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Bowie General > Images Vol. 43

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homebrewPosted at 2025-10-11 15:54:13(1 day ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 43)


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These articles appear just as they were posted in the Usenet group alt.fan.david-bowie by group member Jamie Soule aka AladINSAnE. I have made no attempt to alter the formatting, spelling, grammar or edit in any way. (woah! No paragraphs! I almost tried to fix it but...)

IMAGES: Part 43

The cover for Scary Monsters, well, the idea was this.
To produce an image that would reveal "the can of worms contained inside
of the beautiful every man. The falling apart of what seems like
purity." That was a direct quote from Bowie, and taken from an interview
that coincided with the release of Scary Monsters. The cover idea, and
production, was a three way collaboration between British photographer
Brian Duffy, artist Edward Bell and David Bowie. Brian Duffy made a name
for himself as a fashion photographer in the sixties, and this was not
the first time Bowie had collaborated with him. The cover for Aladinsane
was designed by Duffy and Celia Philo, and the photograph was shot by
Brian Duffy. It was in fact Duffy that came up with the idea for the
"Lightning Bolt" on the cover, which he got from a design on a Panasonic
electric kettle. The "tear drop" was also his idea. "He put on that
afterward, just popped it in there. I thought it was rather sweet," is
how Bowie described it. One interesting point to note about the printing
of the cover for Aladinsane. The complexity of the sleeve design
required that it had to be printed using a seven color a process. The
process was so revolutionary at this time, that it was not possible to
print the covers in the UK, therefore they were all printed in
Switzerland. The clown suit which Bowie wears on the cover of Scary
Monsters was designed by Natasha Kornilof, who has worked worked quite
extensively with Bowie over the years. Natasha Kornilof once worked as a
costume designer for Lindsay Kemp, and it was through Kemp that Bowie
met her. She designed, among other things, his clothes for the 78 tour.
The clown figure was actually based on a Victorian Clown character that
was created by Lindsay Kemp in the late sixties. There are two
representations of the clown on the album, one being the "neat" outside
look, and then the disheveled side, which is what one sees if they look
inside. Bowie admits it to be a "nod" back, as it seems we always return
to the elements we started with, and go back to re evaluate the past
This idea fits in well with his idea of future nostalgia, which is
seeing the future, and finding out that it is someplace we have all
ready been. Many interviews have revealed that Bowie places a great deal
of value on the past, he seems to regard it as an anchor. "There are a
lot of mistakes on this album, but you wouldn't know from just listening
to it," states Bowie, "as they are difficult to find." Rather than
"correct" the mistakes, Bowie said he preferred to "build" around them,
creating a structure that became an integral part of the music, with
some interesting results. "I'm of the opinion that what holds your ear
to modern music, are the mistakes," he said. Now, "leaving" the mistakes
in a piece of music and building around them is an interesting way to
approach writing. It is improvisation that is free flowing, rather than
stop when something is "off," you just continue in the "direction" of
the "mistake," not knowing where it will eventually lead. Now, I may be
completely wrong on this, but the "tone" I seem to get from Bowie is
that this is a "new" idea. It may be new in the fact that he used this
approach, however by 1980 the idea was in fact a rather old one. Many of
the "progressive" bands such as ELP, Genesis, Yes, and others, had been
using this technique in the studio when composing. For Fripp and Eno
this method of working was a mainstay, and I would be willing to guess
that Bowie adopted this technique from one of them, and it was probably
Eno. In all honesty, I find the statement about mistakes being the focal
point that keeps a listener interested in a piece of music to be a bit
much, even by Bowie standards. In other words, I don't buy it, at all,
and I have a sneaking suspicion neither does he. I bet he "stole" that
line, because it "sounds" provoking, and is a good one when you want the
intellectual, deep thinker image, which he often utilizes in interviews.
While all of this was unfolding, 1980 was "just another year" to Bowie
listeners. Those who were there remember, it was the same as always,
nothing out of the ordinary, nothing had changed, and there was no
reason to suspect anything would. For over a decade now everything had
been a routine, it was predictable, and we knew exactly what to expect.
