bowie downunder




Old News: 2006
THE PRESTIGE
Nov 16

Village Cinemas now have a page for 'The Prestige' - the new Christopher Nolan directed film featuring David Bowie as legendary inventor / physicist, Nikola Tesla.

The film opened in Australian cinemas on November 16 - three weeks after the international release (October 27).

The Australian distributors for the film are Roadshow Entertainment.

You can view a trailer for the film here.


FROM THE FILES OF ZIGGFRIED!

BDU is now home to the humorous cartoon illustrations of Perth artist Ziggfried.

Consisting of 44 illustrations depicting David Bowie in all stages of his career but mostly in twisted or ironic scenarios, the pages are well worth a visit.

ENTER HERE

BUTTERFLY AFFAIR!
Nov 11

Geraldine Quinn, chanteuse extraordinaire, plays The Butterfly Affair - an idea loosely based on the idea of getting different folk to pay loving tribute to well-known musical acts such as Beck, The Smiths, AC/DC, T.Rex and Kraftwerk.

Next Saturday is the last of these shows, and is billed as the Grand Finale - The David Bowie Extravaganza. Guests include Scott Brennan, Mark Woodward and Karlis Zaid. Definitely worth a look.

The Butterfly Club,
Saturday Nov 11, 10:30 PM
204 Bank St, South Melbourne
Tickets $22/18
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com
or 9690 2000


ZIGGY PLAYED THE VANGUARD!
Oct 13-14

A very interesting live event this year - and a great opportunity to meet with fellow Bowie fans - is a special tribute show happening this October in Sydney:

With The Alien Sex Gods featuring Peter Northcote, the glittering songbook of David Bowie will be posed, pouted and strutted with raunchy glam attitude! The Show will also include Jeff Duff, Iota, Steve Balbi & special guests.

Two nights from Sydney's best paying homage:

Fri 13 Oct - The Vanguard Newtown, Sydney, NSW

Sat 14 Oct - The Vanguard Newtown, Sydney, NSW

Click the flyer on the right to enlarge.



HUNKY DORY SPOKEN WORD!
Oct 4

An exclusive to the 2006 Melbourne Fringe Festival Event is a spoken word tribute to David Bowie's classic 1971 album, Hunky Dory. Hosted by Michael Nolan with special guest Chris Chapple, the performance includes 11 tracks and 11 writers. Also included is a special Bowie Babble Open Mic. Details below:




TV EYE!
Sept 25

Recently screened on Australian TV show Rockwiz is the following performance of [Bowie guitarist] Adrian Belew playing "Heroes" with Martha Wainwright. Press the play button below to begin the performance.


BOWIE IN AUST ART GALLERY!
Aug-Oct

David Bowie's video for "Let's Dance" has been recognised in Australian art history by appearing at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

The "Let's Dance" video which featured aboriginal actors Joelene King and Terry Roberts appears as a special video installation at the 23rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Art Award.

As reported by an article for the ABC, the Bowie video installation "draws you in and makes you want to know more".

Courtesy of an 1983 article from Rolling Stone and some video captures, Bowie Downunder now has this extensive background on the "Let's Dance" video.

The Northern Territory gallery exhibit runs from 11 August 2006 to the 22nd of October 2006.




BOWIE BARGAINS!
August 2006

Dirt Cheap CDs in Melbourne are selling the remastered editions of David Live and Stage for a bargain $15 - less than half the RRP. This adds to their already amazing list of bargain Bowie CDs that can be ordered online or purchased directly from the Melbourne and Sydney stores.

Meanwhile, KMART stores have been selling a ladies Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture Tshirt for only $7.99.

Finally, a curiosity retailing at liquour outlets is a wine named "Ziggy" featuring a dog with two different coloured eyes. The wine can be attained from various outlets including Liquor Works (Shop 2/ 318 Bell St Heidelberg West VIC 3081 [Map]).



GARSON AT NUMBER 1!
July 15, 2006

Desert Lights - the brand new album by Something for Kate (featuring long term Bowie pianist / collaborator Mike Garson) has debuted at number 1 on the Australian music (ARIA) charts.

According to fasterlouder.com.au, the closing track (titled "Washed Out to Sea") has "gorgeous lullaby-like piano provided by Mark Garson" and that it gives Something For Kate "a totally different sound."

