Bowie’s debut album gets a vibrant revival on Deram with a reissue on both CD and coloured vinyl, boasting exclusive tracklists and keeping with the reissued Bowie records as of late this comes with a wonderful tri gatefold CD and equally nice gatefold LP. This version is Presented with the single B-sides for the very first time on vinyl, including a rare version of ‘Space Oddity’.
Originally released on 1st June 1966 Bowie was an artist bursting with ideas that would later prove to be the work of something of a genius, very much the epicentre of uber cool and Swinging London. sure Critics of the time commented; with the NME praising Bowie’s fresh sound as “all very refreshing” and hailing him as “a very promising talent.” Melody Maker lauds the album as “a singularly rewarding collection” with “excellent” production while expressing surprise that Bowie hadn’t yet made a bigger impact on the pop scene. Meanwhile, Disc & Music Echo raves about the album, describing it as “a remarkable, creative debut album by a 19-year-old Londoner” and declaring Bowie as “a new talent that deserves attention.”
This re-issue features the original stereo album, produced by Mike Vernon, with a further fourteen tracks, including the first fruits of Bowie’s long relationship with producer Tony Visconti; ‘Let Me Sleep Beside You’, ‘Karma Man’ ‘In The Heat Of The Morning’ and ‘London Bye Ta-Ta’, the last making its vinyl debut in this collection.
Looking back on his debut album many years later with characteristic self-deprecation, Bowie mused: “Lyrically I guess it was striving to be something – the short story teller. Musically it’s quite bizarre. I don’t know where I was at. It seemed to have its roots all over the place, in rock and vaudeville and music hall and I don’t know what. I didn’t know if I was Max Miller or Elvis Presley.”
These early recordings reveal an earnest young artist at the dawn of his career, working hard on material in which he passionately believed. David Bowie poured his young heart into this music – and it shows. Looking back it often sounds foppish like the opening track and Bowies own comments about Max Miller or Elvis showed the sound wasn’t lost on him either and he never lost sight of who he was and never took himself too seriously (ok Glass Spider apart) It’s great to have this album in pristine condition and its integral part in Bowies story that an essential part of how he evolved and where he came from. My collection is now complete and so should yours. This might not be as accomplished as his recent record store day release but the Bowie archive has to be almost drained. Buy it if only for ‘Space Oddity’ that closes off this window in time. Awesome.
It’s been five years since frontman Rob Carlyle and his Compulsions cohorts released their widely and wildly acclaimed sophomore album, ‘Dirty Fun’. Man doesn’t time fly when you’re enjoying yourself.
With a sound that was equal parts Aerosmith, Faces, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The New York Dolls and The Rolling Stones it was a no brainer that this was going to impress most of us here at RPM Online and when we saw Rob had drafted in some of our favourite players it was always gonna work. Fast forward half a decade and can that magic be recreated? Can Rob come up with another fistful of tunes that would nestle in our heads and soundtrack our downtime during this pandemic? Fuck yeah! of course, you non-believers’ Ferocious’ i every bit the Rock and Roll record we were expecting and craving.
Another day another line up another record but could Carlisle recreate the magic he did with guitarist, Richard Fortus, bassist, Sami Yaffa and drummer, Frank Ferrer.
So what do you want? old-school roots rock? Hell yeah! Sleaze-punk? But what about a bit of funk-metal?.
You want to know who replaced the likes of Sami Yaffa (like that’s possible I know but hey) Carlyle has enlisted the world-renowned guitarist, Earl Slick and how about Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, best known for his work with Guns N’ Roses, also throw into the mix former Raging Slab bassist, Alec Morton, and former Dolls drummer, Brian Delaney. With those players in mind maybe you can see how the variety of style might be possible.
What these guys have created is the rootsy rockers “Born on a Landfill” a wonderful little ditty right out of the Izzy Stradlin meets a bit of the Georgia satellites with some awesome organ wheezing for good measure. As openers go this ones so laid back it’s positively horizontal. The second track “Band Of Thieves” is a bit more psychedelic with a big punch about it. As for the more hard-rocking how about “Addicted”? With its slide and big groove its a killer track and the louder the better. If you’re wondering what the Funk I’m on about well that curveball comes courtesy of “Funk #666” with its huge groove. This one should be a sweaty dance floor classic. The rhythm section is thunderous. Carlyle also throws a couple of covers into the mix one being the standard and a rather safe cover of the Stones classic “Dead Flowers” whilst the other is a bit left of field and sees Carlyle tackle the Guns N Roses rock and roll of “Dust N’ Bones.”
