• On this day, 22 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Theatre Romain de Fourviere, in Lyon, France during his Earthling World Tour in 1997...

• On this day, 29 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA during his 1990 Sound+Vision World Tour. Support act was Joe Satriani...

• On this day, 36 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, USA during his 1983 Serious Moonlight World Tour...

• On this day, 39 years ago, DAVID BOWIE's made his debut performance as John Merrick in The Elephant Man stage play at the newly renovated Denver Auditorium Theatre, Denver, Colorado, USA in 1980. The Bernard Pomerance play ran in Denver for 6 days, with 8 performances, (Tuesday 29th July - Sunday 3rd August), with evening performances at 8pm and matinees on Saturday on Sunday at 2pm...

• On this day, 47 years ago, 'Starman' by DAVID BOWIE peaked at number 10 in the UK singles charts in 1972...

• Happy Birthday wishes to MIKE GARSON...

Check out the latest DAVID BOWIE TV footage upgrade and remaster developed by NACHO.

David Bowie - Arena Rock - BBC TV - 1978.

Video Source: Arena Rock - BBC Broadcast Archive - Directed by Nigel Finch - Produced by Alan Yentob - Broadcast 29th May 1978.

Alan Yentob interviews Bowie in this enjoyable and intelligently made 15 minute BBC TV feature from 1978.

The feature was recorded and broadcast during the 1978 World Tour. It was produced by Bowie's old mate Alan Yentob, who in 1974, produced the brilliant 'Cracked Actor' - probably the greatest Bowie documentary ever made.

Arena Rock features an interview that covers Bowie's changing perspective on his music and fame, his feelings about the tour and the Just A Gigolo movie. Also featured are live tracks and Bowie and Brian Eno's instrumental from the "Heroes" album, Neukoln, set to a visual collage of (then) contemporary West Germany.

Through the window, behind Bowie is the unmistakable Koln Dom (Cologne Cathedral). So in all likelihood, the recording date of the interview was 19th May 1978, the day of Bowie's concert at the Sporthalle, Cologne.

Check out the official DAVID BOWIE video for Space Oddity (2019 mix), part of the celebration for the song's 50th anniversary.

The video features never before released footage of David Bowie performing Space Oddity at his 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden in 1997. It is directed by Tim Pope, and includes footage shot and directed by Eduaord Lock, the founder and choreographer of the Montreal dance troupe La La La Human Steps, for the on screen back drop of Bowie's 1990 Sound+Vision tour.

The 1990 footage was projected on to the large screens throughout the Sound+Vision tour, featuring David effectively performing Space Oddity with himself, a performance replicated at his 50th Birthday Concert.

The audio that accompanies the video is the new 2019 mix of Space Oddity by longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti.

• If you had no luck ordering your copy of the PAUL SMITH for DAVID BOWIE (aka Space Oddity) 50th Anniversary Limited Edition 'Space' Vinyl LP - as you can guess there are plenty on eBay - the majority at present are going for high prices - hold tight and prices may start to drop after the initial scramble...

• CHLOE MK has a new song out entitled: 'DAVID BOWIE' which features on her new six-track EP 'Fantasy'. The song isn't specifically about Bowie, but she cleverly equates the emptiness left by David's passing with the loss of love.

Have a listen to the official audio video below...

If you missed the excellent BBC RADIO 2 DAVID BOWIE programme 'One Giant Step - David Bowie's Space Oddity' you can catch up via the BBC iPlayer HERE.

July 2019 is the 50th anniversary not only of the Apollo Moon landing but of the original release of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' single, which was his first ever hit. 'One Giant Step' examines the origins and legacy of 'Space Oddity' - arguably Bowie's best known song, and its importance as a shadowy presence throughout his whole career cannot be underestimated. With new interviews from those who were there - including musicians, record company personnel and friends - as well as archive and unbroadcast interviews with David and producer Gus Dudgeon - we track 'Major Tom' from 'Space Oddity', through 'Ashes To Ashes' 'Hallo Spaceboy' to 'Blackstar' with unheard studio outtakes and live performances.

