I heard the news today…* George Underwood; Samuel Beckett; Chris Young; Samir Mehic; Dana Gillespie; Luther Vandross; a bar, a dome and much, much more!
This is my weekly summary of news about Bowie. While many of these stories genuinely focus on Bowie or feature him prominently, some only mention him in passing. I’ve excluded several others where Bowie’s presence was even more fleeting. Nonetheless, the frequent appearance of his name in both directly relevant and tangential stories underscores his lasting cultural impact. The bolded titles link to the original stories I summarize below. Read on…
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George Underwood exhibit! George Underwood, the artist behind some of David Bowie’s most iconic album covers, has created new work for the War Child charity exhibition “Sound & Vision,” which features contemporary artists responding to Bowie’s lyrics. The exhibition will be held at 180 Strand in London, England from September 26-27, with an auction running from September 17 to October 1 to raise funds for children affected by conflict. Bowie fans will recognize Underwood as Bowie’s longtime friend who, as a teenager, punched Bowie, permanently damaging his eye and giving him the appearance of having different colored eyes.
Bowie and Beckett. This article explores the artistic connections between Bowie and Samuel Beckett, focusing on their shared themes of alienation and resistance to societal norms. By examining a Bowie exhibit and a Beckett manuscript auction, it highlights the parallels in their creative expressions and their critique of conformity.
Chris Young on borrowing from “Rebel Rebel”. Country star Chris Young initially hesitated to record “Young Love & Saturday Nights” due to its use of the “Rebel Rebel” lick but ultimately decided to release it as a single after it grew on him. The song has been out for a while, but if the information in this brief article is current, it’s #8 on the country charts right now.
Was “Golden Years” written for Elvis? This article says yes. I recently had the opportunity to interview Earl Slick, who actually played on the song and developed the opening riff– he said he had never heard that. (By the way, come back Saturday to see the interview).
The Aladdin Sane Opens in Detroit. The Aladdin Sane, a new cocktail bar in Detroit’s Book Tower, blends Japanese and David Bowie inspirations, offering an intimate experience with only nine bar seats and 23 lounge seats. Named after Bowie’s 1973 album, the bar features signature cocktails inspired by its tracks, one of which is, of course, “Panic in Detroit.”
Bowie from Srebrenica? The film Samir Mehic Bowie – Letters from Srebrenica, directed by Lamija Grebo, will premiere at the Sarajevo Film Festival on August 21 and 23. The documentary examines the life of Bosnian rock guitarist Samir Mehic, nicknamed “Bowie,” (find out why in the article) during the siege of Srebrenica, highlighting his wartime experiences, his letters, and the rock scene in the besieged town before his death in 1995.
Dana Gillespie Reflects. The actress and singer-songwriter who enjoyed a decade-long friendship with David Bowie, reminisces about their early days as struggling musicians, noting that despite her close association with the rock star, she never felt wealthy and still lives modestly in her childhood home.
“Only Fascination.” No, this is not a story about the Bowie song, “Fascination,” but there is a Bowie connection here… (file in, “tales from the Ziggy tour”).
Tales from Max’s Kansas City. This Guardian article explores the wild and influential scene at Max’s Kansas City, a legendary New York club that hosted icons like Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, Blondie, and of course, Bowie. It highlights the club’s impact on the music and art world, emphasizing the sex, drugs, and groundbreaking creativity that defined the era.
Another Linguini Incident Review. At this point, it isn’t new that this movie has been re-released, but I’m including a review for the second week in a row because there’s a good chance you didn’t see this one. Nothing especially remarkable here, but it might be of interest.
Bowie collaborator designs art for a giant desert orb. “Perhaps the strange ones in the dome…” Hingston Studio’s Tom Hingston, known for his work with David Bowie, designed “Exhale,” a digital art piece for the Sphere in Las Vegas, creating a dynamic visual experience on the world’s largest LED screen. Unlike his intimate work with Bowie, this project focused on massive-scale, immersive visuals exploring kinetic touch points and connectivity.
Bowie at the Olympics? Pauline Basquin and her horse swung to Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Stromae’s “Alors on danse” at the Olympic dressage competition.
Luther Vandross Documentary. Nearly 20 years after his death in 2005, a new documentary, Luther: Never Too Much highlights Vandross’s prolific career, battles with his sexuality, and struggles with overeating. Starting as a backup singer for icons like Bowie, Vandross skyrocketed to fame with his double-platinum debut album also titled Never Too Much in 1981.
Men Wearing eyeliner. This odd story about the evolution of men wearing eyeliner places Bowie in the company of everyone from Elvis to King Tut!
Josh Hartnett’s Life Soundtrack. Yep, it includes Bowie.
Bowie movie festival slated for Australia. If you happen to be in Australia later this month, a selection of 15 of Bowie’s films will be featured in the program ‘The Cracked Actor: Bowie on Screen’ at Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art, opening on August 17.
Bowie’s Influence Looms Over New Kids Rule OK Story. Brian K. Vaughan and Chris Burnham discuss their new Kids Rule OK story, a revival of the iconic 1970s comic series Battle Action, exploring themes of xenophobia and community. The story draws inspiration from Bowie, with Vaughan citing “I’m Afraid of Americans” as a fitting soundtrack for the tale.
Electric Ladyland is Haunted? At Electric Lady Studios, the iconic venue founded by Jimi Hendrix where artists like Bowie and Lou Reed recorded tracks, insiders claim the space is haunted.
”Space Oddity” Echoes in Real-Life Stranded Astronaut Tale. This article draws a parallel between Bowie’s first hit song and the real-life scenario of astronauts stranded on the International Space Station, highlighting the emotional and psychological challenges faced during prolonged isolation in space.
Is Adam from “Claim to Fame” related to Bowie? I had never heard of “Adam” or the show in question before coming across this article that speculates he might be related to Bowie (this speculation comes a ways into the article, which otherwise is probably of little interest to Bowie fans).
Sylvian LP gets vinyl release. David Sylvian’s retrospective album from 2000, Everything & Nothing is now set to be released on vinyl for the first time. This has almost nothing to do with David Bowie, except Sylvian took his stage name from an oblique line from, “Drive in Saturday,” which is, “He’s crashing out with Sylvian.”
The story of “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll.” I’ve read this story about The Rolling Stones song elsewhere, told other ways, with more of a focus on Bowie, but he’s at least mentioned here. I haven’t seen this forum before— it might be a blog.
Dobbins returns. This is another article (I’ve been seeing such stories a bit of late) about a restaurant or bar that had been patronized by Bowie opening, closing or coming back to life. The good news for this one, in Dublin Ireland, is that it falls in the latter category. Bowie is only mentioned in this article.
70s Guitar riffs. This article focuses on great guitar riffs from the 70s— interestingly, many of the examples come from glam rock, which of course includes Bowie.
Was Low overrated? Well, it makes this list along with such dogs as… Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (???)
Far Out Bowie stories: The online magazine always manages to post Bowie stories. This week featured: (1) The song David Bowie’s father gave to him in a dream; (2) Bowie was jealous of Dylan; (3) Bowie and John Lennon; (4) Bono on Bowie; (5) On “Kooks”; (6) Bowie’s influence on Lars von Trier; (7) Robert Smith on Bowie; (8) Bowie among artists who wrote outside their genre
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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
