The eagerly awaited monster publication WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM! is the second collectors' guide from MAYAK PUBLISHING to be published early next month.

Ziggy Stardust: The ultimate collectors' guide.

50 years ago a star was born
This is his story
Recounted through 700-pages of memorabilia and collectibles
Aylesbury to Arizona and back again
Astronettes and Spiders from Mars
Limited Edition #300
TO BE READ AT MAXIMUM VOLUME

The focus of this epic tome is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Containing 700-pages of memorabilia: - albums, singles, lacquers, demos, promos, test pressings, press kits, photographs, autographs, magazines, interviews, posters, tickets, radio shows, cassettes, 8-tracks, reel-to-reels, concert recordings and much more.

This 700-page monster of a publication is available to purchase NOW!

Mayak Publishing: As a special thank you to BowieWonderworld. For all the love and support, we'd like to offer twenty-five copies of Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am! at £25 off. Use code WONDERWORLD25 at checkout.

Visit the MAYAK PUBLISHING website and Facebook page for more details and newsletter sign-up.

UPDATE: Printing and finishing currently in progress - release date early next month.

On this day, 14 years ago, DAVID BOWIE released the iSelect free compilation CD from THE MAIL ON SUNDAY newspaper.

In the liner notes, David Bowie comments on each of the twelve tracks he selected for the album. It makes fascinating reading...

David Bowie: 'For this CD compilation I've selected 12 of my songs that I don't seem to tire of. Few of them are well known, but many of them are still sung at my concerts. Usually by me. I'll start off with the hit.'

Life On Mars?

This song was so easy. Being young was easy. A really beautiful day in the park, sitting on the steps of the bandstand. 'Sailors bap-bap-bap-bap-baaa-bap.' An anomic (not a 'gnomic') heroine. Middle-class ecstasy.

I took a walk to Beckenham High Street to catch a bus to Lewisham to buy shoes and shirts but couldn't get the riff out of my head. Jumped off two stops into the ride and more or less loped back to the house up on Southend Road.

Workspace was a big empty room with a chaise longue; a bargain-price art nouveau screen ('William Morris,' so I told anyone who asked); a huge overflowing freestanding ashtray and a grand piano. Little else.

I started working it out on the piano and had the whole lyric and melody finished by late afternoon. Nice.

Rick Wakeman came over a couple of weeks later and embellished the piano part and guitarist Mick Ronson created one of his first and best string parts for this song which now has become something of a fixture in my live shows.

Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing.

I'd failed to obtain the theatrical rights from George Orwell's widow for the book 1984 and having written three or more songs for it already, I did a fast about-face and recobbled the idea into Diamond Dogs: teen punks on rusty skates living on the roofs of the dystopian Hunger City; a post-apocalyptic landscape.

A centrepiece for this would-be stage production was to be Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing, which I wrote using William Burroughs's cut-up method.

You write down a paragraph or two describing several different subjects creating a kind of story ingredients-list, I suppose, and then cut the sentences into four or five-word sections; mix 'em up and reconnect them.

You can get some pretty interesting idea combinations like this. You can use them as is or, if you have a craven need to not lose control, bounce off these ideas and write whole new sections.

I was looking to create a profligate world that could have been inhabited by characters from Kurt Weill or John Rechy - that sort of atmosphere. A bridge between Enid Blyton's Beckenham and The Velvet Underground's New York. Without Noddy, though.

I thought it evocative to wander between the melodramatic Sweet Thing croon into the dirty sound of Candidate and back again. For no clear reason (what's new?) I stopped singing this song around the mid-Seventies.

Though I've never had the patience or discipline to get down to finishing a musical theatre idea other than the rock shows I'm known for, I know what I'd try to produce if I did.

I've never been keen on traditional musicals. I find it awfully hard to suspend my disbelief when dialogue is suddenly song. I suppose one of the few people who can make this work is Stephen Sondheim with works such as Assassins.

I much prefer through-sung pieces where there is little if any dialogue at all. Sweeney Todd is a good example, of course. Peter Grimes and The Turn Of The Screw, both operas by Benjamin Britten, and The Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny by Weill. How fantastic to be able to create something like that.

The Bewlay Brothers.

The only pipe I have ever smoked was a cheap Bewlay. It was a common item in the late Sixties and for this song I used Bewlay as a cognomen - in place of my own. This wasn't just a song about brotherhood so I didn't want to misrepresent it by using my true name.

Having said that, I wouldn't know how to interpret the lyric of this song other than suggesting that there are layers of ghosts within it. It's a palimpsest, then.

The circumstances of the recording barely exist in my memory. It was late, I know that. I was on my own with my producer Ken Scott; the other musicians having gone for the night.

Unlike the rest of the Hunky Dory album, which I had written before the studio had been booked, this song was an unwritten piece that I felt had to be recorded instantaneously.

I had a whole wad of words that I had been writing all day. I had felt distanced and unsteady all evening, something settling in my mind. It's possible that I may have smoked something in my Bewlay pipe. I distinctly remember a sense of emotional invasion.

I do believe that we finished the whole thing on that one night. It's likely that I ended up drinking at the Sombrero in Kensington High Street or possibly Wardour Street's crumbling La Chasse. Cool.

Lady Grinning Soul.

Mike Garson's piano opens with the most ridiculous and spot-on re-creation of a 19th Century music hall 'exotic' number. I can see now the 'poses plastiques' as if through a smoke-filled bar. Fans, castanets and lots of Spanish black lace and little else. Sexy, mmm? And for you, Madam?

This was written for a wonderful young girl whom I've not seen for more than 30 years. When I hear this song she's still in her 20s, of course.

A song will put you tantalisingly close to the past, so close that you can almost reach out and touch it. The sound of ghosts again.

Win.

This is not, you may be speechless to learn, an ode to Winifred Atwell, though I almost wish it were for she was a real winner. In the Fifties in England it was virtually impossible for a ten-year-old to hear boogiewoogies and rags unless our Winifred was playing them on her 'other' piano.

At home in Trinidad she'd been brought up with blues and R&B and had played it for the American GIs who were based at what is now the main airport. Winnie was the first black artist in Britain to sell one million records. She was tops.

