I heard the news today…* Philly Loves Bowie Week; V&A Museum Bowie exhibit slated to open; Vandross documentary to CNN; “Camera Girl” captures Bowie in the 80s plus profiles, reflections, lists AND MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! The most Bowie-related stories of the week centered around the Luther Vandross documentary that premiered on CNN last week. I did not include the representative story on this subject in the news section below, but rather the profiles section, but there were many other stories on the subject I could have selected. There were plenty of stories related to Bowie, but only a few that I think qualify as genuine “new news.” That said, many of the profiles, reflections and lists are quite compelling. Click on the bolded article titles to read the originals. With that said, read on…
—
NEWS
Philly Loves Bowie Week goes into full swing for 2025. 2025 will be a special year for this annual week-long festival in Philadelphia because 2025 is the 50th anniversary of Young Americans, which was recorded there and inspired, in part by the scene at the time.
Bowie exhibit among those slated to open. The V&A Museum will showcase Bowie’s artistic legacy at the new David Bowie Centre, part of the four-level V&A East Storehouse in London’s East Bank cultural quarter, featuring costumes, instruments, handwritten lyrics, and audiovisual installations. The Storehouse will also house over half a million works from various disciplines, while the V&A East Museum is set to open in 2026.
Update: The below story appears to be out of date. I have been informed that Neil Young has decided to play Glastonbury after all. Since I mentioned this story in my social media summary of this post, I’ll leave in the original link, but again, I am informed that Neil Young now does plan to play at the festival:
Neil Young pulls out of Glastonbury. The story speculates on whether Bowie had something to do with Young’s decision not to play the festival in 2025. There’s quite a bit in here about Bowie’s 2000 concert, which is characterized her in as one of “the best ever sets.”
REFLECTIONS
Sexuality and sexual culture from “Hunky Dory” to “Let’s Dance.”. This is an interesting reflection on Bowie’s treatment of sexuality and gender identity during his “greatest hits” years from the early 70s through the early 80s.
How one ‘camera girl’ captured the madcap style of 80s New York. Sharon Smith’s new book Camera Girl showcases her Polaroid snapshots of 1980s New York clubgoers, including icons like David Bowie, capturing the vibrant and eclectic fashion of legendary venues such as Studio 54 and the Ritz.
The Cars’ “Drive” as used at Live Aid, 1985. Bowie’s Live Aid performance of “Heroes” on July 13, 1985, became a poignant moment when he introduced a devastating film about the Ethiopian famine, which was set to the Cars’ song “Drive,” moving global audiences and BBC presenters to tears while underscoring the concert’s humanitarian purpose.
Could Bowie have ended up as a novelty act?. Mike Batt, co-founder of the children’s act, The Wombles, thinks Bowie could have ended up more “Laughing Gnome” and less, say, “Station to Station.” I suppose Batt knows from novelty acts.
Simple Minds on the night Bowie and Iggy Pop invaded their studio. Simple Minds recorded their second album, Real to Real Cacophony, at Rockfield Studios in the Welsh countryside, where they had an unexpected encounter with David Bowie and Iggy Pop, who were working on Iggy’s solo record next door.
Mick Brown on Bowie. Mick Brown revisits his 1996 interview with Bowie, where the iconic musician candidly discussed his transformative career, artistic influences, struggles with addiction, and the contentment he found in his marriage to Iman, as part of The Daily T podcast’s new archival series.
Behind the Album: Aladdin Sane. This is a detailed reflection on the story of Bowie’s follow-up to Ziggy Stardust.
PROFILES
Luther Vandross and David Bowie. David Bowie’s pivotal role in Luther Vandross’s early career and their legendary friendship are explored in the new documentary Luther: Never Too Much, which premiered New Year’s Day on CNN. Ava Cherry, who worked with both of them, is featured prominently in the video, which we discussed during my interview of her, which you can watch HERE.
Tony Levin. In a larger story about his career, Levin recounts how a secretive David Bowie recording session conflicted with his duties as best man at a close friend’s wedding, leading to a delicate balance of priorities and a lingering regret about not snapping a forbidden studio photo.
Mick Rock. This piece is either a reprint from 2014 or was based on an interview Rock did at the time (he has since, sadly, passed away).
Brighton’s Amex Stadium. Though this story has virtually nothing to do with Bowie, it begins with a conspicuous misquote from “Changes.” See if you spot the error.
