I heard the news today…* KillerStar’s U.S. Debut; Bowie World Fan Convention ’25 announced; new hours… remix EP; Bowie Mojo Magazine cover story; Lily Allen and Halsey sport Bowie look, plus reflections, profiles, lists, the blog’s week in review plus MUCH MORE!
This is my weekly summary of news about Bowie. The bolded titles link to the original stories I summarize below. Several articles popped up this week that mentioned Bowie in such a peripheral manner that I chose not to include them below. Also, I tend to avoid stories that report on items that were already reported in past weeks– a lot of that appeared this week, too.
Despite that, as usual, there’s a lot of news that made the cut. Read on…
—
NEWS
KillerStar Announce U.S. Debut. KillerStar, a UK band featuring some of David Bowie’s former collaborators, has announced its U.S. debut at The Cutting Room in New York City on November 2, 2024. The band, led by Rob Fleming and James Sedge, will perform alongside Bowie alumni Mike Garson, Mark Plati, and Gerry Leonard, as well as other prominent musicians like Dom Beken and Andy Snitzer. KillerStar released its self-titled debut album in March to critical acclaim, and a reimagined version of the album was released on October 11. This NYC show marks an exciting milestone for the group, blending Bowie’s legacy with new music and performances. To see my interview with Rob Fleming, click HERE.
David Bowie World Fan Convention 2025 Announced! The biggest Bowie fan convention is returning to Liverpool next year for the 50th anniversary of Young Americans, featuring Bowie collaborators who worked on that album including Ava Cherry and Earl Slick. I’ve had the opportunity to interview both. To see or listen to my interview with Earl, click HERE and for the first part of my interview with Ava click HERE. The second part of that interview ran yesterday. For my interview with Bowie World Fan Convention Organizers David Pichilingi and Alan Horne, click HERE.
New hours… related material . The hours… 25th anniversary celebration included the release of the ‘hours…’ Remix EP on October 11, featuring remixes by Beck and a previously unheard “hip hop” mix of “Thursday’s Child.” Following this, videos from David Bowie’s 1999 Paris performance will be released on his YouTube channel starting on October 14.
Bowie on cover of Dec ‘24 Mojo Magazine. The December 2024 issue dives into Bowie’s transformative 1974, exploring the making of Diamond Dogs and Young Americans through the perspectives of key collaborators like Earl Slick, Ava Cherry, and Carlos Alomar, highlighting the creativity, turmoil, and excess that shaped the year.
Bowie Hologram Experience Seems Likely. Bowie’s estate may be preparing for a holographic experience featuring the late artist, as his name has been recently trademarked under a classification that includes the use of avatars, paving the way for a potential virtual version of Bowie.
RIP Cissy Houston. Cissy Houston, a renowned backup singer for artists like David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and Elvis Presley, has died at age 91 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, leaving behind a legacy that includes iconic contributions to records such as Bowie’s Young Americans. She was also the mother of Whitney Houston.
Bowie on Grotesquerie soundtrack. Grotesquerie is a horror drama created by Ryan Murphy, and its soundtrack includes a wide range of iconic music, with “Let’s Dance” featured in episode four.
Andy Taylor’s new album includes Bowie nod. Andy Taylor’s latest solo album *Man’s a Wolf to Man* includes a track called “Influential Blondes,” which starts with a nod to “Space Oddity” and features guitar/saxophone tradeoffs reminiscent of Bowie’s style.
More coming from Kelly Deco. Kelly Deco’s upcoming album Venus, set for release this winter, continues his “vintage futurism” storytelling style, blending themes of space, time travel, and political unrest. The album follows Constellation, which featured the notable track “David Bowie’s Brain,” produced by Grammy winner Val Garay. In Venus, Deco draws parallels between the planet Venus’s volatility and humanity’s current political climate, while his music and storytelling explore life, love, and galactic exploration, wrapped in a futuristic narrative.
“Tintin: The Immersive Adventure” Coming October 19. The immersive art center Fabrique des Lumières will open “Tintin: The Immersive Adventure” in Amsterdam, featuring digital projections of the iconic comic series alongside music by artists like David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles to create an immersive experience.
Bowie inspired wealth management? This story isn’t really about Bowie, but creatively uses musical references to convey advice about wealth management. If you want to see how Bowie works into this, scroll down to the final series of tips.
Lily Allen gets a new hairstyle. Allen has busted out a new Bowie-esque look. This story generated multiple British media accounts!
Site of Weeley Festival toned down. Weeley, a small village in Essex with a current population of around 2,000, once attracted over 100,000 people in the 1970s for the Weeley Festival, featuring performances by major acts like David Bowie and Pink Floyd.
Halsey’s The Great Impersonator slated for release. Halsey dressed as Bowie– not for the first time– to promote her upcoming album, slated for release on October 25.
—
—
REFLECTIONS
Carlos Alomar. Carlos Alomar, David Bowie’s longtime guitarist, reflects on his collaborations with Bowie during the Young Americans, Station to Station, and Berlin Trilogy periods, highlighting his contributions to iconic tracks like “Fame” and “Heroes.” Alomar also discusses the influence of the D.A.M. Trio and his experiences working with John Lennon and Brian Eno, as well as the technical innovations he brought to live performances with Bowie.
Exploring queerness through music. Bowie and Elton John were among the earliest queer musicians to achieve international mainstream success, paving the way for the growing visibility of LGBTQ+ artists in the music industry today.
Hours… classic album review. This is a reprint of a review originally published when the album was released in 1999.
