I heard the news*… Dublin Bowie Fest Date Announced; New Bowie Books; John Cameron Mitchell does Bowie in Australia; Immersive Bowie Experience in Venice; Denis O’Regan Interview AND MUCH MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Read on for summaries of Bowie-related stories that posted this past week, and click on the bolded story names to link to the original articles…
—
NEWS
Dublin Bowie Fest Announces 2027 Dates!. The annual Dublin Bowiefest has announced it will take place next year from February 24-28, though the ‘27 lineup will be announced at a later date.
New book reveals David Bowie’s favourite music. A new book, David Bowie: Music Lover, by Jérôme Soligny and Bowie’s lifelong friend Geoff MacCormack explores Bowie’s wide-ranging musical tastes through more than 100 artists who influenced or interested him, from childhood favorite Little Richard and lesser-known figures such as Biff Rose to Kendrick Lamar, whom Bowie listened to while recording Blackstar.
Heroes: David Bowie And Berlin released. Tobias Rüther’s Heroes: David Bowie and Berlin was released in North American this week. It examines Bowie’s creative and personal renewal in West Berlin, including his work on Low, “Heroes” and Lodger, collaborations with Iggy Pop, Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, return to painting and immersion in the city’s cultural and nightlife scenes, while placing his transformation within Berlin’s own reinvention as a cultural center.
John Cameron Mitchell Resurrects David Bowie’s Darkest Masterpieces in Sydney. John Cameron Mitchell brought I’m Afraid of Americans — A Bowie Song Cycle to Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, performing a set emphasizing Bowie’s darker and more apocalyptic material alongside guests Meow Meow, Amber Martin, Jude York and Glace Chase, with songs ranging from “Station to Station,” “Quicksand” and Blackstar material to a closing ensemble performance of “Heroes.” You can listen to my interview with Mitchell here: https://youtu.be/iVPry0_SfcU?is=0_cOSpWDO-A5Hq4-
More than 800 David Bowie photographs come alive in Venice. Bowie: Unseen | Unheard at Venice Immersive combines more than 800 photographs from Denis O’Regan’s archive with 12 Bowie songs, O’Regan’s narration, new music by Mike Garson and spatial audio to depict Bowie both onstage and offstage. See below in the “this week in this blog” section to link to my interview with O’Regan.
RIP Jeremy Thomas. Oscar-winning British producer Jeremy Thomas, whose five-decade career included The Last Emperor and Bowie’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, died at 77 at his home in Oxfordshire.
Music venue to reopen in 2027 after refurbishment. The O2 Academy Sheffield, which has hosted Bowie and other major artists, will reopen in February 2027 after a four-year closure for extensive renovations prompted by unstable concrete in its roof.
Holy Holy –O2 Academy, Oxford, 08/09/2026. Holy Holy delivered an affectionate, energetic celebration of Bowie at Oxford’s O2 Academy, with Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey lending firsthand history to a predominantly early-1970s set performed by an eight-piece band that honored Bowie’s music without attempting to imitate him.
NIN and Bowie Rhythm Section Back Dominic Fike. Drummer Mark Guiliana, who played on Bowie’s Blackstar, has teamed with bassist Stu Brooks to back Dominic Fike on tour as Fike prepares his third album, How To Quit Smoking, while Guiliana prepares to release his own new album, Beat 2.0.
Rock & Folk Spotlights Bowie’s Rise with Unseen 1965 Material. The September 2026 issue of French music magazine Rock & Folk features Bowie on its cover for “The Rise of David Bowie,” highlighting previously unpublished material from 1965.
Iman Shares Special Meaning of Star Tattoo Honoring Late Husband. Iman marked the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s death with a tattoo based on the Blackstar artwork that spells “Bowie” in stars, giving her a joyful way to keep his memory alive.
Tickets for V&A Dundee’s David Bowie exhibition to go on sale on 24 September. Tickets for David Bowie: On Tour at V&A Dundee go on general sale September 24 for the first stop of a new UK-wide touring exhibition featuring around 100 objects from the Bowie archive, including previously unseen material.
Bowie x Sukita x PoCo. Masayoshi Sukita’s Bowie x Sukita x PoCo exhibition, featuring more than 100 photographs documenting his four-decade creative partnership and friendship with Bowie, opens at the PoCo Art Museum in Tallinn, Estonia, on October 9, 2026, and runs through April 25, 2027.
Iggy Pop Receives the “Man with the Golden Ear” Award. Iggy Pop, whose landmark career includes his collaborations with Bowie, will receive the Man with the Golden Ear award for his uncompromising artistry and influence on recorded music during the Soundedit International Music Producers Festival in Łódź, Poland, October 23–27, 2026.
The Bowie Lives Returns to Midland Cultural Centre Nov 8. Canadian performer Michael Bell brings The Bowie Lives, his theatrical tribute recreating Bowie’s music, costumes, stage presence and multimedia spectacle, to the Midland Cultural Centre in Ontario on November 8.
Simon Goddard Appearing in Halifax. Bowie author Simon Goddard will appear at The Grayston Unity in Halifax on Saturday, October 17, at 2:30 p.m. The event is listed as a gig, with tickets priced at £11.33.
