Ziggy’s first show is fifty today

“Pushing thru’ the market square”

Exactly fifty years ago, give or take an hour or two, approximately 700 concertgoers were making their way home having witnessed the shock of the new that was David Bowie’s latest creation.

Generally considered a warm-up for the shows on the horizon, the sold-out gig at Borough Assembly Hall in Aylesbury Market Square on 29th January 1972 was the chosen moment to unveil the sight and sound of Ziggy Stardust.

But, just for a change, we’ll let a few others do the talking. Over to some people who were actually there on the night.

All Images of David Bowie at Friars Aylesbury, 29th January 1972 © www.michaelputland.com

#BowieFriarsAylesbury #ZiggyStardust50 #BowieMichaelPutland

Talking Bowie part two: Dave Grohl

“I like the beat of your drum”

Following on from last week, every Thursday (at 9am PST/12pm EST/5pm GMT) we will share a Bowie focused interview from a name you may well know over on YouTube.

We teased you with a bit of Dave Grohl last week, now you can watch the full instalment, wherein Dave talks about Bowie’s otherworldliness, his musical shapeshifting, emails from DB, and which Bowie album was among the things that inspired him to become a drummer.

Tune in same time same channel next week.

(Picture of DB and DG backstage at MSG, NY, 9th January 1997 by Kevin Mazur)

#TalkingBowie #Bowie75 #BowieDaveGrohl

Listen to TOY radio session now

“And me I’m on a radio show”

Tune in here.

(Image: BowieNet show 19th June 2000 by Total Blam Blam)

#ToyRadioSession #Bowie75 #BowieToy #BowieToyBox

Five Bowie albums in 360RA available now

“There’ll be music everywhere”

You can now enjoy the experience of five Bowie albums remixed and reimagined by Tony Visconti all around you, as today sees the release of Heathen, Reality, A Reality Tour (Live), The Next Day, and ★ all in immersive 360 Reality Audio.

Claim your exclusive trial today on Amazon Music or Tidal.

Full press release here.

#Bowie75 #Bowie360RA #360RA

Bowie YouTube watch party reminder

“Loving the alien”

“The Beatles seemed like four human beings to me, David Bowie did not. David Bowie seemed like an alien and I enjoyed that” [Special guest #1]

Wherever you are on the planet make sure you tune into the "David Bowie Is" YouTube Watch Party.

Set yourself a reminder here.

#TalkingBowie #Bowie75 #DavidBowieIs

Ziggy in print for the very first time

“Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo”

Back on 8th January we ran a piece regarding David’s 25th birthday party at his then home, Haddon Hall. In it, we suggested that he welcomed guests as his latest creation, even if he hadn't given himself the Ziggy label just yet.

The very same day as his 25th, Melody Maker (MM) ran a full-page Hunky Dory advert, though Bowie’s focus was now fully on aforementioned latest creation.

Twelve days later on Thursday the 20th January (fifty years ago today) MM (with a publish date of 22nd January*), ran their first Bowie cover feature, the now famous 'Oh You Pretty Thing' interview by Michael Watts.

Featuring Barry Wentzell’s images taken during the interview at the Gem offices in Regent Street (albeit printed back to front), we’re pretty sure that this feature boasts the very first mention of the album in print, even though it wouldn’t be released for another six months...

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“Bowie is talking in an office at Gem Music, from where his management operates. A tape machine is playing his next album, "The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars," which is about this fictitious pop group. The music has got a very hard-edged sound, like "The Man Who Sold The World." They're releasing it shortly, even though "Hunky Dory" has only just come out.”

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The feature became known as the “I’m gay” interview, even though Watts had already pointed out earlier in the piece: “He supposes he’s what people call bisexual.” As unimportant as either of those statements may seem today, fifty years ago it was a bigger deal, and some would even say brave.

