To set the record straight (no pun intended) Spongebob is only using the track "No Control" from "Outside" for their theatre project. However David has written 4 new songs for his own theatre piece "Lazarus" which opens on December 7th, 2015.
Buzzfeed’s nine Bowie Five Years facts
“Five years, my brain hurts a lot”
To celebrate the release of David Bowie’s (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set, BuzzFeed has posted a fun, fact-filled feature which highlights nine Bowie things relating to the period 1969 – 1973.
Read the subject of each entry in the list below, or just go view the whole thing right now here.
1. Bowie had to do battle with his record label to get the “Space Oddity” single released in stereo.
2. No singles were released from The Man Who Sold the World, nor did Bowie tour behind the album.
3. Although Bowie never released “Oh! You Pretty Things” as a single, he played piano on a cover of the song by Peter Noone, which hit #12 in the UK.
4. The backing vocals on “It Ain’t Easy,” from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, are provided by a woman who was British Junior Water Skiing Champion for four years running in the 1960s.
5. Although he ended up in the top five of the UK singles chart with his own version, Bowie was so frustrated with Mott the Hoople’s disinterest in recording “Drive-In Saturday” that he shaved his eyebrows.
6. Were it not for Bowie’s cover of Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play,” Syd Barrett might well have retreated to Cambridge forever even sooner than he ultimately did.
7. While Bowie and his entourage were staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel in conjunction with the performance which was immortalized on the album Live Santa Monica ‘72, Iggy Pop showed up with the master tapes for The Stooges’ Raw Power.
8. In 1973, when Bowie performed what he described as “the last show we’ll ever do” (even though it wasn’t), Jeff Beck joined him onstage for two songs, yet he’s nowhere to be seen in Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture. Why? Because of his attire.
9. “Holy Holy” was released as a standalone single in 1971 because Bowie’s label had deemed the entirety of The Man Who Sold The World as being devoid of any obvious singles and felt that the song had a shot at chart success. They were wrong.
#FiveYearsBox #BuzzFeedBowie
Lazarus sells out within hours of going on sale
“Loving The Alien”
Tickets for all performances of the New York Theatre Workshop’s presentation of Lazarus sold out within hours of going on sale today.
Congratulations to all involved with the production and many thanks to all of you who purchased tickets.
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LAZARUS
By David Bowie & Enda Walsh
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Inspired by the novel The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
2015/16 SEASON
November 18, 2015—December 27, 2015
Following his revelatory production of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, the internationally acclaimed director Ivo van Hove returns to New York Theatre Workshop with a new production, Lazarus, by David Bowie and Enda Walsh. Mr. Walsh makes his return to NYTW after the successful run of Once. Lazarus features songs specially composed for this production by Mr. Bowie as well as new arrangements of previously recorded songs. Lazarus, inspired by the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis, centres on the character of Thomas Jerome Newton, famously portrayed by Bowie in the 1976 screen adaptation directed by Nicolas Roeg.
Go here for the full cast list and read the press release here.
#Lazarus #LazarusNYTW #TJNewton #TMWFTE
Hear new Bowie in TLP opening credits first look
“At the centre of it all, Your eyes”
Go here to view The Last Panthers opening credits sequence, featuring a 47-second tease of BLACKSTAR, the first new music from David Bowie since last year’s Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) single release.
Sky Atlantic unveiled the opening credits for the major new drama today, featuring the brand new original song written and performed by David Bowie.
The Last Panthers title sequence first look comes just five weeks before the show launches simultaneously across Europe on Sky Atlantic at 9pm, 12 November 2015.
BLACKSTAR is the result of a meeting of minds between David Bowie and the director of The Last Panthers, Johan Renck, who met during the filming of the show.
Renck had this to say regarding their meeting:
“I showed Mr. Bowie the two first episodes in the rough state they were at the time, and he liked what he saw very much. We discussed the various aspects of the show; naturally the plot line, but also the underlying currents of guilt and personality flaws. We talked about the dark heart of Europe. We talked about the biblical aspects of human nature. He asked if there was anything else to see, so I showed him the first concept board I had just made for the title sequence - images from the show laced with chimaeras and demons from the worlds of Bosch and Grunewald. That’s when he said go - it all fits. Then he played me his new song BLACKSTAR.”