No, this song is about, er, winning. David Sanborn is on sax. He was experimenting with sound effects at the time and I'd rather hoped he would push further into that area, but he chose to become rich and famous instead. So he did win really, didn't he?

Some Are.

A quiet little piece Brian Eno and I wrote in the Seventies. The cries of wolves in the background are sounds that you might not pick up on immediately. Unless you're a wolf. They're almost human, both beautiful and creepy.

Images of the failed Napoleonic force stumbling back through Smolensk. Finding the unburied corpses of their comrades left from their original advance on Moscow. Or possibly a snowman with a carrot for a nose; a crumpled Crystal Palace Football Club admission ticket at his feet. A Weltschmerz [world weariness] indeed. Send in your own images, children, and we'll show the best of them next week.

Teenage Wildlife.

So it's late morning and I'm thinking: 'New song and a fresh approach. I know, I'm going to do a Ronnie Spector. Oh yes I am. Ersatz, just for one day.'

And I did and here it is. Bless. I'm still enamoured of this song and would give you two Modern Loves for it any time. It's also one that I find fulfilling to sing onstage. It has some nice interesting sections to it that can trip you up, always a good kind of obstacle to contend with live.

Ironically, the lyric is something about taking a short view of life, not looking too far ahead and not predicting the oncoming hard knocks. The lyric might have been a note to a younger brother or my own adolescent self.

The guitars on this track form a splintery little duel between the great Robert Fripp and my long-time friend Carlos Alomar.

Repetition.

By virtue of the instrument's classical baggage, Simon House's violin touches a vein of pure Goth on this recording. There's a numbness to the whole rhythm section that I try to duplicate with a deadpan vocal, as though I'm reading a report rather than witnessing the event. I used to find this quite easy to accomplish.

I decided to write something on the deeply disturbing subject of wife abuse in the manner of a short-form drama.

I had known more instances of this behaviour than I would have preferred to have been made aware of and could not for the life of me imagine how someone could hit a woman, not only once but many, many times.

Fantastic Voyage.

It's almost quaint, this one. It has a strong feel of the Fifties variety show to it. A cavil in passing - if I'd been in the position of the mid-Sixties Rolling Stones, I definitely would have gone on the Sunday Night At The London Palladium show's revolving stage.

They had refused to stand on the roundabout with the other acts at the end of the show, as it didn't fit in with their rebellious image. I was surprised to read that the American entertainer Judy Garland also refused a whirl, as she was too emotionally upset. Who knew?

I would have been shyly clawing my way past Jimmy Tarbuck to get on. I remember my mother being excited about the first time this show appeared on television in 1955.

My father had bought our set for Princess Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and it had opened up a new world for us. Guy Mitchell was apparently an exciting part of this world as my mother went all schoolgirl when he came on screen and sang She Wears Red Feathers (And A Hula Hula Skirt).

This song's chord structure (Fantastic Voyage, I mean, not She Wears Red Feathers) appeared on the album Lodger in two forms. First, as it appears here and then further in as Boys Keep Swinging (they were men's dresses, I tell you). Both the tempo and top-line melody are rewritten.

I did this again on the album Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). It proved nothing. Thinking about it, Guy Mitchell would have done this song proud.

Loving The Alien.

I'm trying to come up with a little-used word for each song entry. I've not got one for this song. And this song is not, it may surprise you to know, another ode to little green Martians. Oh, recidivism, that'll fit.

Time Will Crawl

There are a host of songs that I've recorded over the years that for one reason or another (clenched teeth) I've often wanted to re-record some time in the future. This track from Never Let Me Down is one of those.

I've replaced the drum machine with true drums and added some crickety strings and remixed. I'm very fond of this new version with its Neil Young of Shortlands accents. Oh, to redo the rest of that album.

One Saturday afternoon in April 1986, along with some other musicians I was taking a break from recording at Montreux studios in Switzerland. It was a beautiful day and we were outside on a small piece of lawn facing the Alps and the lake.

Our engineer, who had been listening to the radio, shot out of the studio and shouted: 'There's a whole lot of s*** going on in Russia.'

The Swiss news had picked up a Norwegian radio station that was screaming - to anyone who would listen - that huge billowing clouds were moving over from the Motherland and they weren't rain clouds. This was the first news in Europe of the satanic Chernobyl.

I phoned a writer friend in London, but he hadn't heard anything about it. It wasn't for many more hours that the story started trickling out as major news.

For those first few moments it felt sort of claustrophobic to know you were one of only a few witnesses to something of this magnitude.

Over the next couple of months a complicated crucible of impressions collected in my head prompted by this insanity, any one of which could have become a song. I stuck them all in Time Will Crawl. That last sentence rhymes.

Hang On To Yourself (live).

Ziggy and the Spiders had played around 50 UK shows total, and this Santa Monica performance, from October 20, 1972, would be our 12th in America.

Although of only bootleg quality and despite the drums and bass being casually miked, I hope you can feel our real thrill here of presenting the band to a radio audience for the first time. I necessarily took the most centre-stage position as easily as an old ham from Bromley Repertory would, though in reality I was deadly nervous.

This was our first live American radio broadcast, so it was a big deal. We fluffed a lot of stuff that night, but the enthusiasm and pride stand 10ft tall.

One astounding thing about Mainman, my management at the time, is that for the 18 months of the Spiders' life-cycle (and after, actually) they never arranged for us to play anywhere in Europe where Ziggy was a proverbial monster. No tours, no shows, not even Paris.

I never understood that and was pretty miserable about it at the time, but now realise how naive and unprepared my management was for the serious job of actually managing.

© David Bowie 2008.

Taking place in London next month on 4th July is New Writings: Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of DAVID BOWIE talk with DR. LEAH KARDOS at the BFI Reuben Library.

The newly published Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of David Bowie takes a close look at Bowie's ambitious late works: his surprise 'comeback' project The Next Day (2013), the off-Broadway musical Lazarus (2015) and Blackstar, the 2016 album that preceded the artist's death by two days.

In this talk, Dr. Leah Kardos explores the references to psychotherapeutic drama (cinema, teleplays and pantomime) embedded in these works - subconscious narratives that play out in memory and dream space, messy confrontations with iterations of the self that appear as stock characters and Jungian archetypes.