TV ON THE RADIO!
July, 2006

Having just released their second album (featuring David Bowie on the song "Province") and about to play Australian dates, US band TV On The Radio were featured in Melbourne's The Age and Sydney's Morning Herald with the following discourse:

"New York art rockers climb Cookie Mountain - only to find David Bowie on top."

A resident of New York and a regular in the visual arts and musical underground, David Bowie was an early fan of TV On The Radio. He regularly dropped their name in interviews and turned up at tiny gigs, encouraging them personally. He has taken his involvement one step further on Return to Cookie Mountain, contributing backing vocals on Province.

"He respected what we were doing and he wanted to be a part of it," Sitek says. "He didn't want to be showcased or anything, he didn't want to be in charge of it. It was done in the most altruistic spirit that someone could record."

No amount of the herb can dampen the enthusiasm in Sitek's voice as he talks about Bowie's involvement.

"You can't pick a bigger influence for me personally than Brian Eno and David Bowie," he says. "That's it. That was the first time I realised that recording was an art. It wasn't like lab-coat bullshit but wild experimentation and no allegiance to habit. The [Roxy Music] song Virginia Plain was the most punk-rock thing I'd ever heard and that was after I had heard punk bands.

"Talking Heads, Bowie and Roxy Music had a fierce loyalty to try to do things. And that's something I adopted really early. I was in hardcore bands but immediately had to get out of them because the music was just too limited for me now."

Concert Dates

Sat, Jul 22 Byron Bay (Splendour in the Grass Festival)
Sun, Jul 23 Melbourne

Tue. Jul 25

Sydney

LABY LIMITED EDITION!
June 21, 2006

Forthcoming and exclusive to easydvd.com.au is a limited edition of Labyrinth comprising of the Jim Henson classic, an embossed collector's tin and a 12 page booklet.

The website (Australia's largest online DVD retailer) is also offering other popular films in similar formats.

The projected release date for Labyrinth is June 21 and the price is $22.83 (available for pre-order).

OH YOU PRETTY THINGS!
June 12, 2006

The brand new compilation album Oh You Pretty Things will gain local release in Australia in June via Shock Records.

The album gathers together Bowie's early collaborations with other artists in addition to early covers.

HMV online has the release date as June 12.

BOWIE RELEASES!
May 24, 2006

A new unauthorised DVD documentary titled Rock Milestones: Ziggy Stardust: The Essential Albums of All Time is released this month in Australia. HMV has a projected release date of Wednesday, May 24 (revised from May 15).

  Product Description
1972 was the year when Bowie finally broke into the mainstream and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars was the album that did it. This is the definitive independent review of an all time classic album featuring rare interviews with Bowie and the people around him along with classic performances of material from the album. Also featured are in-depth interviews with Trevor Bolder and Woody Woodmansey. We also hear rare archive interviews with Mick Ronson and of course the forthright views of Angie Bowie. These musicians and insiders who took part in the making of the album produce a candid, honest and frank retrospective on a modern masterpiece.

Meanwhile, released on Columbia Records are two CD sets featuring Earthling and Hours and 1.Outside and Heathen. HMV has the release dates as Saturday May 13.


THE LINGUINI INCIDENT!
May 10, 2006

According to several online retailers, today sees the national DVD release of the 1991 movie The Linguini Incident featuring David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette. The movie was originally co-funded by Bowie's management company Isolar and directed by Richard Shepard in late 1990 following the end of the Sound + Vision Tour.

Although this new release maintains the basic 4:3 screen format and has no bonus features, it's the first time the DVD has gained release in Australia. Furthermore, the original movie title has been restored (overseas it was released as Shag-O-Rama in January 2000) and the retail price is a very resonable $7.95 according to such stores as easydvd.com.au, yourdvd.com.au and devoteddvd.com.au.

Thanks to Louise Coulter for the info.


MELBOURNE MAY BDU MEETUP!
May 05, 2006

To tie in with a couple of Bowie themed acts at this year's Comedy Festival, a meet up has been organised for this Friday May 5 in Melbourne.

Meetup Time (for pre-drinks and/or dinner):
7:00 PM, John Curtin Pub, 29 Lygon St, Carlton South.

