Tag: David Bowie
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“Lost!”: The Pick of Rock and Pop’s Rare and Unreleased Gems
The rock n roll memorabilia market has discovered how to turn old tat into cold hard cash. As Craig Brown’s “One Two Three Four” explains, one of John Lennon’s teeth, given to his housekeeper, sold in 2011 for £19,000. A single brick taken from the ruins of The Cavern sold in Los Angeles in 2019…
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David Bowie Photography Exhibition Hits Essex
Geoff MacCormack was just seven years old and was wearing the brown uniform of Burnt Ash Primary school when he first met David Jones. They went to cub scouts together and were in the choir together. It transpired neither the cubs, choir nor school would end up providing the boys with the strangest outfits they…
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The Every Record Tells A Story Albums of 2016
2016 may have been one of the most abysmal years in recent memory, beginning with David Bowie’s passing, continuing with the rise of nationalism and fascism across the world, and ending with my sitting down with the family to watch David Attenborough’s Planet Earth on BBC1 and traumatising my kids as the cameras followed a…
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A Visit To Hansa Recording Studios, Berlin
Home to the recordings of such seminal albums as David Bowie’s “Heroes”, U2’s “Achtung Baby”, and Depeche Mode’s “Black Celebration”, Hansa Studios in Berlin is one of the most famous and iconic recording studios in the world. During a recent trip to Berlin, I visited the studios, guided around by Berlin Music Tours, who have…
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Who Has Had The Longest Unbroken Run Of Great Albums…? (Clue: It’s Not The Beatles)
A friend and I were debating who has had the longest consecutive run of classic albums in order to settle another argument. Which is cheaper? Buying records online or buying in shops? Our scientific method was to each buy the same set of albums – and we thought that buying a set from one artist…
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Who is the Funniest Rock Star? Top Five Rock n Roll Comedy Sketches
So many people are frightened by clowns that there is a name for the phobia. What with their scary white make up, over-size shoes and comedy songs, there should also be a word for a fear of the band Kiss. Rock n roll and comedy has an uneasy relationship, especially by those musicians who want…
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GlastonBowie – Glastonbury honours David Bowie with mass singalong
It’s the festival of festivals. Nauseatingly omnipresent for some, frustratingly always out of reach for others (usually those with slow broadband speeds trying to get tickets). A couple of years ago, I went along and reported on a plethora of great bands and acts including early looks at the likes of Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts…
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How To Guarantee You Buy The Clear Vinyl Version of ChangesOneBowie
The recent 180g reissue of the David Bowie hits collection ChangesOneBowie came with an unusual feature. Half of the reissues came in black vinyl and the other half in a lovely new clear vinyl. For those of us who already own an original copy of the album, or indeed for anyone who is savvy enough…
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David Bowie: His Music and his Legacy
What will David Bowie’s legacy be? There is (rightly) much talk about Bowie’s impact on popular culture. His greatest achievement might be that he made it okay to be one of the tall-short people, or one of the the fat-skinny people. A Mistake, Mis-shape or Misfit. An outsider. “You are not alone! Give me your…
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Incredible Archive of Lost Photos Unearthed of Led Zep, Bowie, Rolling Stones…
In 2015 it’s only ironic hipsters who don’t have a camera on their phone, and every concert audience you attend is littered with people taking low quality photos, selfies and video footage on their smartphones. This has become an issue for the likes of Jack White who went to the extraordinary length on his last…
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An Alternative best of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Has it really been twenty five years since Stevie Ray Vaughan died? Sadly yes. One of the greatest guitar players of any generation died on 27 August 1990 after the helicopter that was carrying him went down in fog, killing all on board. In the UK the newspaper headlines told me “Eric Clapton Helicopter Crash”…
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The Recording of David Bowie’s “Heroes”
On the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, David Bowie’s “Heroes”, written and recorded at Hansa Studios just a few hundred yards from the Wall, remains a landmark recording and perhaps Bowie’s best-loved song. It is also perhaps the best example of how music can be affected by the location it is…
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How To Buy A Set of David Bowie’s Classic Albums on Vinyl For Less Than £100
The story so far: I have made a bet that I can buy a full set of Bowie‘s albums (in their original vinyl versions – and in excellent condition with all the inserts) from The Man Who Sold The World to Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). That’s fourteen albums in fourteen days. Total budget: £100.…
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The David Bowie Bet: Pin Ups, Low and…The Fonz?
The story so far: I have made a bet that I can buy a full set of Bowie‘s albums (in their original vinyl versions – and in excellent condition with all the inserts) from The Man Who Sold The World to Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). That’s fourteen albums in fourteen days. Total budget £100.…
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David Bowie’s Live Albums – on Vinyl
The story so far: I have made a bet that I can buy a full set of Bowie‘s albums (in their original vinyl versions – and in excellent condition with all the inserts) from The Man Who Sold The World to Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). That’s fourteen albums in fourteen days. Total budget: £100.…
Every record tells a story 