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A WEEKLY DIARY EXCLUSIVELY WRITTEN FOR MIRABELLE MAGAZINE
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1974 JANUARY February March April May June July August September October November December |
A WEEKLY DIARY EXCLUSIVELY WRITTEN FOR MIRABELLE MAGAZINE
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5th January 1974
Hello again,
I hope that everything is well with you and that 1974 is swinging along the way that you would like. I seem to have had a very busy time again recently and have been on the receiving end of quite a few more business awards, both in this country and abroad.
It's always a thrill, of course, to pick up an award for anything - and it seems that your friend Bowie is reaping more than his fair share at the moment.
Disc, which I am quite sure you have seen or read at some time or another, came up with their music poll awards for 1974 and I was nominated top in five sections. I still find awards very flattering, and the magazine contacted Angie to see if she would like to go along to the presentation and give out all the trophies. Unfortunately, we had all arranged to go to Holland on that date, as I had another award to collect there - a statuette called The Edison Award. This was presented to me for being the most popular foreign artiste. Having been buried in the recording studios for so long the excuse for a trip to Holland was just what I needed, and so Angie and I and a few friends all travelled over and had ourselves quite a time. I'll tell you more about that next week though.
For the Disc awards Andra and Fiona from my office went along to collect them on my behalf and keep them safe. I have also received a Swedish trophy, called the Golden Ear award which turns out to be a very macabre looking affair consisting of an ear resting in a coffin - very nice, too.
I thought I'd also give a quick mention this week to Dana Gillespie, for a long time a good friend of mine and doing very well for herself, too. She's been appearing in The National Theatre Company's version of 'The Tempest', in a new Ken Russell film about the life of Mahler as well as coming up with a very striking album. The single from it 'Weren't Born A Man' seemed to run into a little controversy, which seemed to me unnecessary. But the office has been receiving tons of fan mail on her behalf already, including letters from people in offices who want her pin-up for their office walls, and generally turning Dana into the most sought after sex symbol of recent years. There you are then - and I realised her potential a long time ago.
Take care.
Hello again,Well, I promised you last week that I would tell you about my recent trip to Amsterdam where I went to collect The Edison Award - a statuette presented to me as outstanding foreign performer. It was all great fun really and, of course, I travelled overland with Angie and little Zowie.
We stayed at the hotel where the award was being presented, and we all found it very attractive. The dining room of the hotel looked out over one of the canals that make Amsterdam so beautiful, and we spent lots of time just sitting there gazing at the water. The weather was fine and sunny which, of course, made things even better. But, unfortunately, I had a little trouble with my eye which had started watering quite a bit shortly after I arrived.
By the time of the actual presentation, I had to wear a patch over my eye - which, of course, didn't distract from my natural good looks - and I wore green dungarees and a pair of high brown boots. Angie looked very stunning, really sophisticated in a chic beige dress with a roll neck and a super swirly skirt.
We spent one morning looking around the shops and we also took a trip on one of the canals which really delighted Zowie. He thinks we should have our own little canal to boat on back at home in London.
While I was there, some Dutch friends had realised that I am very interested in football and had made me up a special pair of pyjamas in the colours of Ajax - one of their football teams - which are red and white. They were beautifully made, and coming as a complete surprise they made a lovely present.
Just to finish up with, I also found an excellent recording studio while I was there, and regular readers of this column will know what that means to your friend Bowie. As soon as I saw it I realised the possibilities of doing some recording there as everything about the studios and their situation really appealed to me.
Anyway, I think that's about all I've time for at the moment so, take care.
Hello again,Well, when I sat down to write out something for you this week, I realised that Christmas had come and gone and I hadn't even mentioned a word of what the Bowie's had done in the way of seasonal celebrations. So, if it isn't too late I'll tell you about it now, as it was all good fun.
Angie came back from America, and that was a present on its own. We were all so pleased so see her and besides which Daniella and I hadn't ordered the food for Christmas, so of course Angie took over in her own true style.
On Christmas Day, Zowie woke up at about 5.30 in the morning and wanted to open his presents. He really got so excited and obviously wasn't going to go back to sleep again.
Angie and I had bought a really special toy for him, which we had found in America. It's a child's electronic computer, and much to our delight he went crazy when he saw it and started to get it working immediately. Needless to say, his old Dad was pretty fascinated by it, so all in all the house was awake quite early.
For Christmas dinner, we had invited Mick and Bianca Jagger and their little child Jade, and also Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. Angie had prepared the most beautiful feast, which included roast goose and stuffings, oodles of brussel sprouts, vegetables of all seasons and Christmas pudding.
Zowie and Jade were blossoming into a fine friendship, and got so excited later in the afternoon that they knocked the Christmas tree over completely, and broke almost all the decorations that Freddie and Daniella had put on it so carefully.
It was now the accepted time for the Bowie household to give out their presents, and I think no matter what age you are, that is always quite thrilling. I gave Angie a whole selection of lingerie from Fredericks of Hollywood which she really loved, and in return I received a diamond earring that she had got from Cartier. It's absolutely stunning, and you'll all have to watch out for the first time I wear it.
Not all of the presents were quite so expensive though. Angie and I gave Freddie a golden needle to celebrate all that amazing work he's done on my clothes.
So, by the end of the day we were all pretty well exhausted. Zowie and Jade were fast asleep on some cushions, and I think everybody felt like joining them.
As one last word, I'd just like to thank all of you who sent me your own little presents and cards. That really thrilled all of us, and this is the best opportunity I'll have to say thanks very much.
I love you all!
26th January 1974
I just thought I would like to tell you today about the way that I chose to finish off 1973. Well, 1973 was a really good year for your friend Mr. Bowie, and so I decided to try and thank some of the people that helped to make it so good.
On New Year's Eve I gave a little lunch party with the help of my record company for some of the journalists who I have made friends with and worked with over the last year. I say small lunch party, but, in fact, it turned out to be rather big! I think there were about thirty people there, and even that meant missing out a lot of people who I would have loved to see.
We met in a little restaurant in the Covent Garden area of London. Angie was abroad and unable to come, so I brought Daniella along, and also a friend of hers, Afra.
By the time we got to the restaurant, there were already quite a few people waiting for us. We had a quick drink and then sat down for lunch at about one-thirty. I must admit - your feature writer, Candy Rose, was pretty quick off the mark finding herself a seat at the table! As soon as she saw me sit down with Daniella and Afra on my right, she installed herself next to Daniella - and thus not so far from me! In fact for some reason Afra, Daniella and Candy were the only girls present. Down the other end of the table it was more like a stag party than a mixed lunch party!
The lunch was really delicious. Consommé followed followed by thick steaks and broccoli, and ending up with ice cream and pears.
Everybody wanted to know about my trip to Russia, and so I told them about the impressions we had and little funny incidents that occurred. Then to go with the coffee, I had a surprise present from my record company! A plaque to commemorate having had six albums in the charts during 1973. That really was a nice New Year gift!
| Created: July 1997 © Paul Kinder | Last Updated: 1/1/99 |