I heard the news today…* Amano exhibit features Bowie; RIP Shel Talmy; RIP Frank Auerbach; Berlin celebration includes Bowie; plus profiles, reflections, lists AND MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Click on the bolded article titles to read the originals. If you’re new here, this feature is organized into sections: first, genuine news, followed by reflections, which are backward-looking stories, then profiles, lists, a summary of Bowie articles from Far Out, and a recap of my posts from the week. As thorough as this recap is, it is not entirely comprehensive. I skip some stories that mention Bowie in passing, different stories covering the same news, and stories that I either already featured in the past, or cover news that appeared in the past. With that said, read on…
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NEWS
Yoshitaka Amano exhibit opens in Milan. Intriguingly, this article mentions that one of the pieces of art on display is “an album cover for David Bowie featuring the artist and his wife, Iman.” I don’t think that’s correct. Without having seen what’s at the gallery, I think what this is referring to is art for a 2004 sci-fi short story Amano worked on with Neil Gaiman called Return of The Thin White Duke, which I also have not seen as yet. The above images were for that project. The exhibit is running at the Fabbrica del Vapore art complex.
RIP Shel Talmy. Shel Talmy, the American-born producer known for classic ’60s singles, including early releases by a teenaged David Bowie for Decca Records, died at the age of 87 on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home from complications of a stroke, his rep confirmed to Variety. Talmy’s death was the biggest Bowie-related story of the week in terms of breadth of coverage, though I don’t think the producer was best known for his work with Bowie.
RIP Frank Auerbach. Bowie was a fan of this artist, who fled Nazi Germany as a youth. He died at the age of 93.
Berlin commemorates 35th Anniversary of the Wall’s Fall. Germany commemorated the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with events including a “Soundtrack of Freedom” concert series featuring music from David Bowie, East German rock, and Pussy Riot.
Maida Vale Studios Set for Major Renovation. Maida Vale Studios, where David Bowie and other artists recorded, is set for a major renovation by Stiff + Trevillion to transform it into a state-of-the-art music and film facility.
The Tom Hiddleston Labyrinth poster is still, still not real. I guess this false rumor about the Loki-star taking over as the Goblin King is still making the rounds. I guess the poster seems plausible? I guess?
Labryinth coming on 4K UHD. This Labyrinth story is true— it’s along with the movie, The Dark Crystal, will be released in the 4K UHD format on November 19th.
40th anniversary version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’. The BBC reports that the 40th-anniversary “ultimate mix” will be released on Nov. 25, along with a new video featuring archival footage of David Bowie introducing the singers. The song will also appear on a compilation album set for release on Nov. 29.
Trump, Musk, Venom use “Space Oddity.” Apparently, Donald Trump uses the Bowie song as a kind of theme song for Elon Musk. It was also used in the movie, Venom: The Last Dance.
Bowie-influenced club opens in South Africa. This story is about a new nightclub in Cape Town, South Africa that, while not Bowie-themed, was influenced by Bowie. I almost didn’t include this story, but Bowie is mentioned more than once and idea of his influence is explained.
Jeff Beck Guitar used in Bowie concert up for auction. The Les Paul guitar played by Jeff Beck at Bowie’s 1973 Hammersmith Odeon concert is expected to fetch up to £500,000 at an auction at Christie’s London headquarters on January 22, 2025.
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REFLECTIONS
Duff McKagan on covering Bowie. McKagan discusses his spontaneous decision to cover David Bowie’s “Heroes,” his excitement for an upcoming Guns N’ Roses-focused year in 2025, and his recent solo tour highlights in an interview with Loudwire.
Bowie at the Festhalle in Germany, 1990. This links to what is basically a captioned photo of Bowie performing. Interestingly, it appears in Stars and Stripes, the official publication of the U.S. military.
Reflecting on “Boys Keep Swinging.” The article discusses how Bowie’s provocative lyrics, co-written with Brian Eno, explore male privilege and subtly challenge traditional masculinity, with a notable queer subtext that was controversial at the time.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men. This is a reflection on Bowie’s first television appearance, as the leader of a fake protest group. Though this story doesn’t get into it, I actually think this appearance is the first manifestation of Bowie taking on a role in which he invited his target audience to accept as true, even while knowing on some level that it was all a set-up, thus blurring the lines between reality and make-believe.