Carlyle explains the choice of covers on Ferocious: “Ever since I started The Compulsions, the idea was to create a sound that lives somewhere between The Stones and GN’R. Like if you put Sticky Fingers and Appetite for Destruction in a blender. So, this time around, I thought let’s just spell it out for people by actually covering those two bands. I’ve always loved ‘Dead Flowers’ and ‘Dust N’ Bones,’ anyway, and I had a pretty good idea of how to put our own spin on those songs.” So that fleshes out why these two are here and worthy inclusions they are too with ‘Dust And Bones’ particularly causing a stir. It’ll turn a few heads with something of a departure on the original. It works and that’s all that matters right? Right!
“Killer in the Woodshed” is a retro rockin slice of 70s Rock. The title track is a booty-shakin’ slice of Noo Yawk honky-tonk with a superb and warm solo that leads into the laid back ‘Man With No Name’ which is the perfect way to honk this bad boy home with its splendid sleazy late-night smokey horns Carlyle and His Compulsions do it again. when you’ve got it – Damn, You’ve just got it and Rob Carlyle has another really impressive Rock and Roll record sails out of the east coast just in time for Christmas – Buy it!
‘Ferocious’ will finally be available via Amazon, Spotify and other outlets on Friday, November 13, 2020 – but eager rock fans can grab advance tracks “Dead Flowers” and “Dust N’ Bones” today by pre-ordering Ferocious right now from iTunes.
LONDON / NOTTINGHAM / BRISTOL / GLASGOW / LIVERPOOL / MANCHESTER / CAMBRIDGE
To celebrate the release of The Psychedelic Furs critically acclaimed new album Made Of Rain, released through Cooking Vinyl this Friday (31st July), the band have announced seven UK shows for April and May 2021 and a special intimate Q&A for Banquet Records in Kingston. Tickets for the Albert Hall show are available now, an exclusive presale for the UK tour will be available from this Wednesday for fans who preorder the new album from the band’s Official Store. Tickets will be on general sale on Friday 31st July.
The full dates are:
APRIL 2021
27th London Royal Albert Hall *
28th Nottingham Rock City **
29th Bristol O2 Academy **
MAY 2021
1st Glasgow Barrowland **
2nd Liverpool Academy **
3rd Manchester Academy 2 **
5th Cambridge Junction **
Supports:
* Jah Wobble & The Invaders of the Heart
** Pauline Murray & The Invisible Girls
The Psychedelic Furs also share a video for their song Come All Ye Faithful, the fourth song to be released from Made Of Rain, alongside No-One, Don’t Believe and You’ll Be Mine. The video, the band’s first Official Music Video in nearly 30 years is shot entirely in black and white and directed by Imogen Harrison. Richard Butler says “‘Come All Ye Faithful’ is a bit about looking for redemption in faith and riches, questioning if either are of any true value and whether redemption is ultimately necessary at all.”
On 26th April, the day before the Royal Albert Hall Show, The Psychedelic Furs will be hosting an intimate Q&A session in association with Banquet Records, at St John’s Church, Kingston KT1 2SU. The Q&A will give fans a personal insight into the making of Made Of Rain. Get tickets here:https://psychfurs.lnk.to/banquetQA Kingston upon Thames has a special resonance to Richard and Tim Butler as they were both born in the local area.
From its exhilarating opening bars, Made Of Rain is classic Psychedelic Furs in both its sound and execution. It’s a joy to hear again, fresher than ever. The album was produced by Richard Fortus with The Psychedelic Furs, whilst mixing duties were handled by Tim Palmer (David Bowie, U2, Robert Plant). Made Of Rain is available on CD, Double Gatefold vinyl and digitally as well as exclusive formats and autographed options via the Official Store.