Though it’s a playful piece, it’s clear that Watts was eager to emphasise the brilliance of the music and the fact that David Bowie’s time had come…

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“They call David a lot of things. In the states he's been referred to as the English Bob Dylan and an avant garde outrage, all rolled up together. The New York Times talks of his "coherent and brilliant vision." They like him a lot there. Back home in the very stiff upper lip UK, where people are outraged by Alice Cooper even, there ain't too many who have picked up on him. His last but one album "The Man Who Sold The World," cleared 50.000 copies in the States; here it sold about five copies, and Bowie bought them. Yes, but before this year is out all those of you who puked up on Alice are going to be focusing your passions on Mr. Bowie, and those who know where it's at will be thrilling to a voice that seemingly undergoes brilliant metamorphosis from song to song, a songwriting ability that will enslave the heart, and a sense of theatrics that will make the ablest thespians gnaw on their sticks of eyeliner in envy. All this and an amazingly accomplished band, featuring super-lead guitarist Mick Ronson, that can smack you round the skull with their heaviness and soothe the savage breasts with their delicacy. Oh, to be young again.”

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You can read the full interview over on the brilliant resource that is The ZIGGY STARDUST Companion.

* In the UK, music weeklies were in the shops on a Thursday with the following Saturday’s date on the cover.

#ZiggyStardust50 #BowieMelodyMaker

David Bowie 75 Official Playlist on YouTube

“The gift of sound and vision”

For those of you who don’t do audio streaming, we’ve curated the David Bowie 75 Official Playlist on YouTube.

Enjoy a whole load of Bowie’s most celebrated tracks and music videos from across the decades all in one place for your sound + vision pleasure.

(Aladdin Sane image © The Duffy Archive & The David Bowie Archive™)

#Bowie75 #BowieYouTube #BowieDuffy

Let’s talk Bowie

“We had a friend, a talking man”

Join us this Thursday 20th January at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT for the "David Bowie Is" YouTube Watch Party.

We will be joined by some very special guests discussing our favourite topic, Bowie.

Don't miss it - sign up here.

#TalkingBowie #Bowie75 #DavidBowieIs

Goodbye Steve Schapiro

“Photograph king, watches you go“

Sad post on Steve Schapiro’s FB page a few hours ago.

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Steve passed away last night in a state of peace and wonder at the age of 87.

If there are cameras in Heaven, keep shooting, dad. You are forever loved 💛

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Though Steve was responsible for photographing many superstars and celebrities, it’s likely that he’ll best be remembered by visitors to this page for his extraordinary shots of David Bowie. We’ve posted just a few of those here on the official David Bowie Facebook page in tribute to the great man.

#BowieSchapiro

TOY:BOX enters official UK Album Chart at #5

“When I’m Five...”

David Bowie’s TOY:BOX, released a week ago today, has entered the Official UK Album Chart at #5.

Here’s the Top Five as revealed on BBC Radio 1.

#1) DAWN FM - THE WEEKND

#2) = - ED SHEERAN

#3) 30 - ADELE

#4) DS4EVER - GUNNA

#5) TOY (TOY:BOX) - DAVID BOWIE

Legacy joins TOY in the Top Twenty at #19, up from last week’s #38.

Thanks to everybody for making TOY such a great success and returning Bowie to the Top Five once again.

If you’ve yet to find out what all the excitement is about, go here.

Apparently TOY has fared even better in other European territories such as Germany (#3) and the Netherlands (#4).

The image of a joyous David Bowie was taken in June 2000 during rehearsals for some of the TOY songs, among other things. Pic by Total Blam Blam

FOOTNOTE:

The following Bowie albums are also in the UK physical album chart Top Five:

#1) TOY (TOY:BOX)

#5) HUNKY DORY

And four Bowie albums are in the UK vinyl album chart Top 25:

#1) HUNKY DORY

#2) TOY (TOY:BOX)

#18) LEGACY

#22) ZIGGY STARDUST

#BowieBrilliantAdventure #BowieToy #BowieToyBox #BowieToyCassette #BowieOCC

Low album released 45 years ago today

“It’s love back to front on two sides”

January 14 1977 saw the release of the first instalment of what came to be known as Bowie’s Berlin trilogy. That album was the Bowie/Visconti produced Low and it was followed later the same year by "Heroes" with the trilogy completed in 1979 by the arrival of Lodger.

