I heard the news today…* Bowie dominates Record Store Day sales; Bowie-themed wine bar coming to Georgia; Nicole Kidman dances to “Golden Years”; Eel Pie Island remembered; Labyrinth reflections; Jonathan Barnbrook on working with Bowie; Julian Shah-Tayler returns to my channel, Nehemiah covers “Ziggy,” plus features, profiles, lists AND MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! 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
Springsteen, Bowie & Zeppelin dominated US Record Store Day sales. Bowie was the most successful artist during that year’s Record Store Day in the United States, with two albums and one single ranking among the event’s top-selling releases as vinyl sales at independent retailers reached their highest level since tracking began in 1991.
Bowie themed wine bar to open in Georgia. Under Pressure Wine Bar, founded by sommelier Juan Fernando Cortés and restaurateur Adam Berlin, will open near Atlanta’s Chastain Park with a 1,500-bottle cellar and a Bowie-inspired atmosphere featuring music, artwork, and concert posters.
Ten years after Bowie’s death, his iconic poses light up Peterborough. I included a story last week about the painting of this mural being underway. This story reports that it is completed.
Nicole Kidman Dances to Bowie in Christie’s Short Film. Nicole Kidman stars in a dreamlike Christie’s short film set to Bowie’s “Golden Years” in which her encounter with Constantin Brancusi’s gilded Danaïde sculpture emphasizes the emotional and transformative power of art.
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FEATURES AND REFLECTIONS
Beyond Bowie’s Fame: A Unique Search For God. Bowie’s music and evolving personas reflected a lifelong spiritual and philosophical search shaped by interests ranging from Buddhism to Christianity and expressed through songs including “Space Oddity,” “Heroes,” “Silly Boy Blue,” and “The Next Day,” while Peter Ormerod’s David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God argues that this spiritual dimension was central to understanding both the man and his work.
Guitarists Build Their Sound by Copying, Not Creating from Scratch. Bowie openly described himself as a “tasteful thief” who built his artistry by absorbing and recombining influences from music, fashion, theater, and other art forms into a distinct creative identity.
This book examines Madonna, Bowie and a history of LGBTQ+ music. Barry Walters’ book Mighty Real traces the history of LGBTQ+ music from 1969 to 2000 through his decades covering dance culture and artists including Madonna, the Pet Shop Boys, and Bowie.
The UK’s largest hippy commune was on an island in the Thames. Eel Pie Island evolved from a Victorian leisure resort into a countercultural commune after the decline of the Eel Pie Hotel, a once-prominent music venue that hosted early performances by artists including Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Cream, and The Who before losing its license in 1967.
How Jim Henson, David Bowie created Labyrinth. Labyrinth reflected Jim Henson’s move toward darker fantasy storytelling through elaborate puppetry and animatronics, starred Bowie and Jennifer Connelly, and evolved from a box office disappointment into a cult classic.
Bowie immersive experience hits the right note. London’s David Bowie immersive exhibition “You’re Not Alone” succeeds by powerfully recreating the excitement and emotional immediacy of Bowie’s performances rather than relying on shallow digital spectacle.
A flawed production that still manages to thrill. The Lightroom exhibition “David Bowie: You’re Not Alone” immerses audiences in Bowie’s shifting artistic worlds while overlooking parts of his early career and underestimating the depth of his musical and intellectual achievements.
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PROFLIES
Jonathan Barnbrook. Jonathan Barnbrook said Bowie valued design as an essential artistic voice, encouraged experimentation and independent thinking, and collaborated in a way that gave designers creative freedom while demanding work that emotionally and psychologically reflected the music. Another interview with Barnbrook was published in an outlet called Louder Than War. I have recorded an interview with Barnbrook that I will be posting in the near future, so stay tuned!
Ian McKellen. There were unconfirmed reports that Bowie was considered for Gandalf, but Ian McKellen suggested the role ultimately suited a more grounded, human portrayal than Bowie’s more otherworldly presence.
Lexi Jones. Bowie’s daughter Lexi described feeling uncomfortable when people define her through Bowie’s legacy or try to comfort her by invoking his fame rather than recognizing her as her own person.
Andy Serkis. Andy Serkis called The Prestige one of his favorite films and his favorite Christopher Nolan movie, praising his experience working alongside Bowie, who played Nikola Tesla in the 2006 film.
Michael C. Hall. Michael C. Hall said Bowie’s death intensified the emotional weight of portraying Thomas Newton in Lazarus, with Bowie’s music and especially Blackstar becoming both a source of mourning and a lingering presence within the production.
Beth Orton. Hearing Bowie’s “Oh! You Pretty Things” blasting through her house as a child gave Beth Orton an early sense of excitement, inspiration, and the transformative power of music.
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THIS WEEK IN THIS BLOG
May 10: Last week’s news
May 11: David Bowie Cover of the Week: Nehemiah covers “Ziggy Stardust”
May 12: Drive-in Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: The Sheep Detectives
May 13: Jay Michelson Bonus Content: Bowie, Millennialism, and the End of the World
May 14: The Stars Were Out That Night (at the Berklee College of Music)
May 15: Julian Shah-Tayler Preview
May 16: Julian Shah-Tayler: Where Dreams Are Woven
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LISTS
Marking Late Career Highlights With Rock’s Best 15th Albums. Let’s Dance transformed Bowie into a pop superstar by drawing heavily on the sound and musicianship of Chic, including producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers along with Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson.
3 Songs From the 1960s That Were Ahead of Their Time. “Space Oddity” launched Bowie’s career, using its release alongside the Apollo 11 moon landing and its innovative concept and visuals to establish him as a forward-thinking influence on later musicians.
5 Songs That Prove 1971 Was The Best Year For High School Hits. Bowie’s “Changes” evolved from a modestly received Hunky Dory track that he reportedly viewed as somewhat disposable into an enduring anthem for teenagers grappling with identity, generational conflict, and growing up.
21 Stupendous Big Box Sets for Music Fans. Five Years and the subsequent posthumous box sets comprehensively document Bowie’s evolving career phases, with the first set capturing his rise to international stardom between 1969 and 1973 through essential albums, live recordings, and additional material.
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CHURNALISM
This section separates genuine Bowie news and original writing from recycled “churnalism” stories with vague click-bait headlines that often repeat familiar information but may still be of interest if readers have not seen them before.
How Bowie relaunched his career, and confused the world, with his band Tin Machine. After losing creative direction in the mid-1980s, Bowie reinvented himself through the noisy, hard rock-oriented Tin Machine with Reeves Gabrels and the Sales brothers, producing an initially derided but later reassessed project that restored his artistic momentum.
Bowie’s Most Famous Character Made an Unlikely Comeback in This 80s Synth-Pop Hit. Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home)” reimagined Bowie’s “Space Oddity” character with a new narrative, achieving international success while drawing on the enduring appeal of Bowie’s original astronaut story.
1969 Iconic Folk Rock Song Was Inspired by One of the Greatest Films of All Time. “Space Oddity” drew on 2001: A Space Odyssey and themes of isolation, was timed for release around the Apollo 11 moon landing, and depicts Major Tom becoming stranded in space.
The one musician David Bowie immediately fell in love with. Bowie’s attraction to Brian Eno grew out of a shared interest in experimentation and unconventional sounds, with Eno’s work in Roxy Music convincing Bowie he had found a collaborator capable of helping transform his music.
The 1967 song Pink Floyd never wanted to play live. Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play,” though viewed ambivalently by the band as a commercially driven single, became their breakthrough hit and later earned admiration from Bowie, who covered it on Pinups.
The 2001 album David Bowie was massively disappointed in. Bowie was disappointed by The Strokes’ 2001 debut album Is This It because he felt it relied too heavily on retro influences and lacked enough originality and adventurous songwriting.
The 1969 movie that inspired David Bowie’s creation of Ziggy Stardust. Stanley Kubrick’s 1969 film A Clockwork Orange helped inspire Bowie’s creation of Ziggy Stardust by providing a futuristic, violent and glam aesthetic that Bowie saw as an alternative to hippie culture.
The 1981 Queen hit Brian May couldn’t stand. “Under Pressure” became an international hit for Queen and Bowie, while Brian May recalled that Bowie pushed the song away from its original heavy guitar sound during contentious studio sessions shaped by strong creative disagreements among Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and the band.
Bowie, Mott the Hoople, and the strange tale of a 1972 hit. Bowie helped save Mott the Hoople from breaking up by giving them “All the Young Dudes,” which became the band’s breakthrough hit and signature song.
Bowie Had This To Say About Hip Hop in 1993. In 1993, Bowie argued that hip-hop had become the primary vehicle for socially meaningful popular music, while white rock music increasingly reflected cultural fragmentation and chaos.
The star David Bowie brought out for Ziggy Stardust’s final encore. Jeff Beck declined Bowie’s invitation to join the Spiders from Mars despite Bowie viewing Mick Ronson as “his own Jeff Beck,” but Beck still appeared at Bowie’s final Ziggy Stardust performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, joining the encore performances of “The Jean Genie” and “Love Me Do” before Bowie shocked the audience by announcing the end of the band.
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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”