I heard the news today…*Guide to Bowie’s London set for release; new vinyl Bowie album slated for Record Store Day; Bowie’s yacht sold; Leee Black Childers photo exhibit; plus reflections, profiles, lists AND MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Click on the bolded article titles to read the originals:
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NEWS
David Bowie’s London Slated for Release. Getting Paul Gorman to write a guide to David Bowie’s London is like having Edward Gibbon draft a walking tour of Rome—few are more qualified to map the city’s influence on an icon. The guide traces 61 locations tied to Bowie’s life and career, from his Brixton childhood to the Soho clubs where he shaped glam rock, illustrating how London molded his artistic evolution even after he left the UK in 1974. And here’s a piece of news that you won’t find in the linked story– Paul Gorman will be my guest in an upcoming interview, so stay tuned!
Ready, Set, Go! Slated for Record Store Day. Bowie’s Ready, Set, Go! Live, Riverside Studios 03 will be released on Record Store Day 2025, April 19, featuring his full Reality album performance from September 8, 2003, along with three additional tracks, “Cactus,” “Hallo Spaceboy,” and “Afraid,” previously unavailable on the Reality Tour Edition DVD.
Bowie’s yacht sold. Bowie’s former 39-meter Benetti motor yacht El Caran, originally delivered in 1977 and refitted in 2020, has been sold in-house by Fraser’s Giulio Riggio, with a last known asking price of €4,500,000.
Suzanne Vega and Gerry Leonard on tour! This article appeared in the on-line version of a publication from Olean, New York, which is near Buffalo the day after Vega and Leonard appeared in Buffalo. I attended that concert and posted my own review on Tuesday 9see the “this week in this blog” section. Though this article is written in the future tense and does not actually mention Buffalo, it serves as a good profile of Vega.
Leee Black Childers photography exhibit. The Punk Majesty Showroom in San Francisco is hosting the first U.S. exhibit of photos by Leee Black Childers, featuring images of countercultural icons such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, and the Sex Pistols. Some photographs, including those of Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux, have never been seen before, offering a rare glimpse into the punk and glam rock scenes. The exhibit runs through March 15 and is available by appointment at 1124 Sutter Street.
Tony Visconti recounts his final conversation with Bowie. This New York Post story presents itself as an exclusive, but the basic contours the story were already known.
Bowie and Rock Icons Shine in New Vegas Exhibit. “Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience” opened on March 12, 2025, at Illuminarium in Area15, Las Vegas, showcasing thousands of rock photos, videos, and music, including iconic images of David Bowie and other legendary artists.
Empire Theatre celebrates centenary of showbusiness. The Liverpool Empire Theatre is celebrating its centenary, having hosted legendary performers including Bowie, The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra, while enduring historical events like World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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REFLECTIONS
Why Stevie Ray Vaughan Never Toured With Bowie. Despite the pop-friendly sound of Let’s Dance, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s unexpected blues-infused guitar work added a unique element, but a dispute between his and Bowie’s management prevented him from joining the tour—a missed opportunity that remains a subject of speculation, as author Don Klees noted in an interview.
Part Bowie, Part Prada: Inside the Cult Fashion of Opus. A24’s horror film Opus explores the cult-like power of celebrity through the story of an elusive pop icon, Moretti, whose extravagant fashion—drawing inspiration from David Bowie, Liberace, and Elton John—plays a key role in shaping his mystique and influence.
Bowie and the Nat Tate Hoax. The article recounts how journalist David Lister exposed one of the art world’s greatest hoaxes—the fictional artist Nat Tate, created by novelist William Boyd to satirize the art scene’s pretensions—after Tate’s biography was launched at a glamorous New York event hosted by David Bowie, leading many art world figures to falsely claim familiarity with Tate’s work before the deception was revealed.
Why David Bowie killed Ziggy Stardust. The article explores how David Bowie abandoned his Ziggy Stardust persona with Young Americans, marking his transition to a new musical style influenced by American soul, with insights from longtime collaborator Tony Visconti on the album’s creation, Bowie’s shift in artistic direction, and his evolving approach to collaboration.
