David Bowie Wonderworld News August 2008

BOWIE TV and WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING IN AUGUST - MONTHLY PLANNER

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iSELECT NEXT MONTH
31st August 2008

The DAVID BOWIE compilation iSELECT audio CD is scheduled for release next month on 22nd September via EMI.

As you know this compliation was personally selected by David himself.

Comes complete with a jewel housed CD and the booklet contains David own words about each of the songs.

The release is identical to the recent free UK and Ireland Mail On Sunday newspaper card sleeve CD, but this is now available to all countries EXCEPT the UK and Ireland.

The tracklisting runs as follows:

     01. Life On Mars?
     02. Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing
     03. Bewlay Brothers
     04. Lady Grinning Soul
     05. Win
     06. Some Are
     07. Teenage Wildlife
     08. Repetition
     09. Fantastic Voyage
     10. Loving The Alien
     11. Time Will Crawl (MM Remix)
     12. Intro / Hang On To Yourself (live from Santa Monica '72)

(Ed. I've read three different release dates - namely 22nd, 29th September and 6th October - so take your pick!)

"HEROES": OFFICIAL THEME TRACK FOR LONDON 2012
28th August 2008

A cover version of "Heroes" by Irish trio THE SCRIPT has been chosen as the official track of the 2012 London Olympics.

As you know DAVID BOWIE and BRIAN ENO wrote the now legendary anthemic song.

The Script are currently at number one in the album chart with their self-titled debut album and at number two in the singles chart with 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'.

Apparently the band were shocked by the honour because they originally recorded "Heroes" as a joke.

Drummer Glen Power said: "We were just messing around when we decided to record it and it doesn't even really have a proper drum beat. We really just put it together using a foot pedal for the beat."

Singer Danny O'Donoghue added: "We wanted to cover it because we just thought it was a great song. It's the only cover we've ever done and we can't believe it's just been taken on for the Olympics."

Info via the Scottish Daily Record - you can read the complete article here

BOWIE KONRADS TAPES TO BE AUCTIONED
28th August 2008

Legendary Sixties music producer JOE MEEK's private recording collection is to be auctioned off.

The thousands of tapes include unheard recordings of various artists which includes DAVID BOWIE when he was singer and saxophone player with THE KONRADS.

Which demo songs the The Konrads actually recorded with Meek at 304 Holloway Road, Islington are at present unknown, but the story goes that David and The Konrads were recorded by Meek in 1963 but he turned the group down.

The collection of 1,850 tapes (approximately 5,000 recordings) has been added to the It's More Than Rock And Roll sale to be held at London's Idea Generation Gallery on Thursday 4th September at 5pm.

Lot 94: Joe Meek Archive: The Original Joe Meek Master Tapes has an estimated value of Ł250,000 to Ł300,000.

Ted Owen, Managing Director of the Fame Bureau, said: "To describe Joe Meek as a rock and roll icon is an understatement - he was one of the most important figures in the industry for nearly two decades and these tapes provide a vicarious passage of the 1950s and 60s.

"Furthermore, custodian of the Joe Meek archive, Cliff Cooper has honoured the collection by keeping it intact all these years and cherished for British musical posterity."

Joe Meek became an icon of the recording industry with his experimental techniques in the 50s and 60s and was most famous for The Tornados' 1962 hit Telstar which won him an Ivor Novello Award.

Incidentially Nick Moran is currently directing a film of Meek's life, called Telstar, starring himself and Kevin Spacey.

More details and information can be found at liveauctioneers.com website.

HALLO SPACEY BOY
28th August 2008

Actor KEVIN SPACEY is lending his voice to the robot in DUNCAN JONES' new sci-fi picture MOON.

BEWARE: Spoilers ahead....

'Moon', which as you know is directed by DAVID BOWIE's talented son Duncan, centres around a space miner named Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell). He is a contract worker for the LUNAR corporation and his three-year contract is about to expire and Bell can't wait to get home and see his family. But then, things start to go wrong and Bell finds out that LUNAR is going to replace him. At a press roundtable for Choke, Rockwell said his replacement is his clone, which he has to come face to face with.

