DAVID BOWIE is to headline the 10th Anniversary of the MuchMusic Video Awards. The show takes place on 23rd September in Toronto, Canada.

DAVID BOWIE has persuaded record company bosses to release his new album 'hours...' over the Internet first. The classic song-driven CD can be downloaded from 21st September, but won't be in the high street shops until 4th October.

For the first time ever in the history of the music business, a major recording artist and a leading record company are joining with retail to bring a complete album to music fans via download from the Internet.

On Tuesday, September 21st, David Bowie and Virgin Records will make the ten songs from the artist's new album 'hours...' available via download from the Internet from any participating retailer. As a special bonus to the web-surfing music fan, an eleventh new track offered exclusively through the download will be provided. This exciting opportunity is being made available in conjunction with over 50 retailer outlets for only the two weeks prior to the album's actual in-store retail date of October 4th.

Announcing the new venture, Virgin Worldwide Vice Chairman Nancy Berry said, "David Bowie is one of the most technologically well informed and culturally progressive artists in the world. It is only natural that he be the first musician to bring his art to his fans in this manner. We are very excited to be part of this experiment in new music distribution with David and our distribution channel EMI Music Distribution (EMD). Although this process is not indicative of how Virgin will conduct business in the future, we are excited to be pioneering this development and look forward to many other exciting and ground-breaking advances."

Comments David Bowie, "I couldn't be more pleased to have the opportunity of moving the music industry closer to the process of making digital download available as the norm and not the exception. We are all aware that these broadband opportunities are not yet available to the overwhelming majority of people. However, just as colour television broadcasts and film content on home video tapes were required first steps to cause their industries to expand consumer use, I am hopeful that this small step will lead to larger steps by myself and others ultimately giving consumers greater choices and easier access to the music they enjoy. Concurrently, the Internet, with its low barriers of entry will allow retailers large and small to compete on a level playing field. This can only be of benefit to the consumer."

The music from 'hours...' will be downloadable in the Secure Digital Music Initiative-compatible formats Microsoft Audio 4.0 and Liquid Audio. (Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) is the global organisation of record and technology companies formed to develop a set of guidelines for digital distribution that safeguard original content). Microsoft and Liquid Audio will establish technical support in the United States as of September 21 to assist cyber savvy music fans with the download process. The download will be available via the major participating retailers, through which the fans will also be able purchase an actual CD with all the graphics, lyrics and recording information, not available from the download.

Comments Jay Samit, Senior Vice President, New Media, EMI Recorded Music, "While various artists have put singles on the web, this is the first time a full album has ever been available via digital download. It makes perfect sense that such a feat be spearheaded by David Bowie, possibly the most Web savvy of all artists and someone who has been on the cutting edge of popular culture. We are proud to be working with him in this endeavour and look forward to learning about customer behaviour with respect to this new distribution channel".

Comments Richard Cottrell, President and CEO, EMI Music Distribution, "We fully respect the role our retailers' play in selling our artists' music and therefore, we are pleased to further support their position by making this exciting initiative only available via their existing web sites. By distributing the digital download via our retailer sites we gain, for David Bowie's album, the maximum impact from the power of the retailer brands and their consumer reach".

Already a visionary in the field of the Internet as early as 1983, David Bowie's record breaking "Serious Moonlight" tour conducted all worldwide communications through a new process known as electronic mail. By 1988, Bowie had the first artist news group on the Internet. As the Internet evolved to the utilisation of the World Wide Web, Bowie pioneered both the earliest music web sites and later the world's first cybercast. He broke new ground once again in 1997 with his Internet only release of the drum and bass single "Telling Lies". 1998 saw the launch of BowieNet (www.davidbowie.com), the first artist created Internet service provider in the world. BowieNet offers uncensored access to the Internet, including news, sports, finance and the best music and entertainment coverage on the web. For Bowie fans and indeed all music fans. BowieNet provides previously unreleased material, videos, photos and show reviews from all genres of music. It also offers real time chats and cyber casts (both live and archived) from David himself and a host of other artists.