Edwyn Collins on Hunky Dory. The article features musician Edwyn Collins discussing his admiration for Hunky Dory and his lifelong appreciation of Bowie’s music, as part of The Quietus’ “Baker’s Dozen” series, where artists share their favorite albums.
How Bowie went from ‘Starman’ to soul man. This is another New York Post story presented as an “exclusive” that contains information that has basically been long known. Apparently, the Post got an interview with Tony Visconti, which no doubt was an exclusive, but I’m not seeing a whole lot here that we didn’t already know in terms of genuinely new information.
On “Starman.” This post appears to be primarily an SEO-driven content piece rather than genuine music journalism, structured to rank for searches related to “Starman” lyrics. It provides only a basic overview of Bowie, a full lyrics dump, and generic FAQs, making it feel automated and designed for web traffic rather than meaningful engagement. Nonethless, here I am linking to it.
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PROFLIES
Twiggy. Twiggy recalls the thrill of hearing David Bowie sing her name in “Drive-In Saturday” and their later collaboration on the Pin Ups album cover, describing him as bright, cool, and deeply influential in music.
Francis Rossi. This story recounts Status Quo’s Francis Rossi’s backstage experiences at Live Aid, highlighting Freddie Mercury playfully putting him in a half-nelson, David Bowie being friendly and down-to-earth, and a negative encounter with Elvis Costello. It also covers how Bob Geldof convinced bands to participate, Rossi’s reflections on Queen’s legendary performance, and the chaotic nature of the event’s finale.
Harvey Silikovitz. Part of this profile of a recent successful contestant on the game-show Jeopardy focuses on a YouTube video of him singing “Let’s Dance.”
Fine Records. This article only mentions Bowie briefly, but I included it because it highlights the strong presence of his albums in the vinyl market.
Melissa McCarthy. Ben Falcone once gifted Her a “souped-up’ golf cart called the “Bowie Mobile”
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LISTS
10 Classic Rock songs that tell a story. “Life on Mars?” is on the list in that it tells the story of “a domestic row [that] sees a young girl flounce out of the house where she finds solace in the cinema.”
9 greatest musicians and bands who played the famous Green’s Playhouse. Green’s Playhouse, a historic entertainment venue in Glasgow known for hosting legendary performances, saw Bowie play three shows there in 1973, including two on the same day, with setlists featuring songs like “Ziggy Stardust,” “Changes,” and “The Jean Genie.”
The 5 Best Album-Openers by David Bowie. People will have opinions about this one…
100+ Unique Baby Boy Names, Inspired By Musicians. OK, apparently people are naming their children, “Bowie.”
Ziggy Stardust hairdo crowned Top Of The Mops. A poll of 2,000 Brits ranked David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust hairdo as the most iconic, ahead of Jennifer Aniston’s “Rachel” cut, Grace Jones’s geometric flat top, and The Beatles’ mop top, highlighting the lasting influence of celebrity hairstyles.
4 Rock Stars Who Started To Lean Toward Pop Through the Years. This list includes four rock musicians—David Bowie, Phil Collins, Lenny Kravitz, and Rod Stewart—who shifted toward pop music later in their careers, exploring how these changes influenced their success.
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FAR OUT MAGAZINE
The online magazine consistently publishes Bowie stories, typically centered on a small piece of known information. Each story is given a title that suggests a detail or connection, drawing readers in to click and uncover the full context as they read. This week featured:
(1) The songwriter David Bowie called his “greatest mentor”
(2) Bowie was so high that he couldn’t remember recording Station to Station
(3) The 10 best alternate personas from classic artists
(4) “This cyclical thing”: The band David Bowie called the second coming of glam
(5) The legendary song David Bowie wanted to delete from history
(6) The band David Bowie thought he would have ruined
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THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG
March 9: Last Week’s News
March 10: David Bowie Cover of the Week: Harmony Punks perform “I’m Afraid of Americans”
March 13: Brother’s back at home…* 10 Bowie covers of songs you might hear on a classic rock station
March 14: Gaga over Bowie
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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”