The Psychedelic Furs released seven critically acclaimed studio albums – ‘The Psychedelic Furs” (1980), ‘Talk Talk Talk’ (1981), ‘Forever Now’ (1982), ‘Mirror Moves’ (1984), Midnight To Midnight’ (1987), ‘Book Of Days’ (1989) and ‘World Outside’ (1991). They released many classic singles throughout the ’80’s and into the 90’s, including: ‘Sister Europe,’ ‘Love My Way,’ ‘The Ghost In You,’ ’ Pretty In Pink,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Heartbreak Beat,’ ’All That Money Wants’ and ‘Until She Comes.’
In recent years, the band has toured, completing a tour of North America in 2019 and also played acclaimed shows at The Hollywood Bowl, All Points East, Hyde Park, Benicàssim and a celebrated run of UK shows including headlining the prestigious Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall at Robert Smith of The Cure’s request. Most recently, the band performed a sold-out tour of the UK and Europe which culminated in a triumphant show at the Roundhouse in London.
The last few years have seen the band’s legend growing, highlighted by the fact they have scored over 150 million streams of their songs worldwide. Their influence since arriving on the post-punk landscape four decades ago has reverberated and resonated with many bands that have followed. Additionally, artists from The Strokes to The Killers to REM to Foo Fighters to Bob Dylan has have sung their praises.
In addition to lead singer Richard Butler, the six-piece line-up features co-founder Tim Butler (Richard’s brother) on bass, Mars Williams on saxophone, Rich Good on guitar, Amanda Kramer on keyboards and Paul Garisto on drums.
Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts was due to be opening act for Mötley Crüe stadium tour starting this month before it was postponed to 2021, however, despite this, Tuk is thrilled to announce the release of the new EP Covers From The Quarantine on 12th June 2020, via Better Noise Music. The release will be available on streaming platforms and can be accessed here.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the music industry is now in flux, live performances are on hold, and the music community, as we know it, has been forced to adapt to these new challenges. Covers From The Quarantine is Tuk’s resilient contribution to the music community, throughout the quarantine period he kept creating new material and performing originals & covers for rock lovers with his bi-weekly live-streams.
Tuk comments: “I decided to record some acoustic cover songs in my attic home studio to keep sane during the covid-19 lockdown. These songs and EP are not a representation of who I am as an artist, I just felt like I should try and contribute with something creative and positive in such uncertain times. Also, with all my tours being cancelled or postponed and my album pushed back I feel like it’s important to stay connected with fans. When picking the track list I chose them based off my moods during the quarantine. I recorded this EP without electric guitars and just used acoustic, keys, and some drum samples to make up my one-man band. It definitely gives the body of songs a vibe of its own.”
LA Weekly, in their endorsement of his streamed performances, says: “The guy has a glorious sound that straddles the line between glitter stomp and punk poet“. This is spirit behind Covers From The Quarantine, a collection of Tuk’s favourite tracks recorded in his attic studio, served stripped down to their very powerful core: David Bowie’s ‘Life On Mars’, INXS’s ‘Don’t Change’,Lana Del Rey’s ‘Summertime Sadness’ and more.
Each song on the EP represents a moment, a mood of Tuk’s quarantine. He continues: “David Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars’ was the biggest challenge for me to translate. The chord structure and arrangement are pretty unconventional once you open the hood up. It’s always good to push yourself so I enjoyed it. Bowie has continued to be a staple of inspiration for years so thought I’d take a swing at it. Hope he digs it.”
When speaking about INXS’s Don’t Change Tuk says: “I’ve been wanting to cover ‘Don’t Change’ for a few years now live with a band and just never got around to it.”
Another key track on the EP is Lana Del Rey’s Summertime Sadness: “In ‘Summertime Sadness’ I had to change a few words out to be sang from my perspective … listen close and you’ll hear me mention a Rod Stewart hairdo and my Cuban heel boots. This song was way out of my comfort zone and wheelhouse … I still struggle whether or not I should have done it … oh well! Once again, I wanted to challenge myself and see what would happen. At the end of the day a good tune is a good tune. The lyric and feeling of it seem appropriate for the times.”