Most of the music across the three albums wasn't even recorded in Berlin, the unifying factor actually being Bowie, Visconti and Eno.

The evolution of the Low album sleeve started with a couple of sketch artwork ideas David created for the album when it was still called New Music: Night And Day. And before that he was toying with an altogether different title again, providing another example of his fondness for recycling.

Steve Schapiro produced the artwork which became Low following the poster/advert he created for the US release of the The Man Who Fell To Earth utilising David’s character, TJ Newton, in a still from the film.

In the event, it seems the name change to Low was truly last minute. The album was already mentioned in various forthcoming release lists for January 1977 as New Music: Night And Day and allocated the same catalogue number as Low.

The stickered back as opposed to a proper printed tracklist on the sleeve also suggested a rush job. It seems there was no press kit or even a press release for Low and RCA’s advertising campaign was non-existent before the release. Adverts only appeared after the album had already charted in the UK.

This may be down to the fact that RCA didn’t seem too keen to release the album, suggesting it seemed unfinished and needed more work. By all accounts one RCA exec even offered Bowie a house in Philadelphia if he made another Young Americans. Thankfully, Bowie stood by the finished work and insisted that was what would be released.

Anyway, it’s a great sleeve even if not everybody got the visual pun of Low profile. Here's Bowie shortly after the release:

“You see the album, has a profile of me on it, and on the album itself I keep a very 'low profile'. I was very disappointed no one picked up on that. I thought it would've been obvious.”

Much has been written about the brilliance and braveness of the music on Low, and rightly so. It’s probably hard to imagine with the ears of today how utterly unique the record sounded back in 1977.

Apart from the obvious slicing of the album into two distinct sides (reflected better in the original working title of New Music Night And Day), Visconti gifted Low that distinctive drum sound, among other things, via his latest gadget, the Evantide Harmonizer. The Eventide was a machine that Visconti described to Bowie and Eno in a conference call before the sessions, thus: “It fucks with the fabric of time.”

Though Low was a record purportedly informed by the likes of Kraftwerk and other German musicians of the time, it sounded far more organic and not at all mechanised. This was in no small measure due to the nucleus of the band Bowie had favoured during this whole period (starting with Station To Station), of Dennis Davis (drums), Carlos Alomar (guitar) and George Murray (bass), otherwise known as The DAM Trio.

Despite a very mixed press reaction to Low, the album was a commercial success, peaking at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and #11 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart. "Sound and Vision" and "Be My Wife" were released as singles; the former reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Low sounds as fresh today as it ever did...thirty nine minutes of untouchable genius.

#BowieLow

Low on orange vinyl for 45th anniversary

“Drifting into my solitude”

It’s likely that everybody and their Diamond Dog knows about this release already, but this is just to let you know that it will be available in the various Bowie75 stores too, on the exact 45th anniversary of its original release this Friday.

First released by RCA on Friday 14th January 1977, Low was David Bowie’s eleventh studio album. To celebrate its 45th anniversary Parlophone is proud to announce a special limited edition ‘bricks & mortar’ only pressing of the album on orange vinyl.

For those unfamiliar with the term, ‘bricks & mortar’ refers to physical shops and their online equivalents.

LOW FACT FILE:

Working Title: New Music: Night And Day (Last minute name change to the visually punning Low)

Released in the UK as RCA PL 12030 on 14th January, 1977.