"[In] Moon, that guy's got a big problem. He's been stuck on the moon for three years, and he meets his own clone. So he's got a big problem and he has to get home. Oh and he doesn't know how long he has to live. So he's got some pretty Shakespearean problems."

When asked if being isolated on a moon alone meant that Sam was most of the cast in Moon Rockwell revealed who his new robot buddy would be, "We've got Kevin Spacey who's going to play the voice of the robot. Which is great. But [otherwise] it's just me, and there are a couple of supporting roles of people who do transmissions onto the space station."

Besides Spacey and a few other key characters, Rockwell explained that he'll be getting plenty of screen time in this isolation flick: "That's a pretty weird movie. That's a lot of Sam. It's a lot of Sam for me to watch. There's no Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald and Brad Henke in that movie, but we do have Kevin, thank God."

Still the indie actor did all he could do from losing his mind on this space-story. "It was hard," Rockwell explained. "I would say Choke, Joshua and Moon are probably the hardest things I've done, and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, but we had a longer schedule."

Moon will be released in 2009.

You can read the complete article by Meredith Woerner at io9.com website.

JUST FOR ONE DAY
25th August 2008

London has received the Olympic flag to signal the start of its reign as Olympic host city and spark wild celebrations in the capital.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson was given the flag by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the closing ceremony in Beijing, China.

An eight-minute handover presentation, featuring a red double-decker bus, footballer David Beckham and musicians Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis followed.

In London, thousands of people attended a party in The Mall outside the Queen's residence, Buckingham Palace and were entertained by musical acts including The Feeling, McFly, Scouting For Girls, Katherine Jenkins and Will Young.

The party was broadcast live on BBC One and Radio 2. The musical highlight came from THE FEELING performing a rousing rendition of DAVID BOWIE's "Heroes".

You can pop on over to bbc.co.uk where you can watch the show via the BBC iPlayer. ("Heroes" performance starts at 0:46.40).

BOLIVIAN BOWIE BANKNOTE?
25th August 2008

Someone recently sent in a scan of a Bolivian banknote asking if I realised that DAVID BOWIE was depicted on the front, and did I know the reason why?

Obviously it isn't him, but my curiosity got the better of me, and after doing a little Googling it turns out the Bowie-look-a-like is in fact Bolivian painter CECILIO GUZMAN DE ROJAS (1899-1950).

So if you see a handful of these suddenly appearing on eBay stating it's db - it definitely isn't.

LORD I KNEEL AND OFFER YOU, MY WORD ON A WING
24th August 2008

Professor links faith to popular music

Sometimes, when Nicholas Greco listens to DAVID BOWIE or Leslie Feist, he hears the voice of God.

Instead of discordance between faith and popular music, the newly appointed chair of communications and media at Providence College says there's significant harmony.

"What they are creating shows part of God in them," says the recent McGill graduate who wrote a chapter about the Juno award-winning Feist in an upcoming book on Canadian popular music.

The Ottawa-born Greco, 34, is the first professor with an academic background in popular music at Providence, a Christian liberal arts college located in Otterburne, about half an hour south of Winnipeg.

"How does a musician keep our interest in this commodity-based world? These little pieces (they reveal) lead to a broad picture of the artist, but we never get a full picture," says Greco, whose master's research focused on Bowie.

"If you're a fan, you want to know something about them. You want to know who they are."

That push-pull relationship continues to interest the Mickey Mouse watch-wearing first-time Prairie dweller, who will teach courses in basic communications, film and new media in fall and hopes to develop classes in popular music in the future.

You can read the whole article written by Brenda Suderman over at the Winnipeg Free Press website.

INSIDE ALADDIN'S CAVE
22nd August 2008

DAVID BOWIE in his Aladdin Sane incarnate graces the front cover of RECORD COLLECTOR magazine for their October 2008 issue.

The cover blurb states: 'Inside Aladdin's Cave - the list gems of Bowie'.

Inside the feature entitled 'Unreleased Bowie' discusses his unissued back catalogue remains hideously unexplored by EMI - we tell you what they should do.

You can read the partial online article here via their website.

