Released today (October 23) in Australia is the 40th Anniversary editon of the Space Oddity album.

Online stores indicate a pricing of around $24 for the 2 CD set which contains 15 bonus tracks, 8 of which are previously unreleased, including two ultra rare demos.

Check out this page at JB Hifi for further details.

The Australian entertainment community has been saddened by the loss of American born entertainer Don Lane.

Don passed away on Wednesday at the age of 75 after a battle with dementia. His Australian talk show career began in the early 1960s.

When the final episode of The Don Lane Show aired on November 13, 1983, DAVID BOWIE made an IMPROMPTU appearance at GTV studios in Richmond, Melbourne. The two and a half hours episode featured such stars as Sammy Davis Jr, Phyllis Diller and John Farnham.


UPDATE April 2010:

The Bowie / Don Lane interview is now available in vastly improved quality. See youtube here.

November 7 is looking like Bowie day across Australia. In addition to the party in Brisbane, Sydney will be celebrating the return of JEFF DUFF, STEVE BALBI and BRYDON STACE in their awesome Bowie tribute.

The band is backed by The 'STARDUST COWBOYS' featuring Dario Bartolin (Bass) Scott Aplin (Keyboards) Lloyd G (Drums) and Luke Cuerden (guitars).

On Saturday 7 November, Brisbane's Prince of Retro Kristian Fletcher is presenting a DAVID BOWIE PARTY at Tank Hotel, 371 Queen St, Brisbane.

This dance party event celebrates 40 years since the release of Bowie's influential 1969 album Space Oddity.

From 8pm, a DJ will play all your favourite David Bowie hits from the 60s to now!

Nestled in the quiet end of Queen St, the entire Tank Hotel will be overtaken with retro hits and fashion. (Tank Hotel is located where Eagle St meets Wharf St in Brisbane's CBD)

There will also be a dancefloor, licensed bar and vinyl giveaways!

Local reviews and interviews surrounding Moon - the acclaimed debut film directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones - are taking place in relation to its opening in Australian cinemas this week:

Despite rumours that spread through the net like wild fire, it's a no go for David Bowie at next year's Big Day Out.

This continues a pattern that has been following his name from false rumour to false rumour across many of the world's biggest music festivals over the last five years.

The artist headlining - as announced this morning - is Muse. Other artists in the first lineup can be found here.

Finally we have confirmation of some long fabled David Bowie outtakes from the 1970s.

A very rare Sigma Session reel from 1974 has appeared on ebay containing the tracks 'Young American', 'Shilling The Rubes', 'Lazer' and 'After Today'. The reel is for sale here with a current bid of $15,000.

Samples of the 4 tracks can be heard here.

Following the recent appearance of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" on the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time is news that the song has made the follow up compilation CD and DVD.

Available now at music stores everywhere.

During the original countdown, which had the input of over half a million votes, the national broadcaster published the top ten lists of several media figures:

Chris Taylor The Chaser's War On Everything, ABC 1.

Life On Mars (chosen as his number 1 song) "I love the piano in this song, and the way the melody charts the mental journey of the "girl with the mousy hair" from melancholy to outright despair. It's a sublime piece of songwriting."

Lawrie Zion Former Triple J presenter and initiator of the Hottest 100

Lady Grinning Soul (chosen as his number 6 song) "As a high school friend pointed out to me just in time, there's Bowie singles, and then there's Bowie music. This glorious glob of glam from 1973's Aladdin Sane definitely fits into the latter category. Bowie's voice has never been more intense, and Mike Garson's piano work makes Bohemian Rhapsody seem understated."

Powderfinger

Heroes (chosen as their number 2 song) "Self-explanatory"

Robbie Buck Triple J Breakfast host.

Sound & Vision (chosen as his number 1 song) "Eno produced, this lay the template for so much music that's come since. The sparseness of it gives the sound so much space. It's still riveting and sends a shiver down my spine whenever I hear it."

Although Bowie fans may be disappointed with a single representation at number 79 in the final 100, we should consider the broadcaster's target audience who - as seen from the results - indicate a huge favouring toward traditionally defined "alternative" acts of the 1990s and 2000s (67 songs were counted from those two decades alone). This largely reflects the average age of listeners (apparently 22 years old according to one source) and the songs that were most popular during their formative years. All things considered, it's nice to see Bowie on there, moreover with a song that is almost never played on commerical radio.