The six part series, jointly pan-European commission from Sky and CANAL + in France, stars Academy Award nominee and BAFTA winner Samantha Morton alongside double Cesar award winner Tahar Rahim, Croatian star Goran Bogdan and two time Academy Award Nominee, three-time BAFTA winner and Golden Globe winner John Hurt.
The series is produced by France's Haut et Court TV ('The Returned') and the UK's Warp Films ('This is England') and directed by the acclaimed Johan Renck (Bloodline, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead as well as videos by Madonna, New Order, Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey) and was filmed in Marseille, Belgrade, Montenegro and London.
The Last Panthers will screen on CANAL + in France and on Sky Atlantic in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria from 12 November.
#BLACKSTAR #LastPanthers #NewBowieSong
Five Bowie 45s in chart as Space Oddity released
“You’ve really made the grade”
With the 40th anniversary picture disc of Space Oddity released worldwide today, David Bowie has no less than five vinyl 45s in the current official UK chart, with three of those in the Top 20.
All five are headed in the right direction, including a surprise new entry for the 2013 The Next Day single.
Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40
25 September 2015 - 01 October 2015
#04 Fame (up from #11)
#11 Kingdom Come (up from #40)
#15 Young Americans (up from #17)
#22 Knock On Wood (re-entry)
#38 The Next Day (new entry)
Seems like there’s a section of Bowie fans who really are into vinyl again.
Don’t forget that the extremely limited Space Oddity 40th Anniversary T-shirt/Pic Disc bundle is available to order here now.
#DavidBowie #SpaceOddity40 #OCCvinyl45s
Lazarus tickets on general sale October 7th
“Sending me so far away, so far away”
Up until now tickets for Lazarus have only been available to subscribed members of the New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW).
However, that changes on the morning of October 7th when tickets go on general sale here.
Tickets are selling well with some nights already sold out even before the general sale.
If news of Lazarus has passed you by for one bizarre reason or another, keep reading...
LAZARUS
By David Bowie & Enda Walsh
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Inspired by the novel The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
2015/16 SEASON
November 18, 2015—December 27, 2015
Following his revelatory production of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, the internationally acclaimed director Ivo van Hove returns to New York Theatre Workshop with a new production, Lazarus, by David Bowie and Enda Walsh. Mr. Walsh makes his return to NYTW after the successful run of Once. Lazarus features songs specially composed for this production by Mr. Bowie as well as new arrangements of previously recorded songs. Lazarus, inspired by the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis, centres on the character of Thomas Jerome Newton, famously portrayed by Bowie in the 1976 screen adaptation directed by Nicolas Roeg.
Go here for the full cast list and ead the full press release here.
#Lazarus #LazarusNYTW #TJNewton #TMWFTE
Win signed Five Years vinyl box via TOPSIFY
“All you’ve got to do is win...”
Follow the link to TOPSIFY for your chance to win the very tasty vinyl version of David Bowie’s (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set, signed by the man himself.
You have until 23:59:59 BST on 16 October 2015 to enter.
#FiveYearsBox
PURS 10" acetate and TPs up for grabs
“And me I’m on a radio show”
The European allotment of the Pin Ups Radio Show (PURS), which was made available exclusively via the Official David Bowie Online Store with pre-orders of the David Bowie (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set, has completely sold out.
However, there are still limited quantities of the US consignment, including both the 10" vinyl and the CD. The 10" vinyl is available with the vinyl box while the CD version is available with the CD box.
You can order directly via the links below, but do bear in mind the extra charges if you’re outside of the US.
Vinyl Box: http://smarturl.it/FiveYearsUSvinyl
CD Box: http://smarturl.it/FiveYearsUScd
Meanwhile, if you’re signed up to the official David Bowie mailing list, look out for an upcoming contest for your chance to win a 10" acetate of PURS, or a 10" test pressing (TP).
Even if you’re not already subscribed, there’s still time to participate by signing up to the official David Bowie mailing list now.
#PURS
Space Oddity reissued 40 years ago today
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Lift Off...”
In the very same week that David Bowie achieved his first ever #1 US single with Fame (September 20th, 1975), RCA issued the Space Oddity EP which would go on to be his first UK #1.
