'Moonage Daydream' at Various Cinemas

A couple of weeks ago I went to see 'Moonage Daydream', the new documentary about David Bowie, at the new bijou Garden Cinema just over from Covent Garden. I loved the film and really liked the venue. The film avoided what I was dreading - endless talking heads talking about Bowie - and actually used old interviews so that Bowie essentially narrated his own documentary. It worked really well.

There are lots of film clips I hadn't seen before and the director avoided using the same old film and sound clips, opting for the little known and previously unseen versions. Along with new remixes of some songs and extra special effects that Bowie would probably have used if they'd been available back then. It really is a thing of beauty.

Thoroughly recommended.

Two Gigs - Pet Shop Boys and Proms 19 Bowie Night

In the last month or so I've been to two big gigs: Pet Shop Boys 'Inner Sanctum' show at the Royal Opera House to promote their new record, 'Super'; and the Proms tribute night to David Bowie with string arrangements of some of his classic songs at the Royal Albert Hall. Rather than gigs, these were really concerts given the venues and despite the pop/rock nature of them both. And there's nothing wrong with a concert.

As recent convert to all things Royal Opera House I was interested to see what the Pet Shop Boys would do with that venerable red and gold auditorium and how the place would cope with marauding Pet Shop Boys fans... well, not quite marauding because your average PSB fan is, shall we say, largely past the marauding age. The bar seemed to have discovered beer and the ushers even allowed you to take glasses into the auditorium (something unheard of!). Ten the lights went down, the grand curtains lifted and the thump-thump-thump of electronic beats started. It was time for the Pet Shop Boys!

The show opened with lasers flashing and two big domes slowly turning revealing the lads to the sound of 'Inner Sanctum' from the new album and then mayhem was released with the best laser show ever - the '80s were good for something after all! It really was astonishing sitting there with these incredible lights and lasers firing off everywhere and creating patterns and shapes of wonder with those loud beats (phat beats anyone?) pulsing around the auditorium. At one point I looked round wondering when one of the balconies might collapse due to the endless thumping.

Song after song kept the atmosphere electric with a very eclectic selection of hits and favourites as well as a liberal sprinkling of songs from the new record. 'West End Girls' was, surprisingly, the second song to be played, and I quite liked that - get the obvious hit out of the way to keep us guessing later on. I loved hearing 'Winner', their Olympic song from London 2012 and the best song that summer, 'The Sodom and Gomorrah Show', the bouncy 'Love, Etc', 'New York City Boy', 'The Pop Kids' from the new record, 'It's A Sin' and the great 'Go West'. The encore was 'Domino Dancing' and 'Always On My Mind' with an outdo version of 'The Pop Kids' for good measure. The 'fat-suit' dancers at the end were inspired, something totally alien to that stage which is used to the athletic, powerful bodies of ballet dancers.

The second concert was on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms summer series and was dedicated to the music of David Bowie. Back in January, Amanda Palmer and Jherek Bischoff released an EP of six Bowie songs as a tribute to his passing. All were rearranged by Jherek for a string quartet and they made a suitably startling attempt at reinterpreting some of Mr Bowie's classics. That worked really well, but would it translate into a two-hour concert with various composers and arrangers re-arranging his music for the string orchestra that filled the stage?

It was a strange affair put together by Andre de Ridder and his chamber orchestra Stargaze. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a long-rehearsed show of hits, but rather a set of re-arrangements for strings with guest vocalists but what worked for half an hour on Amanda's EP didn't really manage to sustain it over a full two-hours show. Possibly the problem was having too many different people doing the arrangements and too many different singers? If you're going to do something like this then you need big names and with the best will in the world you can't really consider someone like Neil Hannon 'big'.  The biggest pop name was Marc Almond and he wasn't really on form, only starting to come alive with a sing-along 'Starman'. The biggest 'cult' name was John Cale who actually brought most a band onstage for his three-song mini-set of 'Valentine's Day' 'Sorrow' and 'Space Oddity'. I liked his 'Sorrow' but 'Space Oddity' just went on and on and on ...

