David Bowie celebrates his half century, an unlikely looking event after he had hit rock bottom in the mid 70's, barely coherent, stick thin and lost in a haze of drug addiction. Yet the spark of creativity would burn bright as he released a searing series of albums, Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), Heroes (1977), Lodger (1979), Scary Monsters (1980) and the massive selling Let's Dance (1983), hitting another commercial peak ten years after becoming one of the biggest UK rock stars on the planet.
BBC Radio 1 FM marked Bowie's 50th birthday with 'Changesnowbowie' an hour-long special that featured exclusive acoustic performances of classic tracks and the man himself answering questions from those he has influenced over the years. Broadcast at 9pm on Wednesday 8th January 1997.
BBC DJ Mary Ann Hobbs, begins the interview discussing his age and he declares it as an "English thing, this pre-occupation with age." He admits a sense of satisfaction with his life and discusses the alternatives on how it could have turned out.
The interview also includes questions and contributions from:
Robert Smith (The Cure), Ian McCulloch (Echo & the Bunnymen), Brett Anderson (Suede), Bono (U2), Scott Walker, Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys), Damon Albarn (Blur), Sean Ryder (Happy Mondays / Black Grape) & Brian Molko (Placebo). Bowie is genuinely overcome by the tribute from Scott Walker (see track 7).
The session was recorded on Tuesday 7th January 1997 at Studio Instrumental Rentals Studios, 520 West 25th Street, New York, during rehearsals for the 50th Birthday show that took place at Madison Square Gardens on Thursday 9th January.
BBC Radio>wav>GoldeWave Edit>CDR>EAC>FLAC
01. Interview
02. The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
03. The Supermen (1970)
04. Interview
05. Andy Warhol (1971)
06. Repetition (1979)
07. Interview
08. Lady Stardust (1972)
09. White Light White Heat (1968, VU cover)
10. Interview
11. Shopping For Girls (1991)
12. Interview
13. Quicksand (1971)
14. Aladdin Sane (1973)
15. Interview
16. BBC Promo Clip
'I Can't Read' was performed but omitted from the broadcast. It was aired later on the Mark Goodier show.
Band:
David Bowie: Vocals
Reeves Gabrels: Guitar
Gail Ann Dorsey: Bass, Vocals
Mike Garson: Piano
Zachary Alford: Drums
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