Competition number 3 - to win 1 of ten copies of the PLACEBO/DAVID BOWIE 'Without You I'm Nothing' ends at midnight (GMT) tomorrow evening (31st). Last chance to get your entries in.

As expected (26th Aug news) DAVID BOWIE turned up on the JOHN PEEL night on BBC2 last night. What was unexpected was the broadcasting of the previously unseen outtake 'Oh You Pretty Things' from The Old Grey Whistle Test performance in 1972. This outtake was "the earth is a bitch" line removal version.

BBC Radio One's MARK and LARD (Radcliffe and Riley) announced that DAVID BOWIE would be playing a live session on their radio show during the first week of October with a scaled-down band.

The Manchester twosome also gave 'Thursday's Child' it's first airing in the UK and both agreed it was an "excellent single".

Starting today and each week until 25th September you have the opportunity to win one of 20 FREE COPIES of the soon-to-be published 'Strange Fascination: David Bowie - The Definitive Biography' written by David Buckley and published by Virgin.

Alternatively, if you would prefer not to enter the competition and simply purchase a copy at a "special discount price" - see below.

New York museum to host rock exhibit : - Starting December 6th, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will be hosting a "Fashion In Rock" exhibit featuring items from some of the biggest names in rock history. After much resistance, the Metropolitan Museum agreed to do the exhibit to draw a younger audience, and they called on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame curator Jim Henke to assemble a winning collection. "Basically what we've been trying to do is really sort of go from the '50s to the '90s and try to hit everyone that you think of when you think of rock style," he said. "So there's people like Madonna and David Bowie and Elton John and all these people who dress up on stage. And then we're breaking the exhibit down into different categories." Not only will the exhibit run in New York, it will travel to London then to Cleveland, the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"SEVEN" is the latest piece of the 'hours...' jigsaw to be posted on BowieNet.

BowieNet members have the unique opportunity to take an exclusive first look at the new album cover artwork and the new tracks from the forthcoming DAVID BOWIE album 'hours...' slowly revealed piece by piece until the week of release.

The tracks posted so far are:

JOHN PEEL NIGHT
BBC2, Sunday, 29th August at 6.20pm.

To celebrate John Peel's 60th birthday this week, the BBC have dedicated an evening to his vision.

'Strange Fascination' by David Buckley is published by Virgin on September 23rd 1999 priced £20.00. If you would like to receive a copy of Strange Fascination at the special discount price of £16.00 including postage and packing then please send your name, address and credit card details, or a cheque made payable to Virgin Publishing Ltd and send to:

In conjunction with this special offer there will also be a Wonderworld competition with your chance to win one of 20 FREE COPIES of the book. Competition details announced very shortly.

There is an exclusive DAVID BOWIE interview in the October issue of the brilliant UNCUT magazine.

SEAN MAYES knew and toured with DAVID BOWIE at the height of his fame in the early 1970s with Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. By 1978 he had been welcomed as a fully fledged member of Bowie's band. Over these years of touring and playing together Sean gained a unique insider's knowledge of this most distant and enigmatic of rock stars.

'WE CAN BE HEROES' is the culmination of several years on the road with the most influential and successful artist of his generation. Containing in-depth personal insights and recollections, this book is an essential purchase for any Bowie fan, or indeed any one interested in the excessive lifestyles of pop stars at the absolute peak of their powers.

FEATURES:
* Touring, hotel life, drugs, groupies, fans, and Bowie's private life.
* The recording of the classic albums Lodger and double live LP Stage.
* Never-before-seen photos of Bowie, both on stage and behind the scenes.
* The legendary recording sessions with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti.
* Full 1978 tour chronology.

PUBLICITY:
* Bowie will release a new album and begin a world tour in the Summer of 1999.
* Bowie's media profile is presently as high as it has ever been (especially on the Net)

Sean Mayes was the keyboard player in Fumble during the early Seventies. It was during an appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1972 that he met and formed a long lasting friendship with David Bowie. He also wrote biographies of Kate Bush and Joan Armatrading. Sean died in 1995.