Tuk Smith bleeds for rock & roll, the kind that stays true to its roots, the kind the classics were built on. After building a career as the frontman for BITERS, Tuk will be launching his solo career with his band The Restless Hearts on his Better Noise debut Looking For Love, Ready For War. Produced by the legendary Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Phil Collins, Kid Rock), the album unifies multiple musical styles and showcases the versatility of Tuk’s songwriting. Tuk Smith & Restless Hearts were set to join Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Joan Jett on their epic US stadium tour this summer; however, due to Covid-19 pandemic all touring activity is currently on hold.
Covers From The QuarantineTrack Listing:
1. Don’t Change
2. Life On Mars
3. Hard Luck Woman
4. Summertime Sadness
5. Behind Blue Eyes
Seven weeks before the eagerly awaited release of The Psychedelic Furs new album, ‘Made Of Rain,’ The Furs are making available the song ‘You’ll Be Mine.’ This is the second new song to be lifted from their forthcoming album, alongside the breathlessly received ‘Don’t Believe,’ which was made available in January. Both tracks are available to stream now and download when you preorder the album from Here
The album is available on CD, Double Gatefold LP and limited splatter and colour variants as well as exclusive formats and signed options via Here
Further new tracks will be unveiled in the weeks leading up to the album’s release.
‘Made Of Rain,’ The Psychedelic Furs eighth album and their first in nearly thirty years, is released on May 1st 2020 . The band tour the US in April and as previously announced play their first ever show at the Royal Albert Hall in London (May 14th), with Jah Wobble & The Invaders Of The Heart as special guests, before heading to Europe and back to America for more shows. Tickets for the Royal Albert Hall are available here
From its exhilarating opening bars, Made Of Rain is classic Psychedelic Furs in both its sound and
execution. It’s a joy to hear again, fresher than ever. Their peerless permutations of art, aggression and ambience drive the dynamics, and it’s always been this originality which has set them apart, a cut above. The album was produced by Richard Fortus, whilst mixing duties were handled by Tim Palmer (David Bowie, U2, Robert Plant).
Led by vocal and lyrical genius Richard Butler with his brother Tim on bass, The Psychedelic Furs released seven critically acclaimed studio albums – ‘The Psychedelic Furs” (1980), ‘Talk Talk Talk’ (1981), ‘Forever Now’ (1982), ‘Mirror Moves’ (1984), Midnight To Midnight’ (1987), ‘Book Of Days’ (1989) and ‘World Outside’ (1991). They released many classic singles throughout the ’80’s and into the 90’s, including: ‘Sister Europe,’ ‘Love My Way,’ ‘The Ghost In You,’ ’ Pretty In Pink,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Heartbreak Beat,’ ’All That Money Wants’ and ‘Until She Comes.’
In recent years the band have toured continually completing a tour of North America in 2019 and played acclaimed shows at The Hollywood Bowl, All Points East, Hyde Park and Benicàssim. A celebrated handful of UK shows including headlining the prestigious Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall at Robert Smith of The Cure’s request. This past October, the band played a sold-out tour of the UK and Europe which culminated in a triumphant show at the Roundhouse in London.
The last few years has seen the band’s legend growing, highlighted by the fact they have scored over 150 million streams of their songs worldwide. Their influence since arriving on the post-punk scorched-earth landscape four decades ago has reverberated and resonated from everyone from The Killers to REM to Foo Fighters to Bob Dylan has sung their praises.
The Psychedelic Furs are sounding stronger than ever and as anyone who’s seen the band lately knows, Butler remains one of the most watchable frontmen in the game.
Rich Ragany & The Digressions release new video for the title track of the critically acclaimed debut album ‘…Like We’ll Never Make It…’. RPM has been a big supporter of Rags and the band and we first interviewed the vocalist and songwriter when the site began (Here) The album also featured in the writers top ten releases of 2019 (Here) Check out the awesome video and the dates for the Status Quo tour Below.
Rich Ragany & The Digressions have been announced as support for Status Quo’s Nov/Dec Winter ‘Backbone’ tour of the UK.