Contributors include: Pet Shop Boys, Dana Gillespie, Kevin Cann and Olav Wyper.

We look at why on the back of nine flop singles and many unreleased attempts at fame - Space Oddity was written, and examine the influences with new interviews with his duet partner of the time John Hutchinson and an ex-girlfriend Dana Gillespie. We hear in full, exclusively to this programme, for the very first time, the earliest known demo of Space Oddity - performed as a duo with Hutch, but with different lyrics and arrangements. We have previously unheard archive interview of Bowie's manager at the time, Ken Pitt, talking about the unshown TV special 'Love You Till Tuesday' for which the song was written and we hear a previously unheard studio outtake of the song from February 1969. We hear about his multi-media trio Feathers - which was the starting point for the song - plus other influences such as Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey. We learn how Bowie admits that 'Gee I am Major Tom' and how the creation of the Major Tom character would be the first of many in his career. We reveal how Tony Visconti hated the song - so gave it to Gus Dudgeon to record, and how Elton John was so blown away by Space Oddity that he just had to have Gus Dudgeon as his producer. Bassist Herbie Flowers who played on the track tells us about the original session plus playing the song with David on his 1974 tour. We also hear from Philips Records executive Olav Wyper on how he helped make the record - against all odds - a hit. We hear how David won an Ivor Novello award for best original song. We discover how David Bowie's first UK number one single was a re-issue of Space Oddity in 1975 and hear the 1979 Lennonesque remake. We hear from video director David Mallet - who made the startling video for Space Oddity 1979 which presaged the award winning video for Ashes To Ashes the song of course prominently features 'Major Tom' who is now a junkie.

We have exclusive archive of Bowie talking about Ashes To Ashes and the continuing story of Major Tom. We also explore other versions of the song, including a reggae version by Rudy Grant and hear German singer Peter Schilling who had a worldwide hit with the song 'Major Tom (Coming Home)' in 1982. In a brand new interview Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant tells us how PSBs came to remix 'Hallo Spaceboy' - and how it was his idea to 'cut up' the original Space Oddity lyrics and sing them with Bowie on the hit.

We also hear some rare audio of the very last time Bowie performed the song in 2002 in Denmark. Space Oddity has by now become such a part of popular culture that it was no surprise when Chris Hadfield performed Space Oddity live from the Space Station. And in an exclusive interview superstar film director Johan Renck tells us about the creative process of working with Bowie on the Blackstar video - the video that sees Major Tom finally laid to rest, made only months before Bowie's untimely death.

The programme is presented by Tris Penna, who as a record executive and producer knew and worked with David Bowie.

Produced by Tris Penna and Sue Clark Productions for BBC Radio 2.

The programme was broadcast on 13th July on BBC Radio 2 at 21.00 and is available until 11th August.

More details can be found over at bbc.co.uk website.

Released today (Friday 12th July) is the DAVID BOWIE - SPACE ODDITY 50th Anniversary 2 x 7" Box Set.

The Space Oddity 50th anniversary double 7" set will come in a box including a double-sided poster featuring an original Space Oddity press advertisement and a Ray Stevenson shot of David taken on stage at the Save Rave '69 concert at the London Palladium on 30th November, 1969, the backdrop featuring a N.A.S.A. astronaut. The set also includes an information card and a print featuring an alternative shot by Jojanneke Claassen from the Space Oddity promo single cover session.

A facsimile of the original ultra-rare unissued UK picture sleeve has been used for the cover of the original mono single, which, along with the label, features the original Philips trademark specifically cleared for this 50th anniversary release. The single itself has been cut from the original analogue single master tape. The jacket housing the 2019 remixes by Tony Visconti is a new design featuring an alternative Ray Stevenson shot from the Save Rave '69 concert to that on the poster.

The tracklisting runs as follows:

SPACE ODDITY (1 TRACK DIGITAL SINGLE)
(2019 Mix - Single Edit) 2019 mix by Tony Visconti, March 2019.