The women were far more powerful and imposing than the men. Anna Calvi did a haunting version of 'Lady Grinning Soul', Laura Mvula did a good job at trying to funk up a string version of 'Fame' and Amanda Palmer did a powerful 'Heroes'. Highlight of the evening was Amanda's and Anna's duet on 'Backstair' with Jherek prowling behind them with his guitar slashes.  That received a huge round of applause and, no doubt, lots of new fans for the two singers.

The concert ended with the usual 'get everyone back on stage for a sing-along' to the frankly weird choice of 'After All' from 'The Man Who Sold The World'. Why that song? Who chose it when there are so many great songs to send us out into the night on a high? Amanda, of course, brought her baby son on stage for that encore - what a collection of baby photos he's going to have when he grows up!

If a winner is needed then the gold medal easily goes to those Pet Shop Boys for a fabulous show - I want to live in that laser show! The Proms comes second for a worthy idea that, for me at least, didn't really work. But good on ye for trying.

All photos nicked from the internet, with thanks.

David Bowie - The Starman

Like everybody else in the known universe I was stunned by the news this morning that David Bowie had died. He turned 69 on Friday and released his 'Blackstar' album, and then died of cancer on Sunday and we are told on Monday morning. Three years ago I heard 'Where Are We Now', the single that signalled Bowie's return dropped out of nowhere via the 'Today' programme on Radio 4 and that's how I heard of his passing this morning. Once again, the lead story at 7am. And then the news was full of tributes, of shock, and so was Twitter and Facebook. The news drowned out everything else. And rightly so. His passing was noticed.

I first met David Bowie in 1972 with his magical appearance on 'Top of the Pops' singing 'Starman' with his Spiders from Mars. I'd heard that odd song before but never seen the singer and suddenly there he was. There wasn't much else for a 12 year old to do in 1972 other than the Thursday ritual of 'Top of the Pops'. And this strange creature, this alien, was singing about aliens. But where was his long hair and flares? He had relatively short spiky hair and skintight trousers - as everyone knows pop stars had long hair and flares in those days so what was going on? And what was that weird, colourful costume all about? That's not how pop stars dressed. Then he pointed straight into the camera and sang, 'So I picked on you' and he was pointing straight at me. At me! And at a million other youngsters gawping at this new life form.

The strange thing was that almost overnight the weird kids at school, the loners and misfits suddenly had an icon, a something and someone to look up to and emulate. They could look across the school playground and increasingly start to see likeminded individuals as haircuts and clothes changed. And eventually became cool. He introduced new ideas and alien thoughts - what was 'Queen Bitch' and her bippity-boppity hat all about let alone knitting underwear from hair, where did that come from? The first wave of punks almost universally were Bowie fans and look what they did.

Of course, all that the newspapers noticed was that David put his arm around Mick Ronson's shoulders and now that's in the cultural history books. I never really noticed that at all - didn't we all do that in the school playground every day and haven't footballers done it forever? But that's what was picked up and outraged people. Aren't grown ups funny things really?

Another moment was in 1984 or '85 when I was getting the coach from London to Newcastle for the Christmas break and the bloke sitting beside me had one of those new-fangled Sony Walkmen things. It's a long drive to Newcastle and he asked if I'd like to listen to an album and put on 'Let's Dance ' and gave it to me. I hadn't heard the album before, just the singles, so it was magical to listen to a whole album without DJs interrupting or anything. You could now carry your own music around with you wherever you go. That's when I decided I wanted my own music machine, no, not wanted, *needed*. So I bought one after Christmas and I've carried music around with me ever since.

