100-page Rock&Folk Bowie Special

“There’s been many others, so many times”

Our good friend Jérôme Soligny has been in touch with details of a Rock&Folk Bowie special (exclusive peek at the cover in our montage), and the current February issue of the regular Rock&Folk magazine.

Over to Jérôme...

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When we heard the news on the saddest Monday morning of all, Rock&Folk decided to keep busy and work hard on the special issue we had in mind for years. We never thought it would be an 'in memoriam' issue.

Basically, the special is a compilation of some of the best interviews David gave us over the past 4 decades, some go back to when I was a teenager and when I was actually stealing the mag!

But, of course, we also wrote some new articles, starting with a great piece by Eric Dahan, my Bowie compere for years. We had the feeling we had to give our readers (among them our fellow French Bowie fans), the special issue they deserve...and that David deserves too.

Our tribute to such an incomparable artist needed to be massive: 100 pages, and, of course, Mick Rock (who else?) provided an exclusive shot from the Pin Ups photo shoot for the special issue. 

Now that it’s done, we may cry, or maybe put some David Bowie record on and dance the f…. night away.

Also, the issue 582 of the mag (with Motörhead on the cover - what an awful year it’s been so far), is just out.

Inside, R&F’s editor Philippe Manœuvre wrote a one page tribute to our Main Man and there’s a page featuring all the mag’s covers he’s been on. Also in this 582 issue, there’s a 6-page article written after I went to New York to see Lazarus. David was still alive.

So David, us common mortals salute you wherever you are and as I say in the last words of the last phrase of the last article I wrote for this issue: Have a fantastic voyage!

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Thanks to you Jérôme and all at Rock&Folk for your unstinting support of David Bowie over the last forty plus years, it’s very much appreciated.

Meanwhile, check out this animation of the Rock&Folk Bowie covers.

#RocknFolkBowie

More Bowie front covers

“Every magazine on every shelf”

A few more recent magazine covers for those of you that like to keep up with these things.

#DavidBowie  #BowiePress

US and UK trade magazine Bowie specials

“Look out your window I can see his light”

Billboard (Jan 23) in the US and Music Week (Jan 18) in the UK both have specials celebrating the life and career of David Bowie in their latest issues.

Aside from the pages of tributes in both magazines, Billboard has a beautiful, full page Sukita portrait placed by Warner Music Group/Parlophone with the headline “YOU BLEW OUR MINDS”.

Music Week has a special wraparound cover placed by Columbia with a Bowie front cover underneath that.

There’s also a full-page placed by the Official Charts Company with the legend: “Farewell to the ultimate Starman - Still the nation’s hero”. 

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) to view more.

Both magazines are available now.

#DavidBowie  #BowiePress    #BowieBillboard    #BowieMusicWeek

★ in at #1 on Billboard 200 Chart

“The toppest top of all the tops”

David Bowie’s ★ has gone straight in at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, giving him his first #1 album in the US.

His previous studio album, The Next Day, had been his highest placing on the chart until now, when it reached #2 in 2013.

Check out this Billboard piece regarding this success.

Thanks again to everybody who helped make this happen, particularly those of you that bought the release.

#DavidBowie  #Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BlackstarNumberOne

Arcade Fire’s Memorial Parade for Bowie

“Planet Earth is blue, And there’s so much you can do”

An incredible amount of tributes to David Bowie are taking place around the globe this weekend, through every form of the media and using just about every imaginable medium there is.

Sadly there are way too many to list here, a Google search of ‘David Bowie tribute’ returned around 86 million results.

So even though it might seem unfair to single out any one event, there is a band that David Bowie himself did single out: Arcade Fire.

Reflektor was the last contribution Bowie made to another artist’s record and his love of the band generally, is well documented.

That appreciation was a two-way thing with Win Butler and the band being quoted many times on the subject of their love for all things Bowie.