SPACE ODDITY (2 x 7" SINGLE BOX SET)

Single 1

Side A: SPACE ODDITY (Original Mono Single Edit)
Side B: WILD EYED BOY FROM FREECLOUD (Original Mono Single Version)

Single 2

Side A: SPACE ODDITY (2019 Mix - Single Edit) 2019 mix by Tony Visconti, March 2019.
Side B: WILD EYED BOY FROM FREECLOUD (2019 Mix - Single Version) 2019 mix by Tony Visconti, March 2019.

You can purchase Space Oddity (50th Anniversary Box Set 2 x 7" Singles) NOW!

Happy 3rd Birthday wishes to STENTON DAVID JONES.

Released this Friday (12th July) is the DAVID BOWIE - SPACE ODDITY 50th Anniversary 2 x 7" Box Set...

As part of the ongoing celebrations marking 50 years since David Bowie's first hit, and following announcements of the Spying Through A Keyhole, Clareville Grove Demos and The 'Mercury' Demos collections, Parlophone is releasing a very special double 7" single of SPACE ODDITY featuring brand new remixes by Tony Visconti. The set and a 1 track digital single of the single edit of the 2019 mix of Space Oddity for streaming and download will be released by Parlophone on 12th July, 2019, the day after the single's 50th anniversary.

Space Oddity 50th anniversary double 7" set will come in a box including a double-sided poster featuring an original Space Oddity press advertisement and a Ray Stevenson shot of David taken on stage at the Save Rave '69 concert at the London Palladium on 30th November, 1969, the backdrop featuring a N.A.S.A. astronaut. The set also includes an information card and a print featuring an alternative shot by Jojanneke Claassen from the Space Oddity promo single cover session.

A facsimile of the original ultra-rare unissued UK picture sleeve has been used for the cover of the original mono single, which, along with the label, features the original Philips trademark specifically cleared for this 50th anniversary release. The single itself has been cut from the original analogue single master tape. The jacket housing the 2019 remixes by Tony Visconti is a new design featuring an alternative Ray Stevenson shot from the Save Rave '69 concert to that on the poster.

First released as a 7-inch single on 11 July 1969, Space Oddity was also the opening track of his second studio album, David Bowie. Initially inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the song gained huge popularity when it was adopted as the unofficial theme of the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission which launched five days after the single's release.

Over the past 50 years Space Oddity has been on a journey as long and as far as its main character, Major Tom. Originally written and demoed in November 1968, the song has gone through many guises from appearing in the filmed for television special Love You Til Tuesday in an earlier recorded incarnation with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to being recorded in Italian (Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola), winning an Ivor Novello Special Award for Originality in May 1970, being Bowie's first hit on both sides of the Atlantic (#5 in the U.K. in 1969, #1 in the U.K. in 1975 and #15 in the U.S. in 1973), having no less than three videos made for it and in 2013 was performed by Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield, while aboard the International Space Station, and became the first music video shot in space. Major Tom remained a motif for Bowie throughout his career revisiting the character in the songs Ashes to Ashes, Hallo Spaceboy and in the music video for ★.

Further news of moments and events celebrating the anniversary of this very special song will follow.

SPACE ODDITY (1 TRACK DIGITAL SINGLE)
(2019 Mix - Single Edit) 2019 mix by Tony Visconti, March 2019.

SPACE ODDITY (2 x 7" SINGLE BOX SET)

Single 1

Side A: SPACE ODDITY (Original Mono Single Edit)
Side B: WILD EYED BOY FROM FREECLOUD (Original Mono Single Version)

Single 2

Side A: SPACE ODDITY (2019 Mix - Single Edit) 2019 mix by Tony Visconti, March 2019.
Side B: WILD EYED BOY FROM FREECLOUD (2019 Mix - Single Version) 2019 mix by Tony Visconti, March 2019.

You can pre-order Space Oddity (50th Anniversary Box Set 2 x 7" Singles) NOW!

Also on Saturday 13th July on BBC RADIO 2 is 'One Giant Step - David Bowie's Space Oddity' at 21.00 GMT. More details can be found over at bbc.co.uk website.

Sad news to report the passing of actor RIP TORN has passed away, aged 88.

