I heard the news today…* Johnny Marr and Neil Tennant cover Bowie; Iman turns 70; Jagger turns 82; Live Aid memories, lost memorabilia, Bowie and Beck, art, reflections, rare photos, and MUCH MORE!

Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Click on the bolded article titles to read the originals. 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…

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NEWS

Johnny Marr and Neil Tennant cover “Rebel Rebel.” Johnny Marr and Neil Tennant performed a live cover of Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” during Marr’s 2024 Spirit Power tour, now featured on his upcoming live album Look Out Live! due in September.

‘A Day With David Bowie’ Photo Exhibition Extended Through August. The Santa Monica Art Museum has extended its exhibitions through August, including A Day with David Bowie, which features rare, intimate 1994 photographs of Bowie by Christine de Grancy at the Art Brut Center Gugging, offering a unique glimpse into his private world.

Iman turns 70. Iman, the iconic Somali-American supermodel and widow of Bowie, celebrates her 70th birthday while continuing her philanthropic work and maintaining a graceful, private presence in public life.

Appeal to help find set designer’s lost Live Aid memorabilia. Set designer Jim Richardson, who created the backstage hospitality area for Live Aid at Wembley and had previously worked on Bowie’s Serious Moonlight tour, is appealing for help recovering lost memorabilia from his touring years, including items related to Bowie, Queen, and other icons, accidentally given away during a house move nearly two decades ago.

Beck in Cincinatti. Beck’s Cincinnati performance highlights a genre-blurring career that includes a live reimagining of Bowie’s “Sound and Vision” with over 160 musicians, showcasing his enduring influence and creative connection to Bowie’s legacy.

Robin Williams Reportedly Said He’d Buy an ’80s Strip Club to Impress Bowie. In a newly resurfaced story from the early 1980s, Robin Williams reportedly offered to buy a London strip club on the spot to impress Bowie, whom he was accompanying to the Comic Strip club during the early days of Britain’s alt-comedy scene.

Original “Global Jukebox” Painting Up for Grabs. The original “Global Jukebox” artwork from Live Aid, featuring the jukebox-over-Africa design seen on the 1985 concert’s posters and logos—which promoted performances by Bowie, Queen, U2, and Madonna—is going up for auction ahead of the event’s 40th anniversary.

Eric Idle talks Bowie. Eric Idle recounts his friendship with Bowie, including vacationing together, being asked to write a Ziggy Stardust musical (which he declined), giving a toast at Bowie’s wedding, and becoming godfather to Duncan Jones, while praising Bowie’s intellect, kindness, and musical uniqueness.

British ’80s (and More) in Bristol. The Cinema Rediscovered festival in Bristol opened with a screening of Absolute Beginners, starring Bowie, as part of a retrospective on 1980s British cinema that includes politically charged, stylistically bold films exploring identity, unrest, and cultural transformation.

Inside V&A East Storehouse. V&A East Storehouse, a bold new open-access collections facility in London’s Stratford Olympic Park, is redefining public engagement with museum objects and will soon include the David Bowie Centre, offering rotating displays and study access to over 90,000 items from Bowie’s archive.

The Revenge of Alice Cooper. The original Alice Cooper band has reunited for a new album and asserts their shock rock legacy paved the way for artists like Bowie, Kiss, and Frank Zappa to achieve theatrical success in mainstream music.

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REFLECTIONS

Bowie’s mysterious and failed movie. In the mid-1970s, Bowie wrote an unproduced, surreal film called The Traveler, envisioning himself and Flo & Eddie of the Turtles as leads in a dreamlike cruise ship odyssey inspired by his Thin White Duke persona, but the project disappeared after initial meetings.

Wembley and JFK Philly Live Aid notes and memories. Marking the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, Nestor Aparicio and brothers David and Richard Abrahams share memories from the 1985 concerts in Philadelphia and London, highlighting Bowie’s performance with a band assembled by Thomas Dolby, the emotional power of “Heroes,” and how the event’s music, chaos, and camaraderie forged lifelong memories and raised \$100 million for Ethiopian famine relief.

Bowie’s Greatest Rock Collaboration Almost Didn’t Happen. Bowie’s collaboration with Queen on “Under Pressure” almost never happened, but a spontaneous studio session—sparked when Bowie dropped by unannounced—led to musical sparks, creative tension, and ultimately one of the most beloved rock singles of the 1980s.