Total running time: 60 minutes.

Venue: BFI Reuben Library
Address: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT.
Date/Time: 4th July at 18:30

Tickets are on sale now £6.50 and are available online via whatsonbfi.org.uk website.

On this day, 22 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the BBC Radio Theatre, Portland Place, London in 2000 to a specially invited audience.

I wrote in my diary... 'An awesome performance tonight by David and the band, even more so considering David was clearly under the weather with "half a bronchitis on top of the laryngitis" and a ticklish throat. Ever the professional, he kept soldering on, with the aid of a breathing type menthol thingy-inhaler... he even joked around doing Frank Booth impressions from the 'Blue Velvet' movie'.

The full set list ran as follows:

       01. Wild Is The Wind.
       02. Ashes To Ashes.
       03. Seven.
       04. This Is Not America.
       05. Absolute Beginners.
       06. Always Crashing In The Same Car.
       07. Survive.
       08. The London Boys.
       09. I Dig Everything.
       10. Little Wonder.
       11. The Man Who Sold The World.
       12. Fame.
       13. Stay.
       14. Hallo Spaceboy.
       15. Cracked Actor.
       16. I'm Afraid Of Americans.
Encore:
       17. Ziggy Stardust.
       18. The Jean Genie (instrumental fill in).
       19. All The Young Dudes.
       20. Starman.
       21. "Heroes".
       22. Let's Dance.

Six DAVID BOWIE breakout albums from the Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) box set are to be re-released individually on both vinyl and CD formats on 5th August.

The six studio albums are: BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE, THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA, 1.OUTSIDE, EARTHLING, 'hours...' and TOY.

All vinyl releases are 2LPs, apart from 'hours...', and all CD releases are single disc.

    

    

You can pre-order all six titles now...

BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE - [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD]

THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA - [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD]

1.OUTSIDE - [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD]

EARTHLING - [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD]

'hours...' - [Vinyl 1LP] and [CD]

TOY - [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD]

On this day, 51 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Glastonbury Fayre for the first time in 1971.

David is pictured here leaving the Eavises' farmhouse. For the performance he wore a blue Magician's cloak and a hat purchased from 'The Universal Witness' boutique on the Fulham Road in London.

Photographs © Gabi Nasemann...

      

Next month on 3rd July sees DAVID BOWIE fan DAVID POLEY appearing on the US TV programme COLLECTOR'S CALL.

After a childhood spent sneaking backstage at rock concerts, David Poley has amassed an enterprise-level collection of rock music memorabilia. Many of David's favourite items, including a stage-played Motley Crue guitar and a towel worn by Mick Jagger, were obtained through David's concert-going savvy. His passion for David Bowie infused his collection with a valuable stage-played guitar and an obscure concert prop. David's daughter, Alex, briefly joins us to share her memories of travelling the world to watch her father's favourite artists. As Lisa tours the collection, music expert and Kisstorian, Dashdown, works up an appraisal. And before Dashdown proposes a uniquely rare guitar to trade, Lisa shocks our collector with a shout out from one of the most influential rock artists of all time.

Date: 3rd July
Programme: Collector's Call: David Poley - Rock Band Memorabilia
Channel: MeTV
Country: USA
Times: 5.30pm Central, 6.30pm ET/PT.

For more details, please visit MeTV.com website.

Published today is the eagerly awaited MOONAGE DAYDREAM: THE LIFE & TIMES OF ZIGGY STARDUST by DAVID BOWIE (Author) and MICK ROCK (Photographer).

This Anniversary Edition, hardcover, contains 328-pages and celebrates 50 years of Ziggy Stardust.

'The closest we'll ever get to a straight up Bowie autobiography - but who'd ever want anything straight-up from Bowie?' - Rolling Stone.

In 2002, David Bowie and Mick Rock created Moonage Daydream, the defining document of the life and times of Ziggy Stardust. Twenty years later, it remains the closest readers will get to understanding Bowie through his own words.

Alongside over 600 photographs taken by Mick Rock, Bowie's personal and often humorous commentary gives unprecedented insight into his work and the creation of his most memorable persona. Readers can see how Bowie singlehandedly challenged and elevated 1970s culture through his style, his inspirations ranging from Kubrick to Kabuki, and his creative spirit, which endures through the decades. Moonage Daydream is the essential David Bowie book.

First published as a signed limited edition, Moonage Daydream sold out in a matter of months and became lore among David Bowie fans. Now, on the 50th anniversary of Bowie's acclaimed album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars, the book is available again. Published in a new larger format, this uncut edition keeps to Bowie and Rock's original vision, allowing us to explore Moonage Daydream the way the authors intended.

'This is a book of extraordinary photographs. Ziggy Stardust blazed briefly but intensely, and I am delighted to see his life and times as a rock 'n' roll star immortalised in this book.' - David Bowie.

   

REVIEWS:
'It's a massive coffee-table art book, with lavish images of Bowie in the Seventies from photographer Mick Rock. But the main attraction of Moonage Daydream is the text by the man himself. He's in top form, whether he's shopping for shoes with Cyrinda Foxe (who teaches him to wear "palm-tree'd f**k-me pumps") or sipping tea with Elton John ("We didn't exactly become pals, not really having that much in common, especially musically"), or partying it up with Mick Jagger ("I have absolutely no recollections of this party at all"). The closest this world will ever get to a straight-up Bowie autobiography - but who'd ever want anything straight-up from Bowie?' - Rob Sheffield, 'Rolling Stone's Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time', Rolling Stone.

'There is more than enough for both the casual Bowie fan and the obsessive. These photographs trace the birth of one of the biggest, most influential pop ideas ever: the notion that a pop performer could, on record as well as on stage, reinvent himself creatively by inhabiting various personas.' - Sean O'Hagan, 'Pop's first Space Invader', The Guardian.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In 1972 David Bowie released the instant classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars - a record without which any Greatest Albums of All Time list is simply incomplete. 1972 would be the year that Bowie ascended to international superstardom. Bowie's extra-terrestrial Rockstar creation Ziggy Stardust staged one of the most spectacular and innovative live shows to date, expanding the parameters of the live rock show and singlehandedly launching a worldwide glam explosion.