The 3-track EP was released forty years ago today (September 26th, 1975), and that's the 1975 sheet music and press advert in our montage, along with the new 40th Anniversary Picture Disc.
Though the original 1969 Philips issue furnished Bowie with his first top five hit in the UK, it was the 1975 reissue that gave him his first #1 UK single.
As we mentioned previously, we’re marking this fact with the release of a Space Oddity 40th Anniversary T-shirt/Pic Disc bundle to be released next Friday, October 2nd.
These Tees are produced in particularly limited quantities and you can pre-order yours here now.
Here are the track details:
A-Side
Space Oddity (UK single edit)
(David Bowie)
Produced by Gus Dudgeon and arranged by David Bowie and Paul Buckmaster
AA-Side
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side with spoken introduction)
(David Bowie)
Produced by Gus Dudgeon and arranged by David Bowie and Paul Buckmaster
#DavidBowie #SpaceOddity40
David Bowie (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box out now
“Five Years, what a surprise”
As if you didn’t know, David Bowie’s (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set is released worldwide today and it is a thing of rare beauty: http://smarturl.it/BNet5Years
#FiveYearsBox
Outside released twenty years ago today
“It’s happening Outside”
David Bowie’s 1. Outside album was released on this day in 1995 (26th in the US), the same week that the first single from the album, The Hearts Filthy Lesson, entered the UK Top 40.
The Bowie/Eno/Richards produced LP peaked at #8 on the UK album chart and narrowly missed the US Billboard Top 20 when it reached #21 there.
The release was supported by the remarkable 1995/1996 Outside World Tour (which kicked off on September 14th in Hartford in the US), and a couple of beautifully disturbing videos for The Hearts Filthy Lesson and Strangers When We Meet single releases.
However, the biggest hit from the album, albeit in the shape of a Pet Shop Boys remix, was Hallo Spaceboy which reached #12 on the UK singles chart in March 1996.
Remind yourself just how good an album it is via this link to the deluxe reissue on Spotify.
FOOTNOTE: Speaking of reissues, the Friday Music white vinyl issue of 1. Outside which we told you about last week, will become the first ever double vinyl Bowie studio album.
A single disc version titled Excerpts From Outside was released on vinyl originally, but it omitted several tracks and had edits of others.
#Outside20 #BowieOutside
When Bowie’s Elephant Man wowed Broadway
“He’s a broken man”
Thirty five years ago David Bowie triumphed on Broadway with his stunning performance in The Elephant Man at The Booth Theatre in New York.
Opening there on 23 September 1980, The Broadway run was preceded by presentations in Denver and Chicago with unanimous praise heaped upon Bowie for his portrayal of John Merrick.
29 July - 3 August 1980 Denver Centre of Performing Arts
5 August 1980 - 31 August 1980 Blackstone Theatre, Chicago
23 September 1980 - 3 January 1981 The Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St, New York
Sadly, it seems there is no complete record of the performance and so we have to rely on the snippets of film that do exist and the memories of those who witnessed the play first hand.
Check out Karen Banwell’s (Spaceface) FB page, David Bowie in The Elephant Man, for both of those things.
FOOTNOTE: If you can't make out the words in the image displayed here, scroll the picture for a larger version of the text.
#BowieElephantMan #BowieOnBroadway #ElephantMan35
New Bowie music for THE LAST PANTHERS
“Panthers are steaming, stalking, screaming”
David Bowie writes title track for THE LAST PANTHERS
David Bowie has recorded a brand new original song which will feature in the opening credits for the forthcoming European crime thriller, THE LAST PANTHERS. It is the first time the artist has contributed original music for film or television in twenty years. The track is the result of a meeting of minds between Bowie and the director of the series Johan Renck who met during the filming of the show.
Johan Renck comments:
“I was looking for one of the icons of my youth to write the music for the title sequence, but was presented with a God. His first response was precise, engaged and curious. The piece of music he laid before us embodied every aspect of our characters and the series itself - dark, brooding, beautiful and sentimental (in the best possible incarnation of this word). All along, the man inspired and intrigued me and as the process passed, I was overwhelmed with his generosity. I still can't fathom what actually happened...”
The six part series, jointly pan-European commission from Sky and CANAL + in France, opens with a daring diamond heist before delving into the dark heart of Europe where a shadowy alliance of gangsters and 'banksters' now rule.
