Remembering David Bowie, TVC 15 And More!

A great deal has been said and written about David Bowie in the past few days. We have been highlighting Bowie hits all weekend on New Jersey 101.5!

At this time, since it has all been said..I figured that it would be appropriate to republish what I wrote about David Bowie, here at NJ101.5, back in 2012...

"My T-V-C one five, he, he just stares back unblinking..."

The above picture of a record label caught my attention. A "solid center" copy of David Bowie's 1976 hit "TVC 15" has been located in England...and sold for a bundle of cash. By the way, the record recently enjoyed it's 36th birthday (originally released Friday April 30th, 1976).

This isn't just any TVC 15. A solid center pressing has evaded collectors for so long that it was believed not to exist! Not a big deal in the larger scheme of things, except to die-hard record collectors.

While 45s with the "big hole in the middle" were standard in the U.S., a friend of mine has purchased many original British pressings of hits from the '60s and '70s, with the solid center.

While we're at it, what do you know about Ziggy Stardust...I mean....Davy Jones....um...Bowie?!

Bowie was born David Robert Jones, in London, on January 8, 1947. He studied art, music and design at technical school, and formed his first band, "The Konrads" at age 15. While playing at youth gatherings and weddings, Davie dreamed of being Mick Jagger.

He moved on to the bands "The King Bees," "The Manish Boys," and "The Lower Third."

"Early Bowie" (Craig Allen photo).

The above CD, from my collection,

highlights the efforts of the "Lower Third."

I particularly like the song "Can't Help Thinking About Me."

Unhappy being billed as Davy (and Davie) Jones, which by the mid 1960s caused confusion with the late Davy Jones of the "Monkees," he renamed himself David Bowie after Jim Bowie, and the Bowie knife.

Bowie achieved initial fame with his 1969 hit "Space Oddity," which was released around the time that man landed on the moon.

In 1972, in the midst of the "glam rock" phenomenon, Bowie re-emerged, in flashy costume with dyed red hair, as "Ziggy Stardust." A "cult of Bowie" resulted.

Then, breaking with the gender-bending Stardust personna, David Bowie moved to the U.S. in 1974 (and back to Europe in 1976).

Bowie had a string of hits through the mid to late 1970s, including "Rebel, Rebel,"

"Changes,"

"Young Americans" (the album was recorded in Philadelphia),

"Fame" (a #1 song, co-written by John Lennon),

"Golden Years," and "TVC 15" (seen at the top of the article).

He teamed with "Queen," releasing "Under Pessure" in 1981.

David Bowie cemented his superstar status with the release of 1983's "Let's Dance," co-produced by "Chic's" Nile Rodgers.

"Let's Dance" (#1),

"China Girl" (#10)...

...and "Modern Love" (#14) made Bowie a major Top-40 artist of the '80s, and an MTV star.

When I bought my first CD player in 1985, this "Best of Bowie"...

One of the first CDs in my collection. (Craig Allen photo).

...was one of the first CDs that I bought (that day)!

David Bowie has appeared on stage and in film and on TV, and has continued to (sporadically) record, and tour.

He continues to experiment with musical styles, including blue-eyed soul, industrial, and adult contemporary. David Bowie was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

What is David Bowie doing now? Click here!"

This is what I wrote almost 4 years ago...enjoy David Bowie's music on New Jersey 101.5...

...and check out his new work...released last Friday...