Legendary rock photographer Mick Rock is often referred to as 'The Man Who Shot The Seventies', for his iconic images of Syd Barrett, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Queen, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Blondie, Rocky Horror Picture Show, etc. London born, he resided in New York for 35 years and shot over 100 album covers.

You can purchase Moonage Daydream: The Life & Times of Ziggy Stardust now and save 27%. Currently #1 Best Seller.

Two ZIGGY STARDUST 50th Anniversary releases are out today...

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master (Cat. No. DBZS 50) and 50th Anniversary Picture Disc LP.

    

You can purchase both the Ziggy Stardust 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master and Picture Disc NOW!

Check out the official audio for DAVID BOWIE 'Starman' (Top Of The Pops Version 2022 Mix).

Celebrating 50 years of 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars', this new version of Starman takes the backing track (recorded at Trident Studios on 29th June) and backing vocals, featuring a one-off Bowie ad-lib ("Hey brown cow"), recorded for the show and adds the lead vocals from the album version (recorded at Trident Studios on 4th February). This new mix was created by album co-producer Ken Scott from the multi-tracks.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. To celebrate, Parlophone Records is proud to announce a special streaming single to mark the album's Golden Jubilee, 'Starman' (Top Of The Pops Version 2022 Mix).

• On this day, 50 years ago, DAVID BOWIE released his immortal The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars album in 1972...

• On this day, 5 years ago, DAVID BOWIE Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74) 2CD was released in 2017...

• On this day, 5 years ago, DAVID BOWIE Be My Wife 40th Anniversary 7" Picture Disc Single was released in 2017...

Published today is BOWIE ODYSSEY 72 by author SIMON GODDARD.

This 192-page book is available in paperback and Kindle formats.

Synopsis: A new year for David Bowie means new clothes, new boots, new hair and a new name: Ziggy Stardust. To the gloomy blacked-out Britain of powercuts and three-day weeks he may as well be from outer space - if that's what it takes to make him famous, far be it from him to tell anyone he isn't. Bowie's success as the bisexual Starman soon rubs off on his new friends Mott The Hoople and his hero Lou Reed as 1972 becomes Annus Glamrockus. Music, fashion and the old codes of gender will never be the same again. But as his runaway fame quickly blurs all lines between fantasy and reality, neither will David.

The third volume of the Bowie Odyssey series offers a wild and revelatory snapshot of the year of Ziggy as Simon Goddard continues his vivid real-time journey through the decade Bowie changed pop forever.

About the Author: Simon Goddard was born in Cardiff in 1971. He is the author of several books about pop music including the Bowie Odyssey series, a year-by-year chronicle of the life of David Bowie against the cultural and social history of the 1970s. The first, Bowie Odyssey 70, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year.

You can purchase Bowie Odyssey 72 now!

At today's JOHN PEEL ARCHIVE auction at BONHAMS in Kensington, London - the five DAVID BOWIE items on offer realised the following prices...

LOT 3: David Bowie A Signed Postcard to John Peel, circa 1967. Sold for £2,295 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 27: David Bowie: An Autographed Five-Sided Handwritten Letter With Stage Sketches Relating To David's 'Art Lab' Project, circa 1969. Sold for £4,845 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 35: David Bowie: An Autographed Full Page Typed Letter 'Beckenham Days', circa 1969. Sold for £3,187.50 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 36: David Bowie: An Autographed Typed Note With Annotated Address, circa 1969. Sold for £2,805 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 110: David Bowie: An Official Long-Sleeve T-Shirt, 1977. Sold for £318.75 GBP inc. premium.

For more details on the Bowie lots please visit bonhams.com website.

For those of you who use FACEBOOK - check out the DAVID BOWIE WONDERWORLD Group.

Feel free to join in with the other 67,800 plus members, add yourself and invite your Bowie fan friends. You never know what might get posted, or who you might meet...

• On BBC 6 MUSIC on 12th June at 8.00 GMT, MARK RADCLIFFE celebrates the 50th anniversary of DAVID BOWIE's Ziggy Stardust album and talks to drummer WOODY WOODMANSEY about working on the record and being in The Spiders From Mars - [More details]...

• In Ireland, on Wednesday 15th June at 19.00 GMT Paul McLoone looks at DAVID BOWIE's 'Ziggy Stardust' at 50 on Arena: RTÉ Radio 1 - [Listen here]...

• Reminder: Two DAVID BOWIE radio shows broadcast tomorrow: The Documentary: Ziggy Stardust: Hang On To Yourself on BBC World Service, UK at 12.06 GMT, followed by the 'not to be missed' Archive On 4: Ziggy Stardust at 50 on BBC Radio 4, UK at 8pm-9pm GMT...

• Walthamstow Rock 'n' Roll Book Club present BOWIE ODYSSEY 72 - SIMON GODDARD and MIRANDA SAWYER in conversation at 21 Soho, 3-5 Sutton Row, London W1D 3QP on 16th June. Tickets on sale now. Doors from 6pm/Talk starts at 7pm. Audience Q&A plus book signing - [More details]...

• Taking place on 4th July at the BFI Reuben Library is New Writings: Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of DAVID BOWIE. In this talk, DR. LEAH KARDOS explores Bowie's ambitious late works. Venue: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT. Total running time: 60 minutes. Tickets on sale now £6.50. The newly published Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of David Bowie takes a close look at Bowie's ambitious late works: his surprise 'comeback' project The Next Day (2013), the off-Broadway musical Lazarus (2015) and Blackstar, the 2016 album that preceded the artist's death by two days. Dr Leah Kardos explores the references to psychotherapeutic drama (cinema, teleplays and pantomime) embedded in these works - subconscious narratives that play out in memory and dream space, messy confrontations with iterations of the self that appear as stock characters and Jungian archetypes - [More details]...

Taking place in Cardiff over the weekend of 17/18/19 June is NEWSOUNDWALES BOWIE WEEKEND at Chapter Arts Centre.