Show Details:

Geraldine Quinn - (9:30 PM, Duration: 60 min) - $18

The Beautiful Losers - (10:45 PM, Duration: 75 min) - $20

Naturally, you have the option of seeing one or both of these shows or alternatively just get blotto in the pub. My advice is to book in advance as these type of shows sell out in advance. When you have booked, email Adam at mrdavidbowie@yahoo.com to confirm that you'll be there.



'YOU'RE ALL OVER OUR TOWN'!
Apr 28, 2006

On Anzac Day evening, guitarist / singer Adrian Belew was met with an enormous reception as he played his first Melbourne concert since the 1978 Low / Heroes Tour with David Bowie.

At each Australian show, Al Slavik and John Prior assist Belew in delivering brilliant versions of both solo and King Crimson tunes.

At the end of the Melbourne show (played at The Corner Hotel), Belew began shaking hands with concert-goers from the side of the stage. Before he knew it, he was on top of everyone - crowd surfing for what was apparantly his first time ever! Fortunately, I captured some of the action on camera.


Adrian Belew, Corner Hotel Setlist, 2006.

  1. Writing
2. Dinosaur
3. Ampersand
4. Young Lions
5. Beat Box
6. Matchless
7. Madness
8. Drive 		9. Walk
10. Of Bow
11. Big Electric
12. Frame
13. 3 Pair
14. Lone Rhino
15. Elephant Talk
16. Thela

On Wednesday night, Adrian played at Ruby's Lounge in Belgrave. The setlist was the same as the previous night minus "Lone Rhino" and "Thela".

Following the Belgrave show, I mentioned to Adrian that "The Rail Song" was a favourite of mine (we were in "Puffing Billy" country after all!) and he said that he was hoping for Johnny Cash to cover it but he died!

If you haven't yet seen Adrian Belew, scroll down this page for the tour dates. I also recommend listening to this Triple J interview in Real Audio. Fast forward to 1 hr 32 minutes and you will hear the Belew segement open with the classic Bowie song "DJ":

Adrian Belew Interview by Richard Kingsmill
(fast foward to 1 hr 32 m)

Articles from The Age:

"A Different Beast" by Michael Dwyer. 04/25/06

"Zappa's Mate Makes It Look Easy" by John Shrand. 04/25/06





DUFF ON ABC RADIO!
Apr 10, 2006
Listen to an ABC radio Jeff Duff interview where he talks about the origins of glam rock in Australia and how his Bowie tribute show transformed into Ground Control to Frank Sinatra. Fast forward to 17 minutes to hear the Duff segment:
Windows Media Player Real Audio

"HEROES" IN THE GAMES
Apr 09, 2006
Following on from Icehouse's Athens 2004 mix of "Heroes", some of you may have noticed the use of "Heroes" playing in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Alan from the TV show Spicks and Specks says:

It seems a lot of songs have different meanings to those which have been ascribed them by TV sports montage makers........

"Heroes" by David Bowie - a classic cut about a German couple so keen on being together not even the Berlin Wall can stop them, not, as I had always been led to believe, a song about the different ways swimmers celebrate victory.

"I......I wish you could swim"

SERIOUS MOONLIGHT DOWNUNDER!
Mar 27, 2006

In accordance with today's national re-release of the Serious Moonlight DVD, Bowie Downunder has been expanded to include a considerably broader section for the Serious Moonlight Tour.

With the assistance of Bruce Butler, I have also added a page with never before seen photos and information on Bowie's meeting with Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) here in Australia.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER


  THE RHINO KING DOWNUNDER!
Mar 27, 2006

A few more dates have been announced for Adrian Belew's first solo tour of Australia including a couple of "Road Tales and Guitar Theatre" evenings.

  Adrian Belew Concert Dates:

Apr 17: Byron Bay: East Coast Blues and Roots Festival, (02) 6685 8310
Apr 21: Sydney: Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL, (02) 9559 0000
Apr 22: Canberra: Southern Cross Club, Woden, (02) 6283 7267
Apr 23: Sydney: Coogee Bay Hotel, (02) 9665 0000
Apr 25: Melbourne: Corner Hotel, (03) 9427 9198
Apr 26: Melbourne: Rubys Lounge, Belgrave (03) 9754 7445
Apr 27: Adelaide: 181 Hindley St, (08) 8211 6683
Apr 29: Melbourne: St. Andrews Hotel, St. Andrews, (03) 9710 1201

QLD gigs and CD signing sessions TBA!