Bowie as Tesla. In Christopher Nolan’s film The Prestige, David Bowie’s casting as Nikola Tesla is considered one of the director’s most inspired choices.
A Review of Labyrinth. This review of *Labyrinth* (1986) highlights David Bowie’s iconic role as the Goblin King, blending fantasy, music, and practical effects to create a coming-of-age story that has become a cult classic, despite its initial box office flop.
The Pretty Things. Bowie was so impressed with the Pretty Things’ music that he covered two of their songs on Pinups, highlighting the band’s significant yet underappreciated contribution to the British Invasion. This retrospective album, Come See Me: The Very Best Of, focuses on their early garage-rock material and showcases their influence.
Sean Mayes Confesses to Helping Bury Brother After Mother’s Murder. In 1995, David Bowie’s keyboardist Sean Mayes confessed to police that, two decades earlier, his mother had killed his younger brother Oscar, and Mayes, along with his grandfather, helped dispose of the body. The harrowing incident, buried for years, came to light as Mayes, suffering from AIDS, sought to give his brother a proper burial just before his own death.
What’s Wrong with New York? In a review of The Dare’s album What’s Wrong with New York?, Harrison Patrick Smith reflects on how musical heroes like David Bowie, known for his larger-than-life persona, influenced his own approach to music, though the album itself, despite catchy beats, falls short lyrically and conceptually.
—
PROFILES
Gail Ann Dorsey. Dorsey, renowned for her 20-year collaboration with David Bowie as his bass player, reflects on her deep connection with music, the increasing visibility of female instrumentalists, and her favorite memories with Bowie, including performing at his 50th birthday concert.
Paul Heaton. Heaton, singer for The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, shares his most cherished musical influences in an interview, spanning a range of genres. His selections include The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie, which Heaton recalls as a boundary-pushing album that influenced style and music culture in the 1970s.
Sarah McGuinness. Life is a Cabaret: The Sarah McGuinness Story is a cabaret-style show where documentary-maker and musician Sarah McGuinness tells her life story through the music of David Bowie, Kate Bush, Kurt Weill, and Stephen Sondheim, as well as her own original songs. The show delves into her complex relationship with her Irish heritage, family dysfunction, and international success. It is playing at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden (which is in London, England) until December 5.
Fanning Dempsey National Park. This piece is about the new Australian “supergroup,” and passingly mentions Bowie in that the band’s lead singer “sounds like the love child of 80s pop-mode Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie.” If you are looking for something new, this band might be worth checking out.
Kaitlyn Aurelia. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, in reflecting on the creation of her album Ears, used David Bowie as a mental benchmark, asking herself whether she would feel comfortable showing the music to Bowie—a way of ensuring the quality and authenticity of her work—while drawing inspiration from nature and her own experimental electronic style.
Dara O’Kearney. The RTÉ Documentary on One episode titled Hello Spaceboy explores a fascinating story of a possible email correspondence between David Bowie and one of his fans, Dara O’Kearney, during the late ’90s and early 2000s, while also delving into Bowie’s deep connection to Dublin, where he frequently worked and lived during his later career.
—
LISTS
6 Lost David Bowie Concept Albums He Abandoned. A humorous take on David Bowie’s creative process suggests he repeatedly came up with concept albums unknowingly resembling Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, despite claiming to be unfamiliar with Roald Dahl’s story.
The 50 Most Disappointing Albums of All Time. Tonight clock in at #4 on this list from Rolling Stone.
Four of Bowie’s Inspirations. Bowie was influenced by a variety of artists, including author William S. Burroughs, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, John Lennon, and underground musician Daniel Johnston, each shaping his music and artistic vision in distinct ways.
25 recording artists with an unimpeachable sense of style. As is often the case with the website, Yardbreaker, I feel like I’ve seen this list before. If you haven’t, check it out to see where Bowie lands.
4 Incredible “Finales” To Legendary Rock Music Careers. Bowie’s final live performance was in September 2005 at Fashion Rocks, where he performed “Life on Mars?” with Arcade Fire and Mike Garson, marking the end of his live stage career.
The best cameos by musicians in TV comedies. Bowie on Extras is on the list.
20 Pioneering British Pop Male Artists. Not surprisingly, Bowie makes the list.
Album cover parodies. After an initial article about Mötley Crüe, this goes on to show several album cover parodies, which I actually found to be kinda cool. It includes the cover of The Next Day, which parodies “Heroes.” Most of the other example feature albums from one artist parodying another artist.
Different songs with the same name. “Changes” is on the link. Did you know there was another “Changes?”
Marc Bolan and T Rex’s 15 greatest songs. Bowie is mentioned a few times.
The 10 most famous benefit concerts. Bowie participated in a few of the concerts on this list (which are described in detail).
—-
FAR OUT MAGAZINE
The online magazine always manages to post Bowie stories. This week featured:
(1) Iggy Pop’s “weakest song.”
(2) “Time Will Crawl”
(3) Lou Reed’s favorite Bowie song.
(4) St. Vincent
(5) Bono liked Bowie
(6) The Cure’s “Letter To Elise” loosely based off Bowie’s “Letter To Hermione.”
THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG
October 6: Last Week’s News
-11515″ />
October 7: David Bowie Cover of the Week: Beka Baker and Michael Dwyer cover “Joe the Lion”
October 8: Drive in Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: Joker: Folie à Deux
October 9: Ava Cherry sings “Let’s Dance”
October 10: Ava Cherry sings “Moonage Daydream”
October 11: Free Form Friday: The New York Times and Falsehoods
—
—
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”