Discuss this topic at Bowie Downunder

Moon - the debut film directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones - will be appearing at the Melbourne International Film Festival weeks ahead of the national theatrical release.

David Bowie's VH1 Storytellers CD/DVD pack was released in Australia today corresponding with the international release date.

JB Hifi is offering a special price of $21.99 until October. More details about this release here.

From the ABC archives, Richard Kingsmill:

''On February 11, 1997, I spoke for over half an hour to one of music's true legends.

That was the year he released his drum and bass inspired album Earthling.

The conversation felt so natural the whole way through, I had to remind myself I was speaking to Bowie.

Here it is from start to finish (minus my first words which were 'Hi, how are you...')''.

LINK

On Friday May 29 as night fell on Sydney and the Opera House sails were lit in a vibrant display, curator BRIAN ENO took the stage of the Opera Theatre.

A long time collaborator of David Bowie and co-writer of the song "Heroes", Eno's keynote address soon turned intriguing when he began presenting such items as screwdrivers (shown on an overhead projector) in explaining an axis between function and style.

The following two nights, Eno's highest music recommendation Battles took to the same stage with awe inspiring shows. During these shows, Brian observed from a seat in the audience. On Monday, French-Algerian musician, Rachid Taha had the same honour ... but this time, it was clear there would be no sitting in seats for the audience or Brian Eno. This is how the events unfolded ....

In total, Brian Eno danced and sang back up vocals for nearly half the concert. Many Thanks to Svetlana who was standing beside us taking the above pictures.

The Brian Eno curated Luminous Festival continues over the following week before culminating in the finale Scenius on Sunday June 14.

Those among you that are following the Sydney Luminous e-newsletters may have seen a question about who exactly should curate next year's festival.

It must come with no debate that David Bowie should be high on the priority list. Since 2000, Bowie has currated two major festivals - Meltdown in London (2002) and Highline in New York (2007).

Check out the comments section of this page. Fingers firmly crossed!

New Zealand Bowie fan Bodacea1 and documentary maker Sam Coley have created slide files for Sam's brilliant 1983 David Bowie radio docos. Enjoy:

Down Under The Moonlight:



Frank Simms on Steve Ray Vaughan:



Frank Simms on Let's Dance:



Frank Simms Interview (Part 2):



Bowie's Waiata Radio Documentary (Part 1):



Bowie's Waiata Radio Doco (Part 2):



Bowie's Waiata Radio Doco (Part 3):



Discuss this topic at Bowie Downunder

As part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival....

In 2006, it was Bob Dylan; in 2007, They Might Be Giants got a guernsey; in 2008, Prince was the one. But at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre benefit in 2009, there's a host of people to meet: Aladdin Sane, the Goblin King, Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, the Jean Genie...

Yes, this year, for one night only, Casey Bennetto and Scott Edgar bring together festival artists and musicians from everywhere to pay tribute to the great David Bowie in a riotous extravaganza.

If you say run, they'll run with you – but get your ticket early, or the planet Earth will be blue, and there'll be nothing you can do.

Proceeds go to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

RSVP your attendance on our facebook page for this event.

David Bowie's VH1 Storytellers is being released for the first time on CD, DVD and digital audio.

Now 10 years old, Storytellers was a quality concert in which Bowie provided insights into his songs and their stories. An extra appeal of the DVD is the appearance of tracks not originally seen/heard when it aired overseas.

The international release date has been given as July 6. More details here on Bowienet.

''I was invited to do a two week festival at Sydney Opera House which is hard to turn down as it's one of the great buildings in the world.

I've never been to Australia before. I've always wanted to go there - but I've always wanted to have a reason for going''

~ Brian Eno, 2009

David Bowie collaborator and musical innovator Brian Eno will curate the first ever Luminous Festival.

Claimed to be the largest of it's kind in the Southern Hemisphere, the festival opens in Sydney on May 26 and runs for 3 weeks.

In addition to a range of music acts, there will be special lighting installations that include Eno's 77 Million Paintings and a new project that involves lighting the Sydney Opera House Sails.

For Brian Eno - a key collaborator on some of Bowie's greatest and most experimental albums (Low, Lodger, Heroes and Outside) - this will mark his first ever visit to Australia.

Tickets to the following events are already on sale (more international and local acts are still to be announced in the coming weeks). These all take place at various theatres inside Sydney Opera House.