THE LAST PANTHERS stars Academy Award nominee and BAFTA winner Samantha Morton alongside double Cesar award winner Tahar Rahim, Croatian star Goran Bogdan and two time Academy Award Nominee, three-time BAFTA winner and Golden Globe winner John Hurt.
The series is produced by France's Haut et Court TV (‘The Returned’) and the UK's Warp Films (‘This is England’) and directed by the acclaimed Johan Renck (Bloodline, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead as well as videos by Madonna, New Order, Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey) and was filmed in Marseille, Belgrade, Montenegro and London. THE LAST PANTHERS will screen on CANAL + France and on Sky Atlantic in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria this autumn.
http://smarturl.it/SkyAtlanticTLP http://smarturl.it/CanalPlusTLP
#LastPanthers #NewBowieSong
Rolling Stone France sixteen-page cover feature
“Je, Je me rapelle”
Rolling Stone France (October 2015 - #78) has published a 16-page cover feature in celebration of the David Bowie (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set.
Articles include: Watch That Man!, L'Homme Qui Venait D'Ailleurs (The Man Who Fell To Earth), Bowie by Mick Rock, Ziggy In America and Bowie by Iggy.
Aside from the feature there’s also a full-page advert for the box set and five star review of it by Thomas Grimaud.
You can purchase the magazine here online.
#RSFR #FiveYearsBox
Bowie picture feature in new free NME
“We've got five years, stuck on my eyes”
Following a short break in publication, NME magazine in the UK is back today (Friday) and it’s now free.
The new edition features a page regarding the pictorial content of the David Bowie (Five Years 1969 – 1973) box set due on September 25th.
The article also suggests you should check out this gallery of unseen Bowie pics.
Find out where you can blag a free copy of the world’s favourite music weekly here.
#FreeNME #FiveYearsBox
Friday Music to issue Outside for Black Friday
“The music is outside”
Friday Music will release their fifth Bowie 180g audiophile coloured vinyl for Black Friday on November 27th.
Housed in their trademark tri-fold sleeve, 1. Outside will be released for the first time on vinyl in its entirety. It will be issued as a double album pressed on white vinyl.
A single disc version titled Excerpts From Outside was released on vinyl originally, but it omitted several tracks and had edits of others.
Released in September 1995, the Bowie/Eno/Richards produced album was a Top 10 hit in the UK where it reached #8.
Three singles were released from 1. Outside: The Hearts Filthy Lesson, Hallo Spaceboy and Strangers When We Meet.
Tracklisting:
SIDE ONE
1. LEON TAKES US OUTSIDE
2. OUTSIDE
3. THE HEART’S FILTHY LESSON
4. A SMALL PLOT OF LAND
SIDE TWO
1. SEGUE-BABY GRACE (A HORRID CASSETTE)
2. HALLO SPACEBOY
3. THE MOTEL
4. I HAVE NOT BEEN TO OXFORD TOWN
SIDE THREE
1. NO CONTROL
2. SEGUE-ALGERIA TOUCHSHRIEK
3. THE VOYEUR OF UTTER DESTRUCTION (AS BEAUTY)
4. SEGUE-RAMONA A. STONE/ I AM WITH NAME
5. WISHFUL BEGINNINGS
SIDE FOUR
1. WE PRICK YOU
2. SEGUE-NATHAN ADLER
3. I’M DERANGED
4. THRU’ THESE ARCHITECTS EYES
5. SEGUE-NATHAN ADLER (VERSION #2)
6. STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET
Here are the release dates of all five Bowie albums Friday Music are issuing in 2015:
Heathen (translucent blue) - August 7
Reality (transparent) - September 25
'hours...' (translucent blue) - November 20
Earthling (translucent green) - November 27 (Black Friday/RSD release)
1. Outside (white) - November 27 (Black Friday release)
Check out the Friday Music David Bowie store here.