Road Tales and Guitar Theatre:
An intimate evening with ADRIAN BELEW. These are the only shows where Adrian will also demonstrate techniques, talk of his experiences and answer questions from the audience, also featuring a live performance with John Prior on drums and Al Slavik on bass.

Apr 24: Sydney, The Basement, (02) 9251-2797
May 01: Melbourne: Manchester Lane, (03) 9663 0630


Also, listen out for Adrian on Triple J with Richard Kingsmill and all over the radio waves and in the news in the next three weeks!


  PERFORMING GLAM ROCK!
Mar 26, 2006

Philip Auslander - the Professor of Literature, Communication and Culture who lectured on David Bowie at Latrobe Uni last year has released a book titled Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music.

The book is published by the University of Michigan Press and Bowie is, of course, one of the major subjects.

More information here including some introduction chapters.


  GOT ME A MOVIE!
Mar 26, 2006

On Foxtel World Movies this month you can catch the support act to Bowie's 1976 world tour - Un Chien Andalou - a short film by Luis Bunuel co-written with the great Salvador Dali.

The 1929 surrealist film was later canonised by The Pixies in their song Debaser and of course covered by Bowie and Tin Machine.

The movie will screen on Sunday March 26 at 1:30am and then in the afternoon at 12:40pm

- Info from David Newman

  DICK CAVETT ROCK ICONS!
Mar 20, 2006
Today marks the Australian release of the 540 minute triple DVD set Dick Cavett Rock Icons

Among the 9 episodes is one of the most legendary and talked about TV appearances by David Bowie.

Corresponding is a short article in today's The Age (read it here). In reference to the DVDs, Jason Blake mentions that "the thin sound quality is variable and very much a product of the times but the visuals look surprisingly crisp."

According to a track listing at Shout Factory, both 'Young Americans' and '1984' are included (although 'Footstompin' is sadly omitted).


Rock Icons Trailer
Windows Media Player Apple Quicktime


  BOWIE ON VEGA FM!
Mar 15/19, 2006

95.3 VEGA FM Sydney and 91.5 VEGA FM Melbourne are having an exclusive special on David Bowie:

  Each Wednesday at 8pm and the following Sunday at 9am VEGA profiles the life and music of the world's greatest artists in a series of music documentaries.

Bowie: The Early Years
David Bowie decided at the age of eight that he was going to be a rock 'n' roll star. Forty years on he's still one of the brightest stars in the business. Vega's music special of the week is 'Bowie - The Early Years' tracing his life and music from 1969's Space Oddity through the Ziggy Stardust period to Diamond Dogs in '74. The special features the best of the best combined with exclusive interview material from the man himself.

Time:
Wed evening, March 15, Vega FM - 8:00 PM
Sun morning, March 19, Vega FM - 9:00 AM (Repeat)

- Info from Stu / 96dbFreak

  SHOCK, ROCK AND AWE!
Feb 21, 2006

Sydney Morning Herald recently had an exclusive interview with photographer Mick Rock.

The interview includes considerable discussion of David Bowie, the infamous Ziggy guitar-fellatio photograph and the book Moonage Daydream which is now available in most major book stores.

Read the article here.


  THE CYNIC!
Feb 17, 2006

Released this week in Europe is the CD single of THE CYNIC by Kashmir featuring David Bowie. Given the unlikehood of an Australian release, you may wish to scoot over to Amazon Germany to pick up a copy.

"The Cynic" comes from the album No Balance Palace which was produced by Tony Visconti and released last October. Currently, the album is import only but it can be attained from Sanity Online and JB Hifi Online.

As a taster for the single, you can watch the video featuring Bowie:

Fast connection

Medium connection

Slow connection


  SERIOUS MOONLIGHT EP!
Feb 15, 2006

A brand new Bowie E.P. titled Serious Moonlight appears this week on Australian I-Tunes.

The E.P. consists of four songs taken from Bowie's 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour (Space Oddity, China Girl, Breaking Glass and Young Americans) and is a precursor to the special edition DVD that is released overseas later in the week (however it remains to be seen when it will hit Australian stores).