Click on the artist for tickets and info:

''One of the things I've been interested for a long time is replacing the word 'genius' with the word 'scenius' which is a word I made up.

Genius is often taken to mean the special intelligence of one person where as what I think more often happens is you get fertile scenes - which is the cumulative intelligence of a lot of people that give rise to great new ideas.

So what Sydney offered was the chance to create a scene of some kind. ''

~ Brian Eno, 2009


More info at the Luminous Sydney website.

Many of you will recall American-born Australian talk show host Don Lane.

Back in 1983 - on the very last episode of his successful show - Lane had a significant career moment when David Bowie made an impromptu appearance.

The show took place at the now heritage listed GTV9 studios in Bendigo Street, Richmond. Bowie - at the height of his fame and in Australia for the Serious Moonlight Tour - received a roof raising applause as he entered the studio.

Considered one of the show's all time highlights, the appearance is at least partially recalled on The Best of The Don Lane Show (1994) DVD.

Now from the archives of youtube ..... heeeere's Don .....



Discuss this topic at Bowie Downunder

Several years ago, Melbourne's BEAT newspaper had an amusing regular column called 'The Disturbing Bowie'.

Check out a few of them here.

As fans endure by far the longest wait between Bowie albums, tours and public appearances, Australian music website Undercover is among several reporting rumours of a Bowie comeback in the making:

JAN 21: Bowie Working on New Album in Berlin

JAN 24: Bowie to Reactivate Ziggy Stardust in 2009

EDIT: As somewhat expected, both rumours denied.

A second screening of Labyrinth for the 2009 season will take place in February.

If you intend to join in the fun in the open air above Swanston Street, join our facebook page for this event.

Last week's archival Bowie interview (televised on RAGE) is now on youtube.

The interview took place on the shores of Sydney Harbour with Molly Meldrum in early 1983.

Around this time, Bowie was in Australia filming his music videos - prior to the release of Let's Dance and the start of the Serious Moonlight Tour which made it here in November of that year.

Also around the same time, Bowie saw The Psychedlic Furs as reported and photographed here by Bruce Butler and Fiona Hamilton.

Watch out for some Bowie late this Saturday evening 17th January.

After midnight - in fact some time after 2 AM - ABC TV's RAGE will play a play a Bowie special from Rock Arena (November 15, 1983) followed by some clips such as 'Changes', 'Wild is the Wind', 'Life on Mars' and 'Jazzin For Blue Jean'.

Thank you Harry for the info.

For a person that was so hotly tipped to follow David Bowie's footsteps, it always seemed unusual that his son Duncan Jones seemingly never picked up a guitar.

Having reached his late 20s and then his early 30s, it seemed the boy originally known as Zowie Bowie (and for which the song KOOKS was written) was preparing for something outside the public eye altogether.

Now at 37, the story offers another twist.

Since at least 1978, David Bowie has been claiming that the main reason for his own (fairly notable) acting career was really a desire to become a director.

It therefore comes as a significant news that later this month, Duncan and not David will have his major directorial film debut.

The movie - actually a science fiction thriller - includes popular actors such as Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey and its being met with some anticipation.

Already drawing comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey, it will be interesting to see the reaction when Moon begins screening at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23.

IMDB's movie synopsis here.

The very first clips from Moon were released today:

Bernard Yin from Los Angeles' unsurpassable Amoeba Records has contacted me as follows:

JB Hifi currently has a David Bowie specific sale. Check out their online Bowie bargains here and their wider range of music bargains here. Titles include:

To make things potentially cheaper again, until Sunday they have additional 20% off every CD and DVD in store.

Ken West - the organiser of The Big Day Out - has confirmed a long standing rumour that David Bowie was once a contender for Australia's most popular music festival.

Speaking with the New Zealand Herald, West said that Bowie's management inquired about a Big Day Out appearance in the late 1990s but organisers decided the set he planned to perform wasn't suitable.

"And then he went and did Glastonbury and got booed because all he did was obscure material from the new album that he wanted to test drive and use the festival like a rehearsal room. You don't do that to a hundred thousand people."

Interesting information although exactly how West thought that Bowie was in any way poorly received at Glastonbury or played a set of all obscurities is anyone's guess. I can only presume he has his wires crossed with an earlier performance when Bowie maintained more of a non-hits policy (ie. 1995-97).