Friday 17th: Under Pressure + Dead Method at Seligman Theatre, at 7.30pm - More details

Saturday 18th: An Evening With DANA GILLESPIE at Seligman Theatre, 9.00pm - More details

Sunday 19th: Vinyl playback - Ziggy Stardust at Seligman Theatre, at 3.00pm - More details

Sunday 19th: SIMON GODDARD in conversation at Seligman Theatre, at 5.30pm - More details

Venue: Seligman Theatre, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff CF5 1QE, Wales

For more details, information and tickets, please visit chapter.org website.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of DAVID and IMAN's wedding ceremony at Saint James Episcopal Church, in Florence, Italy in 1992.

The best man was David's son Duncan, with chief usher Alan Edwards.

Iman's maid of honour was her best friend Bethann Hardison.

Besides immediate family, among the sixty-eight invited guests were Yoko Ono, Brian Eno and his wife Anthea, Bono Vox, Eric Idle and his wife Tanya, Geoff MacCormack, George Underwood, Corinne Schwab, Jennifer Ichida (Duncan's then girlfriend), Hervé Léger (who designed Iman's dress), Thierry Mugler (who designed David's suit) and hair arranged by Teddy Antolin. Teddy was a very special guest - in a way responsible for what was happening that day, because it was he who introduced David and Iman at a dinner party two years previously in Los Angeles.

During the ceremony, Geoff MacCormack read Psalm 121 during the service and David's cousin Kristina Amadeus read from Corinthians.

You can click here to read an article from Hello! magazine entitled 'The Wedding of David Bowie and Iman' by Brian Aris from the BW press archive.

Today marks the anniversary of DAVID BOWIE's first ever lead vocal single release 'Liza Jane' credited to Davie Jones with The King Bees, which was released 58 years ago today, 5th June 1964 on the Vocalion Pop label (V 9221).

Featuring seventeen-year-old Davie Jones (vocals and saxophone), George Underwood (guitar), Roger Bluck (guitar), Francis Howard (bass) and Robert Allen (drums).

Although credited to Leslie Conn, David's then manager who negotiated a one-single deal with Decca Records, George Underwood said the song was originally an old Negro spiritual that the band played around with and came up with this R'n'B song.

Leslie Conn's recollection of the events in 1997:

"I can tell you that I have got a pretty retentive memory, but that is something I can't clearly recall. I used to write songs except that I don't write music and I don't play piano. When the boys were jamming to kind of come up with some ideas to make a record, they came up with some six bar blues, which everyone uses. As they were doing that, I came up with my own idea, which came from nowhere, and we improvised and the song came together. I mean, I would never take credit for something that I never did and I know David wouldn't have agreed for me to sign the contract as writer if he had wrote it himself. I would never have stolen someone else's song on principle. I know that I'm quite vague on that and I can't be absolutely sure how it all came about, but I know that I did come up with a lot of ideas. As for the production of the song that was most certainly me, I arranged and organised the whole thing and I always produced the material I was arranging with Decca at that time. George Underwood is definitely wrong on that point.

"There is a funny story while were still on the subject of 'Liza Jane'. When David and I parted company I went off to live and work in Majorca for a few years and one day I was on the phone to my mother and she said, 'what shall I do with those records I have in the garage' which were a few hundred copies of 'Liza Jane'. So I replied, 'Throw them out', and she did. The last time David came up here he said, 'Have you got any of those records we made, you know they're worth over a hundred pounds each!' I told him I got my mother to throw them all out! We had to laugh."

Backed with 'Louie Louie Go Home', written by Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay, which was incidentally pencilled in as the A-side, both songs were recorded in a seven-hour session at Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead.

The single was re-released by Decca in September 1978 (catalogue number F 13807) and beware there are counterfeit Vocalion copies in circulation. Produced in the USA in 70s, the tell-tale difference between the original and the illegal pressings is the matrix number. On the original 1964 issue the matrix number is machine stamped on the vinyl and on the fake copies it is handwritten.

The official press release for the single from the press room of the Dick James Organisation in May 1964 read...

INTRODUCING DAVIE JONES WITH THE KING-BEES... AND THEIR FIRST DISC 'LIZA JANE'

Pop Music isn't all affluence. Just ask new seventeen year old recording star Davie Jones. Time was (two months ago, in fact) when he and his group were almost on their uppers. No money, bad equipment. Then Davie had a brainwave. "I had been reading a lot in the papers about John Bloom," says Davie. "So I put pen to paper and wrote him a letter." David told Bloom that he had the chance of backing one of the most talented and up-and-coming groups on the pop scene. All he had to do was advance the several hundred pounds it requires to outfit a pop group with the best equipment.

Davie didn't get the money, but he did get a telegram next day from John Bloom giving the phone number of Artist's Manager Leslie Conn. Davie got in touch, he was rewarded with a booking at Bloom's Wedding Anniversary Party. "We were a dismal failure", recalls Davie. "It was a dinner dress affair and we turned up in jeans and sweat shirts and played our usual brand of rhythm and blues. It didn't go down too well. Still we'll know better next time."

However, all's well that ends well. Leslie Conn liked the earthy type of music the group played, arranged an audition with Decca Records which resulted in a contract and the first release by David Jones with the King-Bees. "Liza Jane", released by Decca (Vocalion 9221) on June 5th.

DAVIE JONES WITH THE KING-BEES MET AT BARBERS

Davie Jones met up with his four member backing group the King-Bees when he visited his local barber shop in Bromley. In between clips he got chatting to the four lads, also there to be sheared, about their musical interests, and before you could say "Short back and sides", they decided to join forces.

The group specialise in hard-driving, uncompromising R & B, a brand of music that has won for them a dedicated following in the London area, a following which should soon be spreading throughout the length and breadth of England on the strength of their first disc.

"LIZA JANE", is a beaty, action packed disc which features the direct no-holds-barred Davie Jones vocal delivery. The King-Bees supply a hard core, R & B backing and the whole thing is crowned by a catchy chorus featuring the line "Little Liza Jane".

DAVIE JONES - Seventeen years old, fair haired Davie first got interested in pop music when he was ten. His father's secretary (Davie's father in P.R.O. for Dr. Barnardo's homes) who had previously worked for a disc company, sent Davie a 'Demo' copy of a new Little Richard disc. As the phrase goes, Davie was "knocked out", and when he had scraped together a few pounds of his pocket money, bought a plastic saxophone. Eventually he progressed on to the real thing. Lessons were the next step. "My idol on saxophone has always been Ronnie Ross", says Davie, "So I looked up his name up in the phone book and asked him if he would give me lessons." Ross agreed, but after Davie played him a few bars Ross's comment was: "Right now we can start working on you, that was bloody awful!" Davie gave up his music to take his G.C.E. at 15, then left school and joined an advertising agency as a commercial artist, where he still works.