I didn't buy all of his albums by any means. I think the last was 'Scary Monsters' and then I seemed to like the lead singles from subsequent albums but not enough to buy the albums. It was 'Earthling' in the late '90s that got me to buy an album again. It might have even been an appearance on 'Top of the Pops' that made sure I was aware that there even was a new album and I liked the driving sound of the music. I got subsequent records following that and started exploring the unknown back-catalogue of nearly two decades. It was lovely to see the Union Jack coat that Bowie wore of the cover of 'Earthling' and on stage at the 'David Bowie Is' exhibition.

The next moment was the 'David Bowie Is' exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2013 and it subsequently toured the world. From David's own collection, here were things from across his life such as the Ziggy costume he wore when he pointed at me through the telly, the keys to his Berlin flat, handwritten lyrics and costumes from the 90s tours amongst a range of stuff. It was oddly exciting to be there surrounded by all his stuff  - who keeps old flat keys for 30-odd years?

And suddenly he's gone. And the world noticed.

Twitter and Facebook were flooded with 'RIP' messages this morning, wall to wall coverage on the TV and radio and tomorrow it'll be the newspapers with obituaries and memory articles. Tonight there's a big celebration in Brixton, just up the road from me, where Bowie was born and grew up (photo courtesy of James Clark who was there). There will be other celebrations of his life and work but will any capture the full extent of his influence? I doubt it.

It was nice to see the personal tributes to Bowie appear throughout the day, from all sorts of people. One of the first I saw was from Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols tweeting a mid-70s photo of his hero, Alison Moyet, Boy George's heart-breaking tweet, Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman, Kim Wilde, Eddie Izzard and a host of others. The Arch-Bishop of Canterbury was one of the first to be asked for a reaction on the 'Today' programme this morning and he said he'd grown up listening to Bowie (didn't we all?). Even Siouxsie broke her silence with a message of thanks to 'the one and only Starman'. There are thousands of others, like Pet Shop Boys saying we are all his children, and many, many heartfelt messages from fans. Like me.

He created some fab choons, talked about gender and sexuality 40 years ago, wore clothes that men weren't supposed to wear and pushed at boundaries, opened doors for so many who came after him and always, but always moved forward. Who knows the full extent of his influence? In the rush of instant interviews this morning someone commented that Bowie was often referred to as a 'chameleon' but that was the last thing he was since a chameleon changes to blend in and Bowie never blended in. He led from the front. He was more than a pop star, he was a visionary and an artist.

Bowie summoned me in 1972 and, while I may have lapsed from the true faith on occasion, 'The Next Day' brought me back into the light.

Tony Visconti posted a very touching message this morning. He said: "He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life - a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it's appropriate to cry." And that's what I did this morning, for someone I've never met but who was a big part of my life.

Namaste Mr Bowie. 

David McAlmont sings Bowie at The Hideaway

On Friday evening we went to see David McAlmont's 'Wall To Wall: Bowie' set at the Hideaway jazz club in Streatham (i.e. off-off-off West End). The Hideaway is a great venue, very stylish and very orange and black. David first did his Bowie set in 2013 and, since it was the Hideaway's most popular show of 2013, he was asked to reprise it over three nights last week - we missed it the first time round so had to go on Friday.

We saw David McAlmont's Prince show last year (also at the Hideaway) in which he rearranged and sang his favourite Prince songs so I was expecting interesting re-interpretations of Bowie. And that's exactly what we got. He worked with Hideaway music director and pianist on the night Janette Mason to come up with some jazzy, chilled out versions of some songs and funked up versions of others. Backed by a pared down band of just keyboards, bass, drums and guitar and joined on stage for some of the songs with added vocals by Sam Obernik (who also had a few songs to herself) it made for an enjoyable evening.

David came on in blue suit (a la Bowie 'Life On Mars') covered in blingy jewellery, an enormous glam boa and a painted face (but not the lightning flash of Aladdin - that would be too obvious) and launched into 'Watch That Man' that he described as the song closest to the original arrangement. He went on to give us 'Suffragette City', 'Starman' and 'Changes' with Sam Obernik leading on 'Life on Mars' and 'The Man Who Sold The World'. David also gave us 'Let's Dance' and an electric piano funked up version of 'The Jean Genie'.

