Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Bowie at 60

Jan 8th... it's David Bowie's 60th birthday!

To 'celebrate', I've just bought the recent DVD on the Berlin Trilogy.

Hard to believe he's suddenly 60... where has the last ten years gone?! For me it was a very exciting time back in 1997 and the celebrations for his 50th birthday, shortly before the release of his Earthling album.

Listening to the BBC Radio 2 documentary, "Inspirational Bowie", it's nice to hear positive comments on this particular album. At the time it might have seemed like a crazy idea, but now, it sounds just as "Bowie" as many other of his albums. It's an album I like very much, and I think as what happend with "Low", it may have been dismissed at the time, but years later it comes into appreciation.

For me, my favourite Bowie albums will always be 1995's "1.Outside", 1976's "Station to Station" and the "Berlin Trilogy" of "Low", "Heroes" and "Lodger".

Thanks to my parents, I grew up listening to Bowie's music, so it's pretty much engraved in part of me, and it continues to inspire me today.

Hasn´t changed a bit, I wonder what´s his secret. He´s definitely from another galaxy...Ziggy Stardust!!

Chris C

I was reminded late on yesterday (8th Jan) that it was Bowie's birthday. Can't believe I forgot it! I'm not a huge Bowie fan, but the man IS a legend.

Fave Bowie albums are; LOW, SCARY MONSTERS & SUPER CREEPS, HEROES.

I was going to listen to Can's FUTURE DAYS before I go to work this morning, but I'll have to play LOW & give a belated toast to David with a cup of Rooibos tea.

He still looks great, even though his age is finally starting to show a little. Bowie's back catalogue is so vast and varied – even if there are some periodds you don't like, the great thing is that there is a David Bowie album for almost everybody.

He's drifted effortlessly in and out of so many styles, and unlike may artists, not been afraid to experiment or take a risk.

Celebrated bowies birthday yeterday with lashings of bowie albums. Station to station being my fave. Have quite fond memories of his 50th when earthling came out. There was alot of stuff on him in the media.

I filled my ipod up with most of his albums. I also bought the Berlin years 'under review' DVD yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

There was a lot of good coverage for his 50th - compared to the disappointing nothing there has been on TV this year.

Back in '97 there were two great programmes in particular - another up-to-date ( at the time) interview with Alan Yentob, following on from his original "Cracked Actor" film in the 70s, and an absolutely brilliant interview, focussing mainly on the Earthling album - the show was called "An Earthling at 50". I still have it on tape. It was very inspiring.

If i remember rightly earthling at 50 was on itv.

My dearest Bowie treasure is a book, An Illustrated Record. It covers the period from the beginning to Scary Monsters(if I rememeber correctly!). It´s quite a sizeable book full of pictures and of course, well written.

The funny thing is that I got into Bowie just after Let´s Dance when I happened to watch the Christianne F film and then bought the vinyl version of Fame and Fashion (an RCA compilation). Years later I bought the CD in some record store in Leeds, the flagship of my Bowie collection.

Chris C

Not sure what my dearest Bowie treasure is... maybe just the pleasure of having his music in my life!

But if you want to talk material, then possibly the mint condition Outside tour programme. I kicked myself for about 5 years for not getting a programme at the show, and it was one of the first things I looked for when I first got the internet.

What I do have - although they are in storage at my parents', are two large - maybe 4ft high cut-outs of Bowie, that were used for promotional use in HMV stores in the early 90s. One is a cutout of the Aladdin Sane cover, the other is the image from ChangesBowie. I've never even seen anything like these on ebay so they're probably highly collectable.

I also have a few posters that I'm pleased to have got - a big Heathen cover, a Reality tour poster and a large advert for the Earthling album.

Another collectable I'm proud to own is the Sound & Vision tour programme.

Oh and an absolutely fantastic book of photographs called "Bowiestyle".

As my birthday is the day before Bowies I always remeber but its hard to believe he is 60!(WOW - mind Dorian Grey springs to mind). I grew up and still am doing so listening to his music. The recent, well 2002 is fairly recent, Heathen album reminded me why he is such a brilliant artist and someone who is still able to be both musically relevant whilst maintaning exploratory elements within his music.

Personally nothing will surpass the sheer unexpalinable weirdness of hearing John Peel play the ENTIRE Low album one night on his show just before it was released - it was a strange and fascinating music from some other world to a wide eyed 15 year old lad back then - recorded onto a crappy hiss filled cassette tape from the radio. I then endlessly listened to it trying to disect and decipher or just plain understand it. Whilst saving my heard earned money to buy the album in all its glorious wonderfull orangeness.

A couple of years later I was fortunate enough to be backsatge at a Human League concert where Bowie himself was also was backstage, too starstruck, numb and shy to say hello I just stood looking on as the image burned ever brightly into my memory.

Where does the time go?

Seeing bowie at wembley on the 2003 reality tour was amazing. I remember spotting someone with a crash and burn t-shirt amongst the crowds. I dont have many bowie rareities but my bootleg dvd footage of the white light station tour is pretty high up there. Will always love station to station and the albums up to scary monsters.

I've always wanted to see the Station to Station tour. I have a radio broadcast quality recording of the tour on CD, but have neve seen any actual footage of it.

I've got a lot of Bowie stuff, particularly gig recordings.

Now, what I would dearly love, is a film of the Outside Tour from 1995.

I havent got footage of the auctual outside tour footage but i have footage from a festival he did in 1996. He does most of outside. There are alot of bowie bootlegs of footage on ebay so i wouldnt be surprised if theres the outside tour.

That sounds like the Phoenix Festival from 1996. I have it somewhere... I ought to get all my old VHS stuff put on to DVD.

The one i have was from german tv. Was the phoneix one where he wore his union jack coat.

Yeah - he got the coat in 1996 - though it could well have been a German festival date.

There's footage of one of the '96 shows on YouTube from the WDR German Channel - that looks like it was afrom a German concert. I think I have an audio version of it, but not the film.