Rip passed away peacefully on Tuesday afternoon at his home in Lakeville, Connecticut with his wife AMy Wright and daughters Katie Torn and Angelica Page by his side.

As you know, Rip played 'Doctor Bryce' alongside DAVID BOWIE in The Man Who Fell To Earth.

'Per ardua ad astra' - born 8th February 1931 - 9th July 2019.

• On this day, 17 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at the Quart Festival at Odderøya, Kristiansand in Norway in 2002...

• On this day, 23 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Ha-Yarkron Park, Tel-Aviv, Israel in 1996...

• On this day, 30 years ago, TIN MACHINE performed at The Forum, Livingston, Scotland in 1989...

• On this day, 32 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Parc Départemental de la Courneuve, Paris, France during his Glass Spider World Tour in 1987...

• On this day, 36 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed the last of three sold-out dates at the Milton Keynes Bowl, Buckinghamshire, England during his Serious Moonlight Tour '83. This venue was a former clay-pit, filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre which holds a capacity of 65,000 peoploids...

• On this day, 45 years ago, DAVID BOWIE performed at Seminole Jai-Alai Fronton in Casselberry, Orlando, Florida, USA during The Year of The Diamond Dogs tour in 1974...

• On this day, 46 years ago, (and into the next morning till 5am) DAVID BOWIE held an after-show party (commonly known as 'The Last Supper') at the Café Royal, on Regent Street, London, England in 1973...

• On this day, 46 years ago, DAVID BOWIE laid to rest his persona 'Ziggy Stardust' / 'Aladdin Sane' and retired from live concert performing. At the time, the majority of fans didn't realise it was Ziggy and not David himself announcing the now legendary statement: "Everybody... this has been... one of the greatest tours of our life we really... at first I'd like to thank the band... I'd like to thank our road crew and I'd like to thank our lighting people. Er, of all of the shows on this tour, this, this particular show will remain with us the longest because... not only is it... not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do. Thank you." from the stage at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, England in 1973. This momentous performance was released on DVD which features remastered footage and new stereo and 5.1 mixes by Tony Visconti, as well as a commentary by Visconti and the director D.A. Pennebaker...

• On this day, 53 years ago, DAVID BOWIE & THE BUZZ performed at the Marquee Club, in Wardour Street, Soho, London, England in 1966...

• Happy Birthday wishes to STACY HEYDON...

Update: CANCELLED!

Taking place later this month on 18th July is AN EVENING WITH WOOD WOODMANSEY at Quay Arts in the Isle of Wight.

As the powerhouse drummer behind the Spiders From Mars, Woody Woodmansey helped propel DAVID BOWIE to superstardom. From 1970 to 1973, from Changes and Life On Mars? to Starman, The Jean Genie and Drive-In Saturday, Woody pounded out a glam beat for Bowie.

Hear Woody recall those heady Ziggy Stardust days at what promises to be a very special 'Evening With...' event!

Venue: Anthony Minghella Theatre
Address: 15 Sea Street, Newport Harbour, Isle of Wight PO30 5BD, England
Time: 8pm till 10.30pm
Tickets: £12 (on sale now)

For more details, information and booking, please visit quayarts.org website.

In conjunction with the Dimbola Museum and Galleries exhibition 'Iconic Bowie'.

Next month BOWIE's BECKENHAM ODDITY celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Growth Summer Festival and Free Concert of 1969, with the return of some of the original line up!

Venue: Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Beckenham BR3 3PR
Date: Saturday 17th August - door time 12.00 noon - 8.30pm

Live Music (Acts TBC) / Food and Drink / Market Stalls / Bowie Auction / Face Painting / Raffle / Kids Rides.

Join us to celebrate David Bowie and the original festival of 1969, plus help raise money to restore the bandstand and place a plaque there in his memory and for everyone involved in the original event.

Tickets are available now from wegottickets.com

DIMBOLA MUSEUM & GALLERIES are currently hosting ICONIC BOWIE, a major retrospective of the extraordinary life of DAVID BOWIE. A journey in which the Isle of Wight witnessed his first public musical performance at a Corf Scout Camp, Shalfleet in 1958 and Bowie's last UK live show headlining at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2004.

