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Bowie General > Images Vol. 04

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homebrewPosted at 2024-12-07 16:11:27(6 wks ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 04)


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In the Usenet group alt.fan.david-bowie you would have run into a user named Jamie Soule aka aladInsaNE. Jamie wrote a series of articles that he called "Images" about our hero, David Bowie. I found them fascinating, sometimes infuriating, occasionally confusing and ultimately interesting enough to have saved them all (at least all that I could track down). I have made no attempt to alter the formatting, spelling, grammar or edit in any way.

Images: Part Four



I have often contemplated which company was run by the most insane. Was
it MainMan or RCA Records And Tapes? I am leaning more towards RCA as
what other company would have put up with the internal fortitude of
Defries? You had to be fucking crazy to put up with being handed a one
hundred thousand dollar hotel bill you did not authorize and in addition
to that suffer an additional loss on Bowie of a few more hundred
thousand dollars. The next tour  included an RCA accountant on staff to
watch over expenses. The hotels became less expensive and room service
as well as the hiring of limousines was exclusive to Bowie, and not
forty six others. It wasn't just Bowie and Defries that tried the
patience of RCA, but as it would turn out later Iggy and Lou Reed also
became a handful.  I am sure that sedatives were an item within easy
grasp of most executives at the company which had to deal with  any of
them. It would not be that far into the future when the executives at
RCA would arrange for Iggy Pop to be advanced  a  respectable amount of
money. This money was to cover studio time, hire what musicians he
needed and cover his living expenses. Iggy, in return, was to deliver a
finished album to RCA.  Iggy gratefully accepted the money and I am sure
he must have been pleased that RCA had faith in him as an artist and
that he was worth investing in. This all gave Iggy a fantastic reason to
celebrate, and he did just that, not bothering with the hassles of
hiring a band or arranging any studio time. Instead, Iggy spent all the
money on drugs, which by all accounts was a sizeable amount as RCA did
not hear from him for a considerable length of time. When he finally
appeared he did not have any music to give to RCA and of course he had
no change left over from the expense money advanced to him.

Metal Machine Music gave Lou Reed the distinction of making the worst
album ever made by a major recording artist according to a survey of
music critics. Of course Metal Machine Music appears on the label," RCA
Records And Tapes." To those reading this that have never experienced
this "music," I can give you a quick synopsis as I received this Lou
Reed album many years ago as a birthday gift.  No, the person did not
hate me, I asked for it actually as I wanted to at least hear it, and to
say that I owned a copy just in case they ever became difficult to
obtain. The cover features a nice shot of Reed and the album title and
under the title is what appears to be Reed's interpretation of what this
record actually is. It says, "An Electronic Instrumental Presentation."
I fully agree with the "mental" portion of this ingenious description.
There are other words  on the cover such as "Pharmaceutical Science" and
a brief synopsis of what his work is about from the  days of The Velvet
Underground. He states that his work is not about, " The exploration of
various "taboo" subjects, drugs, sex, violence." I was unaware, having
listened to Lou Reed for many years, that he considered any of these
subjects "taboo."  On the back of the album jacket under the title of
"Specifications"  is a list of various items used in the making of this,
"Electronic Instrumental Presentation."  I found one thing quite
striking when I scanned the list of what was used to make this album,
and that is the words, " No Instruments?"  After hearing the album once
I do not think that there is any need for a question mark at the end of
that statement. In terms of recognizable equipment there are several
amplifiers, microphones, speakers, tremolo units and tape machines.
Interestingly,  there are also mentions of various decibel levels.  Just
before the bottom of the list is a fairly accurate description, I
believe anyway, of what you hear on the four sides of this double album
set. It states, " Combinations and Permutations built upon constant
harmonic Density Increase and Melodic Distractions." The only thing I
would alter about the description of this Electronic Instrumental
Presentation is I would remove the words "harmonic" and "melodic." I
would also make the word "distractions" a lot bolder so it really stands
out. I feel rather strongly about these changes and if I were in any
position I would have a law passed in order to make them mandatory.

There was a large segment of music being made by bands such as Jethro
Tull, Genesis, Gentle Giant and King Crimson that fell under the
classification of "progressive rock," because these bands were
experimenting with ideas that fell generally outside of of what was
considered the standard way most music was written. Metal Machine Music,
I can assure you, was also a "creation" which was quite far removed from
what was the standard at the time. Progressive implies that something is
progressing, and in the case of progressive music this means that it is
usually moving  in a direction that makes it a better quality product. I
am not convinced that this record falls into that category. Thinking
about it I realize that there is no real category in which to place this
work, it stands alone. This becomes obvious, painfully obvious in fact,
when one places side one on the turntable and drops the needle.

When an instrument or a microphone get too close to an amplifier at the
correct volume the result is an undesirable high pitched shrill or
squeal that is uncomfortable to the ears. This sound is known as
"feedback."  Now, not all feedback is annoying to listen to as it can be
controlled by a proficient musician and when used properly it can add a
certain amount of high energy to a song. Metal Machine Music
incorporates feedback quite extensively but unfortunately, to me anyway,
this feedback is out of control. Way out of control. The problem I think
with this Electronic Instrument Presentation is that it is unlistenable
to for more than a few awful minutes. The military at one time
experimented with something called "White Noise." White Noise is a
constant irritating sound played for long periods of time and its
primary use was torture. When people are exposed to this repetitive
drone of irritating sound it cause a great deal of mental anguish. Metal
Machine Music is two albums of irritating feedback and other
unpleasantness which lasts for a seemingly eternity of sixty four
minutes and four seconds. I believe that this Electronic Instrument
Presentation qualifies as "White Noise" and that it is long enough to
also qualify as an instrument of torture. It is easy to see why after
being given this recording by Lou Reed why the executives at RCA were a
little "spooked" when they were handed side two of Low by Bowie.

The first tour was not a disaster as some may think it was, Defries
called it a rehearsal. Since RCA had so much invested in Bowie that had
not been earned back, they could hardly let him slip and having an
accountant to watch over things would certainly cure much of the
uneasiness regarding the berserk unauthorized  spending of Defries. In
key cities Bowie managed to sell out and the reviews from the press. The
New York daily new produced the headline, "A Star Is Born," after a sell
out concert. This so called "rehearsal" had taught Defries a valuable
lesson about risk and the difference between greed and profit. It was
greed that prompted Defries to take all of the risk and finance the
first American tour, after all the profits to be made were all his. He
did not consider the other possibility that any losses would also be
his. If RCA lost three hundred thousand dollars the only reason Defries
didn't lose the same or more is because he didn't have it to lose, and
if it was not for RCA paying those bills MainMan would have been out of
business. The other stars signed on to MainMan, Iggy Pop and Dana
Gillespie, were not turning any profit either.

Defries knew that by sharing the costs of touring there would be less
profit for MainMan because any profits would have to be split on a
percentage basis. On the other hand by sharing expenses it would
minimize the risk of enormous losses that MainMan would be solely
responsible for. Defries now wanting a little safety met with RCA and
convinced them to be "partners" with MainMan and help finance the next
tour in exchange for a share of the profits. There was no mention of
losses, after all Defries told them that after the last tour Bowie
really was a bone fide star in America. Defries also arranged to lease
the rights to Bowie's two previous Mercury albums to RCA so they would
now have a catalogue of Bowie albums to promote. Defries had paid twenty
thousand for each and leased them to RCA for thirty seven thousand five
hundred dollars each. While Defries worked on RCA Bowie was busy working
on Aladinsane. As unbelievable as it sounds after what RCA endured after
the first tour Bowie was indeed heading back to America for a second
tour, and within the ten weeks Defries had announced. This time however
there would be no mistakes.

The tour opens at Radio City Music Hall on February the 14th. 1973.
There are to be no more ten thousand seat auditoriums on this tour.
Stars only play to packed houses and Ziggy had to pack the house. The
venues were all music halls or theatres seating a few thousand. The
luxuries that the last tour afforded for all of the forty six employees
and the the band were now gone. Bowie had the exclusive rights to room
service, better hotels and limousines. Ziggy was the star, not the band
as they were treated now like necessary hired help but not essential to
the survival of Ziggy. Ronson however was viewed with a little more
worth than the others and Defries thought that he was marketable as a
solo artist. Ronson, with visions of stardom, signed on and he too was
now "owned" by Defries. The others were expendable. The Spiders ere
being paid a fixed wage. Trevor Bolder and Woody Woodmansey were on
salary of thirty pounds a week and Mick Ronson was being paid fifty
pounds. Their expenses were paid by MainMan. It did not go over well
when the new addition to the band, pianist Mike Garson, revealed that
his salary was eight hundred dollars a week. The reviews were positive
and the only hitch was that Bowie fainted at the Radio City Music Hall
gig which publicity wise was good as it made the papers.  To keep the
media interested Defries contrived a plan to give them something to
write about. Defries announced to the press that Bowie was now about to
become involved in acting and a film project, Stranger In A Strange
Land, was currently underway with some other projects in the works as
well. The truth was of course that there were no films being made or
planned for that matter. Everything was going well for Defries with the
exception of a small problem he had with one of his artists, Iggy Pop.
Iggy got tired of watching the rising stardom of Ziggy Stardust while
waiting for his own turn. Iggy attempted to gain his own publicity by
slicing himself up in public with a steak knife. There was a need to
fill in the time while waiting for his stardom and you can only practice
so much. Drugs seemed like the perfect solution to relieve the hours of
boredom and Iggy and his band wasted no time procuring this remedy. Much
to the displeasure of Defries however the drugs were purchased by
pawning their sound equipment. To put an end to this restlessness
Defries booked a gig for Iggy near his home town at the Ford Theatre in
Detroit. Iggy appeared on several local radio shows in order to promote
the concert. On one particular show Iggy took his clothes off and
announced that he was masturbating to the listening audience. This
proved too much even for Defries and he took immediate action. MainMan
now had one less artist in its roster.

Whatever MainMan and RCA were doing to promote Bowie seemed to be
working well. Ziggy had sold eight thousand copies the first week it was
released and in comparison there were one hundred thousand advance
orders for Aladinsane. After the American tour Bowie left for Japan for
a five city tour consisting of eight concerts including a three night
stint in Tokyo. Defries took no risk this time and he secured a
guaranteed fee of six thousand dollars per show from the local
promoters. The audiences as it turned out  were less than a thousand in
some of the venues. These numbers were disappointing but because of the
guarantee the tour turned a profit, for MainMan anyway. Not one album in
British music history, apart from The Beatles, had more advance orders
than Aladinsane. On the British music charts it remained in the number
one position for eight weeks and went on to be named the album of the
year. Bowie also had four top ten hits. The first three, Jean Genie,
Drive In Saturday and Life On Mars could be expected but the fourth one
came as a surprise. Hoping to cash in on Bowie's popularity, Deram,
which was his former label before Mercury re-released The Laughing Gnome
and it also made it into the top ten. Taking all of this into
consideration it would be easy to assume that Ziggy was the star MainMan
said he was. This however, was just another illusion. Stardom still
eluded Ziggy Stardust, and Defries knew it. So did RCA.

The problem Defries faced was a problem which would continue to haunt
Bowie for the next decade.  Bowie was a true star at home in England and
as rock stars do he sold a lot of records. In America however his record
sales were no where near that of a successful rock star and his "image"
of stardom was one confined to the press. It was only because of the
press that his portrayal of a star  was believed in America as they
continued to fuel the fire with the articles that were read by the
public. It is easy to forget when someone is living in a world of
fantasy that there is such a thing as reality. As in most every case
reality eventually catches up and one is forced to face it. This
experience can be likened to being caught in a lie, and what happens
when one is caught in  lie is the very thing that  RCA, Bowie and
Defries were about to encounter. They were all about to encounter a real
life experience that is best described as,  "a rude awakening." With all
of the hype being generated from his successes in Britain it was easy to
become entangled with the belief that Ziggy was an international star.
There was no more dividing line anymore between what was the truth and
what was invention, for MainMan and the artists it employed anyway. At
RCA however things were a bit more sobering and it would not be long
before Defries' fantasy and RCA reality would come face to face. What no
one knew at the time, especially RCA, was that this face off would have
enormous consequences, more than anyone could have ever possibly
conceived of at the time. Who would have imagined that if Defries did
not have his way he would do the unthinkable. Rather than give in an
inch to what RCA wanted he decided instead to show them who was really
in control. Ziggy Stardust belonged to Defries, and if RCA needed any
proof of that all Defries had to do was kill him. That would remove all
doubt, and as it turned out, Defries had a loaded gun just waiting.

The biggest concert tour ever arranged in Britain calls on Bowie to
play  thirty seven cities in forty five days and one hundred and fifty
thousand tickets have sold the shows out weeks in advance. There is such
a high demand for tickets that Defries seizes the opportunity to cash in
by adding seventeen matinees to the tour The Aladinsane tour opens at
Earl's Court on May 12, 1973 to an audience of eighteen thousand which
was the largest audience ever to attend an indoor rock concert.  Tickets
that had a face value of two pounds were being sold by the scalpers for
prices upwards of twenty five pounds. The opening night however proves
somewhat of a disaster as the way the seating is arranged many can't see
the stage which results in a "free for all" for those wanting to
actually get a glimpse of the band. The show scheduled for the next
night is cancelled. The bad reviews for the first night were enough.
With the demand so great for Bowie in Britain it was only logical that
Defries had his sights set on a third American tour.  RCA was favourable
to a third American tour but had a different opinion than Defries on how
it was to be arranged.

Defries seemed to have forgotten something. What he forgot was that this
Ziggy Superstar Illusion he creates was just that, an illusion. He was
starting to believe his own hype and if you lie enough they say, you
forget what the truth is.  Defries wanted an American tour with seventy
to eighty concerts. There were to no more theatres either, these
concerts were all to be held in arena size venues. The tour would be
split 90/10 on the gross revenue from ticket sales with the local
promoters and of course it was Defries getting the ninety percent. These
promoters would be required to deliver a thirty percent guarantee of the
the gross in advance when the contracts were signed and these were not
negotiable. As Defries saw it,  you either take it or leave it. Period.
End of story.

RCA saw things a bit differently. It doesn't take one long to get a firm
grip on the reality of a situation when you have recently lost several
hundred thousand dollars. RCA had to remind Defries that contrary to
what he told everyone, that outside of his home country David Bowie was
not a star, and RCA had the losses to prove it.  In terms of sales, none
of Bowie's albums had gone Gold in the States. On the last tour,
although better than the first, ticket sales were poor in six out of the
sixteen cities Bowie played. RCA knew, and they were right, that Bowie
could not sell out an arena tour. They would commit to supporting a
tour, but only if Defries agreed to play in smaller venue. Defries was
not about to negotiate. In his mind David was the biggest star in the
seventies and the fact that America did not realize that was not his
problem. There would be no tour if Bowie did not play arenas. Better
yet, no tour, no Bowie. The plan was hatched since RCA would not budge.
The world was about to see the last of Ziggy Stardust and by the time it
all sunk in, Ziggy would be gone. Forever.

AlaDInsaNE

To be continued...........


""I don't begrudge any artist for finding an audience"
- David Bowie abt. 1987
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MinorboyDonatedPosted at 2025-01-01 22:44:06(3 wks ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 04)


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Fascinating read. Did you post Images 1, 2 and 3 because I must have missed them sadly.

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homebrewPosted at 2025-01-01 23:53:06(3 wks ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 04)


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Yes I did. They are in the Bowie General forum: https://www.bowiestation.com/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=27
Thank you.


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