When he left school Davie was able to concentrated on his music again, this time mainly as a vocalist, playing dance halls and clubs in and around the Bromley area. Then came the hair-cut and the letter to John Bloom...

Davie's favourite vocalists are Little Richard, Bob Dylan and John Lee Hooker. Apart from the saxophone he also plays the guitar. He dislikes Adams apples, and lists as his interests Baseball, American Football and collecting Boots. A handsome six footer with a warm and engaging personality, Davie Jones has all it takes to get to the show business heights, including... talent.

• On this day, 10 years ago, DAVID BOWIE released the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars album...

• On this day, 18 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theatre, in Wantagh, New York, USA during his A Reality World Tour...

• On this day, 21 years ago, DAVID BOWIE held an official chat in the BowieNet chatrooms - [Read chat log]...

• On this day, 26 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan during his Outside World Tour in 1996...

• On this day, 32 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Starplex Amphitheatre in Dallas, USA during his Sound+Vision World Tour in 1990...

• On this day, 39 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Wembley Arena in London, England during his Serious Moonlight World Tour in 1983...

• On this day, 44 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Scandanavium in Gothenburg, Sweden during his 1978 World Tour...

• On this day, 49 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Gaumont Theatre in Worcester, England during his 1973 World Tour...

• On this day, 50 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Public Hall in Preston, England during his 1972 UK Tour #1...

• On this day, 57 years ago, DAVIE JONES and THE LOWER THIRD performed at the Pavilion Ballroom in Bournemouth, England in 1965...

• On this day, 66 years ago, REEVES GABRELS was born. Happy Birthday wishes - have a fabulous day...

Check out the front covers for issue #9 of the DAVID BOWIE: GLAMOUR fanzine, once again created by Helen Green, which is published later this month.

It will be made available firstly at the upcoming David Bowie World Fan Convention in Liverpool (17th-19th June), and then online as usual.

The second cover is a DBG Fanzine Special created specifically for the Convention. This very limited cover will be available to fan convention VIP ticket holders initially, then any surplus copies will be made available to everyone.

Those of you who are unable to attend Bowie Convention and subscribe to their email updates will still be able to pre-order the fanzine (a few days after the convention) in the normal way via an email link to their website @ davidbowieglamour.wordpress.com

David Bowie: Glamour Fanzine in partnership with Sound City will curate 'The David Bowie World Fan Convention 2022' featuring Carlos Alomar, Robin Clark, Gail Ann Dorsey, Woody Woodmansey, Donny McCaslin, Duffy Archive, Denis O'Regan, John Cambridge, Kevin Cann, Philippe Auliac, Jonathan Barnbrook, Tim Bret-Day, Mark Allen, Nacho, Professor Alex Sharpe and of course, your compère for the 3-day David Bowie immersive experience will be Nicholas Pegg.

In addition to a full David Bowie marketplace, speakers, panels, meet and greet, photo exhibitions and of course 'The Bowie Ball', there will be live music from The London Boys, Rebel Heroes and David Live plus more to whet your appetites, 1500 fans from across the world will be in attendance.

There are a handful of David Bowie World Fan Convention tickets remaining which are available at seetickets.com

TONY SALES the legendary bass player with IGGY POP and TIN MACHINE is touring in 2023.

Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life' album played in full, plus a second set of songs from the band's careers with artists including Blondie and DAVID BOWIE.

The eleven-date tour also includes a special one-off date in Dublin, Ireland

THE TONY SALES BAND 2023 Tour Dates:
MARCH
1st: London, The 100 Club
2nd: Liverpool, The Cavern
3rd: Hull, Social
4th: Hebden Bridge, Trades Club
5th: Edinburgh: The Voodoo Rooms
6th: Norwich, Arts Centre
8th: Dublin, Whelan's
9th: Colchester, Arts Centre
10th: St. Leonards-on-Sea, The Piper
11th: London, The Lexington
12th: London, The Lexington

For more details, information and tickets, please visit tonyfoxsalestour.com

Featured in the upcoming JOHN PEEL ARCHIVE auction at BONHAMS in Kensington, London - which takes place on 14th June - are the following DAVID BOWIE items...