Size: 198 x 130 mm ISBN: 1-897783-17-5
Price: £7.99 Paperback: 160 pgs

DAVID BOWIE is to play Wembley Stadium in the UK on 9th October for the NetAid concerts intended to raise awareness of global poverty and to benefit African and Kosovar refugees.

Tickets priced £45 seated, £35 general admission (max 6 per person, plus booking fee) available at the following outlets:

Wembley Box Office 0870 738 2000 / wbo.co.uk
TicketWeb 0171 771 2000 TicketWeb
Ticketmaster 0870 843 2000 / ticketmaster
First Call 0870 906 3743 / firstcalltickets.com
Way Ahead 0870 121 0120 / tickets-online.co.uk
Stargreen 0171 734 8932

Also on the bill at Wembley Stadium will be Bush, The Corrs, The Eurythmics, George Michael, Stereophonics and Robbie Williams.

Organisers describe NetAid as an attempt to inspire action by bringing together for the first time the power of the Internet, television, radio, and world-renowned artists and producers. Among the producers responsible for the event are David Goldberg, Harvey Goldsmith, Ken Kragen, Don Mischer and Jeff Pollack.

VH1 and MTV will broadcast the concerts in the US, and BBC television and radio will carry them in the Great Britain. Radio Express will distribute a radio feed of the concerts worldwide, and negotiations are in progress for additional television rights around the world. The entire event will be webcast live on two channels - one carrying the concert, the second showing backstage scenes.

Technology giant Cisco Systems is underwriting the cost of NetAid, is managing the overall program along with the United Nations Development Programme, and is leading the development and coordination of the event's technology and marketing.

Cisco says NetAid web site, which will continue indefinitely after the concerts, will have the capacity to handle 125,000 live streams - about 10 times the scale of any other streaming site - and 60 million hits per hour. Management of the site will be turned over the UNDP following the concert.

Proceeds from the Oct. 9 concerts will be disbursed to help the refugees of Kosovo and African countries. In all, 110,000 tickets will be available for the shows at Wembley and Giants stadiums. Organisers so far haven't publicly predicted how much money the shows will raise for charity.

Rob Evans for Livedaily.com read full article here.

Yesterday's BowieNet "live chat" with FLORIA SIGISMONDI the Canadian music video director and photographer. Who's work includes David's 'Little Wonder' and 'Dead Man Walking'.

Filming of the VH1 StoryTellers filming took place last night at Sony Studios in New York.

Life On Mars / Thursday's Child / Can't Help Thinking About Me / Seven / China Girl / Rebel Rebel (truncated) / Survive / Word On A Wing / Drive In Saturday.

Thursday's Child (repeat) / I Can't Read / Always Crashing In The Same Car / If I'm Dreaming My Life / The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell

The final four songs of the encore may not be included in the actual television showing, according to attendees. Also, at the beginning of the encore, they re-recorded some of Mike Garson's keyboards for 'China Girl' and 'Word On A Wing' before repeating 'Thursday's Child'.

David was wearing a big, grey, hooded sweatshirt with black boot-legged leggings and black platformed Reebok-style sneakers. He looked trim as ever, and was very energetic, with shoulder-length layered hair.

Reports also say Bowie and band were definitely plugged-in and rocking, he also told lots of stories.

DAVID BOWIE is to play Wembley Stadium in the UK on 9th October for the NetAid concerts intended to raise awareness of global poverty and to benefit African and Kosovar refugees.

Tickets priced £45 seated, £35 general admission (max 6 per person, plus booking fee) go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday) available on the official credit card hotline 0870 738 2000 at 9.00 am

Wembley 0870 738 2000 / wbo.co.uk
TicketWeb 0171 771 2000 TicketWeb
Ticketmaster 0870 843 2000 / ticketmaster
First Call 0870 906 3743 / firstcalltickets.com
Way Ahead 0870 121 0120 / tickets-online.co.uk
Stargreen 0171 734 8932

Also on the bill at Wembley Stadium will be Bush, The Corrs, The Eurythmics, George Michael, Stereophonics and Robbie Williams.