27 Nov – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
28 Nov – Leicester De Montfort Hall
30 Nov – Cardiff St. David’s Hall
1 Dec – Birmingham Symphony Hall
3 Dec – Brighton Centre
5 Dec – London Eventim Apollo
6 Dec – Bournemouth BIC
The band is currently gearing up to go into the studio with celebrated UK producer Andy Brook and Grammy Award-winner Mario J McNulty (David Bowie, Glen Matlock, Raveonettes) mixing. RPM asked Rags for a quote about the awesome news of the Quo tour and he had this to say, “Woohoo, Yeah Allllright, settle down” Get your tickets quick before they all sell out.
Just recently I had an email drop into my inbox highlighting a new single from the Young Gods and sending me into memory free fall all the way back to 1993 and a Young Gods performance on the Phoenix Festival main stage supporting a Mike Patten led Faith no More at the time they definitely piqued my interest but as is the want with festivals you see so many bands in such a short space of time things blur and the band slipped out of my consciousness,
The next time I came across the band was within an Interview of David Bowie in 1995, when he was asked whether NIN had influenced the creation of the Outside LP “His reply was that he was actually listening to a Swiss band at the time called The Young Gods, things came together and I re-tracked the band and was blown away by the first three LP’s The Young Gods, L’eau Rouge and T.V. Sky (which remains a fave up to today)
Franz, what can you tell us about the early days of The Young Gods? How did the band start out? What influenced the music?
We were born in the 60s and grew up during the 70s. Our first musical loves come from that period. Early psychedelism and later on punk, influenced us a lot.
We started the band in 1985 and at that time our main influences were Einstürzende Neubauten, Kraftwerk and postpunk. (Killing Joke, Wire, Gang of Four…) I think The Young Gods is a bit of all that: psychedelism with a punk energy. But the real thing that influenced us the most was the new technology of the time: the sampler. When affordable sampling devices came on the market, that totally changed my approach on writing music. No more chords, harmonies, E or A strings, just pure sound. A collage of sounds, that’s how you can call our music in the early days.
For someone hearing the Young Gods for the first time, how would you describe the music, and the way it’s developed from the early days to now?
To make it simple, I like to describe the band as “electronic rock music”. I think we used and abused the sampling technology until the mid-nineties and then felt the need to extend our sound with the help of other devices like synthesizers or computers plug-ins. I now play the guitar as well on stage, which is new. The music might be a bit less radical in its form but has kept the intensity of the early days.
Delving into your background Franz I’ve found you were a classically trained guitarist, but dropped the instrument in favour of a more experimental approach to music, utilizing technology, loops and beats, repetition et al did you find having such a structured? introduction to music help or hinder what you were trying to do with the Young Gods? How did it influence you?
Learning classical guitar made me consider music as ONE thing that evolves with time and technology. Every generation needs to find its own way and sound, but I was frustrated that my fellow punk friends were not interested in classical music and that the other musicians in my classical guitar class could not play a simple blues. Everything is so compartmented. If you follow classical music by the rule or punk music by the rule, you trap yourself into conservatism. Music is not about conservatism, it is about freedom and openmindedness. Music is here to unite us.
Tell us about the Young Gods Play Kurt Weill LP, what inspired your choices for the LP? “September Song” in particular really stood out for me, do you have a personal fave? What were you as a band getting across to a generation that potentially hadn’t heard Kurt Weill?
Again it is a will to make people aware of good music that had been written in the 30s /40s. For me the association of Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht is fantastic.
Take the “Three Penny Opera” for example. It is total counterculture: it is called an opera but there is no “bel canto”, people sing slightly out of tune, the music is dissonant, the story happens in a dark Soho where the heroes are gangsters, prostitutes, priests… It is political, subversive. No wonder these two where considered public enemies N°1 by the nazis. Weill and Brecht are the pioneers of “pop music”.
“September Song” comes from Weill’s period of exile. He flew to NYC to escape the Nazis. He then wrote for the Broadway theatres. Very intense songs, classics. September Song made me realize that one can be intense without having to scream…
Moving forward as a listener the sound you were creating seemed to become more sparse, allowing more space within the music, taking the listener on an internal journey, what was changing within the Young Gods?
I guess it is still a try to dive into sound and take the listener on a trip. With time we became less frontal. Age gives us a different energy. But it might be temporary as well !!! there is a lot to be angry about nowadays.
