David Bowie RIP (January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016)

[woz]

A true loss.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/11/entertain ... index.html

[jardine]

yes. lazarus video is now just amazing to watch

[docinwestchester]

Sad news.

Never collaborated with EC, right? Any remote connections? I can't think of any.

[johnfoyle]

Elvis reads a bit in his book featuring David

https://soundcloud.com/penguin-audio/un ... avid-bowie

[supplydavid]

Bowie was my introduction to music in 1972 and remained a big influence, the only artist in my collection where I have more albums than Elvis!

Sadly missed, I went to the Holy Holy show in New York on Friday and to hear Tony Visconti , Woody Woodmansey and the band play those songs brought back so many memories.

[bronxapostle]

Shattered...a horrible day. I will miss him immensely

[A rope leash]

A class act all the way and the sorrow is unanimous.

I saw him in Oakland on the Let's Dance tour. Stevie Ray Vaughn played in the band.

A rare one, and under appreciated if you ask me.

[Azmuda]

EC near Bowie on the cover of Q #100, January 1995 (though EC was behind the flap)

[sheeptotheslaughter]

My favourite artist after Elvis. All day I was glassy eyed.

We had a great chat about Bowie Saturday at the meet up. I went home last night stuck the best of Bowie dvd on, had a couple of large brandies and had a good cry. My daughter joked how bad is dad going to be when Elvis dies.

Had I known last night in Brixton was going to be as big as it was i would have gone. I will go to the mural there today and lay some flowers. RIP David

[And No Coffee Table]

Ken Ehrlich, the longtime producer of the Grammy Awards, writes in his book At the Grammys! about the 2003 "London Calling" performance:

"...the Clash tribute firmed up amazingly. The show was still teetering on the brink of rock-lite, but I knew that if we could add the right personnel to the already committed Bruce Springsteen, we could satisfy that area as well. So, after David Bowie considered joining but didn't, and Elvis Costello came in, and I added Steve Van Zandt to the mix, there was really only one other perfect possibility, and Dave Grohl, a huge Clash fan, excitedly agreed to come in. I even had discussions with Mick Jones and Paul Simonon about joining the group, but the word kept coming back that they just weren't ready to perform, and I obviously needed to respect that."

I'm not sure if that means there was actually talk of EC and Bowie playing together, or if perhaps EC got the call because Bowie declined.

[And No Coffee Table]

From EC's Facebook page:

10th January 2016

"The right words would be written in ink on card, not to be seen suddenly and brutally, like the news. In acknowledgement, the lights on this particular, peculiar little theatre will be lowered for a while. With deepest gratitude and respectful condolences to the family and friends of a truly great artist, beautiful melodist and elegant gentleman."

[Azmuda]

http://www.sunherald.com/living/liv-col ... 86375.html

Lou Reed introduced me to David Bowie
By JEFF CLARK

In the summer of 1996, Lou Reed introduced me to David Bowie in Athens (Greece).

I spent most of 1996 working for Lou on the “Set the Twilight Reeling” tour. You don't have to believe this because it happened; it’s truth. Not believing something doesn't make it fiction.

This European leg of the tour, the second time we went to Europe that year, found Lou playing festivals with everyone from Blur to a Bruce Dickinson-less Iron Maiden. One day, I'll tell you about a festival in Sweden that Lou headlined that featured Iggy Pop and my good friends and New Orleans ambassadors Dash Rip Rock.

The Athens festival featured Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Lou and David Bowie. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

I had met Elvis Costello, my favorite singer, on the tour as he had already played some shows with Lou.

We got to the stadium early that day because Elvis went on at 5 and Lou went on at 7. Bowie closed the show.

I went by Lou’s dressing room around mid-afternoon to check on things. I was his personal chef, dressing room coordinator, and I ran his TelePrompTer during the shows. We had a great deal of interaction on any given day.

I saw Bowie sitting in a chair talking with Lou as I entered the dressing area. I started to walk out but then I heard that crackly, New York voice say, “Chef Jeff. This is David Bowie.”

Then, Bowie stood up, shook my hand, and we chatted for a few minutes. Well, mostly he just politely listened and smiled as I went on and on about how much I loved his music.

Later that day, I watched Elvis from the side of the stage at the monitor board. This is the place where I would later watch Bowie after Lou’s show.

I stood right beside Lou while Bowie performed, which was amazing because Bowie opened up with “White Light White Heat,” which Lou wrote and performed with the Velvet Underground.

I also fondly remember him playing “The Man Who Sold the World” and closing the show with “All The Young Dudes.”

I'll never forget seeing Bowie perform live.

And now, he's gone.

If I had known David Bowie was going to be dead before I got out of bed this morning, I would have slept a bit longer.

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... -01_Athens

[Neil.]

Just to add that, yes, what a huge loss and shock. He was a total genius.

Re any Elvis connection - I'm sure I read somewhere ages ago that Shipbuilding is the song Bowie said he wished he'd written.

[Ulster Boy]

Steve Naive played on the Bowie/Jagger cover of Dancing in the street

[johnfoyle]

Steve Nieve plays Life On Mars

https://soundcloud.com/steve-nieve-offi ... fe-on-mars


With this note -

Steve Nieve wrote this about Dancing in the street.


A few notes of farewell to a great artist and fellow musician. Your work will never cease to inspire us all.

In the 80’s before computers made it possible for everyone to be a keyboard player, I had constant work with Clive Langer and Alain Whinstanley. Clive and Alain produced the soundtrack for Absolute Beginners, and I was involved on several tracks, including playing the string synthesisers on David’s title song "Absolute Beginners". My Royal College of Music mate Rick Wakeman added the final piano flourishes. At the same moment in time, the huge concert Live Aid took place, Elvis was asked to appear solo, but thankfully I was involved by playing on Bowie and Jagger’s “Dancing in the Street”. For this session I played bass piano on the backing track, which was an incredibly exciting studio moment. Jagger arrived unexpectedly early in the recording room as we were running down the track, and began dancing around us, whipping the music up several notches in the process. The song was played round and round to his dancing, many many times before the record button went red, by which time the vibe was truly red hot.

After this there was a killer scene in the control room with Bowie and Jagger, out starring each other, and me, all the musicians on the track, Clive and Alain, listening back. They overdubbed their voices two takes each. We all stood listening back takes A+B of David’s vocal and the best lines were compiled. Then Mick took the the chair beside Clive listening line by line. Each time the room was asked A or B? If the concensus was for take A, Mick insisted on take B. This went down for the entire song. “It sounds pretty wonderful now” says David to the whole room, “does anyone have any ideas for overdubs?”. Although the quiet one in situations like this, I said instantaneously “Yeah I have a vox organ here, I can bring it in, it would add a cool flavour”. “Go get it then” said David, and I headed out through the door. As I headed by Mick I heard him quip “That’s the sound I hate the most in the whole world”… I immediately looked at Bowie thinking to myself “what a catastrophe" but David smiled at me and I will never forget this smile that we all love so much.

Needless to say the Vox Organ never made it to the mix. But I will always remember how David made everyone feel at ease and brought out the best in people, even the contrary Mr Jagger. Quickly a final mix was played back, I recall Bowie actually leaping over the mixing desk. He was standing behind the desk between the back and the control room window and in one seemingly effortless and elegant kick of his leg he just seemed to fly over the desk and landed right beside Clive and I. Later we all went down to Docklands to watch Bowie and Jagger shoot the video, once again, two megastars determined to out dance the other. Brilliant.

[bambooneedle]

Great Story. No-one would believe how many times i've heard that recording in the last two weeks ("South Americaaa...", from Bowie's Best Of Disc 2, the one with Hello Spaceboy, Slow Burn, I'm Afraid Of Americans, Absolute Beginners, China Girl, Modern Love, Little Wonder and others in the car.

The Man had style. Da man knew da deal...

[krm]

FOund thison Gettyimages.com
David Bowie and Elvis Costello get together at a party thrown by Vanity Fair at the State Supreme Courthouse on Centre St. to celebrate the launch of the Tribeca Film Festival.
May 01, 2003| Upphovsman: New York Daily News Archive

[verbal gymnastics]

Re any Elvis connection - I'm sure I read somewhere ages ago that Shipbuilding is the song Bowie said he wished he'd written.

Hi did - he said something along the lines of the opening bars making him cry. I'm sure a Google search will sort it out.

I've read a lot of fantastic fan stories about Bowie and the recurring theme is about what a great man and a gentleman he was.

[bronxapostle]

Re any Elvis connection - I'm sure I read somewhere ages ago that Shipbuilding is the song Bowie said he wished he'd written.

Hi did - he said something along the lines of the opening bars making him cry. I'm sure a Google search will sort it out.

I've read a lot of fantastic fan stories about Bowie and the recurring theme is about what a great man and a gentleman he was.

wish he recorded it once...i can HEAR him singing it too!!!

[docinwestchester]

Re any Elvis connection - I'm sure I read somewhere ages ago that Shipbuilding is the song Bowie said he wished he'd written.

Hi did - he said something along the lines of the opening bars making him cry. I'm sure a Google search will sort it out.

http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/ ... 91123.html

EC phone interview with Aidan Semmens 12/11/99

Aidan Semmens
Internet editor http://www.eveningstar.co.uk
Editor http://www.suffolk-now.co.uk

Here is the full transcript of an interview with Elvis, on which the piece in the Ipswich Evening Star 23/11/99 was based. This is Aidan in a newspaper office in Ipswich, Elvis in his hotel room in Newcastle on Tyne.

...................................................

EC If somebody had said to me when I was growing up, when I first picked up a guitar, 'One day, young man, you will play with Paul McCartney and Burt Bacharach - and it's really true, it's not just a fantasy', obviously you'd be lying if you didn't say 'Well, that would be pretty amazing'. But all these other people that I may not have had any knowledge of before I was in the flow of this business, people that may not be household names, each one of those experiences has been truly valuable.

The whole point is presenting something different to me and hearing something different to what I do. Like John Harle asked me to work on his Shakespearean settings, and it's not really fair to compare that with, for example, working with Burt Bacharach or writing Shipbuilding with Clive Langer.

I saw David Bowie on television the other day and someone asked what his favourite song was and he said Shipbuilding. I never knew he liked that song! Somebody who's had all the ambition he's had in his career, of all the songs he could have picked, he picked Shipbuilding? It's amazing!

AS Good choice, I think.

EC He chose Robert Wyatt's version, rightly, as the definitive version.

So I can't really pick one person ahead of another, and I don't really have one person I long to work with. It'll come out of a chance encounter, or you can be friends with somebody... There isn't one above any other - they've all been something I wouldn't trade.

Very few things I've got into and thought, 'Well, this is a waste of time' - in fact, none really, because you don't get that deep in if you realise it wouldn't work.

...................................................

[verbal gymnastics]

I found a quote that said "David Bowie cited the song he most wished he'd written. "Stunning piece of work; makes me cry, just the opening bars".

I couldn't find the TV programme Elvis referred to though.

[Neil.]

Thanks, both! That said, I think Elvis's version is the definitive one! It's more beautiful.

[bronxapostle]

from my fbook...

story goes like this...APRIL 25, 1987. BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE was playing NINE nights at IRVING PLAZA! as a tremendous CLASH fan and loving MICK JONES new band too, i was NOT staying home ANY of the nine nights for the cheap $10 ticket fee. me, my friends and family ripped it up these nights and i met TONS of celebrities with TONS of phenomenal stories. like telling Matt Dillon to "straighten up" and him listening, getting Joey Ramone mad at me for calling him Howard Stern, Connie Stevens girlfriend getting mad at me for being in the vicinity, meeting Paul Simonen, Mick Jones and more. but NONE better than this story. in those days, the upstairs VIP area was more accessible to regular fans than it later became. Peter Frampton came walking from the backstage upstairs area and i tried to say HELLO and grab an autograph. he walked past me rudely and i responded "THANKS AFTER SEVENTEEN YEARS." i guess it hit him as he figured i had been a fan since 1970 HUMBLE PIE days and he returned to sign for me. ten seconds later, DAVID BOWIE exited the area and i DITCHED Pete instantaneously as i now saw MAJOR LEAGUE GREATNESS heading my way. i was kinda lit up, naturally after the night of partying and music, so i felt NO SHAME to grab db around the shoulders, blathering whatever the heck i was saying to him. all i do recall is that i stayed GLUED alongside him, with arm around his shoulder despite him feeling EIGHT FEET TALL (actually only four inches taller than me!) and i stayed that way a minute or two from upstairs, down the V.I.P. staircase, out the door and walked him straight into his awaiting limousine. i can't recall a word said by either of us, and always felt badly that i might have scared him, but, naturally, a life-long memory for me, a laugh for my family and friends witnessing it, and a supreme bummer that another ba escapade like this one happened twenty years before cell phone photos galore being available. haha nonetheless, look what a google search of BOWIE FRAMPTON IRVING PLAZA found for me this morning. a photo with B.A.D. DAVID BOWIE and Frampton too, taken this phenomenal night!! while mine is a memory that will never leave me. REST IN PEACE THIN WHITE DUKE, thanks for all the memories and MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC!

[supplydavid]

http://www.marksaunders.com.hostbaby.co ... nates..../

interesting blog referencing Steve and Elvis, great demo impersonations from Bowie

[martinfoyle]

Here's the clip where he talks about Shipbuilding, about a minute in, via Kevin Levy on FB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMM_s4Tezc0