Tomorrow BowieNet is pleased to bring you a "live chat" with FLORIA SIGISMONDI the Canadian music video director and photographer. Who's work includes David's 'Little Wonder' and 'Dead Man Walking'.

Chat times: Tuesday, August 24th at 7:00 p.m. (EST); Tuesday, August 24th at midnight (GMT); Tuesday, August 24th at 4:00 p.m. (PST) .

If you have any questions you would like to ask Floria BEFORE the live chat, you can e-mail your questions to info@davidbowie.com - they will use these pre-chat questions in addition to your live questions.

Glam-rock icon DAVID BOWIE and soul-pop band Texas have been added to the lineup of the massive Oct. 9 NetAid benefit concerts, organizer Jeff Pollack said Friday (Aug. 20).

The concerts will take place simultaneously at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Wembley Stadium in London and the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Proceeds from the concerts mainly will benefit refugees in Africa and Kosovo, but organizers said the primary goal of NetAid is not to raise money, but to raise awareness of global poverty, primarily through the Web.

NetAid also will include a joint performance by U2 frontman Bono and Fugees rapper Wyclef Jean. The duo will sing "New Day," a song they wrote together specifically for the cause, according to Pollack, who said the other members of U2 are not scheduled to appear at the concert.

"[Bono is] one of the gods, man. ... It was incredible," Jean said about their song while backstage at Woodstock '99 in July. "We wrote it together. It's like hip-hop meets U2 in one world, and you all are going to love it."

Bono and Wyclef Jean will film a video together for the song next week, according to Pollack.

Bowie and Texas join a lineup announced Aug. 12 that includes Who guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, George Michael, Counting Crows, Jewel and Bush.

Celine Dion, the Eurythmics, Robbie Williams and the Corrs also are scheduled to play, according to that announcement.

Bowie's adventuresome career has spanned more than three decades and has taken him from the glam rock of "Rebel Rebel" to the art rock of "Heroes" and, most recently, to electronica.

Although another organizer, Don Mischer, initially said 12 to 15 acts would be added to the lineup, Pollack said the final number may be even larger than that.

"So many acts approach us, and it's hard to turn them away, so as with Live Aid it will end up going longer than planned," he said. Like many of those involved with NetAid, Pollack is a veteran of Live Aid, the landmark 1985 benefit concert.

"The Internet has made it easier to go shopping. The Internet ought to make it easier for people to get involved," Mischer said recently. "That's what appeals to the artists."

Mischer also said there has been talk of reunions of the Who and Led Zeppelin for the concert, but added there were no clear plans for either. Pollack confirmed Friday that major reunions and special collaborations were in the works for the shows, but he declined to give more details.

Jamie Drummond, a spokesperson for Jubilee 2000 - an international anti-debt coalition affiliated with NetAid - said some artists were being recruited for NetAid based on their support for Jubilee 2000.

In addition to Bono, vocal supporters of Jubilee 2000's goal of convincing the world's richest countries to forgive the massive debts owed them by the world's poorest nations include former Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke.

Also, in an article published Feb. 16 in the UK newspaper the Guardian, Bono wrote that Lauryn Hill, opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., the Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson had called him to express support for the cause.

(Senior Writer Gil Kaufman contributed to this report.)

Use SonicNet's archives of 1000s of music news stories for more on your favorite artists. Check out SonicNet's website for daily music news, including audio clips and other multimedia: www.sonicnet.com

Virgin Records have now posted up some of the new tracks available for ANYONE to hear. You also get to see the album cover revealed piece by piece. Simply fill in the form at www.virginrecords.com.

Click on the message to preview song excerpts from 'hours...'

Anyway... you get a "Bowie Preview" screen where you enter your e-mail address and get this message sending you to the location of the Virgin preview of the new CD! Two songs are posted, "Thursday's Child" and "Something In The Air".

Feel free to post your thoughts on the tracks on the BowieWonderworld Message Board.

"IF I'M DREAMING MY LIFE" is the latest piece of the 'hours...' jigsaw to be posted on BowieNet, which sounds brilliant. Classic Bowie.

