stardust.

Around the same time as the EP release a white vinyl 12" promo was issued in the USA to promote Stage. The three live tracks on this release were: Star, What In The World and the same version of Breaking Glass.

The UK would have to wait until the following year for its first colour vinyl Bowie release which came in the shape of the green vinyl 7" DJ single.

1980 Floor Show Broadcast 35 Years Ago Today

And lo' it was midnight...

Well, I guess the advert says it all. The American nation are the only peoploids to date who have enjoyed an official viewing of David Bowie's 1973 presentation of The 1980 Floor Show.

And 35 years on only one track has ever had any kind of official release (04.29.2006 NEWS: 1980 FLOOR SHOW TO GET OFFICIAL DVD RELEASE?) despite the whole show, including outtakes, being sold illegally on DVD.

The 1980 Floor Show was made for NBC TV's The Midnight Special and it was filmed in front of a fan-club-only audience during a three-day stint at The Marquee in London's Wardour Street in October 1973 around the time of the release of Pin-Ups, (10.19.2008 NEWS: PIN-UPS RELEASED THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY) the album the show largely promoted.

The songs broadcast were:

1984/Dodo
Sorrow
Everything's Alright
Space Oddity
I Can't Explain
Time
The Jean Genie
I Got You Babe (performed by Bowie and Marianne Faithfull)

Also

Bulerias performed by Carmen
Wild Thing performed by The Troggs
As Tears Go By performed by Marianne Faithfull
20th Century Blues performed by Marianne Faithfull

Rock 'N' Roll Suicide was also performed but not broadcast.

Sound And Vision Used In Us Rhapsody Tv Advert

Something in the air...

If that headline sounds a little bit familiar, well that's because it is. (09.18.2008 NEWS: SOUND AND VISION USED IN BBC TV ADVERT MASH-UP)

Rhapsody has used a snatch of Bowie's Sound And Vision for their current TV advert in the USA...go here to see it.

While you're about it, check out the Rhapsody page here on BowieNet.

David And Iman Attend Kca's 5th Annual Black Ball In Nyc

The Pretty Things Are Meeting Adele...

As reported in today's The London Paper (see above) and tomorrow's The Sun, (both UK publications) David and Iman attended Keep A Child Alive's 5th annual Black Ball at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City last night, an event we told you about back in September. (09.20.2008 NEWS: FIFTH ANNUAL BLACK BALL SET FOR NOVEMBER 13)

They are pictured above with British singer Adele who performed at the event. Other performers included Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and Chris Daughtry. Check out the WireImage site for the other attendees.

Iman, who is Global Ambassador for KCA, co-hosted with Alica Keys and Padma Lakshmi.

For the record, Iman's dress was by Donna Karan while David wore a suit by Aquascutum UK and shoes by Church's...as you can plainly see in the Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com shot above.

R.i.p. Derek Fearnley

And now I lay me down to sleep, And now I close my eyes...

It is with much sadness that we report the death of Derek Fearnley, best known to Bowie fans as Dek Fearnley.

Following a prolonged battle with cancer, Dek died in hospital in East Sussex in the UK on Saturday November 1st, aged 69.

He is survived by his wife, Judith and his children Nigel and Helen.

Dek is pictured above back in June holding his granddaughter, Harriet, the three-month-old daughter of his son Nigel.

This was David's response when I informed him of Dek's passing: "It's very sad. I remember him very fondly, one of the nicest guys you could have wished to meet."

David also recalls Dek's family as being very warm and welcoming and it was in fact Dek's brother Gerald who took the cover shot for the Deram album.

Above is a picture of David Bowie with The Buzz performing Can't Help Thinking About Me on Ready Steady Go in 1966...that's Dek on the far left playing bass.

This was the same year that David started work on his debut album for Deram, an album that saw him and Dek working closely together.

To this day David remembers spending many happy hours in the library with Dek where they taught themselves how to arrange strings and the like in preparation for the album.

When Dek was first diagnosed with his illness he gave both of his children a copy of the album and said: "This is my legacy". A proud moment for the man who remained a great admirer of David's work throughout his life.

Six Bowie Albums In Top Fifty 35 Years Ago

Open up your chart to me...

In the September editions of the UK music press of thirty five years ago, the above advert appeared celebrating David Bowie's unparalleled success in the UK album charts.

Here's what the text in the ad said for those who can't make it out in the scan above...

As you can see, the music world was marvelling in the fact that David Bowie had enjoyed ten consecutive weeks in the UK Top Fifty with his five RCA albums to date.

However, starting from the week of July 21st 1973, that run was extended to a total of fifteen consecutive weeks.

With the release of Pin-Ups the previous month, (10.19.2008 NEWS: PIN-UPS RELEASED THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY) the UK album chart announced thirty five years ago today had all six of David Bowie's RCA albums in the Top Fifty...a feat not witnessed by a living artist before or since.