Here’s an entry from January 12th on the Arcade Fire FB page:

David Bowie was one of the band's earliest supporters and champions. He not only created the world that made it possible for our band to exist, he welcomed us into it with grace and warmth. We will take to the grave the moments we shared; talking, playing music and collaborating as some of the most profound and memorable moments of our lives. A true artist even in his passing, the world is more bright and mysterious because of him, and we will continue to shout prayers into the atmosphere he created.

That love is illustrated again perfectly today in New Orleans at 16:00 local time with: Arcade Fire and Preservation Hall Jazz Band Present "Pretty Things" A Memorial Parade for Bowie. Check out the FB event page here.

If you are able to attend please go and show your love for David Bowie and your appreciation for Arcade Fire and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Our inset picture shows Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of the band with David and Iman, backstage at the Highline Festival in 2007. (© Gary Gershoff/WireImage.com 2007)

#DavidBowie  #BowieTribute  #BowieArcadeFire

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Preservation Hall, 726 St Peter St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70116

Dress in your best Bowie outfit or something more strange and meet us at 4pm on Saturday, January 16th at Preservation Hall.

"The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time" - David Bowie

The Route:

Departing from Preservation Hall on St. Peter to Royal

RIGHT on Royal to Toulouse

LEFT on Toulouse to the river

STOP for (10) ten minutes

continue along the river to St. Louis

RIGHT on to St. Louis

RIGHT on Chartres

LEFT on Toulouse to One Eyed Jacks

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★ enters UK chart at #1 with 19 Bowie albums and 13 singles in UK Top 100

“I never thought I’d need so many people”

David Bowie is the Starman of the Official Chart as the nation pays tribute to a music icon

Over half a million Bowie records sold in the UK this week

Bowie commands one quarter of the Official Albums Chart Top 40

19 Bowie albums and 13 singles enter the Top 100

As the nation mourns the sad passing of David Bowie this week, the star’s continued impact on music shows as he dominates this week’s Official Chart.

Bowie’s new album Blackstar debuts at Number 1 with combined sales of almost 150,000, giving him his tenth chart-topping record and the fastest selling album of the year so far.

Importantly, Blackstar was already headed for Number 1 before news of Bowie’s death broke; early sales flashes last weekend revealed the record was head and shoulders above the competition.

Including Blackstar, over half a million Bowie records were picked up this week in the UK - totalling 623,000 combined sales and streams. The figure includes 241,000 album sales, 167,000 singles purchased, and Bowie tracks were streamed over 19 million times on audio streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Deezer and more.

Ten of the late icon’s albums command one quarter of this week’s Official Albums Chart Top 40, and 19 entries in the albums Top 100.

His 2014 retrospective Nothing Has Changed – The Very Best Of is the highest re-entry at Number 5, followed by The Best Of 1969/1974 at Number 11.

The full list of his 19 albums in this week’s Official Albums Chart appears below:

01 - BLACKSTAR - RCA

05 - NOTHING HAS CHANGED - THE VERY BEST OF DAVID BOWIE - PARLOPHONE

11 - THE BEST OF 1969/1974 - PARLOPHONE

14 - HUNKY DORY - PARLOPHONE

17 - THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST - PARLOPHONE

18 - BEST OF BOWIE - PARLOPHONE

23 - ALADDIN SANE - PARLOPHONE

25 - THE NEXT DAY - RCA

31 - LOW - PARLOPHONE

37 - DIAMOND DOGS - PARLOPHONE

42 - LET'S DANCE - PARLOPHONE

45 - "HEROES" - PARLOPHONE

55 - STATION TO STATION - PARLOPHONE

59 - THE BEST OF - 1980/1987 PARLOPHONE

60 - YOUNG AMERICANS - PARLOPHONE

61 - SCARY MONSTERS - PARLOPHONE

89 - THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - PARLOPHONE

95 - SPACE ODDITY - PARLOPHONE

97 - FIVE YEARS - 1969-1973 - PARLOPHONE

View the full Albums Top 100 here

Bowie’s entries on this week’s Official Singles Chart:

12 - HEROES - PARLOPHONE

16 - LIFE ON MARS - PARLOPHONE

18 - STARMAN - PARLOPHONE

23 - LET'S DANCE - PARLOPHONE

24 - SPACE ODDITY - PARLOPHONE

43 - UNDER PRESSURE - QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE - VIRGIN

45 - LAZARUS - RCA

49 - CHANGES - PARLOPHONE

61 - BLACKSTAR - RCA

62 - ASHES TO ASHES - PARLOPHONE

65 - REBEL REBEL - PARLOPHONE

76 - ZIGGY STARDUST - PARLOPHONE

97 - CHINA GIRL - PARLOPHONE

View the full Singles Top 100 here

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieOCC

Worldwide Bowie press

“I can see the magazines”

Just a small sample of some of the Bowie related press out there at the moment.

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for more images

#DavidBowie  #BowiePress

Thank you

The family of David Bowie is currently making arrangements for a private ceremony celebrating the memory of their beloved husband, father and friend.

They ask once again that their privacy be respected at this most sensitive of times.

We are overwhelmed by and grateful for the love and support shown throughout the world. 

However, it is important to note that while the concerts and tributes planned for the coming weeks are all welcome, none are official memorials organized or endorsed by the family.

Just as each and every one of us found something unique in David's music, we welcome everyone’s celebration of his life as they see fit.

★ digital billboard in Times Square NYC

“The stars are out tonight”

See video here 

#DavidBowie  #Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum

January 10 2016

David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.

More praise for ★ album in US press

“I catch the paper boy”

There’s been a whole raft of great reviews for the ★ album over the last few days.

We’ll be selecting a few from around the globe over the next week or so.

Here are edited excerpts from three reviews in the American press.

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The Wall Street Journal: Ziggy Stardust Plays Jazz - By JIM FUSILLI

With “Blackstar,” the delicious conceit of David Bowie conspiring with modern jazz artists is fulfilled beautifully. What began merely as a “boundary-pushing experiment,” according to Mr. Visconti, the album confirms that Mr. Bowie has long found inspiration in jazz. With its powerful, erudite performances by Mr. McCaslin and crew, “Blackstar” emerges as an album to savor as well as admire.

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Chicago Sun-Times: Bowie obliterates boundaries on his blazing ‘Blackstar’ 

Has there ever been a pop star cooler than David Bowie? Through a career spanning nearly 50 years and a wide assortment of styles and genres— including a few he helped pioneer— this multifaceted artist and personality has continued to pique our curiosity without compromising or embarrassing himself.

Not all of Bowie’s projects have been mind-blowing, of course; but his latest album, Blackstar— out Friday, his 69th birthday— is an unqualified triumph. Texturally adventurous, sonically stunning and full of both ambivalence and yearning, it reveals a musician who has seldom acknowledged boundaries or courted accessibility in top form, with most accessible results.

Blackstar reaffirms both his gift for flash and the soulfulness that sustains it — the fire under his chilly exterior, which by all indications is burning as brightly as ever.

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Los Angeles Times: David Bowie looks far beyond pop on jazz-inspired 'Blackstar' - By Mikael Wood 

As fierce and unsettling -- and sometimes as beautiful -- as anything in Bowie’s one-of-a-kind catalog, “Blackstar” looks to jazz not for tunes or signifiers but for a proud sense of sonic freedom. If anything, it views taste and maturity with suspicion -- and thus shares about as much with your typical rocker-doing-jazz record as the singer’s trippy new off-Broadway musical, “Lazarus,” does with “Les Miz.”

The album’s intensity shouldn’t come as a surprise. In early 2013, after 10 years of quiet, Bowie suddenly reemerged with “The Next Day,” a jolt of vivid guitar rock that openly recalled his classic work from the 1970s. But where “The Next Day” showed he could still do pop economy, “Blackstar” emphasizes a different Bowie attribute: His willingness to pursue an idea well beyond the constraints of verse-chorus-verse.

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While we’re with the LA Times, the paper ran another recent piece by Sasha Frere-Jones, titled: An insider's look behind the making of David Bowie's secretive 'Blackstar' album, with contributions from both Tony Visconti and Donny McCaslin.