Peak UK chart position: #2

Peak US chart position: #11

Original Tracklisting

SIDE 1

1. SPEED OF LIFE

2. BREAKING GLASS

3. WHAT IN THE WORLD

4. SOUND AND VISION *

5. ALWAYS CRASHING IN THE SAME CAR

6. BE MY WIFE *

7. A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN

SIDE 2

1. WARSZAWA

2. ART DECADE

3. WEEPING WALL

4. SUBTERRANEANS

* UK singles

#BowieLow #BowieLowLPis45 #BowieVinyl

A dozen days to go

“You promised me the ending would be clear”

If you’re still planning a visit to Bowie 75 Soho, New York, or Bowie 75 Heddon Street, London, please note that both shops will close on Sunday, 23rd January.

The “Pay 75% of the marked price of select items” offer is now extended to the end of the run.

Photo by Greg Gorman, 1987.

#Bowie75

David Bowie: January 8th 1947 - January 10th 2016

#BowieForever

Thank you

“Your love's amazing”

It was very moving to see all the love shown for David Bowie on what would have been his 75th birthday yesterday.

With all the personal and collective tributes through words, music, and art around the globe, it seems 8th January truly is World David Bowie Day.

But then again, wasn’t it always thus?

#BowieForever #WorldDavidBowieDay #Bowie75

Bowie unveils Ziggy fifty years ago today

“Ziggy threw a party that lasted all night”

With what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday today, we can rewind exactly 50 years to his 25th birthday and a party at his then home, Haddon Hall. But first, some background.

The very same day as his 25th, Melody Maker (MM) ran the full-page Hunky Dory advert (slightly adjusted) that Billboard had run in the US two months earlier.

For the partygoers on their way to Beckenham who hadn’t seen him for a while, the long-haired Bowie was how they imagined the current Bowie to be, as confirmed by that day’s MM advert.

However, the hair had started its journey to the Ziggy cut the previous November, when Trevor Bolder trimmed the top short, but left the back long. The length was then cut in time for the Bowie family Christmas visit to Cyprus in December.

Inspired by Alex Chatelain's photos of Christine Walton for Vogue (see colour image) David’s locks were cut into the style that greeted the Haddon Hall guests.

In 1990, journalist Lisa Robinson remembered the moment like this: “Bowie greeted us at the door of his London house wearing the patterned Ziggy jumpsuit, red vinyl boots and his hair was chopped off in that short spiky orange style – all of it a far cry from the Greta Garbo of the year before – and I remember saying to him, ‘Ahh, so you’ve seen Clockwork Orange’.”

Eighteen years is a long time to expect anybody to remember an event with complete accuracy. At this point David’s hair wasn’t dyed and he had yet to see A Clockwork Orange.

Sadly, photographs from the party have never surfaced. A missed opportunity considering that aside from the soon to be named Spiders From Mars (David wasn’t actually Ziggy yet either), both Lionel Bart and Lou Reed were among the guests purportedly in attendance.

The closest we have are Barry Wentzell’s images we’ve used today of Bowie in the same outfit, taken the following week at the Gem offices in Regent Street. The session was for the famous 22nd January MM Bowie cover feature: Oh You Pretty Thing. But that’s another story.

FOOTNOTE: See the Facebook version of this story for more pictures.

#BowieNewYear2022 #ZiggyStardust50 #Bowie75

Shadow Man streaming single and lyric video

“He’ll show you tomorrow”

A fair few of you around the globe already basking in the light of the 7th of January are no doubt enjoying the latest streaming single release on ISO Records via Parlophone. It takes the form of the beautiful Shadow Man (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix).

This 2000 recording is coupled with Shadow Man (Early Version) recorded thirty years earlier in 1970, which is exclusive to this streaming single.

The eagle-eyed among you wondered what happened to the TOY 2 45 and now you know.

For those of you stuck in the 6th and still waiting for tomorrow, enjoy the lyric video here and check out the press release below.

Live image of Bowie by @blamsnap from the Roseland show in 2000.