Bob Cd And Ziggy Mopi Dvd Giftpack Contest

Waiting for the gift of sound and vision...

Here's the little competition we promised last month, (10.27.2008 NEWS: BoB CD AND ZIGGY MoPi DVD GIFTPACK OUT TODAY) albeit a week later than planned.

Those consistently generous sorts at EMI have given us five of the above gift packs to ...erm, give away. And it's really quite a lovely thing, particularly if you are thinking of using it to introduce somebody to Bowie's music.

It's an easy enough contest too...simply give us the name of the chap that designed the front cover at the top of this piece and include a tiebreaker of no more than three words that you think best describes him.

Send your answer and tiebreaker to me here before midnight NY time on Sunday November 16th.

Usual BowieNet rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account per week, and please remember you must enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name. If you do neither of these things you won't be eligible to enter.

Mouse Mat Added To Whatever It Takes Range

I'll be strong whatever it takes...

We've been promoting WhateverItTakes.org on these pages for the last three years or so (06.18.2005 NEWS: DB EXPLAINS INSPIRATION FOR CHARITY ARTWORK) and no doubt will continue to do so for some time to come.

The latest addition to the Bowie product page is a rather spiffing mouse mat which is bottom right in the montage above.

These products are extremely good value and even though the T-shirts and trainers have sold out all of the above items are all still available.

Proceeds from sales of the Bowie range go to David's chosen charities: Trade plus Aid & Save the Children.

Mr Sane Makes Cover Of Madman Comic

Cos I'd rather play here with all the madmen...

Continuing the theme from yesterday's news item, issue #15 of MADMAN comic will feature the rather striking image above.

And who better for the most off his rocker comic superhero Frank 'Madman' Einstein to parody than Mr Sane himself.

Here's the summary for this issue which is due on New Year's Eve: 'MISTER GRINNING SOUL!' A crazed cell phone salesman is being compelled to kill by some unseen force. Frank 'Madman' Einstein and his groovy pals, the Atomics, receive 'the call' to stop the horror.

You can pre-order issue #15 of MADMAN here.

Thanx to BowieNetter dumdumboy for the pointer, a man who is clearly an industrious fellow with a penchant for all things Aladdin Flash, as evidenced by this Halloween Jack pumpkin head that he created last week.

Did you notice the eyes? Such attention to detail. Though I have to say, I know Bowie has better teeth now. But, even still, I'm not sure the pumpkin's teeth are very flattering!

Thanx for all this dumdumboy. Much appreciated.

Bowie Obama T-shirts Doing Good Business

Who will love Aladdin Charge...

It seems one of the more popular T-shirts being snapped up right now is the Obama/Bowie hybrid, a few examples of which are pictured above.

Apparently designers thought the best way to illustrate the Obama campaign slogan of CHANGE was by slapping the Aladdin Sane flash on Obama's face.

It has worked to good effect in some cases, particularly with the T-shirts worn by supporters celebrating in Chicago in the picture above.

Thanx to BowieNetter guylicious for the pointer to The Chicago Tribune picture.

Obama Wins

Ch ch ch ch changes...

I received just the one e-mail communication from DB this morning. It read: "What a great day."

'Nuff said.

Jam With Earl Slick At Abbey Road And The Cavern

When you rock 'n roll with me...

ROCK 'N ROLL FANTASY CAMP hits the UK tomorrow, with the first day of a six day jaunt that kicks off at the world famous Abbey Road studios in London.

If you have around $13,000 to spare and the Ziggy Stardust photomosaic in yesterday's news didn't appeal, then this may be ideal for you.

Here are the details of the six day package...

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London Camp 6 Day Package - $12,999.00 per person. Includes attendance for 6 days at Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp in London, UK as well as 10+ hours of daily jamming and recording at Abbey Road Studios and playing live at The Cavern in Liverpool. Package includes meals with celebrity musicians, CD of your music recorded at Abbey Road Studios, DVD of your performance at The Cavern, welcome bag, transportation to and from camp events, and concert at the Cavern.

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Among the names you would be performing with is the chap above who is a pretty good guitarist himself...and you might even persuade him to jam on a Bowie tune or two...he knows a few.

Anyway, if this is your thing, go here to find out more...even though it starts tomorrow I'm sure they'll squeeze you in at the last minute if you're parting with that kind of cash.

Mosaiclegends/mick Rock Ziggy Stardust Mosaic

I struggle hard to take these pictures in...

The above image is a photomosaic which utilises over 3,300 separate images all of which are Mick Rock photographs of David Bowie. That's something like fifty six rows of sixty images!

The photomosaic was created by Craig Adam for MOSAICLEGENDS and it's approximately five feet by four printed on metallic crystal archive paper in a very limited edition of 25.