—
FEATURES AND REFLECTIONS
The Sultry INXS Song ‘Need You Tonight’ Performed in the Upbeat Style of David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ Joshua Woo reworked INXS’s sultry “Need You Tonight” in the upbeat style of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” creating a surprisingly seamless blend of the two songs.
Holy Holy at O2 Academy. On what is being billed as Holy Holy’s farewell tour, Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey’s Bowie-focused band delivered a well-received Leeds show spanning songs from “Space Oddity” through “Where Are We Now?,” with singer Glenn Gregory avoiding Bowie impersonation and sharing an emotional memory of performing “Life on Mars?” after Bowie’s death. This is similar to a reporting piece that appears in the news section above, but I thought this was distinct and more of a reflection.
What Does The McRib, NES Classic Mini, And David Bowie Have In Common? Bowie’s decision to retire Ziggy Stardust at the height of the character’s popularity illustrates how deliberately withdrawing a successful product while demand remains strong can preserve its value and create room for reinvention, a strategy this article compares with the McRib, Cadbury’s Wispa Gold and Nintendo’s NES Classic Mini.
British Invasion: A rebellion against a rebellion. This installment of a column series about the history of British music is a short history of glam rock. It appears to be from a student newspaper.
Wonkette Movie Night: The Hunger. The Hunger is a stylishly beautiful and erotically charged vampire film whose distinctly 1980s use of shadows and sharp-edged imagery, compelling performances by Catherine Deneuve and Bowie, and evocative mix of Bauhaus, Iggy Pop and classical music make its soundtrack as integral to the film’s artistry as its actors and cinematography.
—
PROFILES
Kristeen Young. Kristeen Young has released “Numbers,” the second single from her forthcoming album Full Scrotal Scorpio, continuing a career that has included work with Tony Visconti and a duet with Bowie on “Saviour” from her 2003 album Breasticles.
Robert Fripp. Toyah Willcox says her husband Robert Fripp routinely declines invitations to perform with major artists, including Bowie and Peter Gabriel, while discussing her own experimental music career and efforts to maintain a creative identity independent of Fripp.
The musicians who influenced David Bowie most. The forthcoming book David Bowie: Music Lover, by Geoff MacCormack and Jérôme Soligny, explores more than 100 of Bowie’s favorite musicians and the eclectic influences that shaped his work, from childhood inspiration Little Richard and Lou Reed, Biff Rose and Kraftwerk to Kendrick Lamar during the making of Blackstar.
—
THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG
September 6: Last week’s news
September 7: David Bowie Cover of the Week: Harmony Punks covers “I’m Afraid of Americans”
September 8: Drive-In Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: Coyote vs. Acme (2026)
September 9: Gnostic Implications of “Blackstar”
September 10: Five Misconceptions About David Bowie
September 11: Bowie’s performance of “America” at the Concert for New York City, 2001
September 11: Bowie Photographer Denis O’Regan preview
September 12: Denis O’Regan: Photographing Bowie Around the World
—
LISTS
10 bafflingly awful British statues and murals of rock and pop stars. A seven-foot Aladdin Sane mural created by graffiti artist Trik 9 in Sheffield following Bowie’s death was widely mocked for its blocky, unconvincing likeness—variously compared to Pat Sharp, Chris Moyles and Zoolander—and was removed in 2022.
The genius of David Bowie’s guitar collabs in 9 tracks. Guitar World compiled a list of Bowie’s greatest guitar moments, highlighting standout performances by the many guitarists who helped shape his music.
8 Forgotten Horror Shows From The ’90s That Deserved Better. ScreenRant argues that the short-lived horror anthology series The Hunger deserved a longer run, noting that Bowie hosted its second season and that the show, which explored obsession and desire through stories involving vampires, possession and magic, unexpectedly became the seventh most-watched show on Apple TV in July 2026.
The 30 Best Songs About Cats. Bowie’s dark, erotic “Cat People (Putting Out Fire),” recorded with Giorgio Moroder for the 1982 film Cat People, ranks eighth on Rolling Stone’s list of 30 great songs about cats. I won’t tell them that the song isn’t actually about, and doesn’t even mention, cats.
A timeline of why 1987 was the worst year in music history. Bowie’s Never Let Me Down is cited among the musical disappointments of 1987, an album Bowie himself later called “awful” and an artistic failure he regretted recording.
The Best Rock Album of Every Year of the 2010s. Bowie’s Blackstar is ranked as the third-best rock album of the 2010s for its experimentation and its confrontation with death, with Bowie portrayed as continuing to take artistic risks while knowingly approaching the end of his life.
Classic Covers That Became Hits Decades After The Originals. Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged performance of Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World” largely retained the original song’s arrangement while bringing it renewed popularity, with the cover becoming one of Nirvana’s better-charting releases after appearing in 1995.
The Top 10 Hits That Took Over Fall 1975. Bowie’s “Fame,” driven by its funky bassline and distinctive vocal refrain, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1975 and spent 21 weeks on the chart.