The second half of the show led off with 'Fame' and a torch song 'Lady Grinning Soul' with David walking round the tables in the audience after inviting us to stroke his boa if we wanted (I did). After 'Ziggy', Sam performed a lovely version of 'Kooks' and 'Wild Is The Wind'. 'Space Oddity' (in which David and Sam floated out in space). The show closed with a funky 'Young Americans' with David in dancehall mode towards the end. The encore was 'Modern Love'.

It was a great, fun show and a good end to a long week. David was on top form and I'd not come across Sam before and she's a bit of a find. Other than 'Let's Dance' and 'Modern Love' (and 'Space Oddity') all the songs were from the '70s and the first half of the '70s at that. That is classic Bowie territory but it might have been interesting to hear David's re-interpretaion of some of his later material, even something from the latest album perhaps? Or maybe that's for the next set of shows? Favourites of the evening were 'Starman' (with David doing Bowie's pointing thing), the funked up 'The Jean Genie' and the already funky 'Fame' and Sam's version of 'Kooks' (I like that song!).

And, to give you a flavour of the evening, here's a video of 'Young Americans' from the 2013 show. Enjoy!

The Plastic Bag Awards 2013

Once again it's time for the annual Plastic Bag Awards, the Baggies 2013.

The Baggies offer a great opportunity to look back over the year and mull over things I've done and seen as well as enjoyed and been challenged by. I've seen a few films this year so that category has been reinstated and there's a new category for 'talks' since I've been to quite a few. So let's jump right in and see who wins the first award ...

Best Theatre - Drama

This has been an odd year for drama - I saw some great plays but didn't particularly like the productions ('Othello' and 'Edward II" both spring to mind at the National Theatre) and that narrows down the nominees quite a bit. After a lot of thought, the nominees for this category are:

• The Winslow Boy
• The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
• The Judas Kiss
• Cocktail Sticks
• The Audience

'The Winslow Boy' was really quite impeccable but failed to engage me with the characters as did 'The Curious Incident', both really good plays and well produced but didn't do anything for me. 'The Audience' and 'The Judas Kiss' were perfect for the respective leads and both were great productions but the award goes to another tour de force performance in 'Cocktail Sticks' by Alan Bennett.

I saw 'Cocktail Sticks' as part of the 'Untold Stories' evening brigaded with another short Bennett play, 'Hymn'. It is an autobiographical tale of Alan Bennett's relationship with his parents over the years as he finds a pack of cocktail sticks at the back of a kitchen cupboard when clearing out the family home after the death of both of his parents. I recognised so many things in the play that helped make it real for me and that's why it wins the Baggie this year.

Best Theatre - Musical

2013 was a great year for stage musicals with some great (and not so great ) revivals as well as new productions. I saw the new production of 'Merrily We Roll Along' back at the start of the year at the Menier Choccy Factory and it just didn't work for me. I know it's been doing well in the West End but it didn't draw me in. On the other hand, I loved  the Choccy Factory's 'Candide' which is well worth seeing. Other productions that just failed to make the nominations were 'Titanic' and 'The Scottsboro Boys', both musicals I'd love to see again.

The nominations for 'Best Theatre - Musical' are:

• The Book Of Mormon
• A Chorus Line
• The Color Purple
• The Amen Corner
• The Light Princess

'The Book Of Mormon' was great fun and very rude and it was great to see Gavin Creel again. 'A Chorus Line' was a joy and I had to see it twice on its short run over the summer. 'The Light Princess' was a feminist fairytale with songs by Tori Amos and a sumptuous production at the National. Also at the National Theatre was 'The Amen Corner' which I saw a matter of days before seeing 'The Color Purple' at the Choccy Factory and it's 'Purple' that wins the Baggie.

'The Amen Corner' was a great mix of drama and song but it was the story and songs of 'The Color Purple' that swung it. Great acting and great voices melded in a great production that made me go back again to see it on its relatively short run. It should have transferred to the West End but a bonus prize is the Baggie for Best Musical.