If you have I-Tunes on your computer, click here to view the EP. If not, try downloading the software from here (it's free).


  GARSON, POLYPHONICS AND SFK!
Feb 11, 2006

Following their 2003 cover of 'Ashes to Ashes' and support appearance on Bowie's 2004 Downunder Tour, Australia's Something for Kate have completed work on their 5th studio album......with a certain keyboardist that will be familiar to virtually all Bowie fans.

Stephanie Ashworth reports in their studio diary:

  "For the last few days we've had the great pleasure of having Mike Garson come and play on some songs.

We met Mike when we did the David Bowie tour - he's been Bowie's keyboard player for around 30 years.

One fine example of his work amongst many is the incredible piano solo on Aladdin Sane. I believe he was a spider....from Mars.

Anyway, its been amazing to watch him interpret our ideas and put his unique feel on a couple of tracks. What an amazing player. Was great to hear Paul and Mike collaborate with the record button firmly down."

In similar news, Mike has also been working on the new album by The Polyphonic Spree who supported Bowie on North American dates and toured Australia early last year. You can read more about that at their own blog.


Garson & Depsey, LA 2006.

  TV EYE!
Feb 10, 2006

A couple items coming up on Australian TV:

Classic Parkinson: 1:00 PM, Friday Feb 10, ABC Victoria.

A repeat of the Parkinson episode featuring David Bowie, Clive James and Victoria Beckham. In addition to an extensive interview, Bowie performs Ziggy Stardust and The Loneliest Guy.

Grammy Awards: 8:30 PM, Friday Feb 10, Channel Ten.

David Bowie will be recognised in accordance with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards from the Staples Centre, Los Angeles. Unfortunately, this will only be a short presentation and there is no appearance by Bowie.


  LABYRINTH AND LEGENDS!
Feb 06, 2006

The EMI compilation Legends III (featuring Bowie's 'Starman' and Reed's 'Walk on the Wildside') has come in at number 17 on ARIA's best selling compilations of 2005.

Released last April, Legends III positions Bowie and a host of international artists side by side with local acts such as Crowded House, INXS, Stevie Wright and John Farnham.

Meanwhile, the soundtrack to the film Labyrinth (which intersperses 6 Bowie songs with Terry Jones' incidental score) gains local release today on EMI GOLD - a subsidary of the EMI label specialising in low price CDs.

The film and soundtrack were originally released just on 20 years ago and provided a lasting impression. One example of the continuing cult in Australia was a 1999 theatre version produced by Shepparton Kids in Theatre. In June 2005, the original film gained local DVD release with special features.

HMV Online has a list price of $12.95 for the newly re-released album.


  THE RHINO KING DOWNUNDER!
Feb 03, 2006

It is confirmed. Adrian Belew, the visionary guitarist responsible for Bowie's LODGER album, the STAGE album, the LOW/HEROES tour and the SOUND AND VISION tour will descend upon Australian shores this April.

This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to get up close and personal with one of Bowie's great side men.

In addition to his work with Bowie, Adrian Belew has amassed 17 solo albums (an 18th is due in April) and has worked with such luminaries as Frank Zappa, Paul Simon, Nine Inch Nails and Talking Heads among others. Belew has also led - for more than two decades - the legendary prog rock band King Crimson with Robert Fripp and Tony Levin.


  THE YEAR OF THE DOG!
Jan 30, 2006

As the new moon beckoned the Chinese New Year, Iggy and The Stooges took to the main stage of Princess Park, Melbourne.

Playing to a crowd of 50 000, The Stooges interchanged songs between their first two albums as young Melbournians, danced, moshed and crowd surfed to the raw intonation of punk songs invented almost 40 years ago.

The year of the dog was greeted with the classic 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'. Discerning Bowie fans will recall this number being played in the encore of Glass Spider concerts. Tonight, Iggy played the song twice - four songs in and then again at the very end.

Then during 'Real Cool Time', Iggy announced: "I can't stand a boring set. Come on stage. Get up here and fuck this shit up.....KILL ME!!!" About 40 kids rushed the stage and Iggy disappeared into a mass of bodies. People stayed on stage and danced for a co