#BowieOutside #BowieBlackFriday #BowieFridayMusic
NYTW announces full Lazarus cast
“I never thought I'd need so many people”
The New York Theatre Workshop has announced full casting for its upcoming world-premiere production of Lazarus. Tony nominee Cristin Milioti (Once) and The Last Ship's Michael Esper will join the previously announced Michael C. Hall, star of TV’s Dexter and last seen on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The cast will also include Krystina Alabado (American Idiot), Sophia Anne Caruso (The Sound Of Music: Live), Nicholas Christopher (Whorl Inside A Loop), Lynn Craig (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Bobby Moreno (Year of the Rooster), Krista Pioppi (Spring Awakening national tour), Charlie Pollock (The Wild Party) and Brynn Williams (Bye Bye Birdie).
Previews begin Nov 18 at New York Theatre Workshop, with a Dec 7 opening night. The show features new songs specially composed by Bowie as well as new arrangements of previously recorded songs.
Read more on playbill.com
#Lazarus
Exclusive limited edition Space Oddity bundle
“And the papers want to know whose T-shirts you wear”
Many of you will have received an email regarding a Space Oddity 40th Anniversary T-shirt/Pic Disc bundle pre-order offer. But, for those that haven’t...
These Tees are produced in very limited quantities and this one is no exception with just 200 bundles available.
Despite the imagery used for this disc and T-shirt set, we’re not talking about the anniversary of the original 1969 issue on Philips, which gave Bowie his first Top 5 hit on the UK singles chart, or even the 1973 US release which reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973.
We’re actually celebrating the 1975 RCA re-issue which furnished Bowie with his first ever UK #1 single. Originally issued in the UK on Friday September 26th 1975, Space Oddity followed hot on the heels of Bowie’s first #1 hit in the USA with Fame.
This 40th anniversary disc of Space Oddity is scheduled to be released forty years and 5 days on from that original 1975 release date, and it will be available from Friday October 2nd, 2015.
Here are the track details:
A-Side
Space Oddity (UK single edit)
(David Bowie)
Produced by Gus Dudgeon and arranged by David Bowie and Paul Buckmaster
AA-Side
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side with spoken introduction)
(David Bowie)
Produced by Gus Dudgeon and arranged by David Bowie and Paul Buckmaster
Both sides stereo
A Side image from the David Bowie Archive, originally used for the 1969 Philips French picture sleeve
AA Side photo by Vernon Dewhurst
#DavidBowie #SpaceOddity40 #SpaceOddityNumber1
Happy 50th Birthday David Bowie
“Fame, What's your name?”
David Bowie is 50-years-old today...at least the name David Bowie is.
The most solid evidence of when David chose to go with Bowie over Jones as his professional name, first appeared in Kenneth Pitt's book, David Bowie The Pitt Report. In it Ken talks about the transition between David's managers from one Ralph Horton to Ken himself. In a telephone conversation of the 15th, Ralph discussed with Ken the possibility of Ken taking over the management reins.
The time wasn't right for Ken just yet. But, by his account, he did suggest a name change for the 18-year-old David Jones, due to similarly named entertainers in the public eye at that time, not least of all a young actor who was to find world-wide fame as a singing Monkee.
Ralph responded to Ken in a letter dated the 17th in which he wrote: “I have taken the liberty of writing to you and advising you that I have now changed Davie's name to David Bowie.”
Obviously it's unlikely that Ralph had any hand in the selection of the new name, as David had already been toying with various stage names. It's also highly likely that the name of Bowie had been kicking around in David's mind for some time, particularly as he says the Bowie knife was the inspiration for the name, a weapon that he would have been aware of since his childhood days. Indeed, it transpires he had been experimenting with variations of Bowie long before then with early bad names such as the Bowmen being considered.
Ahead of the release of the very first record to bear the name Bowie (Can't Help Thinking About Me released January 14th 1966, as David Bowie and The Lower Third, The Lower Third are pictured here), It seems there was a concerted effort to make the public aware of the name change ahead of the new record, with lots of press on the subject and even a two inch square box ad in the back pages of the Christmas eve '65 issue of Melody Maker. The advert contained the simple legend: BOWIE
And what a legend the name was to become!
Happy 50th David Bowie. Never look back, walk tall, act fine.
Reality album is twelve
“Hey boy welcome to Reality”
Reality, David Bowie’s 26th studio LP, was released in the USA on this day in 2003. (September 15th in the UK)
Produced by David Bowie and Tony Visconti the album peaked at #3 on the UK chart and fared even better in many other European countries.
If for some strange reason it’s an album you’re unfamiliar with, check it out now.