Kraftwerk. Unfortunately this article is paywalled, so I didn’t actually read it. But it’s about the 50th anniversary of the album, Autobahn, which had a significant influence on what came next for Bowie. If you subscribe to the Houston Chronicle or want to, you’ll be able to read the story.
Peter Frampton. This angle of profile is that Frampton (who was a lifeline friend of Bowie and played with him on the Glass Spider Tour) is finally getting the respect he deserves. I saw him once in a very small venue that wasn’t sold out. Nonetheless, he put on a stunning display of prowess on the guitar and kind of took the fortunate but small audience to guitar school. He might have suffered from overexposure at one point, years ago, but this story is right, Peter Frampton is worth of much respect.
LISTS
10 of the most famous tours in rock history. The Glass Spider Tour makes the list, but for all the wrong reasons. For the record— I first saw Bowie live in 1987 during one of the Glass Spider concerts— it was good enough to make me a fan for life!
British celebrities who turned down royal honors. Bowie made the list because he famously declined the opportunity to be knighted, explaining that such honors didn’t align with his life’s work though he expressed respect for Mick Jagger’s choice to accept while emphasizing it wasn’t for him.
The 25 best Classic Rock Albums of 1971. Hunky Dory made the list because it marked a pivotal moment in Bowie’s career, featuring songs like “Changes” and “Life on Mars?” that solidified his artistry and set the stage for his Ziggy Stardust era.
3 Classic Pop Songs To Help You Kick Off Your New Year’s Resolutions. “Changes” makes the list because it encapsulates Bowie’s philosophy on embracing the unknown, recognizing raw potential, and accepting time’s purpose as an invaluable lesson for dreamers and go-getters.
The best album opening lines. If you want to skip the whole list, the Bowie line is, “The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers’ eyes.” A good choice for this list.
A Year to Remember for These Rising Stars! Not really in list format, this piece is nonetheless a list, which includes Zaho de Sagazan, noting her performance of “Modern Love” at the Cannes Film Festival.
31 Essential Rock + Metal Albums Turning 50 in 2025. Young Americans is on the list. If you want to skip the rest of the list, this is the write up for Bowie’s album: “Bowie’s ninth studio album showed his progression into funk and soul music, with guitarist Carlos Alomar starting a working relationship with Bowie that would carry on for 15 years. The album was certified gold in the U.S.”
Actors Who Came Very Close to Playing The Joker. According to this piece, there was an idea in the 80s for a movie in which Bowie would play the joker, Bill Murray would play Batman and Eddie Murphy would play Robin. That could have been funny…or a disaster.
5 Famous Bands and Musicians Who Just Can’t Be Copied. Bowie is on the list. This is an interesting framing because, while Bowie can’t literally be copied, he surely influenced many other artists. Also, as someone who chooses among many “covers of the week,” every week, many other artists perform his music. That said, I agree that Bowie was one-of-a-kind.
10 Movies To Watch if You Love Labyrinth. This is a list of peculiar children’s movies that in my opinion is missing an obvious one— Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!
FAR OUT MAGAZINE
Far Out is an online magazine that posts multiple Bowie-related stories every week. These stories are somewhat tough to characterize. They seldom contain new news and are usually constructed around a single anecdote. The titles usually are not very informative but rather are designed to spark curiosity and draw readers in, often focusing on intrigue rather than providing detailed information upfront.
1. The musician so good that they left David Bowie “speechless”
2. The unlikely album that was one of David Bowie’s favourites
3. The era David Bowie never wanted to revisit
4. What does David Bowie’s ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ really mean?
5. Would Music Sound Different on Mars.
6. ‘Doctor Who’: When David Bowie turned down the chance for British TV legend status
THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG
December 29: Last Week’s News
December 30: Jimmy Carter Appreciation
December 30: Cover of the Week: Scott Hinson’s (mostly) instrumental “Heroes”
December 31: 45th Anniversary of Bowie’s New Years Eve “Space Oddity” performance
January 1: 10 Songs Bowie recorded for Soundtracks
January 2: 2024 in Review: Interviews with Bowie Collaborators
January 3: Coming Tomorrow: Julian Shah-Tayler Returns to Discuss Bowie, Aladdin Sane, “Forget that I’m 50” and More!
January 4: Exclusive Interview: Julian Shah-Tayler
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”