OK I realise that for some of you on the European side of the pond that this post is a little late, just a little, but late nonetheless. I will blame it on the trains not being able to cope with the snow, in other words it took me bloody ages to get home. But I couldn’t let the day go by without mentioning two very special birthdays. David Bowie was 63 on January 8th and Elvis Presley would have been 75 on the same day. As many of you know I am somewhat of a sad anorak so I’ll admit to all of you now, I wore my Bowie cufflinks to work today. I always thought it was quite cool that Bowie was born exactly 12 years after Elvis and then I was born 12 years after that. well mine wasn’t exactly 12 years as I popped out too early, I was born a week before Mr Bowie’s (or Mr Jones as he was then)12th birthday and therefore one week before Elvis was 24. There are other similarities though; Elvis and Bowie are rock icons and I was an accountant and a true finance icon. Well ok that last bit was complete bollocks really wasn’t it?
So to commemorate those respective birthdays here are a few songs that don’t get aired enough;
The artwork from the original Diamond Dogs cover, the one with no airbrushing, this really is the dogs bollocks!
“Rock And Roll With Me” – David Bowie. This track is from my favourite Bowie album, Diamond Dogs which was released in 1974. It was also a co write for Bowie with someone who went by the name of Warren Peace (get it?). He was in fact one GA MacCormack a school friend of David’s when he was growing up in Bromley. Some have alleged that it was him who had the fight with Bowie that caused the damage to his eye that gives him that alien other worldly look. Diamond Dogs is also one of the few albums back in the old vinyl days that I actually wore out. I think that may well be the subject of a future post!
“Quicksand” – David Bowie – One of my favourite Bowie songs that in fact didn’t make my top 100 songs post, but I did limit the Bowie songs in that list. I love the lyrics especially the rather morbid line “knowledge comes in death’s release” Also this was the song that he opened his set with at the Pheonix Festival in 1997. I went there with my good friend Jes Hyde who does have some rather good taste, in that this is one of his favourite songs, however he also likes some of the 80’s stuff, like “Modern Love”
Elvis thought that his time in the army was mostly just pants. Or perhaps he was working in counter intelligence to thwart the underpants bomber!
“Are You Lonesome Tonight” – Elvis Presley – This is the famous laughing version and frankly it is pretty infectious, it always cheers me up if I feel a bit down at least. What do you think?
“Hound Dog” – Elvis Presley – This version is taken from Elvis’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. It’s quite amazing that just over 50 years ago this was considered overtly sexual and very racy
One of these men was a criminal and the other made some criminally bad movies
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 
David Bowie cufflinks? Very cool.
I’m not sure if Diamond Dogs is my favorite Bowie album, but it’s definitely in my top three.
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Actually I have some Bob Marley cufflinks too 🙂
OK so if Diamond Dogs is in your top 3 Bowie albums what are the other two?
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I’d have to put Ziggy in there and, mainly because it arrived when I was really discovering music, Let’s Dance.
(although, artistically, I can’t really make a case for the later compared to the first two)
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I would have been surprised if Ziggy hadn’t been there, it’s usually in my top three Bowie albums, given that it is the first I ever bought, way back in 1972!
As you only began to get into music at the time of Let’s Dance I can forgive you for that inclusion. I very rarely play any of his 80s albums these days though. But like the sad Bowie completist that I am I still have every album
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C’mon, Let’s Dance??? DD and Ziggy a tie. HD and StS a tie. Then you have to pick individual songs as no other album is as complete, front to back, as theses four imho.
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