LOT 3: David Bowie A Signed Postcard to John Peel, circa 1967, a Pierrot Pantin paper doll postcard, signed and inscribed on the back in red pen "Seasons" from David Bowie in '67 to John Peel in '68, "Nothing Moves - Where would it go?" additionally signed by Lindsay Kemp and annotated with flower motifs, the front annotated in red pen in Bowie's hand Pierrot In Turquoise, 4in x 6in (10cm x 15cm).
Footnotes: This postcard was given to John Peel during David Bowie's first venture into theatre in December 1967. Bowie was drawn to work with mime artist, choreographer and director Lindsay Kemp, and became part of his production 'Pierrot In Turquoise' or 'Looking Glass Murders'. He agreed to write and then perform the songs for the play as the character Cloud while Kemp played Pierrot. The production had mixed reviews when it opened at the Oxford New Theatre before going to Rosehill Theatre in Whitehaven and the Mercury Theatre and Intimate Theatre London in March 1968. Lindsay Kemp has said that it was he who showed Bowie how to free his body, and who possibly helped him to channel Ziggy Stardust.
Estimate: £1,000 - £1,500 GBP - SOLD for £2,295 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 27: David Bowie: An Autographed Five-Sided Handwritten Letter With Stage Sketches Relating To David's 'Art Lab' Project, circa 1969, written in turquoise ink on lined exercise paper in David Bowie's hand, sent C/O Tony Visconti, 108 Lexham Grds, London W8 discussing his lack of permanent address and the change in John Peel's programme times, The moving of your programme is drag and a shame. I suppose everyone is telling you that, but I would also like to add my condolences.. He moves on to outline in depth his plans for an artists lab, ...is well underway now...The folk-Lab is the most successful project so far. Most of the people that we've had there (Gasworks, Keith Xmas...two girls whose names i forget) think it the best in the South of England. He elaborates on the planning permission, that the enterprise is a registered charity and that there are architects employed, then adds hand drawn diagrams of the building layout with stage, café, dressings rooms, a theatre, music lab and printing rooms, on page 4 Bowie writes, Meanwhile we are building an inflatable onto a pantechnicon (G.P.O.Lorry), with diagrams of how this would look, Bowie signs off, I have also sent you copy of my single which I hope you will like, will contact you soon, Bowie. 7in x 9in (18cm x 23cm).
Footnotes: John Peel was a early advocate of David Bowie and would support him as much as possible by inviting him for sessions in the mid-late 1960's before he became a big name. In an interview John did for 'Bowie At The Beeb' he refers to the letter in this lot. He says: '...he asks me for money to support the Beckenham Arts Lab, and these are full of drawings of what he wanted to do with the buildings and so on. I didn't send him any money, although i used to send money to lots of people, but not to him.'
Estimate: £3,000 - £4,000 GBP - SOLD for £4,845 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 35: David Bowie: An Autographed Full Page Typed Letter 'Beckenham Days', circa 1969, an in-depth, insightful typescript letter on plain paper with address David Bowie. 4, Plaistow Grove, Bromley, Kent., letting John Peel know his current movements, ...I find myself in the arms of just about the biggest garden in the world, deep in the heart of (God Forbid) Beckenham. He elaborates on his state of mind and lack of creative successes... I got an itchy bum after the tour so with a guitar and memories of Hermione on my back I thumbed a lift through my mind and got involved with writing. I have walked through no less than fifteen songs in two weeks and some of them were very bad. Bowie later goes on to declare that, I have dropped the whole mime thing as I seem to be becoming too known for that alone. He discusses the current work he and 'Hutch' [John Hutchinson, his guitarist] are collaborating on and dreams for the future, Still no news of records or anything although the guy who got the Led Zeppelin thing together in the States told us we should also find ourselves on ATco [sic] soon.. He discusses meeting John while gigging in London over the summer before having to catch the last train home and signs off, (You must think us out of towners are a crazy bunch...Yes we dance a furious boredom.)...Must leave it at that as I am going to fall off the edge. Love Davie, his name handwritten in blue pen, 8 1/4in x 12in (22cm x 31cm).
Footnotes: This letter was sent to John Peel while David Bowie was still establishing himself and on the cusp of his career really taking off. It provides a fascinating insight into this stage of Bowie's life, and the turbulence following the demise of his relationship with his first love, Hermione Farthingale. The couple had an intense twelve-month relationship, living and performing together in the band Features with John Hutchinson. She has commented that she was the one who broke his heart, But I also said to myself, 'am I going to be with David for the rest of my life?' and I didn't think I was actually going to. He was clearly going somewhere and I didn't think I was going to tread that path with him. It was this early and influential love affair that inspired the song 'Letter To Hermione' that was included on Bowie's self-titled second album in 1969. John Hutchinson was Bowie's collaborator and guitarist across three of his bands. He auditioned to back him in David Bowie And The Buzz, he was with him when they formed Feathers, with David and Hermione, and later featured with Bowie in The Spiders From Mars. He has been credited as the guitarist on 'Space Oddity', written in February 1969.
Estimate: £1,000 - £2,000 GBP - SOLD for £3,187.50 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 36: David Bowie: An Autographed Typed Note With Annotated Address, circa 1969, a thank you note typed on plain white paper with hand-annotated address in Plaistow, Kent, additionally signed Bowie in blue pen, in which he says Thanks for the plays and thanks in advance (?) for listening to the LP., 8in x 12in (20cm x 30.5cm).
Footnotes: Although this letter is not dated, it was sent from Bowie's Plaistow Grove address, so he is likely referring to the release of his second album which was self-titled and released in 1969.
Estimate: £1,000 - £1,500 GBP - SOLD for £2,805 GBP inc. premium.

LOT 110: David Bowie: An Official Long-Sleeve T-Shirt, 1977, a white cotton long-sleeve t-shirt embellished in black felt, with white slogan 'Heroes' to the front and 'David Bowie' on the back, unlabelled.
Estimate: £200 - £300 GBP - SOLD for £318.75 GBP inc. premium.

For more details please visit bonhams.com website.

BBC RADIO 4 programme ZIGGY STARDUST AT 50 to include rare archive material...

In this Archive On 4, Tris Penna, who worked alongside Bowie at EMI Records, explores the heart of the origins of the album, artists Michael Weller and George Underwood discuss their schooldays and early friendship with Bowie, and Ziggy Stardust co-producer Ken Scott recalls the studio experience.

'Young dude' Wendy Kirby, record plugger Anya Wilson and former music exec Laurence Myers remember their time with Ziggy, and singer Marc Almond talks movingly about the profound impact of Ziggy on his life.

Rare archive material forms part of the programme, including a lost Bowie interview (as Ziggy) recorded in the Top Of The Pops dressing room, a 1972 press conference, and insightful reflections from former band members Mick Ronson and Trevor Bolder.

There are also studio outtakes from the making of the Ziggy Stardust album - as well as a lost BBC session version of the title song which will be aired for the first time since Jan 1972.

Ziggy Stardust at 50 is a part of a range of programmes on BBC TV and radio that focus on the LGBTQ+ experience to commemorate 50 years of Pride. It can be heard on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 11 June at 8-9pm.

You can read the whole article over at OnTheRadio

Tickets are on sale for the screening of the DAVID BOWIE documentary film MOONAGE DAYDREAM at SHEFFIELD DOCFEST.

These are now available exclusively via the Sheffield City Hall website.

DATE: Thursday, 23 June 2022
TIME: 18:30
PRICE: £18 and £21.50
VENUE: Sheffield DocFest: Oval Hall, Sheffield City Hall

For more details and tickets, please visit sheffieldcityhall.co.uk

Brett Morgen tweeted yesterday: We will be building a custom sound system on site at the historic City Hall under the direction of legendary sound mixer Paul Massey (BoRap) for @sheffdocfest Opening night 6/23. I will be there to perform a one-time only "live mix."