Bowie would release an album, sometimes two, every year, and do so
without fail. That part was GUARANTEED. He had his name associated with
seventeen albums between 1970 and 1980. Another rock solid guarantee was
a tour every couple of years, and add a few films and other ventures
intermingled along the way. As far as the quality of his work, well,
that was a given. That was something we NEVER DISCUSSED, there was no
reason to ever bring it up in a conversation. Now, if you put a group of
individuals in a comfortable situation where everything is the same
routine, and where they have nothing to worry about, it will not take
long for them to become complacent. This best describes the mindset of
Bowie listeners in 1980, we were all COMPLACENT, and this was not a
fault, as there was NO REASON to be anything but. I have often wondered
if there are any others who have contemplated the same thing I have for
over twenty years, and that is, what would have happened if we "knew"
what was about to transpire? I have often wondered about how I would
have felt sitting at that show in 78, if I knew I would not see Bowie
perform again for another five very long years, and it would be FIFTEEN
YEARS until I would see a tour that would rival what I was watching?
Likewise, I wonder how I would have reacted if I knew that 1980 would be
"THE END" of the greatest era in music history, and I would lose much of
what I grew to admire, and respect, in Bowie as an artist? What if I had
known at the time that Scary Monsters would be the last "BOWIE" album I
would get, for a long time to come? The wait, would be over a decade.
What if I knew that I would never really see David Bowie ever again?
Soon, it would be all over, and we would never suspect a thing until it
was done. We were about to be shocked. It was not over yet however.
Bowie was asked around the time of the release of Scary Monsters if he
still felt a need to put himself on the line artistically. His answer to
the question was "yes," as an artist he found that it was necessary to
take risks. Bowie felt the need to try and discover different methods
that would afford him the opportunity to look at his work from different
perspectives. This was so he could evaluate his work, and try to redress
it, offering something new in the process. Unlike most bands, Bowie, as
those of us who have been at this for decades know, was not easy to
follow. Let me put it this way. If you follow Aerosmith, you know what
kind of music you are getting. The same goes for Cat Stevens, Elton
John, Love And Rockets, The Dead Kennedy's, Barbra Streisand and the
vast majority of other acts. You get hard rock with Led Zeppelin, you
get New Wave Pop from The Cars, you get Industrial Thrash from Skinny
Puppy, and you get folk music from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Most
of the bands can be identified with a particular sound, because their
sound is THE SAME, it all fits into ONE CATEGORY. It's easy for most,
all you do is pick a category of music, and behold, there is a list of
bands who can cater to your taste. Now, life is not that easy for us, as
we must be able to go where we are led, and I can speak for myself by
saying that in the early days I was led to places that I was completely
unfamiliar with. Quite often these places DID NOT EVEN EXIST, UNTIL
BOWIE INVENTED THEM, and you can't find places that are more unfamiliar
than that to someone who is just "tagging" along, as we all were. Even
so, we went to these places, and many times, you know, it was an
adventure which we all shared. You also knew that the "others" did not
have the qualities it took to go on such a journey, we were "special,"
we had "something," that few possessed. What was it? If you were there,
then you know what it was. If you were there, then you know what I am
talking about. Bowie was asked during this same period if he felt that
his audience had grown along with him over the years. His answer? He
said, "Not necessarily. My audience has DIMINISHED remarkably over the
years." Asked if that bothered him, he replied, "No, not at all." There
is one thing I know for certain, I know that I didn't "diminish."