NIKE CHINA TEAMS UP WITH BOWIE
16th August 2008

NIKE CHINA licensed DAVID BOWIE "Heroes" written by himself and BRIAN ENO for their television marketing during the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

With an estimated 500 million people due to watch the adverts across South-East Asia, it's likely to end up being a very lucrative deal indeed.

Nike has apparently made the song the centrepiece of its marketing campaign for the Games. It's the theme song for a sports documentary called DARE, and provides the soundtrack for the 30-second and 60-second sports montages featured in the US sportswear company's TV advertising. All of which has been running extensively on China Central Television, and beamed by satellite to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Bowie's AIM-listed licensing agency MCS has also allowed the track to be used in promotional DVDs and public performances.

MCS Asia MD Tony HoTung said: "The extensive reach of the Nike campaign will increase popularity and demand for Bowie and Eno's music from a burgeoning and rapidly expanding Asian fan base."

From Reuters

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY TO ALEXANDRIA!!!
15th August 2008

Happy 8th Birthday Alexandria!
Have a wonderfully happy day!

Best wishes and lots of love
Paul, Dawn, Michael and Jade xxxx
and everyone on Wonderworld

SPINNING IN A TRANCE
1st August 2008

Check out an online interview with 'Knock on Wood' songwriter EDDIE FLOYD still going strong - by Russell Hall.

As you know DAVID BOWIE recorded and released a live version during his 1974 Diamond Dogs tour.

Highlights include:

RH: Do you have a favourite version?

EF: I like Eric Clapton's. His version used to be played all the time on 'Miami Vice.' David Bowie also recorded the song. He came into Memphis in 1974 and called up Stax and wanted me to come down to his show. Unfortunately I had to go out of town. To this day I haven't met Bowie, but I like his version too. And of course I like Amy Stewart's.

You can read the whole interview over at Independent Mail website.

IF YOU SAY RUN, I'LL RUN WITH YOU
1st August 2008

Last Thursday in Berlin when US President-Elect BARACK OBAMA gave his speech at the Tiergarten - guess what music played just before he appeared on the podium?

Well rather than just stating it here - I'll quote from an article in the Prague Post by Fiona Gaze...

'Moments before Obama was set to come on at 7, the live music gave way to 'Let's Dance' by DAVID BOWIE. As the final notes died away, an expectant hush fell over the crowd, and the cameras zoomed in on the empty podium. A helicopter swooped across the sky and hovered above the Victory Column, and for a moment I expected Obama to alight. My friend, thinking the same thing, turned to me and said, 'No, surely that would be too much.' Obama walked across the stage, to thunderous applause...'

You can read the complete article here

GERRY, GAIL ANN AND STERLING GIGS
1st August 2008

Irish born guitarist and DB band member GERRY LEONARD aka SPOOKY GHOST is to perform at The Living Room, 157 Ludlow Street, New York, USA on 12th August.

Alongside him are another two DAVID BOWIE band members - bassist/vocalist GAIL ANN DORSEY and drummer STERLING CAMPBELL making the trio.

August 14th sees Gerry perform at Bard University as part of the Summerscape Festival at The Spiegel Tent at Bard College, Annadale-on-Hudson, Rhinebeck, New York at 8:30pm, again with Gail Ann and Sterling.

Last but not least, is a third performance at The Living Room in NYC on 22nd August.

More details and information can be found on spookyghost.com

Last Updated: 31/8/08

DAVID BOWIE WONDERWORLD REMINDERS
New David Bowie compilation iSELECT audio CD scheduled for release 22nd September via EMI to all countries apart from UK and Ireland - Pre-Order NOW

Forthcoming publication COLLABORATION: THE BOWIE SESSIONS featuring Frank Ockenfels III photographs - to be published by Insight Editions on 10th February 2009 - Pre-Order NOW and save 10% discount.

DAVID BOWIE: LIVE SANTA MONICA '72 Audio CD and vinyl released 30th June 2008 via EMI - Purchase NOW

DAVID BOWIE OFFICIAL 2009 CALENDAR A3 size published by Slow Dazzle Worldwide next month - Pre-Order NOW and save a massive 34% discount!

New biography BOWIE IN BERLIN A New Career In A New Town by Thomas Jerome Seabrook published NOW - you can Buy NOW and receive a generous 34% discount

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