I remember reviewing Everybody Knows on its release calling it industrial with style and substance, how would you describe the LP?
‘Everybody Knows‘ was our first try to write music together (4 people at the time) improvising. We wanted to challenge ourselves, wanted to go out of the computer grid. With distance, it was a transitional album. It is very free and full of explorations.
Coming up to date you have a new LP out called Data Mirage Tangram, what can a new listener to the Young Gods expect? How would you describe it?
We are back as a trio but with a serious change of people. Al Comet and Vincent Hänni left the band in 2011 and Cesare Pizzi (who started the band with me) is back after being away for more than 20 years. It is more “downtempo” than usual, deeply psychedelic ( in its greek definition: revealing the psyche). You can listen to it like as a soundtrack to your dreams. It takes you to Amazonia, it has tribal elements, it sounds at times very urban, psychoacoustic, it warns you about the blind trust we put into algorithms and it is danceable!
Live we’ve got some dates coming up in the UK, what can the fans expect?
We mainly play the new album but include in the set a few “classics”.
Last thing Franz, what influences you at this moment in time? Are there any new and upcoming bands you could point us towards or any classics we need to re-explore?
Coming from your land: I like Farai and Perera Elsewhere. From France: the Psychotic Monks. And TM404, the Island people, The Oh Sees, the Viagra Boys, Clap Clap, Insalar. To be rediscovered: acoustic John Lee Hooker, Sun Ra (Nuclear War, Space is the place)
Thanks for taking the time out to chat with us
Thank you for your interest Nev
Franz it’s been an absolute pleasure to talk to someone I’ve followed for so long
You can forget about your boot boy Glam of Guida or any other pretenders who think they have their finger on the pulse of ’70s glam rock vibe because there can be only one at the top of the pile and quite frankly that’s Gyasi. From the opening intro and lyric come the wise words “if you can’t hide it hang bells on it, Baby!” Hell yeah! we’re off.
With a trashy tempo ‘Colourful’ is up and running. The title track is up next with its big strumming acoustic guitar holding the rhythm along with handclaps and some sweet organ toots its glam alright like when the 60s turned into the 70s and it was all about the music. Excellent stuff.
As the record goes from a fruity early Joe Perry like riff or the Zep inspired ‘Young Love’ to the out and out glam of ‘Tongue Tied’ the band kick back and mix up some classic Lower East Side rock and roll al a Lou Reed stylings on ‘Blackstrap’ its got some lush horns and matching riff which makes for an interesting and enjoyable cocktail for sure.
To be fair this album has ten really good tunes it might not necessarily make album of the year it is full of solid rock and roll songs that are well written and well played and borrow bits and pieces from the good and the great from a bygone era – given a dust down and remodeled with extra feathers is always going to go down well around here. I do like what they bring on ‘Bring Your Love’ mixing up the acoustic and electric guitars and summoning the spirit of prime time Robert Plant draws on some classic trippy rock as well. ‘Nightcrawl’ has a cool organ rasping away on the intro like John Lord in platforms and feathers with a nice line in nail polish and listening to classic Iggy Pop when he went to Berlin for inspiration.
Saving the best until the end ‘Kiss Kiss’ is a piano tonkin’ sax blowing romp that the Dolls would have been proud of and ‘Little Tramp’ is sitting crossed legged with only ‘Hunky Dory’ for companionship atop of a mountain. great record go pick it up glam slammers.
On this very date David Bowie unveiled his landmark album, ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’. His breakthrough LP, it sells over 7 million copies and is hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time. As genius as it was it has to be said that without his Spiders Ziggy would have been nothing (or at least not a fraction of the success) Ronnos guitar playing was exceptional throughout as were the bass lines. Of course, the image was mind blowing even for the early ’70s.
The concept album serves as the introduction to Bowie’s most iconic of reincarnations: Ziggy Stardust, a flame-haired Martian messiah who visits Earth in an attempt to bring a message of hope to humanity in their final five years of existence. Flamboyantly dressed and dazzlingly androgynous, Stardust helps revolutionize ideas about gender and sexuality like never before.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is recorded over a two-week period in November 1971 at London’s Trident Studios – the same place where The Beatles made “Hey Jude” in 1968. The legendary album cover depicts a resplendent Bowie posing outside of a Mayfair furriers named K. West.