February 1980. In their infinite wisdom RCA releases Alabama Song, which
Bowie recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux. I like Alabama Song, the
arrangement of it is truly twisted and demented, and with Belew adding
in his impersonation of sanity, you are left with a rather pleasing
little tune. Now, I know a bit about marketing, but even if you knew
nothing you could still figure out that this song is not really suited
as a single for AM radio airplay. This was not the sixties, and Bowie is
not Jim Morrison, therefore it was highly improbable that Alabama Song
was going to do anything except what it ended up doing, going to number
23 in the UK. It then vanished into 45 RPM obscurity, to join its place
alongside the other Bowie Top Ten Hit Singles, such as Sense Of Doubt,
Repetition, Move On, Amsterdam and Holy Holy. The flip side contained
one of the ten thousand or so versions of Space Oddity that no one
wanted to hear. On the other hand, there is Crystal Jun Rock, which is a
brand of Japanese rice wine, commonly referred to as Saki. David Bowie
composed the music that was used in a commercial for this product, and
it only aired on Japanese television. The music for the commercial was
released as a single, under the title of Crystal Japan, and it met with
some success, however RCA refused to issue it as a single in North
America. If there was any concern over any of this I can tell you that
it came from one source only, and that was "upstairs" at RCA. Bowie
could care less. While technically still under contract with RCA, his
obligations to them would be fulfilled with the delivery of Scary
Monsters And Super Creeps, and in three short years he would be free.
All that was left to do in the mean while, was to find a way to fill in
the time. It was off to Berlin to see Iggy in April, and then to London
in May, where he met up with Tony Visconti to finish Scary Monsters.
David, and Jack Hofsiss met again in June, this time at the Carlyle
Hotel. Philip Anglim was leaving, and Hofsiss needed someone to fill his
role as the Elephant Man, he offered the part to David Bowie., and gave
him twenty four hours to make a decision. This was a rather "tricky"
situation, and not just because of the time factor. There were other
actors involved in the production, who had by now been working together
for some time, and both Hofsiss and Bowie would need their vote of
confidence. Now, as to be expected, there were some serious reservations
about Bowie coming in and assuming the lead role. Realistically, Bowie
lacked the necessary experience to just "walk" in and take over where
Anglim left off. Also concerned, were the producers of the play,
Elizabeth McCann and Nelle Nugent. In addition to the question of
Bowie's experience and ability, there was also the issue of his
reputation for flamboyance, and the "rock star" attitude, of those who
are used to having everything their own way. Nugent had a personal
meeting with Bowie, and applied some conditions before before she
accepted Hofsiss's proposal. She wanted a rehearsal period of four
weeks, enough time she thought to get Bowie comfortable with the role.
It was also enough time for her to judge his ability. New York, being
the heart of Broadway Theater, was unforgiving, there was no margin for
errors, therefore Nugent wanted a six week road tour of the play BEFORE
it opened with Bowie in New York. She was so concerned about Bowie's
"image," that she also wanted to use the six weeks for a publicity blitz
aimed at creating a "new" image for him, in the eyes of the press, and
the theater audiences. The releases stated that Bowie's move to stage
acting was indeed legitimate, and not a flighty "whim," it was a natural
progression for him as an artist. The publicity worked well, as Bowie
was not the victim of criticism BEFORE he had an opportunity to prove
himself on stage. Many artists, as well as other celebrities" are unduly
condemned by the media, and the public, for even trying to venture away
from the things they have become "known" for. I admit that in many cases
they are right, such as Pamela Anderson becoming an actor, but it is
still unfair to pass a verdict on an artist before they try something.
The verdict from the critics should come AFTER the artist has had the
opportunity to perform. Cher was dragged through the mud and ridiculed
when she accepted her first acting role. All the media basically alluded
to was that, "She is a SINGER, not an ACTRESS, therefore she will fail,
and we'll all have a good laugh at her for thinking she can act." It
turned out however, that she shut the media up in a hurry. I am not a
Cher fan, but I have seen a few movies that she has acted in In my
opinion she is more than capable, and in some instances she is right up
there with the best of them. At least Bowie was given the chance to
perform first, thanks to Nelle Nugent. Bowie jumped at the opportunity.
Stage acting can lead to movie offers. As Nugent said, "Bowie was a
LEGITIMATE ACTOR." He would now be seen as one. The contract was drawn
up. David Bowie would perform an average of eight shows a week, and in
return he would receive ten percent of the gross from ticket sales. This
was the standard contract for the best actors on Broadway, so Bowie did
well. On average this worked out to around $2,000.00 a week for Bowie,
and under his re negotiated contract with MainMan, which was still in
effect, he would be required to pay Tony Defries the sum of $200.00 from
those earnings. While on tour, the band Van Halen stipulated in their
contracts with the local promoters that bowls of M&M candies be provided
backstage at their concerts. There was provision however. Their
contracts contained a listing of "Articles," which were the obligations
that were required to be fulfilled by the promoter. One of Van Halen's
articles in their contracts would read like this, "Article 148: There
will be fifteen amperage voltage sockets, at twenty-foot spaces,
evenly," and so forth, with all of the bands requirements. Now, article
126, in every one of these contracts stated this, "There will be no
brown M&M's in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show,
with full compensation." In other words, every brown M&M had to be
manually taken out of these bowls before being brought backstage. If
even one brown M&M was found in a bowl, the band could legally cancel
the show, and do so without refunding any money. It isn't just them
either. Here are some others. Prince demands that no one look him in the
eye or wear sunglasses in his presence Elton John demands flower
arrangements, but no chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations or daisies, and
the tablecloths must be linen. Britney Spears demands that her telephone
number be used for outgoing calls only. If it rings, the show's promoter
is fined $5,000.00. In her contract Diana Ross specifies that she must
walk on carpet at all times. Jakob Dylan stipulates that it is forbidden
for anyone to make any references that refer to him as being Bob Dylan's
son. The best however, is REO Speedwagon. In their contract it takes
FOUR PAGES just to describe all the food they require for themselves in
their dressing rooms before sound check and after the show. Here are
some prime excerpts from those pages. Halls Cough drops, light blue or
light green only, plus "tea service" consisting of three boxes, 24 bags
per box, of Earl Grey, Throat Coat Herbal and Constant Comment, with
lemon and a squeezable bottle of honey with sugar, as well as Equal and
Sweet & Low artificial sweetener That's enough tea for 75 people. Now,
you can't have tea without crackers, so add on 2 boxes. They must be
Nabisco, one box of "low fat," and one box of low fat Cinnamon Honey. In
the event that you get bored with the crackers, there's a bag of pretzel
rods, and 2 liters of bottled water with no bubbles to wash them down
with. We all know that the leading cause of death among rock stars is
thirst. Well, the members of REO Speedwagon will not die of thirst.
Their contract demands a case of Coors beer, plus a dozen bottles of
Samuel Adams and some "good" local beer, 3 bottles of Chardonnay, with a
corkscrew, and a bottle of Merlot (room temperature) with no bottle
under $12. Then there's a total of 12 bottles (each) of Evian, Gatorade,
Classic Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Diet Mountain Dew, Snapple, V-8
and Club Soda. That amounts to 136 bottles and cans of beverages, plus
the tea service for 75. Oh, and fresh coffee must be available at all
times. You need cups to hold all those drinks so add three sleeves of
hot & cold Solo cups, not the clear ones either. With all that liquid
around there is a strong possibility that there may be a spill. In that
event they are prepared with a roll of paper towels, twenty four large,
lint-free towels, and some napkins. and paper towels, and the band's got
their beverages about taken care of. Snacks are mandatory should guests
pop around, some bagels & cream cheese, mixed nuts, popcorn and a dozen
donuts should do it. Oh, and 3 quarts of milk, 1 or 2%, not skim, to
wash down the donuts. You can't go and do a sound check on an empty
stomach, so before the sound check they are served a bowl of chilled
tuna salad, wheat thins, a half dozen donuts and coffee. Then 75 minutes
before the show, it's fruit time. Here they get a platter of cantaloupe,
watermelon, honeydew and pineapple. Add a fresh fruit basket filled with
ripe, ready-to-eat grapes, apples, bananas and oranges. After sound
check it's time for dinner. Dinner includes two meat dishes, steamed
vegetables, potato dish, salad, rolls, breads & butter and a nice
dessert. This must be served on real plates with silverware. To wash
down dinner? Well, there is an exact duplicate order of all of the
beverages the band demanded earlier. Also, you can't eat the same thing
every day, one must have variety. So, on Sunday, Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays it's a whole cooked turkey with green beans, asparagus or peas,
mashed potatoes or rice, gravy and cranberry sauce plus plenty of soy
sauce, hot sauce, mayo, dijon mustard and a loaf of bread and rolls. A
box of freezer bags as well, for the road. If it's pizza, then it must
come from Pizza Hut or the best place in town. If it's Tuesday, Thursday
or Saturday, then it's pasta. Linguini, ravioli and angel hair smothered
in marinara and meat sauce, served on the side. Add to that grated
parmesan cheese, garlic bread, and salad. One more thing too, just in
case they want to go out, have the keys for a 15 passenger van and a
driver ready. Most of the food is wasted, it ends up in the garbage. Why
do bands do this? Oh, the answer to that question is real easy. They do
it, BECAUSE THEY CAN. People will bow down to them because they are
CELEBRITIES, and placed on a pedestal by the majority of society. They
have MONEY, which is POWER, and this allows them to do pretty much
anything that they desire. The real problem however is the idiot public,
they oblige them. Personally, I harbour a few opinions about this. Do I
judge people? Yes, we ALL do. However, to my credit, I consciously try
not to, and I have made progress over the years. To demean another human
being, one who probably works for a bare minimum wage, sift through
bowls of candy in order to remove the colours which you do not like says
an awful lot about your character. I am sure that the members of Van
Halen do not concern themselves by worrying about what the person who is
removing the brown M&M's thinks about them. If it were me, well, I would
care what that person thought. Money, or anything else that someone owns
for that matter, does not make them more important in my opinion. In
terms of worth, as long as they are decent, all people are equal in my
eyes. Since this is the case, the respect that I may earn throughout my
life does not fluctuate in value from person to person, based on their
"status" in society. Respect is respect, and it is all worth the same,
no matter who it comes from. If Prince doesn't like someone looking into
his eyes then I suggest that he stay well clear of me. I like to look
directly at the person I am speaking with. They say that the eyes are
the windows to the soul, and they can reveal much about the TRUE
CHARACTER of a person. I do not mind anyone looking through my
"windows." I would though if there was something that I didn't want
anyone to discover. I lived in a village for two weeks once, no running
water, no electricity and no beds, however there were straw mats on the
wooden floor. This village was in the middle of the jungle in northern
Laos, and was accessible only by a foot path. The walk to reach the
village, after spending four hours in a truck to go twenty kilometers
due to the condition of the road, was well over three hours. The
children in this village literally walked two and a half hours to get to
school, and two and a half hours to get home each day along a very
narrow footpath that wound through the mountains. How they accomplished
this during monsoon season is something that I will never understand. At
night they did their homework with the use of an oil lamp, with a very
tiny flame on it, about the size you would get on a lighter which was
turned half way up. I assure you that I am not exaggerating any of this.
I look at this and then I see that Diana Ross will only walk on carpet.
Does anyone else see a problem with this picture? I wonder if REO
Speedwagon are aware that there are actually children in their own
country that would be thankful just to have access to their garbage. I
have nothing, except disgust, for those individuals who have money and
fame, and take it and use it to satisfy their own stupid whims, just
because they can, and belittle others in the process, thinking of them
of being "less," compared to them. The truth is that the ones they
regard as less, are most often more, when it comes to the qualities in a
person which really matter. I have said it before, and I will say it
again. I deeply respected Bowie at times for the way he used to treat
others. His true character was demonstrated at times by how he worked
with others. The Elephant Man is a wonderful example. Many directors
will tell you that working with people who have "made it" can be a real
pain in the ass. So bad is it sometimes that the directors end up firing
them, as what just happened to actor Kevin Costner, part way into a
recent film. The problem is that they are so used to having their own
way, that you can't tell them to do anything. They will only do what
they want, and are therefore uncontrollable. David Bowie was not like
that. Instead, he looked at what he was being coached to do by directors
as an "education," and he put his ego aside. Rather than walk around
believing that he "knew" everything, Bowie found his weaknesses, and he
strived to correct them. It was because he realized his shortcomings,
and had enough self respect to care about the quality of his work, that
he was willing to learn. Bowie wanted to succeed in his role in The
Elephant Man. What he was willing to do in order to accomplish that is
quite remarkable. I want to go into it in some detail, because it is
worth reading.

AladinSAnE

To.........................................


""I don't begrudge any artist for finding an audience"
- David Bowie abt. 1987
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