Best Entertainment

I define 'entertainment' as a staged something that isn't a play or a musical. That makes it quite a wide ranging category. The nominations this year are:

• Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty @ The New Theatre, Wimbledon
• John Cooper Clarke @ The Palladium
• Patti Smith - Words & Music @ The Purcell Room as part of Meltdown
• A Christmas Carol @ Queen Elizabeth Hall
• Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake @ Sadler's Wells

A Matthew Bourne production is almost mandatory in this category and it's nice to have two, one from the national tour in the spring ('Sleeping Beauty') and the latest Christmas show at Sadler's Wells, 'Swan Lake'. Both have won Baggies in previous years that clearly indicates their strengths.

I saw the mastery of John Cooper Clarke for the first time this year despite buying my first record of his 35 years ago. He is a master wordsmith and it was a joy just to hear him talking let alone reciting his verse. And it was the same with Patti Smith who mixed readings from her autobiography ('Just Kids') with stripped back versions of her songs played with her son and daughter. However, the Baggie goes to 'A Christmas Carol', an ensemble reading of the story a week before Christmas. It was enchanting.

Best Talk

This is a new category of award for 2013 and is included because I seemed to attend so many 'talks'. These included staged interviews to promote books or celebrate films and  reminiscences as part of the National Theatre 50th anniversary celebrations. The nominees are:

• Tracey Thorn @ the Royal Festival Hall
• Ray Davies @ The Purcell Room
• Julie Walters & Richard Eyre @ the National Theatre
• Rita Moreno @ the British Film Institute
• Derek Jacobi @ the National Theatre

Sometimes it nice to just turn up and listen to people talk. They're generally set up in an interview format with someone interviewing the star - the best ones ask such open questions that the star can take flight and talk about virtually anything. The worst are where the interviewer has a script and sticks to it (a hideous Patti Smith interview a few years ago springs to mind where all the questions were based on a book she rubbished in the first five minutes - take a hint!).

Thankfully, all the talks I attended this year were good and the interviewers had actually read the book or done their homework. I'm going to single out Sir Derek Jacobi who gave a talk to promote his autobiography because he was so unexpectedly entertaining and human. I loved his stories about his parents and about him growing up as an actor.

Best Film

I've seen a few films this year for the first time in ages, old films and new films, documentaries and unexpected tales. The nominations are:

• I'm So Excited
• Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
• A Yank At Oxford
• Saving Mr Banks
• The Thirteenth Tale

I saw a not quite finished version of a documentary about Marvin Hamlisch as part of the London Film Festival that reminded me who he was and a delightfully twee 'Yank At Oxford' as part of a festival celebrating Vivien Leigh's centenary. I saw the impossibly camp and colourful 'I'm So Excited' by Almodovar and a preview at the BFI of the new Vanessa Redgrave TV film that was shown over Christmas, 'The Thirteenth Tale'. However, the Baggie goes to 'Saving Mr Banks' for its practically perfect magic.

Best Gig

I went to quite a few gigs last year, particularly over the summer with Yoko Ono's great Meltdown Festival on the Southbank. I saw the Pet Shop Boys bigging it large at the O2 with their new album and I saw Boy George and Marianne Faithfull (separately) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of Yoko's Meltdown. I was privileged to see Siouxsie twice at the Royal Festival Hall, supported both times by Viv Albertine.  The nominees for the Best Gig Baggie are:

• Siouxsie @ the Royal Festival Hall
• Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band @ the Royal Festival Hall
• Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra @ The Roundhouse
• Viv Albertine @ The Purcell Room
• Kim Wilde's Christmas Party @ Shepherd's Bush Empire

All the nominees are women of power who've been around for a while. Siouxsie majestic in white PVC and Yoko screaming into her mic, both at the Royal Festival Hall. Amanda Palmer the rock star at The Roundhouse with the kind of light show and professionalism that says she's moved to another level. Viv Albertine headlining her own show at The Purcell Room with a tight band and so different to her 12Bar Club show back in January 2013.