BowieNet members have the unique opportunity to take an exclusive first look at the new album cover artwork and the new tracks from the forthcoming DAVID BOWIE album 'hours...' slowly revealed piece by piece until the week of release.

The tracks posted so far are:

Reeves Gabrels (Guitar)
Mike Garson (Keyboards)
Gail Ann Dorsey (Bass)
Mark Plati (Acoustic Guitar)
Sterling Campbell (Drums)
Holly (background vocals)
Lani (background vocals)

VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP vice chairman Nancy Berry is proud to announce that the company has signed international superstar DAVID BOWIE to a worldwide recording agreement.

Comments Nancy Berry, "David Bowie is one of the world's most gifted artists. His music has inspired and continues to influence the work of many talented musicians, and helped shape our overall culture. Virgin Records America has had the privilege of working with David for several years, and now Virgin Music Group Worldwide will experience the same pleasure. I am absolutely delighted that David has decided to make Virgin his worldwide home."

David Bowie is currently putting the finishing touches on a new record "hours...," set for release October 5, his first to be handled by Virgin Music Group throughout the world. For the last several months, David Bowie has been in studio finishing the new record, which is very song-driven, a hark back to the "Hunky Dory" days of the early 1970s.

Comments David Bowie, "I am thrilled to continue my relationship with Virgin, now on an even larger scale than before. I have enjoyed my affiliation with Virgin Records America over the last four years, and look forward to working with the coordinated efforts of the Virgin Music Group on a worldwide basis."

To that end, Virgin Music Group Worldwide hosted a major listening session of the new album in London for over eighty of its Managing Directors and senior executives from around the world. At the conclusion of the event, David Bowie made a surprise appearance, thanking the group for their enthusiasm and commitment toward the new project and to express his own excitement about the new relationship with the company.

Your chance to win one of 10 free copies of the new special limited edition enhanced CD EP from PLACEBO featuring DAVID BOWIE "Without You I'm Nothing" released today. See BowieWonderworld Competition No. 3 for details.

The excellently packaged enhanced CD is designed and produced by AMX contains 24 photographs from the Irving Plaza show plus web links to the official Placebo and BowieNet web sites.

1. Without You I'm Nothing (Single Mix)
2. Without You I'm Nothing (Unkle Remix)
3. Without You I'm Nothing (The Flexirol Mix)
4. Without You I'm Nothing (Brothers In Rhythm Club Mix)

DAVID BOWIE joins PLACEBO on a new recording of the band's "Without You I'm Nothing" to be released as a limited edition gatefold CD EP by Hut recordings on Monday 16th August.

The track, recorded in New York earlier this year cements a relationship that started when Placebo supported David Bowie on his European tour in 1996. Early the next year Placebo were invited by Bowie to play at his 50th birthday party in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Bowie also joined Placebo on stage to perform "Twentieth Century Boy" at the 1999 Brit Awards in February this year, followed by an appearance with the band at their Irving Plaza show in New York the following month.

The original version of "Without You I'm Nothing" is the title track to Placebo's current album, released October last year. The album has subsequently sold over 250,000 copies in the UK, with a further 800,000 sales around the rest of the world.

The new EP, credited to PLACEBO FEATURING DAVID BOWIE, will be released only on CD (Hut FLOORCD10), with 20,000 copies available. "Without You I'm Nothing" also contains a web link to the band's site, thus making the release ineligible for the UK chart.

12/08/99 - Stars heading for Bastion Pt event

The millennium spotlight is turning on Auckland after the official collapse of Gisborne's mega-concert.

Star acts Split Enz and DAVID BOWIE now look set to play at Bastion Pt.

But plans are being made to shore up the ill-fated concert's third international drawcard, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, for an alternative concert in Gisborne.

The Odyssey's End concert, 14 years in the planning, was called off yesterday.

It had been envisaged that 35,000 people would see in the New Year at the 12-hour concert on a Gisborne football field.

"It was going to be a spectacle that had not been experienced in New Zealand," said Bruce Bell, chairman of the Year 2000 Festival Company.

Only 1000 tickets, priced from $399, were sold. Crucially, 25,000 punters from overseas did not m