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum

iTunes: smarturl.it/blackstar_itunes

Amazon: smarturl.it/blackstar_amazon

Spotify: smarturl.it/blackstar_spotify

Vinyl: smarturl.it/blackstar_vinyl

★ album is #1 UK and #2 USA

“Just go with me”

Congratulations are due to David Bowie with the news that his ★ album is the best-selling album on iTunes and Amazon in the UK and it's the second best-selling album on iTunes and Amazon in the USA.

Thanks so much folks, you put it there!

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum

iTunes: smarturl.it/blackstar_itunes

Amazon: smarturl.it/blackstar_amazon

Spotify: smarturl.it/blackstar_spotify

Vinyl: smarturl.it/blackstar_vinyl

Paul Smith for David Bowie ★ T-shirt

“I like the T-shirts”

Paul Smith is delighted to announce a new collaboration with David Bowie and graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook to mark the release of Bowie’s 28th studio album, ★ (Blackstar).

The limited edition Paul Smith for David Bowie T-shirt design is available in black and white versions, blending Jonathan Barnbrook’s ★ album artwork with handwritten text from Paul.

Go here for more.

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #PaulSmithBowie

Happy Birthday David Bowie and ★

“That’s the message that I sent”

Why is this man so happy? Is it because it‘s his 69th birthday or that he has released his 28th studio album today and it’s a corker?

Who knows, but we’re sure you’ll want to join us in congratulating him on both.

Many happy returns of the day to David Bowie and ★

(Fashion fans may like to note that our man is wearing Thom Browne)

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieBirthday  #BowieBrowne

Bowie’s "Thank You Notes" in Lazarus video

“Ain’t that just like me”

If you’ve not already seen last night’s broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, then you may find this particularly amusing.

There’s not much point in talking about it, you just have to watch it.

However, we should warn you that you may never be able to view the Lazarus video in quite the same light again.

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #LazarusVideo  #BowieFallon  

Bowie feature in Le Parisien mag on Friday

“When your mask came off”

Eric Dahan has authored a seven page feature for the new edition of Le Parisien Magazine.

Sordid details following...

David Bowie feature in Le Parisien Magazine this Friday

The best-selling French national newspaper (500,000 copies sold daily and 2.5 million circulation) has devoted seven pages of its first weekend supplement edition of the year to David Bowie, to be released this Friday in order to coincide with his birthday and the release of ★.

After having declared in French Vanity Fair that contrary to the « long dead idea of Progress » symbolised by « the skeleton of Major Tom » in Blackstar’s video clip, « David Bowie’s art is far from going to die », and after having qualified David Bowie’s new album in French magazine Rock and Folk as a « spring-like and sensual » record « that makes you wanna dance », Eric Dahan in this Le Parisien Magazine story, expresses his admiration for the « God of modern rock », the «adventurous » and « prophetic » artist, « one of the very last survivors of a time when artists used to question the world and interpreted it for the majority by inventing new poetic equations ». He raves again about Blackstar : A « playful and striking » album with which David Bowie « has chosen to reaffirm his status of doomed poet and herald of strangeness »

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #BowieLeParisien

Watch Bowie’s Lazarus video now

“And I’ve got to write it down”

The Johan Renck-directed video for David Bowie’s latest single, Lazarus, has been revealed at: http://smarturl.it/DBLazarus

Keep reading for the press release and a quotation from Renck about working with Bowie on this deliciously disturbing new film.

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #LazarusSingle  #LazarusVideo

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DAVID BOWIE

“LAZARUS” VIDEO DIRECTED BY JOHAN RENCK LIVE NOW AT http://smarturl.it/DBLazarus 

★ ALBUM OUT JANUARY 8th ON ISO/COLUMBIA RECORDS

Having been teased earlier this week, the full lucid nightmare brilliance of the video for David Bowie’s current single “Lazarus” has been revealed at http://smarturl.it/DBLazarus 

“Lazarus” is the second single from Bowie’s 28th album ★ out January 8 on ISO/Columbia Records. Director Johan Renck, who also directed the 10-minute short film for the album’s title track, commented on the experience of visually interpreting that song and “Lazarus”:

“One could only dream about collaborating with a mind like that; let alone twice. Intuitive, playful, mysterious and profound... I have no desire to do any more videos knowing the process never ever gets as formidable and fulfilling as this was. I’ve basically touched the sun."