The comic exploring David Bowie’s paranoid, coked-up years. A 2010 mini-comic titled “The Side Effects of the Cocaine” by Sean T. Collins and Isaac Moylan explores Bowie’s drug-fueled, paranoid Thin White Duke era from April 1975 to February 1976, blending scenes from his life, quotes from his infamous Playboy interview, and references to Station to Station and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

On “Five Years.” Reflecting on Bowie’s “Five Years,” the author describes how the song’s depiction of impending apocalypse and raw emotional responses continues to stop him in his tracks, maintaining its power and resonance over time.

Ricky Gervais on Extras turning 20. Ricky Gervais names Bowie as his favorite celebrity guest on Extras, recalling how surreal and extraordinary it was to write a song with his hero, who performed it in character during his appearance on the show.

Dave Grohl Recalls David Bowie Telling Him to F Off. Dave Grohl recalled a hilarious email exchange in which Bowie politely declined to sing on a film track before cheekily telling him to “f*** off,” part of a long-running, playful correspondence that highlighted Bowie’s sharp wit and affection for fellow musicians.

How David Bowie became America’s ultimate cultural icon. Bowie became a cultural icon in America by continuously reinventing his music, pioneering theatrical performance and gender-fluid fashion, contributing to film and visual media, and collaborating with other artists to expand creative boundaries.

Mick Jagger’s sad regrets about absent friend David Bowie. Mick Jagger reflects with sadness and regret on his estranged friendship with Bowie, lamenting that they never reconciled before Bowie’s death in 2016, despite once sharing a deep bond and a competitive creative exchange.

Rick Wakeman at 76: A Career Retrospective. Rick Wakeman, now 76, is celebrated as a masterful keyboardist and collaborator whose iconic work with artists like Bowie, Yes, and Cat Stevens, along with his flamboyant solo projects and enduring showmanship, have cemented his legacy despite critical setbacks and personal struggles.

David Bowie by Denis O’Regan – Book Review. Denis O’Regan’s new photo book captures Bowie not just as a performer but as a person, offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at his life across two decades of touring, and standing out as a beautifully crafted tribute that reveals the human depth behind the icon’s evolving image.

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PROFLIES

Kendrick Lamar. The article compares Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 London performance to Bowie’s Thin White Duke era in its theatrical ambition, noting that Lamar has evolved into a fully realized superstar thanks in part to SZA’s complementary presence and the show’s dazzling Afrofuturist spectacle.

Lawrence Watson. Veteran music photographer Lawrence Watson reflects on his decades capturing iconic images of artists like Bowie and Oasis, his brushes with danger and grief, and his return to photography with a charity print collection supporting mental health awareness.

Moby. Moby, who has collaborated with artists including Bowie, teamed up with 19-year-old Russian producer Øneheart on the ambient track “Lagrange Point” to express a belief in music as a spiritual and unifying force beyond divisive politics.

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LISTS

18 Out-of-This-World Songs About Planets, to Celebrate the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. This playful list of songs inspired by planets and space includes Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” among 18 tracks celebrating the Apollo 11 moon landing with a mix of cosmic metaphors, sci-fi themes, and astronomical references.

15 Times the Celebrity Death Rule of Threes Actually Happened. The enduring myth that celebrity deaths occur in threes is bolstered by numerous eerie examples, including the near-simultaneous losses of stars like David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and René Angélil in January 2016.

These 18 Historical Figures Looked Shockingly Different When They Were Young. A quiz challenges readers to identify historical figures from childhood or early photos, including one of Bowie among other prominent figures.

4 Underrated Records From Otherwise Legendary Classic Rock Musicians. A music writer highlights four underrated albums by major classic rock artists, including Young Americans, arguing they deserve greater recognition alongside more celebrated works.

82 Surprising Facts About Mick Jagger. In celebration of his 82nd birthday, a list of surprising facts highlights Mick Jagger’s wild, influential, and often eccentric life, including his collaborations with Bowie, his cultural impact, his humor, and his ongoing vitality as a rock icon.

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FAR OUT MAGAZINE
The online magazine always manages to post Bowie stories. These stories usually don’t contain information that can’t be found elsewhere. This week featured:

(1) The one performance that defined David Bowie
(2) The albums David Bowie called “a waste of good songs”
(3) Why David Bowie believed great art only comes with age
(4) When David Bowie met Thomas Vinterberg: “We come from very similar worlds”
(5) The man who inspired David Bowie’s ‘Moonage Daydream’

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THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG

July 20: Last week’s News

July 21: David Bowie Cover of the Week: Jeff Bowles covers “Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me”

July 22: Drive-in Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: Superman

July 23: Weird Al in Saratoga
July 24: RIP Ozzy Osbourne
July 25: Coming tomorrow: David Power talks Bowie, Berlin and Beyond

July 26: David Power Takes Us Beyond Bowie and Berlin

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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”