#BowieBrilliantAdventure #BowieThinkingAboutMe #BowieToy #BowieShadowMan

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“SHADOW MAN (UNPLUGGED & SOMEWHAT SLIGHTLY ELECTRIC MIX)"

AVAILABLE FROM 7TH JANUARY AS STREAMING SINGLE ON ISO RECORDS VIA PARLOPHONE

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED B-SIDE “SHADOW MAN (EARLY VERSION)” EXCLUSIVE TO THIS SINGLE

A-SIDE TAKEN FROM TOY (TOY:BOX) 3CD & 6 x 10” VINYL BOXSET AVAILABLE FROM 7TH JANUARY ON ISO RECORDS VIA PARLOPHONE

ISO Records/Parlophone Records are proud to announce the release of SHADOW MAN (UNPLUGGED & SOMEWHAT SLIGHTLY ELECTRIC MIX), which is a stripped-down mix of a re-recording of a song David Bowie initially recorded in late 1970. SHADOW MAN appears on the album TOY, which features in the DAVID BOWIE 5. BRILLIANT ADVENTURE (1992 – 2001) boxset and the Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix is on CD3/10” #2 in the TOY (TOY:BOX) boxsets which are both available from 7th January.

The 'unplugged' studio recording is coupled with an early studio demo version recorded in the closing months of 1970 — not recorded during the Ziggy Stardust album sessions as often stated, and is exclusive to this single.

Bowie initially recorded SHADOW MAN in late 1970, once more in Autumn 1971 and then thirty years later for the legendary ‘lost’ album TOY. The song finally saw the light of day in 2002 on singles from the album HEATHEN and again on the NOTHING HAS CHANGED compilation in 2014.

TOY was recorded following David's triumphant Glastonbury 2000 performance. Bowie entered the studio with his band, Mark Plati, Sterling Campbell, Gail Ann Dorsey, Earl Slick, Mike Garson, Holly Palmer and Emm Gryner, to record new interpretations of songs he’d first recorded from 1964-1971. David planned to record the album ‘old school’ with the band playing live, choose the best takes and then release it as soon as humanly possible in a remarkably prescient manner. Unfortunately, in 2001 the concept of the ‘surprise drop’ album release and the technology to support it were still quite a few years off, making it impossible to release TOY, as the album was now named, out to fans as instantly as David wanted. In the interim, David did what he did best; he moved on to something new, which began with a handful of new songs from the same sessions and ultimately became the album HEATHEN, released in 2002 and now acknowledged as one of his finest moments.

The third CD/set of 10”s features 'Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric’ mixes of thirteen TOY tracks. Producer Mark Plati "While we were recording the basic tracks Earl Slick suggested that he and I overdub acoustic guitars on all the songs. He said this was a Keith Richards’ trick, sometimes these guitars would be a featured part of the track, and at other times they’d be more subliminal. Later while mixing, David heard one of the songs broken down to just vocals and acoustic guitars; this gave him the idea that we ought to do some stripped-down mixes like that and that maybe one day they'd be useful”.

Available in 3CD or 6x10” vinyl formats, TOY (TOY:BOX) is a special edition of the TOY album. The ‘capture the moment’ approach of the recording sessions are extended to the sleeve artwork designed by Bowie featuring a photo of him as a baby with a contemporary face. The package also contains a 16-page full-colour book featuring previously unseen photographs by Frank Ockenfels 3.

Included in TOY:BOX is a second CD/set of 10”s of alternative mixes and versions including proposed B-Sides (versions of David’s debut single ‘Liza Jane’ and 1967’s ‘In The Heat Of The Morning’), later mixes by Tony Visconti and the ‘Tibet Version’ of ‘Silly Boy Blue’ recorded at The Looking Glass Studio at the time of the 2001 Tibet House show in New York featuring Philip Glass on piano and Moby on guitar. The third CD/set of 10”s features the aforementioned 'Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric’ mixes of thirteen TOY tracks.

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Four live songs in 360RA online tonight and more

“Welcome to Reality”

Experience an exclusive livestream of 4 tracks from David Bowie’s A Reality Tour in immersive 360 Reality Audio! Put on headphones to experience Bowie Like Never Before 🎧 TODAY - January 6th 2022 @ 7PM EST here.

Keep reading for the full press release.