Bowie’s impersonation of Mick Jagger. Bowie’s playful impersonation of Mick Jagger has gone viral again after Rock History shared the clip on Twitter (sic), delighting fans with Bowie’s charming recollection of his first encounter with Jagger in 1963, likely driven by nostalgia and the ongoing fascination with both rock icons.
How Bowie ended up doing the intro for The Snowman. For me, one of the strangest things about Bowie’s brief appearance at the beginning of this children’s television special is that it appeared in 1982, before Let’s Dance, so presumably Bowie had not yet gone mainstream, though I guess he already did the Bing Crosby special and had gotten his hair to look like it would during the Serious Moonlight period…
Fan convinced mystery forum pal was Bowie. This story is about Dara O’Kearney, a Bowie superfan from Ireland, who believes that a mysterious online friend he met in a Bowie forum was actually David Bowie himself. Their interactions began after Dara criticized the subscription fee for BowieNet, leading to frequent debates about music, politics, and literature with someone who signed off as “DB.” Dara’s suspicions were seemingly confirmed when, during a live show in Dublin, Bowie shouted “Tiocfaidh ár Lá,” a phrase associated with Irish republicanism, which Dara had previously joked about with his online friend.
Freedom in dress. The actual title of this article is, “Anything Goes.” It’s a rumination about the breakdown of societal norms having to do with clothing. The story includes a picture of the cover of The Man Who Sold the World, with Bowie in a dress.
Trident Studio. This story is specifically about the studio’s house piano, that was used on songs including the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and several Bowie songs.
“Dancing in the Street” for charity. This is a fairly detailed story about how the Bowie-Jagger team-up came together.
PROFILES.
Josh Braithwaite. Josh Braithwaite, managing director of creative at GALE—a “Business Agency” focused on blending creative strategy with business insights—reflects on his career and how Bowie’s constantly evolving artistry inspires his approach to brand-building and innovation.
Jerry Fish. The founder of An Emotional Fish talks about Bowie, Bolan, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and more.
Brett Goldstein. Bowie inspired him to take his role on Shrinking.
Luther Vandross. This Guardian story uses the occasion of the new documentary, Luther: Never Too Much, to reflect on the singer’s life, which included work with Bowie.
LISTS
19 Best 80s Rock-Metal Collaborations. Interestingly, “Under Pressure,” “Let’s Dance,” “Dancing in the Streets” and “I’m Afraid of Americans” are all on this list, which probably would have been more accurately titled “Best 80s and 90s Rock or Metal Collaborations.”
Three Songs Co-written by John Lennon. The idea here is that Lennon co-wrote but did not originally perform these three songs, which include “Fame.”
25 Celebrities who were into the occult. David Bowie was fascinated by ghosts and UFOs and feared witches, according to his wife Angie Bowie’s memoir.
60 Songs Inspired by Books. Not surprisingly, 1984 is on the list. But what book was that inspired by???
4 of David Bowie’s Most Essential Songs From the Late 1970s. Plausible write-ups about four songs that I like… but four?
3 Supergroups That Never Happened. Another extremely short list; this one includes a never-came-together collaboration between Bowie, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
4 of the Best Covers of Rolling Stones Songs. Yet another very short list includes Bowie’s cover of “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” which is not my favorite.
FAR OUT MAGAZINE
The online magazine always manages to post Bowie stories. This week featured:
1. David Bowie’s favourite lyric of all time
2. Bowie on the two most important bands of the 1980s
3. Was Michael Jackson rejected for a role in ‘Star Wars’?. Bowie is mentioned in passing.
4. 10 best farewell songs from huge artists. “Lazarus” is #1 on this list.
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THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG
November 10: Last Week’s News
November 13: Feeling tragic, like Marlon Brando
November 14: Free-form Friday: The Problem with “Stupid, White Men”
November 15: Exclusive Interview: Michael Dwyer of the Thin White Ukes!
November 16: 10 Bowie Songs that Mention New York
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And with that, “we’ve finished our news…”*
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*“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”