The eagerly awaited monster publication WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM! is the second collectors' guide from MAYAK PUBLISHING - scheduled for publication early next month.

Ziggy Stardust: The ultimate collectors' guide.

50 years ago a star was born
This is his story
Recounted through 700-pages of memorabilia and collectibles
Aylesbury to Arizona and back again
Astronettes and Spiders from Mars
Limited Edition #300
TO BE READ AT MAXIMUM VOLUME

The focus of this epic tome is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Containing 700-pages of memorabilia: - albums, singles, lacquers, demos, promos, test pressings, press kits, photographs, autographs, magazines, interviews, posters, tickets, radio shows, cassettes, 8-tracks, reel-to-reels, concert recordings and much more.

This 700-page monster of a publication is available to pre-order NOW!

Mayak Publishing: As a special thank you to BowieWonderworld. For all the love and support, we'd like to offer twenty-five copies of Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am! at £25 off. Use code WONDERWORLD25 at checkout.

Visit the MAYAK PUBLISHING website and Facebook page for more details and newsletter sign-up.

Two ZIGGY STARDUST 50th Anniversary releases have been announced...

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master (Cat. No. DBZS 50) and 50th Anniversary Picture Disc LP.

Both are released on Friday 17th June.

    

You can pre-order both the Ziggy Stardust 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master and Picture Disc NOW!

The 6th BECKENHAM ODDITY FESTIVAL takes place on Saturday 13th August at Croydon Road Recreation Ground in Beckenham.

Come and join us to celebrate the life and music of DAVID BOWIE.

Since 2016, the event has been fundraising for the Bowie Bandstand Restoration Project in Beckenham. David Bowie co-organised and performed on the bandstand at the Growth Summer Festival of 1969 and it is now a British Heritage Grade 2 listed building, thanks to this event and the organiser. As a result, this iconic bandstand will soon be restored to its former glory.

Organiser Wendy Faulkner: "I'm thrilled that the finishing line is finally in sight for the Bandstands Restoration as this will be a lasting legacy, to not only David Bowie, but for all the artists and people involved in the original Growth Summer Festival of 1969, and of course for their families.

The work on the bandstand will start in September this year and a launch party for the completion will take place in April 2023... and then We're Gonna Have A Party!"

For this year's event we will be raising money for three wonderful charities, Cabaret Vs Cancer, Terrence Higgins Trust and St Christopher's Hospice.

Tickets are available from 1.00pm today from wegottickets.com - a limited amount of tickets will also be available at the gate on the day of the festival.

A big thank you to everyone for supporting the event as well as the fundraising efforts, without you none of this would have been possible. Don't miss this fantastic family event.

Venue: Croydon Road Recreation Ground
Address: 319 Croydon Road, Beckenham BR3 3PR, England
Date: 13th August 2022
Open: 11.45am, starts: 12.00pm-8.30pm
Tickets: wegottickets.com

Social media accounts: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

• Streaming Event: ATOMIC SUNRISE filmed at The Roundhouse in 1970, featuring DAVID BOWIE / HYPE, Genesis & Hawkwind. Stream: 85 minutes on 22nd September - more details

• Worldwide cinema release of DAVID BOWIE movie/documentary MOONAGE DAYDREAM, written, directed, edited and produced by BRETT MORGEN on 16th September.

• DAVID BOWIE RAINBOWMAN 1967-1980 by JÉRÔME SOLIGNY, (ENGLISH VERSION), hardback, 704-pages, now to be published in September 2023 - more details

• Six DAVID BOWIE breakout albums from the Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) box set are to be released individually on vinyl and CD formats on 5th August - BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD] • THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD] • 1.OUTSIDE [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD] • EARTHLING [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD] • 'hours...' [Vinyl 1LP] and [CD] • TOY [Vinyl 2LP] and [CD]

• BOWIE AT 75 by MARTIN POPOFF, hardcover, 208-pages, published on 14th June 6th September - more details

• DAVID BOWIE AND ROMANTICISM by JAMES ROVIRA, hardcover, published on 22nd August - more details

• BOWIE'S BECKENHAM ODDITY FESTIVAL at Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Beckenham, England on 13th August at 12.00pm-8.30pm - more details - [tickets]

• DAVID BOWIE IN COMICS by THIERRY LAMY and NICOLAS FINET, hardcover, 176-pages, published on 16th June now 28th July - more details

• WE COULD BE... BOWIE AND HIS HEROES by TOM HAGLER, consultant editor TONY VISCONTI, paperback version, 400-pages, published on 7th July - more details

• DAVID BOWIE - WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM! by IVOR JONES, limited edition of #300, special collector's publication, hardback, 700-pages, published early July. [As a special thank you to BowieWonderworld. For all the love and support, we'd like to offer twenty-five copies of Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am! at £25 off. Use code WONDERWORLD25 at checkout] - more details

• New Writings: Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of DAVID BOWIE talk with DR. LEAH KARDOS at BFI Reuben Library, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT on 4th July. Total running time: 60 minutes. Tickets on sale now £6.50 - more details

• DAVID BOWIE 1964 TO 1982 ON TRACK: Every Album, Every Song by JAY GENT, paperback, 224-pages, now to be published on 25th June TBA - more details

MOONAGE DAYDREAM: The Life & Times of Ziggy Stardust by DAVID BOWIE (author) and MICK ROCK (photographer), hardcover, 328-pages, published on 21st June - save 27% - more details

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (50th Anniversary Half Speed Master) by DAVID BOWIE, released 17th June - more details

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (50th Anniversary Picture Disc) by DAVID BOWIE, released 17th June - more details

BOWIE ODYSSEY 72 by SIMON GODDARD, paperback, 192-pages, published on 16th June - more details

DAVID BOWIE - ALL MY IDIOT 1500 QUESTIONS: A Chronology of Trivia by PETE THOMPSON, paperback and Kindle, 259-pages, published on 3rd May - proceeds donated to the 'Bowie Bandstand Restoration Appeal' in Beckenham and to 'Macmillan Cancer Support' - more details

Exclusive DAVID BOWIE lino-cut print available to PURCHASE - don't hang around, these are ALL the remaining original left-over stock from 38 years ago, once they've gone, they've gone!