#Bowie75 #BowieARealityTour #Bowie360RA #360RA

The David Bowie Estate Announces Reissues Of Five Albums Mixed In Sony’s 360 Reality Audio For Bowie 75

Archival Live Performance Footage To Be Livestreamed In 360 Reality Audio In Conjunction With CES 2022 Today At 4pm PST/7pm EST

Reality, A Reality Tour (Live), Heathen, The Next Day, And ★ To Be Released January 21st In 360 Reality Audio For The First Time Ever On Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer & Tidal

JANUARY 6, 2022 - NEW YORK, NY - The David Bowie Estate today announced a series of releases from David Bowie’s catalog that have been remixed and reimagined exclusively in 360 Reality Audio, a new immersive music experience driven by Sony’s spatial sound technology. The content is the latest David Bowie music to be mixed in 360 Reality Audio, following Space Oddity, which is currently available on 360 Reality Audio-supported streaming platforms.

In conjunction with the ongoing Bowie 75 - an extended celebration of David Bowie’s 75th birthday on January 8th, 2022 featuring two physical pop up locations in NYC and London equipped with 360 Reality Audio listening experiences at each location - longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti crafted 360 Reality Audio mixes of Heathen, Reality, A Reality Tour (Live), The Next Day, and ★ (pronounced “Blackstar”). The albums will be available for streaming in 360 Reality Audio beginning January 21st on Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, and TIDAL.

Additionally, the David Bowie Estate and Sony are making available four archival live performance recordings that have been mixed and reimagined in 360 Reality Audio (which makes it possible to create a lifelike music experience, giving listeners the feeling that they are in a live concert setting). The four songs are from David Bowie’s A Reality Tour, featuring live audio and video from Bowie’s final concert tour, to be livestreamed in 360 Reality Audio today, January 6th at 4:00 pm PST / 7:00 pm EST on the Online Platform "Sony Square" (via David Bowie’s YouTube channel). Listeners everywhere can use any set of headphones to hear the music in 360 Reality Audio.

Immediately following the livestream, viewers will be able to stream this performance with the Artist Connection app on a smartphone. With Sony certified headphones and the Sony | Headphones Connect app, users can also optimize their experience by analyzing their individual ear shape to enjoy a custom immersive musical field. This sound field personalization feature is only available for streaming with the Artist Connection experience.

Both the YouTube livestream and the Artist Connection viewing experiences will be available to the general public.

“The fan response to Bowie 75 has been nothing short of amazing,” said Lawrence Peryer, Producer of Bowie 75. “David was always on the cutting edge of the latest developments in technology, so it was a natural fit to collaborate with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio team to bring fans a whole new way to experience his music. The reimagining of David’s music, which can be experienced at the pop-ups or via streaming, has given his lifelong fans and new listeners alike a reason to celebrate.”

Tune into the livestream here.

Download, Watch & Listen on Artist Connection here.

“It’s been an honor partnering with the David Bowie Estate to help deliver special new fan experiences as part of Bowie 75,” said Jordy Freed, Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy, Sony Corporation of America. “We hope David Bowie fans everywhere enjoy listening to this iconic music in 360 Reality Audio.”

The Bowie 75 pop up locations will remain open through late January, 2022. The Bowie 75 locations are at 150 Wooster Street, NY — steps away from Bowie’s longtime downtown New York City neighborhood — and 14 Heddon Street — the London location where the cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was shot.

The pop-ups offer visitors a unique and immersive career-spanning deep dive into the sound and vision of David Bowie, with features including:

Immersive audio and HD video screening rooms in partnership with 360 Reality Audio, an immersive music experience using Sony’s spatial sound technologies. With music in 360 Reality Audio, fans will be able to hear and see Bowie content available for the first time in immersive audio, exclusively in the Bowie 75 locations.

Hours of video content including previously unseen behind-the-scenes material, rare footage from the Heathen and Reality eras, and more.

Opportunities to purchase limited edition releases of exclusive Bowie apparel and collectibles, as well as limited run LPs and CDs.