Here's the official blurb...

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Craig Adam's Ziggy Stardust

In 1972 David Bowie released the iconic LP The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which established him as a major force in modern pop music. It was also his platform to present a visually fascinating and sexually ambivalent stage persona called Ziggy Stardust. Simultaneously, Bowie befriended the famed rock-and-roll photographer, Mick Rock, whom he invited to chronicle his Ziggy persona.

Mick Rock amassed an amazing archive of photographs that traces the entire stratospheric two-year career of Ziggy Stardust from the early acclaim to the pivotal American tours, and the final blockbuster concert that marked Ziggy's retirement. Ziggy was a combination of extraordinary costumes, colorful makeup, outrageous hair, and-above all-first-class rock. Mick Rock's compelling pictures reflect his amazing collaboration and friendship with Bowie. The result of this incredible collaboration is a vast archive of images of onstage performances and backstage antics.

Craig Adam used these images to create this Photomosaic celebrating the 35th anniversary of Ziggy Stardust. When viewed from afar, Ziggy Stardust appears as a larger-than-life image. When the viewer moves closer to the print, their focus is drawn to the individual photographs from Mick Rock?s collection showcasing Bowie from the Stardust era.

?Craig Adam is an incredible artist and his work is really unique? commented Mick Rock. ?Because of the large number of images required to create this piece, I have agreed to release a number of new images from my archive that have never been seen before. All of this makes for a very interesting and meaningful project.?

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Below is a close-up of part of the photomosaic...

So, imagine that panel multiplied around 80 times and you will be somewhere close to the amount of images on the finished thing.

Aside from all of this, the prints are signed by Craig Adams himself, Mick Rock and David Bowie.

That 'never been seen before' line from Mick is pretty exciting too, though I have to admit at $12,500.00 per print, I may not be viewing those particular images anytime soon.

If anybody reading this is thinking of snapping one up, do you mind if we have a BowieNet party at the unveiling?

Anyway, don't forget you can meet the creator of these fine images at Borders if you're in London on Monday...

Mick Rock Book Signing @ Charring Cross Road, London Borders
06:30 pm, Monday 3rd Nov 2008

Click on the link for more details.

Check out Millenia Fine Art and MOSAICLEGENDS for more information regarding Craig Adam's Ziggy Stardust photomosaic.

Welcome Back Echo Bowie

Ain't had a job for a year or more...

BowieNetter and singer with Echo Bowie, Hans Schlatman, has been in touch with details of his band's return to the stage. Over to Hans...

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The Return of EchoBowie

After a year-long break EchoBowie is about to enter the stage again. Lots of you will know the band from their gigs at the annual Bowie meetings in Holland. Since the last time they played there ? an acoustic gig featuring songs like Kooks, Bus Stop and Andy Warhol ? the band has two great new members on board on keyboards and bass. That, AND the addition of some very cool songs (we won?t mention them yet of course...) are good reasons to check EchoBowie out again. And of course it will be great to hear songs like Always Crashing In The Same Car, New Killer Star and Breaking Glass again. Here?s gig list:

Sunday November 2
Le Vagebond, Nieuwe Binnenweg 99, Rotterdam
Playtime: 20.30 (CET)

Saturday November 8
Café van der Geest, Zeestraat 7a, Noordwijkerhout
Playtime: 21.30 (CET)

Friday December 12
Toomler, Breitnerstraat 2, Amsterdam
Playtime: 23.00 (CET).

Tip: check out the stand-up comedy shows starting at 20.00 before the Echo Bowie gig later that evening.

Keep checking www.echobowie.com, www.youtube.com/schlatman or www.myspace.com/echobowie for new gigs, video?s and news.

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I know these guys are popular with BowieNetters, be nice to see them outside of Holland one of these days.

Still Time To See Db's Spongebob Episode In The Uk

Dive In Saturday...

It's more than two years since DB mentioned it in his BowieNet journal and almost a year since it was first shown in America. We've given it a couple of mentions on here too. (10.05.2006 NEWS: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IN NEW BOWIE JOURNAL & 05.21.2007 NEWS: ATLANTIS SQUARE PANTS TO AIR IN NOVEMBER & 10.05.2007 NEWS: EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT LORD ROYAL HIGHNESS & 11.11.2007 REMINDER: LORD ROYAL HIGHNESS ON TV MONDAY & 11.16.2007 NEWS: DB SPONGEBOB EPISODE ATTRACTS RECORD 9 MILLION)

Now I've had a couple of e-mails wondering why we hadn't mentioned the UK premiere of David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness in the SpongeBob SquarePants special: Atlantis SquarePantis.

Well, in fact we had...the ever-vigilant Spaceface gave us all plenty of notice in the calendar section, (see above) as she did with All You Need Is Love, (10.26.2008 NEWS: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE ROCKUMENTARY ON MORE 4) which sadly wasn't quite as good as I remembered it.

Anyway, if you're in the UK it's not too late to catch David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness...It's even recommended by The Guardian.

I'll leave you with the remaining screening times...

Saturday, 1st November at 17:00 GMT - Nickelodeon
Saturday, 1st November at 18:00 GMT - Nick Replay
Sunday, 2nd November at 14:00 GMT - Nick Toons

Moma Bowie Video Presentation Ticket Winners

But now you pick them on the screen...

Last week we set this contest for three pairs of tickets for Thurston Moore's presentation of David Bowie videos at MoMA, (10.23.2008 NEWS: WIN MoMA BOWIE VIDEO PRESENTATION TICKETS) wherein we asked you to identify each of the Bowie promo videos in the animation above.

Well, there were nine different ones to list and here is that list...

1 ~ The Hearts Filthy Lesson
2 ~ "Heroes"
3 ~ The Jean Genie
4 ~ Life on Mars?
5 ~ DJ
6 ~ Blue Jean
7 ~ Ashes To Ashes
8 ~ John I'm Only Dancing
9 ~ Jump They Say

And here are the three BowieNetters that each win a pair of tickets...

daligala
MeetingVenus
shammy

We'll be in touch shortly to tell you how go about claiming your prize. Well done folks.

For those of you that weren't so lucky, advance tickets will be available at the Museum?s Lobby Information Desk and online at www.moma.org, beginning November 1, 2008.

Five Bowie Lots In Punk/rock Auction At Christie's Ny

Reduce us down to witless punks...

"DAVID BOWIE - PUNK AUCTION ROCKS NEW YORK" screamed the headline on the contactmusic.com site. But, for those of us that remember the above double page advert in the UK music press from December 1977, it didn't quite ring true.

Of course, David Bowie could never have been accused of being a punk rocker, well, perhaps he could in 1972 when he invented the look, but musically it's a genre he never really played with.

It transpires that the news item is in regard to an upcoming Christie's New York auction of punk AND rock next month and not punk rock.

Anyway, there are still five items that may interest the Bowie collector unaffected by the credit crunch, as you can see from the estimates below....

The three Mick Rock items are fairly self explanatory, but here's a look at the Moonage Daydream collage just for the hell of it...

The first item in the list above is a 1966 four page, two colour, press leaflet promoting David Bowie and The Lower Third. This is a highly collectable piece of memorabilia which has only shown up on eBay a couple of times and always commands a high price...be interesting to see if it reaches this estimate though.

Finally, the above item is a 1959 Fender Musicmaster guitar signed by over 170 musicians. Each signature was acquired directly from the artists by a security man for the Black Mountain Music Festival in North Carolina, over a period of 15 years. Here's a close-up of just a few of the signatures on the reverse of the guitar...

You can most likely make out a 1990 Bowie signature, but a few more of his associates have left their mark too...Some of those include: Mick Ronson, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Adrian Belew, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton and Steve Jones.

North Carolina was one of the stops on The Sound + Vision Tour so I don't doubt the guitar is genuine, as Bowie and Belew have signed right next to each other and it looks like they even used the same marker.

If you were thinking of spending the six to eight thousand dollars estimated for this lot, I'm sure you can rest a little easier about its provenance now.

You can learn more about any of the above by clicking on the images.

Two Mick Rock Signing Sessions At Borders

I asked for an autograph...

The headline says it all and here are the details of each of those events...

Mick Rock Book Signing @ Cambridge Borders
03:00 pm, Saturday 1st Nov 2008

Mick Rock Book Signing @ Charring Cross Road, London Borders
06:30 pm, Monday 3rd Nov 2008

Click on the links for more details.

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I spoke with the manager at Charring Cross Road Borders and though the events are primarily in support of Mick's book of Syd Barrett photographs, Psychedelic Renegades, visitors are welcome to bring along anything at all to be signed...including your own body parts.

However, the store carries a good supply of Mick Rock titles if you need something a little more conventional to sign on the night.

If you can get along it will be worth the effort as the delightful old queen hopes to have some kind of visual presentation to accompany his fairy tales.

Bowie Photo Voted One Of The Best Ever By Gq Mag

Then you howl like a wolf...

The above shot from 2002 has been voted one of the best shots ever taken for UK GQ magazine and it is reproduced in this month's twentieth anniversary issue (December) of the magazine for that very reason.

The picture was one of many taken by Markus Klinko & Indrani in recognition of David's Lifetime Achievement gong at the 2002 GQ Men Of The Year awards.

See our original news item from September 2002 for two more of the shots from the same session. (09.03.2002 NEWS: BOWIE RECEIVES GQ OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD)