Category: David Bowie

TRIBUTE: David Bowie 1947-2016

My special on air tribute to the late David Bowie last night…”His influence has been unique in popular culture—he has permeated and altered more lives than any comparable figure.” #RIPDavidBowie
Listen or Download: http://joy.org.au/soundmuseum/2016/01/david-bowie-joy-94-9-tribute/
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Ziggy – The Songs of David Bowie

David Bowie is a musical chameleon with a catalogue of some of the world’s most recognisable songs in his critically acclaimed repertoire.  The spotlight is well and truly right back on the Thin White Duke with the recent 40th anniversary reissues of some his most well loved albums includingRebel Rebel, Diamond Dogs and the iconic Aladdin Sane.

Bowie is the man who elevated his music to what can only be described as an art form and it’s only fitting that four of Australia’s most electrifying performers, iOTA, Jeff Duff, Steve Balbi and Brydon Stace, reunite for Ziggy, The Songs of David Bowie – a truly unique show coming to the Enmore Theatre on Saturday, 16 August.


In a career that defined pop culture and gave us a wealth of ever changing visual imagery, it was the Top 5 hitSpace Oddity that first brought attention to David Bowie in 1969. Since then we have been treated to hits such asStarman, Fame, Ashes to Ashes, Under Pressure, China Girl and Modern Love in what is seemingly an endless list of hits that have sold more than 160 million albums globally.

Come on a theatrical and musical journey and explore the creative genius of Bowie’s songs as these three remarkable performers are joined on stage by The Ziggy Band with a Bowie song list  featuring hit after hit –Heroes, Space Oddity, Life on Mars, Young Americans, Starman, Fame,  Ashes to Ashes,  Under Pressure,  Ziggy Stardust,  Let’s Dance …and many, many more!

The new Ziggy is bigger, bolder, brasher, sexier, more glamorous, more exciting … and this year Ziggy celebrates the fortieth anniversary of his landing on planet earth!

The 2014 Ziggy – The Songs of David Bowie vocalists are:

iOTA – ever the chameleon, iOTA burst onto the Australian alternative music scene back in 1999 and quickly became a live performer of legendary status netting himself a strong grass-roots following.  The Sydney Morning Herald described him as one of “the strongest vocalists to emerge from the Australian independent scene in recent years. He has an amazing range and breadth of character and slips with ease in and out of a strong and confident falsetto”;

Jeff Duff – the acclaimed recording and rock vocalist whose international career has seen the release of 28 albums (including the current album Fragile Spaceman) and who first brought Ziggy to the stage in the nineties;

Steve Balbi – one of Australia’s leading songwriters with Noiseworks, Electric Hippies and now a dynamic solo performer; and

Brydon Stace – whose long and varied career has included a stint as lead vocalist with INXS and the lead role in the Sydney Opera House production of Berlioz’s Requiem.

Jeff Duff said today “iOTA, Steve, Brydon and I are excited to be getting back on stage together for the upcoming Bowie concert at the Enmore. We’re including all your favourite Bowie songs AND we get to show off some pretty stylish and flamboyant costumes! We’re all set for an unforgettable night so don’t forget to take you’re protein pills, put your helmet on and get yourself a ticket”

Tickets for all shows go on sale at 9.00am on Monday, 19 May 2014

‘Rebel Rebel’ Picture Disc from David Bowie

The first DAVID BOWIE release of 2014 will be REBEL REBEL the latest in the run of 40th anniversary 7″ picture discs released by Parlophone Records. 

REBEL REBEL is the 7th 40th anniversary 7″ picture disc release preceded by STARMAN, JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING, THE JEAN GENIE, DRIVE IN SATURDAY, LIFE ON MARS and SORROW.

Originally released in February 1974 REBEL REBEL was Bowie’s first new original single since disbanding The Spiders From Mars and acted as a taster for the groundbreaking album DIAMOND DOGS. The track reached #5 in the UK and also hit the US Billboard Hot 100.

The A-side of the limited edition 7″ picture disc features the original single mix of the track which hasn’t been available on 7″ since the early 80’s and is still unavailable on CD to this day. 

The AA-side has the US Version of REBEL REBEL which is a remixed version of the song with extra overdubs that was released in May 1974 three months after the first issue, but only in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The artwork for the picture disc features two shots from a session that took place in Amsterdam at the television show Top Pop in February 1974.

DAVID BOWIE
REBEL REBEL LIMITED EDITION 40th ANNIVERSARY 7″ PICTURE DISC
RELEASED 10/03/14
A-Side Rebel Rebel (Original single mix)
AA-Side Rebel Rebel (US Version)
Catalogue Number DBREBEL40

New Music: David Bowie ‘I’d Rather Be High’

David Bowie premieres the latest music video off the deluxe edition of his comeback album The Next Day. 

Directed by Black Dog UK director Tom Hingston, I’d Rather Be High (Venetian Mix [Wasted Edit]) is a powerful anti-war film featuring over 100 clips of original archival footage from 20th century wartime.

Spectral glimpses of Bowie briefly appear throughout the vintage footage, giving the grainy, distorted frames an all the more ephemeral quality. 

Interspersed with chilling clips of bombings, gunfire, and gasmasks are snapshots of soldiers seeking to briefly escape the macabre reality of wartime through hedonistic pleasures. 

Hingston explains, “In early conversations, Mr. Bowie and I discussed exploring archival footage that brought to life another side of war – footage that featured soldiers celebrating; young servicemen and women, in moments of jubilation – drinking, dancing and partying. These moments of total euphoria, juxtaposed with extreme violence, hopefully serve as a powerful reminder of the futility of war.”

Hingston artfully weaves the raw combat footage with vignettes of brief teenaged merriment, as David Bowie croons, “I’d rather be dead or out of my head/ Training these guns on those men in the sand/ I’d rather be high.”

Click READ MORE to watch Bowie’s latest video.





With strobe-like flashes, the director frames the vestiges of a devastating era, intending to transport the viewer, “to a place that is neither past, nor fully present, leaving them disoriented, yet hopefully compelled to understand more about the plight of those they are watching.”

I’d Rather Be High is the fourth David Bowie music video to be released out of Black Dog Films this year, with London-based director Tom Hingston joining the list with Floria Sigismondi (The Stars Are Out Tonight; The Next Day) and Barnaby Roper, who recently helmed Love is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Remix).