Exclusive fine art photography including gallery installations documenting Bowie’s many iconic eras, personae, and Ch-changes.

Fans can place themselves in iconic costumes and set pieces to create fun and shareable social media moments

And more— For store hours, events calendars and other announcements and information, sign up and stay tuned to www.bowie75.com

ABOUT DAVID BOWIE

David Bowie redefined musical genres and the potential of live performance for generations of music lovers. Creating and discarding a variety of personae and restlessly challenging musical boundaries, Bowie released timeless albums including The Man Who Sold The World, Space Oddity, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust…, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, “Heroes,” Lodger, Scary Monsters..., Let’s Dance, Heathen, The Next Day and many more. ★ (pronounced “Blackstar”), Bowie’s 28th and final studio album, was released on his 69th birthday—January 8, 2016—and charted at #1 in more than 20 countries (including his first #1 in the U.S.), later winning five Grammy Awards. David Bowie died on January 10, 2016, two days after the release of ★. His body of work, his influence on the worlds of music, art, fashion, film, theater and beyond, and his legacy of fearless innovation and endless reinvention will live on forever.

ABOUT 360 REALITY AUDIO

360 Reality Audio is a new immersive music experience that uses Sony's object-based 360 Spatial Sound technologies. Individual sounds such as vocals, chorus, piano, guitar, bass and even sounds of the live audience can be placed in a 360 spherical sound field, giving artists and creators a new way to express their creativity. Listeners can be immersed in a field of sound exactly as intended by artists and creators. Music content created in this new format for 360 Reality Audio can be enjoyed through compatible music streaming services Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, nugs.net and TIDAL.

For additional details:

360 Reality Audio official website

Creating music in 360 Reality Audio

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TOY cassette is coming too

“And ten thousand cassettes split into small shops...” *

Just five days until the release of TOY:BOX on Vinyl and CD this coming Friday 7th January 2022. Pre-order here.

As the tape collectors among you will know, the last Bowie album to receive an official commercial release on cassette was Reality back in 2003. (Don’t be fooled by the numerous fake cassettes released since then.)

Nineteen years later we’re pleased to announce a Bowie75 special edition of TOY on cassette. As you can see from our montage, it’s green and it’s housed in an O card sleeve.

The TOY cassette is a one-off run of 10k and will be available at the various Bowie75 stores around the globe from 7th January 2022.

Any left after the stores close will be made available online in the Bowie Official Store at some point.

The TOY cassette track-listing is the main album version, as follows...

Face 1

01 - I Dig Everything (5.02)

01 - You've Got A Habit of Leaving (4.50)

01 - The London Boys (3.48)

01 - Karma Man (3.46)

01 - Conversation Piece (3.52)

01 - Shadow Man (4.41)

Face 2

01 - Let Me Sleep Beside You (3.14)

01 - Hole In The Ground (3.31)

01 - Baby Loves That Way (4.39)

01 - Can't Help Thinking About Me (3.28)

01 - Silly Boy Blue (5.35)

01 - Toy (Your Turn To Drive) (4.09)

* As you most likely noticed, today’s lyric quotation is a perversion of “And ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes” from the opening track on Diamond Dogs: Future Legend. Sorry about that, but you try and find a relevant Bowie lyric with an appropriate use of the word cassette. And no, Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette) doesn’t work. No, it really doesn’t.

#BowieBrilliantAdventure #BowieToy #BowieToyBox #BowieToyCassette

A Happy New Year from DBHQ

“And 25 years pass him...”

Welcome to 2022 the year that marks 50 years since the arrival on Earth in 1972 of a certain alien rock god going by the name of Ziggy Stardust, more of that later. A Happy New Year to all, stay tuned for more leading up to January 8th and what would have been DB’s 75th birthday.

‘Droog’ shot of Bowie taken by Brian Ward, 50 years ago this month.

#BowieNewYear2022 #ZiggyStardust50 #Bowie75