Iconic Bowie showcases both stunning and intimate portraits of Bowie by some of the world's greatest photographers. The photographs, from the extensive Iconic Images archive, were taken over his phenomenal 50-year career and draw into focus the remarkable contribution Bowie made to culture, music and art. These portraits contain rare moments, the force of Bowie's unique nature and his personality on film. Each image is an illuminating artefact of one of the greatest artists that has ever lived:

"Great portrait photographers do a rare thing through extraordinary alchemy that renders light, exposure, emotion, soul, sorrow, joy, beauty forever fixed in time. Iconic Bowie contains images that startle the world and provide an illuminating insight into the astonishing career of David Bowie," - Brian Hinton, Chairman of Dimbola Museum and Galleries.

The Iconic Images archive is one of the biggest collections of David Bowie imagery under one house. Terry O'Neill, Kevin Cummins, Markus Klinko, Justin de Villenuve, Milton H. Greene and Gerald Fearnley all had important roles throughout the visual life of this singular artist. Through the collective lens of these creative photographers, a true visual image of Bowie the artist was realised.

Cummins first photographed Bowie as the star's alter ego, Ziggy Stardust on his Aladdin Sane tour of 1972-1973 and went on to photograph and be influenced by him throughout his career. Cummins can remember the effect of seeing Bowie on stage:

"I went to see David Bowie when I was in my teens. I had never seen anything like that on stage and I had seen various things which were all very flashy and very showy. Now, it may seem normal but at the time nobody really had that kind of theatricality in rock 'n' rock." - Kevin Cummins.

To celebrate Bowie's influence on art and culture, Dimbola has invited contemporary British sculptor Guy Portelli to curate an artists' response to Bowie in the Charles Hay Gallery. The collection, featuring artists Keith Haynes, Chris Myers RBA RI, Guy Portelli PVPRBA FRBS, will show artworks inspired by the music and iconic imagery of David Bowie.

Exploring the Isle of Wight/Bowie connection there will be a rare display of ephemera tracing Bowie's early footsteps on the Island. These include copies of The Bowie Bureau (1977-1982) a magazine produced by two long-standing friends and sent from their Ventnor home to destinations throughout the world as well as adverts from Bowie's three early appearances at Ventnor Winter Gardens with Davy Jones and The Lower Third in the summer of 1965.

ICONIC BOWIE is kindly sponsored by Wightlink, Solo Agency, Style of Wight and The Seaview Hotel. All exhibition images are limited editions and available to purchase.

Venue: Dimbola Museum and Galleries
Address: Terrace Lane, Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, England PO40 9QE
Opening times: 7 days a week - 10am - 5pm

For more details and information, please visit dimbola.co.uk website.

SPACE ODDITY 50th ANNIVERSARY 2 x 7" BOX SET featuring brand new remixes released on 12th July - available to purchase

D.J. / BOYS KEEP SWINGING 40th Anniversary 7" picture disc single released on 28th June - available to purchase NOW!

DAVID BOWIE - THE 'MERCURY' DEMOS (with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) vinyl LP released on 28th June - available to purchase NOW!

BOYS KEEP SWINGING / I PRAY, OLÉ 40th Anniversary 7" picture disc single released 17th May - you can purchase NOW!

DAVID BOWIE - CLAREVILLE GROVE DEMOS 7" Vinyl Box Set containing THREE singles and SIX songs released 17th May - you can purchase NOW!

DAVID BOWIE - SPYING THROUGH A KEYHOLE 7" Vinyl Box Set containing FOUR singles and NINE songs released 5th April - you can purchase NOW!

2018 softback edition of DAVID BOWIE WORLD 7" RECORDS DISCOGRAPHY 1964 - 1981 book by MARSHALL JARMAN and RETO STÖCKLIN you can purchase now via marmot-publishing.com

Exclusive DAVID BOWIE lino-cut print available to PURCHASE - don't hang around, these are ALL the remaining original left-over stock from 34 years ago, once they've gone, they've gone!