Is one of the biggest coups in rock n roll history about to occur?
Following more than one Coachella false alarm, one cannot help but remain a little skeptical concerning the rumour of David Bowie playing our Big Day Out festival this January.
Reactivating a music career on these antipodean shores is a stunning concept in every sense (Bowie has not played a full concert since 2004 nor released an album since 2003) but rumors are now flying around the local press - including one website suggesting Bowie will do an "exclusive acoustic set".
The first lineup for the Big Day Out is announced this Tuesday at 9 AM.
More and more sources are starting to list David Bowie as a headliner for next years Big Day Out. Apparently David Bowie was very near appearing at the Big Day Out a few years back, but the deal fell through at the last moment. This time he's very close to appearing again, and it may well be an acoustic set. It would also seem that Muse is a shoe-in for the Big Day Out and is all but confirmed. The first official announcement is on the morning of September 29th, with more announced later in the year, and we shall report it here the moment acts are confirmed.
well, fingers crossed here too, but I wouldn't hold my hopes too high.
Last time the rumour he was recording in Berlin also appeared on major news sites...
-----------------------------------------------
David Bowie facebook group
One aspect not considered with the Reality tour down here was the potentially MASSIVE youth market. With tickets at $175 a pop, they were simply priced out of the equation.
This 200 page thread on a general music forum, however, is probably some indication. Most of these people were probably barely teenagers when he toured last:
"Actually I'd be very happy with bowie."
"Bowie would be perfect."
"The idea that David Bowie could play under Muse at a music festival confuses and terrifies me."
"Would go for Bowie alone."
"There's no way Bowie would play under Muse. Ever."
"I would love to see Bowie live"
"If Bowie plays it will be a joint headliner like 2008, both artists getting an hour and a half slot."
"That wasn't really a joint headliner, more both bands playing for an hour and a half, but Bowie would be awesome... "
"If Bowie was at BDO, I would go to every single one...and all the sideshows, then right at the end when he is planning to leave me I would kidnap him and lock him up in my basement..."
"There is no way Bowie would play at all. Any show. Anywhere for a while."
"Sigh"
"Sigh, dreams are free. Bowie playing BDO would redeem the festival of booking every shit act that has ever played."
For those that may not know, the Big Day Out is NOT a one off performance but actually AN ENTIRE TOUR IN ITSELF - playing all the major cities around AUS / NZ in addition to further side shows.
Bowie was originally going to launch the entire Earthling album and tour at this festival (it would have immediately followed the 50th Birthday Madison Square concert) but they could not come to an agreement at the time.
This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 26, 2009 10:50 AM
If any concert promoter wants to generate almost instant publicity, all they have to do is mention the name Bowie to get people interested. The exact same technique works with magazines who want to generate an increase in circulation/sales. The magic word used to be 'Sha-Zaam', now it's Bowie.
They're talking about a guy who cancelled his show at the Highline festival (more or less on his own doorstep btw), who is going to fly halfway around the world to play at some show, which most people in the Northern hemisphere have never heard of.
Won't happen.
In fact, I just this minute thought that maybe Bowie has a deal with promoters, whereby they can use his name as publicity to generate interest in something and in return, Bowie receives some amount of payment, plus it keeps his name in the public eye for all these re-issues. All without lifting a finger or singing a note.
You are right Mist BUT on the point of northerners having never heard of it, the Big Day Out attracted nearly 300,000 patrons last year across only 6 dates ... more than a third of Bowie's 10 month long Reality sojourn - the longest of his career.
It has pulled the likes of Neil Young, Iggy and The Stooges, Nirvana, Kraftwerk, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins and Coldplay - and made up of almost entirely of a youth market that Bowie should be aiming for.
Indeed, Bowie WAS aiming for it in 1997 when he TRIED to lead off the entire Earthling album and tour with BDO dates. Apparently an agreement could not be made due to Bowie's no-hits policy.
This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 26, 2009 12:01 PM This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 26, 2009 11:59 AM
I was being a bit pedantic when I said that about the Big Day Out but most Northeners haven't heard of it in my view, at least.
I live in Marseille, Southern France and quite honestly, I can count on the fingers of one hand, the amount of people who are aware of Bowie here, nevermind his cultural influence on modern music. I'm saying this because Marseille is only a two hour flight from britain, so I would expect him to be well known, if not exactly popular here, but that isn't the case.
IMO, I think Bowie is suffering from stage fright and lack of confidence. That's quite understandable, given his reported health problems. I noticed it when he appeared on Fashion Rocks and The Black Ball. He seemed completely different from 1997, not just in appearance, but in his general aura.
Of course, it could be something trivial. For example, we looked at recent pics of him posted on the French 'Man Of Music' site last night and one of the pics was very large and Bowie was smiling, thus showing his teeth.
The top front six teeth are very white but the ones behind are a sort of greyish, silver so obviously the front ones are artificial.
That's what I mean by something trivial. Maybe he's scared that singing a full set in front of X amount of people, that midway during his set in the middle of a song, his gnashers might shoot out of his mouth!! Not such a great stage effect. Maybe Iman is nagging him, giving him a hard time about something.
Little things like that could erode the confidence that he once had in abundance.
As Bowie himself said (admittedly back in 1983), that he was smart enough to realise that his best bet in life was himself.
There could be many reasons, and that's why I stick by my original reply to you. He won't do it. It's the promoters using his name as publicity for the event in the hope that they'll sell loads of tickets after which, there will be an announcement a month or so before the event, that Bowie has withdrawn from appearing.
"I live in Marseille, Southern France and quite honestly, I can count on the fingers of one hand, the amount of people who are aware of Bowie here"
You might be right about that - I remember being surprised at how easy it was to get Carcassonne tickets a few years ago and then being even more surprised at how small the venue was when I visited it a couple years later. Beautiful though - it would have been a great night.
I agree it is almost certainly publicity rumours. I'd give it a 1% chance that it is otherwise but sometimes, one wins the lotto.
Bowie's biggest concert audiences have always been down here - as proven yet again by the Reality Tour where the shows down under were almost twice the size of the largest ones up over. If he wanted to play to the maximum amount of people with the least amount of effort, this is exactly how it would be done.
Lower the ticket price to a more reasonable $70-$90 (about the equivalent of overseas tickets) and I am certain he will do venues of 50,000+ patrons again. He got half that amount last time but that was at a ridiculous $175 - wiping out what I believe was a lot more than half the potential audience.
Your stage fright theory is interesting. I imagine it's one of those things where the longer you put it off, the harder it gets.
One final element of hope I have for Bowie here is that neither Iman or Lexy have visited Australia - something Bowie has stated himself. Last time, Lexy was too young and they had to stay at home. Now she is the perfect age for marsupial appreciation, beach appreciation, etc.
This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 26, 2009 2:04 PM This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 26, 2009 1:59 PM
This is starting to make sense.The timing is Great for Bowie to do a exclusive acoustic set of NEW songs
and PART 2 of his Show he is joined by Carlos Alomar George Murray, Earl Slick to do the 1976 Tour set
to promote the Station to Station Live Nassau 1976 CD .cant wait..........
David has a huge fear of flying, Even on the Reality tour he talked about his phobia of flying, I just can't see a man who hasn't been on a plane in god knows when take a 28 hour flight to play a few shows.
Oh and Adam, Iman and Lexie were reported to have arrived last time in Wgt'n N.Z. for A Reality Tour to join David, Valentines Day, they were either at the hotel or on the boat.
I assume they went on to Australia ?.
That guy Ken West that said confirmed, i assume he is the real Ken West (promoter), but i see that comment has been removed.
Fingers crossed.
I meen if they use his name in the line-up Tuesday, they would have to have paid a few hundy thousand deposit, right ?. Like Bell did for the failed millennium gig.
I give this a 95% of being false. Every major festival has a rumor that Bowie will perform (Coachella, anyone?). If Bowie decides to make a comeback, I hardly think it would start halfway around the world in NZ.
Sorry about the NZ comment. Beautiful country, I just don't think it would be Bowie's choice for a comeback. London or New York would be the logical choice.
Call me an old cynic, but isn't this the BDO publicity dept going into the yearly 'Bowie to appear' diatribe mode? "Don't believe the hype" as PE would say. I'm sure it'll be quashed in the next few days by Blammo?
Here's hoping anyway.
I say it will be quashed Tuesday morning with the announcement of the first lineup.
What I do call bullshit on is people acting like we're an isolated hicksville.
Consider that it will be the middle of our summer in January. That makes a HUGE difference because Bowie only ever plays here in the warmer months. Down under is a reasonable chance IF a tour was to kick off in January. People keep reiterating "oh, it's too far". 12 hours flight from the US. Big deal. Try challenging either of these two points:
1. AUS/NZ contain BY FAR his biggest, lucrative concert audiences.
2. Bowie wanted to launch the entire Earthling album by touring AUS / NZ and at none other than the BIG DAY OUT FESTIVAL (straight after Madison Square Garden). The promoters are probably desperate to get him back.
Yes, it isn't going to happen but probably not for the reasons many of you are stating.
This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 27, 2009 6:33 AM This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 27, 2009 3:07 AM
I've been to the Sydney BDO a few times, several of them for free as guests of a band with whom an old mate of mine from the UK (now Ireland) was working as sound engineer. He'd done the tour a few times and he says the northern hemisphere bands love it. They get to leave the cold north, schlepping around Europe or North America in the snow, staying in crap motels and playing gigs every other night and get to come to Australia in the middle of summer for a month, only gigging once a week or so and the rest of the time they're staying in posh hotels and going to the beach. They fucking love it. They call it the Big Day Off. It's extremely popular with bands as they get paid to have a holiday in the sun.
____________________________________________
This message has been edited by Nibbler3000 on Sep 27, 2009 3:25 AM
"1. AUS/NZ contain BY FAR his biggest, lucrative concert audiences"
I would bet there is more bowie fans in AUS/NZ than all of north America put together, he played to half full arena's on Outside and Reality tours in the states.
I think it won't happen ,,but ,wouldn't it be great But I can tell you
it's Dam Hot here at that time of year and I really think Bowie has lost
his Hunger,,
Be There
Done That .
bats
Rock legend in Big Day out
Article from: NEWS.com.au
ALISON STEPHENSON
September 28, 2009 01:52pm
IT seems ageing rockstars are the thing music festival dreams are made of next year's Big Day Out line-up are true.
David Bowie is the latest name to be thrown into the mill, with several sources adamant he will be heading down under to headline Australia's biggest touring festival.
The 62-year-old will follow in the footsteps of Neil Young, who was a surprise addition to Big Day Out lineup in 2009.
Bowie is reportedly being included in the January 2010 line-up in an effort to appeal to an older audience.
Triple J, who will announce the official line-up about the Big Day Out 2010 lineup have been circulating the internet like crazy today," the website said.
"Here at triple j we've eyed the official line up and can inform you that the one floating around online is accurate."
Miranda Brown, publicist for the Big Day Out also confirm the whispers.
"The line-up and dates for Big Day Out will be announced tomorrow morning on Triple J," Brown said.
Other surprise include Lily Allen, who just last week announced she was giving up music for good.
Dance Music website inthemix.com.au announced Groove Armada, Calvin Harris and Dizzee Rascal were strongly rumoured to be making an appearance.
The are thought to have originated on Last.fm, who placed details of the Adelaide Big Day Out on it page.
According to the events website, the following artists are due to perform:
Muse, David Bowie, Placebo, Massive Attack, Kasabian, Lily Allen, Jet, Groove Armada, Rise Against, The Mars Volta, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Calvin Harris, Foals, Mastodon, Dizzee Rascal, Girl Talk, Powderfinger, Josh Pyke, The Dead Weather, Grinspoon, The Temper Trap, Karnivool, Monsters of Folk, Tame Impala, Dappled Cities, The Middle East, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Regular John and Former Child Stars
Triple J are not the organisers - but they are more than likely people in the know. 6 AM is only 4 hours time. They probably should have done this sooner as the real lineup is going to be a pretty major disappointment now - for everyone.
Paul Cashmere points out some harsh realities in that article but it probably had to be done. The vast majority of the press and public seem to be oblivious to Bowie's situation these last 5 or 6 years:
Bowie has been out of action for the last five years following a heart attack while on his previous A Reality tour. In 2004, the singer fell ill while performing in Germany and was rushed to hospital. Surgeons performed an emergency operation for an acutely-blocked artery.
Bowie has been out of the public eye ever since. The only peep anyone has heard from him was on January 6 this year when it was reported that Bowie twittered "Cheers from snowy Berlin! Working on some new material". It was never confirmed if the tweet was genuine or not.*
He is 62 years old now. His last album was Reality in 2003.
If the Bowie Big Day Out story was for real, it would make a good follow-up to Neil Youngs 2009 Big Day Out appearance.
Alas, it is not.
* pretty sure that was denied.
This message has been edited by AdamD on Sep 28, 2009 6:01 PM
Not impressed by the lineup. Don't think I fancy it. I wouldn't mind seeing The Horrors and The Temper Trap, but the rest....yawnfest.
EDIT: The Official Lineup:
Muse
Powderfinger
Lilly Allen
Eskimo Joe
Groove Armada
Grinspoon
The Mars Volta
Ladyhawke
Dizzee Rascal
Karnivool
Peaches
The Temper Trap
Kasabian
Midnight Juggernauts
Rise Against
Magic Dirt
Mastodon
Lisa Mitchell
The Horrors
Bluejuice
Calvin Harris
Kisschasy
The Decemberists
Tame Impala
Girl Talk
This message has been edited by Nibbler3000 on Sep 28, 2009 9:18 PM
That said it seems the rest of the family are mad keen, so I might be going.
I was well pissed off with them last year because we intended to take my son and eldest daughter, but you could only buy two tickets per household (and not get them in the shops, like you used to be able to). This year they've gone back to allowing you to buy four tickets, so I might think about it. In the last 12 months my eldest daughter has become a gigging freak (albeit with crap bands) and she's very keen to go BDO.
I mainly went last year because it was the cheapest way to see Neil Young. According to reports, it was an even better concert than his side show. That said, the side shows usually are better so most years, I only go if I can find maybe 2 or 3 bands I'd be spending $80 or $90 plus. These ones I wouldn't give much more $20. I know some people love Muse but I just find them boring.
For your gig going daughter, I would recommend Dappled Cities, Jack Ladder and Darren Hanlon which all reside in Sydney and play small but quality shows. Your job Stu is going to be somehow to gradually, calmly edge her away from crap bands. Don't let her know you're doing it. Do it by stealth. Undercover.
Another promising new Sydneysider I'd say is Fergus Brown. I think you pointed him out to me originally - he does that sequel song to John, I'm Only Dancing.
I'm very familiar with the work of Dappled Cities and Jack Ladder and slightly familiar with that of Darren Hanlon. She'd probably like Dappled Cities, but I doubt if she'd like the other two, at least at this stage. Blues and folk are a bit much for a pop princess. She's off to see Kisschasy at the uni at the weekend. God help us.
I vaguely remember Fergus Brown, though I'd forgotten all about him. I must take another look.
Talking of Aussie bands, I'm very enamoured, currently, with the work of Kid Sam, Hungry Kids of Hungary and Shady Lane. And the new Decoder Ring album is top notch.
just saw the horrors last week and they were feckin' excellent
(as were support band crocodiles).
kasabian always put on a stormin' live show.
muse are great live (although way too prog for my taste)
if this doesn't spark his enthousiasm, I don't know what it takes, but probably nothing we can give him. To be in the top 5 of what was it, NME, of wannasee headliners on the festivals...
Well after such a long silence I think that's a bloody big achievement.
-----------------------------------------------
David Bowie facebook group
one would have to conclude that is the reason why he just packed his things and left without a word.
I too believe it's a health issue, it's the only thing that makes sense really.
-----------------------------------------------
David Bowie facebook group
![[linked image]](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e111/abbeystump/bowiesback.jpg)
[/IMG]
![[linked image]](http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd279/doctoroctopussy/Dali.jpg)
![[linked image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/96dbFreak/gnash1.jpg)
![[linked image]](http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/iggyziggy3/000b0kxc.gif)