Every MTV VMA Video Vanguard Award Winner in History. Bowie was among the inaugural recipients of MTV’s Video Vanguard Award in 1984, alongside the Beatles and director Richard Lester, establishing him among the early artists recognized for transforming music video into an art form.
13 of the most famous Classic Rock video locations. Bowie and director David Mallett created the “Ashes to Ashes” video as the most expensive music video made up to that point, drawing on their 1979 reworking of “Space Oddity” for Kenny Everett and filming its enigmatic beach scenes at Pett Level near Hastings.
The 10 best classic rock songs of all time, ranked. Time Out ranks Queen and Bowie’s 1981 collaboration “Under Pressure” among classic rock’s ten greatest songs, celebrating the track’s spontaneous jam-session origins, instantly recognizable bassline, and the emotional power and remarkable chemistry of Bowie and Freddie Mercury’s contrasting vocals.
Celebrities Who Have Species Named After Them. The orange-haired Asian huntsman spider Heteropoda davidbowie was named after Bowie, with the name also referencing his Ziggy Stardust persona.
—
CHURNALISM
This section separates genuine Bowie news and original writing from recycled “churnalism” stories that offer little original reporting and often use vague click-bait headlines to repackage familiar information, but may still be of interest if readers have not seen it before.
The overlooked 1969 song David Bowie called “one of the best”. Far Out dresses up an old Bowie quote (again) as a fresh revelation, using his long-available praise of “Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud” as “one of the best” songs on Space Oddity to manufacture another click-baity story about a supposedly overlooked track.
1977 Rock Classic, Written Beneath the Berlin Wall, is Ranked One of the Greatest Songs of All Time. Parade dredges up Rolling Stone’s 2024 “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” ranking to report that Bowie’s “Heroes” placed at No. 23, padding the recycled item with familiar observations about the song’s Berlin origins and subsequent critical reappraisal.
The “fantastic” band David Bowie wished would be remembered. This article demonstrates yet another problem with taking a comment that someone made years ago and repackaging it as a “new” article—in praising the band Pixies, Bowie apparently said something about them not getting enough attention. The problem is, of course, that Pixies are still around, and the comment makes less sense out of the context of when Bowie said it.
The 1971 David Bowie lyric that became Suede’s mantra. Suede’s Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler adopted the line “We have the power” from Bowie’s “Quicksand” as a mantra during the band’s formative period, finding inspiration in the song’s themes of identity, self-discovery and personal power.
Stevie Ray Vaughan Played on Bowie’s Biggest Album, Then Walked Off the Tour Days Before It Started. Stevie Ray Vaughan played lead guitar on Bowie’s Let’s Dance after Bowie discovered him at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival, but withdrew from the Serious Moonlight tour amid disputes over pay, promotion of Double Trouble and Bowie’s control over press, choosing instead to pursue his own career.
When David Bowie Gave Mott the Hoople ‘All the Young Dudes’. Bowie gave Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes” after learning the struggling band was considering breaking up, writing and producing the 1972 hit that reached No. 3 in the UK and revitalized the band’s career.
The 1976 song David Bowie called a cry for help. Bowie described “Word on a Wing,” written during the troubled period surrounding Station to Station, as an unwitting “signal of distress” and “call for help” reflecting the emotional pain he experienced in 1975 and 1976.
When Bowie Was Denied Backstage Entry. Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler recalled Bowie unexpectedly visiting the band backstage at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom in the early 2000s, where a tour manager initially denied him entry until Bowie identified himself, after which he proved “super affable” and “really kind” to the stunned band.
The “only” genre David Bowie never wanted to listen to. Bowie repeatedly reinvented himself across genres including glam rock, Philly soul, electronica and pop, but country and western was a rare musical territory he said he never listened to or embraced, consistent with his preference for pursuing distinctive directions rather than following established career paths.
Bowie Recorded This Iconic Christmas Duet With a Legendary Crooner Solely To Appease His Mother. Bowie’s initially unlikely 1977 Christmas duet with Bing Crosby became “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” after Bowie refused to sing “Little Drummer Boy” alone, prompting the rapid creation of his counterpoint “Peace on Earth” and resulting in a posthumous Crosby hit that reached No. 3 in the UK in 1982.
The singer Tina Turner was forever grateful for saving her. Tina Turner credited Bowie with helping revive her career by persuading Capitol Records to take her seriously again after he championed her and attended one of her performances at the Ritz while she was developing Private Dancer.
Remembering When David Bowie Saved a Band From Extinction by Writing Them a Classic Song. Does this story about Mott the Hoople and “All the Young Dudes” look familiar? It should. It was the subject of one of the above stories, from Men’s Journal in this very section, this very week. Whether this is a repackaged version of the Men’s Journal version, or if American Songwriter is simply drawing from the same well, it is a perfect example of what I mean by “churnalism.” (And Men’s Journal was simply repurposing someone else’s version of this oft-told tale.
—
And with that, “we’ve finished our news…”**
—
*“I’ve heard the news today” is Bowie’s adaptation of the Beatles lyric, which is heard in “Young Americans.”
** “We’ve finished our news” is a line from “Oh You Pretty Things.”