The album peaks at #5 in the UK, and remains on that chart for two years, bolstered by a groundbreaking performance of “Starman” on Top of the Pops in July 1972.
Although “Ziggy played guitar” for the final time in July 1973, his blazing legacy lives on. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is about Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous bisexual rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings (drugs who mentioned drugs). Bowie took Ziggy on tour through the United Kingdom, Japan, and North America. The album and the character of Ziggy Stardust explored themes of sexual exploration and social taboos and it wasn’t until that fateful night in The Hammersmith Odean that Ziggy made his last appearance as Bowie ruthlessly ended the characters existence. this after shipping over seven million copies worldwide – still to this day an incredible decision from a man at the peak of his powers. Amazingly the album only made it to number five in the UK charts whilst barely denting the US top 75!
Its no question one of the most influential albums for many reasons would there have been the huge new Romantic explosion of the post-punk 80s had it not been for Ziggy? Also, it was a big influence on the UK punk scene with many of its detractors since citing this particular tour as being very influential fashionably and musically.
Track from the album has been covered many times over by many different artists including Bauhaus who did ‘Ziggy Stardust’ as did Def Leppard and RPM favourite Jeff Dahl. ‘Moonage Daydream has also been covered by varied artists such as LA Guns, Mike Scott and Tim Wheeler of Ash. whereas ‘Suffragette City’ has been covered by such polar acts as Boy George, Steve Jones, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Turbonegro and god forbid Poison! As well as recently on volume 1 of The UK Subs covers album.
David Bowie took ‘Diamond Dogs’ out on tour around shit Island on this day back in 1974. The cover art features Bowie as a striking half-man, half-dog grotesque painted by Belgian artist Guy Peellaert. It was controversial as the full painting clearly showed the hybrid’s genitalia. A few copies of this original cover made their way into circulation at the time of release but hey anything goes in 2019 so if you want to see the originally intended artwork then here it is!
That was the ’70s and any excuse to show a bit of Bowie is good enough for us. Moving into the Naughties and on this day Velvet Revolver released a fine debut album ‘Contraband’ which spawned the hits ‘Fall To Pieces’ and ‘Slither’. the band made up of Slash, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan, along with Scott Weiland and Dave Kushner.
Formed in 2002 when Slash and Duff played a benefit concert for Randy Castillo, who died of cancer. Stone Temple Pilots had split up, so the Guns N Roses pair pulled in Scott Weiland as lead singer although it was rumoured that Marc from Peckham Cowboys was also auditioned the line up was completed by Sorum (also in GnR) and second guitarist Dave Kushner.
During the recording of the album, Weiland was ordered by the court to attend rehab and as part of the deal, he was able to record at several hours at a time in order to complete the album.
Whilst on the subject of high maintenance band members on this day in ’69 the Stones officially parted company with Brian Jones who said he was leaving the band to play his “kind of music” his departure was barely a month old before he was found dead in his pool.
Finally Happy Birthdays to Greg Ginn – Born today in 1954 in Arizona. Ginn also owns the independent record label, SST, originally begun as an electronics company called Solid State Tuners when he was only 12 years old. Don’t know if its a well-known fact but Ginn is the older brother of artist Raymond Ginn, who is better known using by the name Raymond Pettibon (He of the OFF! album covers and the iconic Black Flag four-bar logo)
Another iconic musician who pioneered the new romantic scene Happy Birthday Nick Rhodes (born today in 1962) who came to prominence out of the post-punk scene that morphed into new romantics playing keyboards or synths in Duran Duran.
Born Nicholas James Bates who helped start the band in the late ’70s in Birmingham whilst DJing at the Rum Runner club in the city center. It was there he met the other members of the band who were also employed at the club. Rhodes went on to international superstardom with Duran. He also had a successful career with Arcadia which he formed with LeBon and Roger Taylor whilst the other two went off to Rock out with Power Station and the duranies went on hietus.
Rhodes always the artier one went on to become an accomplished photographer as well as several successful side projects but he always came back to Duran Duran. Happy Birthdays Greg and Nick.
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