Meanwhile, early critical notices on the about-to-be-released ★ album continue to amplify the universal acclaim that greeted its lead track (recently hailed as one of the best songs of 2015 in THE NEW YORK TIMES):

“His best anti-pop masterpiece since the Seventies… Bowie’s most fulfilling spin away from glam-legend pop charm since 1977’s Low. ★ is that strange and that good."—ROLLING STONE

“Already one of the best albums of 2016… The Thin White Duke continues to make some of the most forward-thinking music around… the songs on his 28th studio album sound like nothing else in pop music right now… Bowie is squarely in his comfort zone—which is light years ahead of anyone else.”—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"These are diabolical earworms, all the more creepy for their singsong lucidity. But hasn’t that always been Bowie’s genius, knowing exactly how much sugar is needed to smuggle in the strange?”—VULTURE

“The delicious conceit of David Bowie conspiring with modern jazz artists is fulfilled beautifully… emerges as an album to savor as well as admire.”—WALL STREET JOURNAL

★ is released January 8, 2016 on ISO/Columbia Records.

Pre-order links:

CD: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_amazon

Vinyl LP: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_vinyl

Digital album: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_itunes

Limited Edition Special Clear Vinyl LP: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_clearvinyl

www.imablackstar.com

www.davidbowie.com

★ reviews in GQ and EW

“C'mon and get it soon...”

Reviews for ★ are coming thick and fast and weֺ’ll be posting excerpts from some of them in the run up to the release of ★ on Friday.

Here are the concluding paragraphs of reviews from the February 2016 British GQ and the January 8th edition of US magazine, Entertainment Weekly.

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BRITISH GQ: FLOATING IN A MOST PECULIAR WAY - The Thin White Duke is back, bold and free to experiment as only he can. Story by Dorian Lynskey

If there's a criticism, it's simply that seven songs are too few but they contain more new ideas than most artists, of any age, could manage in 17.

It's likely that Bowie will neither explain nor perform this artistic coup, and that leaves its wonder intact: light from a distant star. "Lazarus" is presumably narrated by a character from the stage show but the sentiment suits perfectly this bold, liberated album from a man who has shed all extraneous obligations: "I'll be free/Ain’t that just like me?"

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Entertainment Weekly: DAVID BOWIE’S BOLD RETURN - How the rock legend reinvented himself once again on Blackstar. Already one of the best albums of 2016. By Kyle Anderson

[Regarding Bowie] McCaslin explains, “He's a guy who could do anything at this point. I didn't notice him reaching back. I just felt like he's pushing to do something new.” With Blackstar, Bowie is squarely in his comfort zone – which is light-years ahead of anyone else.

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#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  

★ review on BBC Radio 4’s Frontrow

“I can’t give everything, I can't give everything...”

BBC Radio 4’s Frontrow programme in the UK will be talking about the ★ album from 19:15 this evening.

If you listen in, you may even be privy to an exclusive snippet of a track that we haven't previewed yet.

Here’s the blurb from the Frontrow page.

David Bowie's new jazz-influenced album Blackstar will be released on Friday to coincide with the singer's 69th birthday. Critic Kate Mossman gives her response to Bowie's 25th studio album, produced by long-term collaborator Tony Visconti, which has been described as 'the most extreme album of his career'.

This programme will be available online shortly after broadcast.

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  

Third ★ billboard in London

“Look up here, I’m in heaven”

Last month we told you about another huge billboard in London at the corner of Hammersmith Road / North End Road (next to Olympia exhibition centre).

As you can see from our snap, a third Jonathan Barnbrook ★ design has gone up overnight at the same location.

We’ve also included the actual artwork for a little more clarity.

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum