About Jamie Soule Expertise I am able to answer questions about Bowie`s career and his personal life. I can provide in depth information about his music, what his lyrics mean, the recording sessions and the people he has worked with. On the business side I can tell you what companies he owns and how they work, such as Bowiebanc. I can answer questions on his personal life as well as each of his so called "characters." If you require information about his concerts I am able to give first hand accounts.
Experience I have been a David Bowie collector for 29 years. I have a large selection of biographies, discographies, magazine articles and newspaper reviews. I have well over 150 audio recordings and a major video library. I have seen every tour since 1974.
Publications No publications. However some of my essays are posted on websites at the request of the owner. I have a regular readership on alt.binaries.fan.david-bowie. I am often asked for answers to questions or to write articles
Question tell me some interesting stuff about Bowie that most people don't know or some nice info on glam.
Answer
Hi Lyn,
First of all may I ask you to please take the time to rate me as an expert once you have read my answer. This is very important as I wish to know if I am doing a satisfactory job.
It doesn't seem that your question is confined to one era of Bowie's career so I will give you some very interesting facts over much of Bowie's career which are not well known to most. If you require more information on any of these facts just write to me again.
1. Bowie was never gay or bisexual. This was a lie told to Melody Maker Magazine to get some press coverage. At the time Bowie's career was almost finished as Hunky Dory had been released and flopped and there was a fourteen city British tour where ticket sales were dismal. The idea was hatched by his manager Tony Defries and wife Angela. The article that appeared was called Oh You Pretty Thing and featured Bowie on the front cover. It caused so much controversy that the tour sold out in three days and there was an instant renewed interest in Bowie which saved his career.
2. During the American tour Tony Defries wanted Mick Ronson to announce that he was gay as the girls in the audience were paying more attention to him than Bowie. Ronson refused on moral grounds and actually quit when he was pushed by Defries. Eventually Defries backed down and things were resolved.
3. The original cover of The Man Who Sold The World showing Bowie in a dress was banned in the United States. The cover that replaced it was a cartoon of a man with a shotgun in front of a building. The building is a drawing of the Cane Hill Mental Hospital where Bowie's brother Terry Burns was a patient
4. The reason Bowie has a fixed pupil in one eye is from a thrashing he took in a school yard fight with George Underwood over a girl. Bowie was off school for six months and he and Underwood remained friends even to this day.
5. The reason Himmler is mentioned in Quicksand is because all top Nazi's were members of an occult society known as the Vril. They tied into Crowley's Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn an the Thule society.
6. The train on the beginning of Station To Station came from a sound effects record. Bowie showed up sixteen hours late for the sessions at Cherokee Studios. He had was still going strong on a cocaine binge which was now into it's fourth day. The song was written in fifteen minutes and they blew three Marshall Amplifiers in the process due to the noise levels.
7. Bowie writes everything in the studio. The lyrics come out at the microphone.
8. Bowie refused to do any promotional work for Low which thoroughly angered RCA. The reason he said was that Low, "Speaks for itself."
9. Lou Reed punched Bowie in 1978 for not picking up a bar bill in Berlin.
10. The song Always Crashing In The Same Car is a true story. Bowie attempted to run over a cocaine dealer in an underground parking lot whom he thought had ripped him off.
11. Bowie made seventy million dollars in 1983 and due to Swiss tax laws he probably only paid taxes of ten thousand dollars
12. Bowie set the record as the highest amount paid for a single performer at the US Festival in 1983. He was given 1.5 million dollars.
13. Bowie sent a letter to all of his employees, relatives and friends in 1983 stating that if they spoke to the media about him that he would never speak to them again.
14. Any magazine or other media which gave a negative review on Bowie in 83 was denied access to Bowie forever.
15. Bowie paid his band $2,000 dollars a week plus expenses for the 1978 tour. He offered the same musicians $1000.00 a week if they toured in 83. This explains why most did not return. Stevie Ray Vaughn was offered $300.00 per show.
16. Bowie's costumes and make up were not to be glam. Bowie was not glam yet the media was not educated enough to comprehend the origins of this look. Bowie took the idea from Japanese Kabuki theatre in which both male and female roles are played by men. Some of Bowie's costumes are obviously of Japanese origin. Many were designed by Freddi Buretti and Kansi Yakomoto.
17. Bowie was busted on a marijuana charge in 1977 with Iggy Pop. He beat the charge.
18. In 1977 during a satellite interview for Playboy magazine between Bowie and the famous writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Spain requested the emergency use of the satellite to announce to the world that their king Franco had passed away. Bowie told them to F**K Off and continued with the interview.
19. During the recording of Heroes they used six gated microphones. These gates would open the more Bowie pushed his voice and that is how they achieved the distinct vocal sound on the song.
20. Eno was only in the studio three days to record Low.
21. The song Lady Grinning Soul is about Claudia Linnear.
22. The Kether and Malkuth on the song Station To Station come from the Tree Of Life which is central to the teachings of The Kabala. The Kether is the crown and the Malkuth represents the earth. On the back of the Station To Station cd Bowie is drawing the Tree of Life.
23. In 1976 Bowie kept his urine, hair and fingernail clippings in the fridge of Michael Lipmans home where he was living. The reason was so they could not fall into the hands of those he thought wished to put spells on him.
24. In some cases over 50% of Bowie albums were returned from the store unpurcased during the seventies. Bowie was not a big seller.
25. Bowie's first Gold single (selling 500,000 copies) was Fame. His first Platinum album (selling one million copies) was Changesone.
26. Bowie was going to make Diamond Dogs into a stage production of George Orwell's book 1984. Orwell's widow refused to give Bowie the rights to use the book saying that he was too "weird."
27. Bowie does not own any part of Bowiebanc. He gets a flat fee for every fan which signs up.
28. Bowie bonds made Bowie fifty five million dollars and all of the bonds were bought by The Prudential Life Insurance Company Of America.
27. Angela Bowie received $70,000 as part of the divorce settlement and she was banned from speaking to the public about Bowie for seven years. Bowie got custody of their son Duncan.
28. Jean Genie is not about writer Jean Genet as most believe, it is about Iggy Pop.
27. Fame started out by John Lennon singing "shame " during a studio jam with Bowie.
28. Robin Clark who sings backing vocals on Young Americans is married to long time Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar.
29. Bowie convinced RCA to sign Iggy Pop. They gave Iggy money to get a band together, rent a studio and make an album. Iggy returned a short time later with no band and no album. He spent the money on drugs.
30. During the making of David Live the band went on strike for more money and refused to play. Bowie ended up throwing a chair at Herbie Flowers who was elected band spokesman. The band won and the show went on.
31. Because of the "bisexual" look Bowie received death threats on his first tour of America.
32. Low which is said to be Bowie's best work sold 176,000 copies in America on its release.
33. During the making of Lodger Bowie used a pointer to randomly point out chords to be played and this is how some songs were recorded.
34. Adrian Belew had not heard Boys Keep Swinging. Bowie told him to play a lead at random and it was added to the song.
35. Bowie is afraid to fly. The lease contract for the plane used for the 83 Serious Moonlight stipulated that the engines had to be stripped down and independently inspected..
36. Bowie had his books on the Nazi's confiscated by the Russian border guards. He protested saying he needed them for a play he was writing on the life of Goebels. They took the books anyway.
37. A concert ticket for the 1976 Station To Station tour in Montreal cost $8.50.
38. Bowie owned a home on the exclusive Caribbean island of Mustique. Homes rent there at a starting price of ten thousand dollars per week.
39. One of Bowie's teachers at school was Peter Frampton's father. Peter Frampton was the guitar player on the 1987 Glass Spider Tour.
40. Bowie owns a company called UltraStar which designs websites and is also an ISP. The company has done the websites for two American baseball teams, The New York Yankees and The Baltimore Orioles.
41. Bowie's favourite football team is the New York Giants
42. Although there is ample documentary on most tours, the 1976 Station To Station Tour is an exception. There is only one concert video with sound that exists and that is rehearsal footage shot by RCA on Feb 3 1976 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. It was never released although bootleg copies appear sometimes.
43. Bowie did not attend the funeral of Mick Ronson or his Brother. He did attend Marc Bolan's.
44. Red Money appeared on Iggy Pop's album The Idiot with different lyrics and was titled Sister Midnight
45. The main riff of the song Move On from Lodger is All The Young Dudes played backwards.
46. Jeff Beck played Jean Genie complete with a chorus of the Beatles Love Me Do with Bowie on harmonica at Ziggy's retirement concert at the Hammersmith Odeon. The song was cut from Ziggy The Motion Picture.
47. Sean Mayes the piano player from the 1978 tour died of AIDS in 1995.
48. Bowie recorded another song with Queen called Cool Cats that is only available on bootleg and it is a fantastic song.
49. The original It's No Game was written in 1970 and was called Tired Of My Life.
50) Barbara Streisand recorded a version of Life On Mars which Bowie called. "bloody awful."
Well, there are fifty little known facts about Bowie. I hope you found them interesting as well as humorous. If you want more just ask. Please do not forget to rate me as an expert. It helps.