But the Baggie goes to Kim Wilde for her first full show in London in a  couple of decades and killing it - and us! Tight band, Kim striding along the front of the stage taking us higher then singing Christmas songs - it was her Christmas Party after all! Well done Kim!

Best Live Performance

The best performance award is for a one-off song that just hit it and sends you away with a marvellous memory of the evening. This years nominations are:

• 'Dear Daily Mail' - Amanda Palmer
• 'Spellbound' - Siouxsie
• 'Warrior In Woolworths' - Celeste Bell
• 'Still England' - Viv Albertine
• 'Kids In America' - Kim Wilde

Amanda's 'Dear Daily Mail' was an internet sensation since, while singing a letter to the Daily Mail about her escaped tit at Glastonbury, she strips off her kimono and sings the song naked. Siouxsie delivered a magical 'Spellbound' and Celeste Bell (or Styrene to me) gave us a perfect acapella 'Warrior In Woolworths' at PolyFest. And who could fail to be excited by seeing Kim Wilde singing 'Kids In America' live 30 odd years after it was her first hit?

The Baggie goes to Viv Albertine for what I think of as the disco version of 'Still England' she gave us at the Purcell Room. Halfway through the song it changed into a disco beat and a glitter ball exploded to surround us all with light as she read out the names of people that mean England to her. It was magnificent and shows just how much she's grown as a musician and performer in the last year, from the D.I.Y. 12Bar Club show to her encased in lube and a PVC top. With a glitter ball. Well done Viv, a performance to stick in the memory!

Best New Album

There weren't that many new albums this year that made me go wow so it was relatively easy to list the nominees:

• David Bowie - 'The Next Day'
• Linda Thompson - 'Won't Be Long Now'
• Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band - 'Take Me To The Land Of Hell'
• Boy George - 'This Is What I Do'
• Kim Wilde - 'Wilde Winter Songbook'

The biggest wow factor goes, of course, to Mr Bowie for releasing a new single out of the blue and then followed it up with an excellent album of new material. I still listen to it avidly. Linda Thompson and Yoko Ono take us back to another time and it's great that both are still producing excellent and challenging music. Then we have two '80s stars in the shape of Boy George and Kim Wilde and, while the Boy's new album is excellent, it's out-shone by Ms Wilde's Christmas record. 'Wilde Winter Songbook' is full of excellent songs for singing along to or listening to on a cold winters' day. Well done Kim!

Best Exhibition

This has been a great year for exhibitions from portraits of Native Americans at the National Portrait Gallery to one of the inventors of pop art, Lichtenstein, at the Tate Modern. The nominations are:

• Light Show @ the Hayward Gallery
• Man Ray @ the National Portrait Gallery
• David Bowie Is @ The Victoria & Albert Museum
• George Bellows: Modern American Life @ the Royal Academy
• A Crisis Of Brilliance @ Dulwich Picture Gallery

All were excellent in different ways. I'd be really tempted to award the Baggie to George Bellows or A Crisis Of Brilliance if it wasn't for Mr Bowie. If you weren't in your early teens (or younger) in 1972 when Ziggy pointed straight at you through the telly box while singing 'Starman' then you won't understand the sheer thrill of seeing that costume in a glass case with the model pointing straight out at you. Again. Giant video walls, stage costumes and the keys to his Berlin flat, the exhibition had it all and was a joy to wander through. Well done V&A and thank you to Mr Bowie for blessing it.

And there you have the Baggies for 2013. I wonder what 2014 will bring?

Boy George at Koko 2013

Last Sunday I saw Boy George play at Koko in Camden, one of my least favourite venues. But it was great to see and hear a slimmed down and re-invigorated Boy George in great voice sing his classics and songs from his new album, 'This Is What I Do'. And it is what he does.

We had about two hours from the Boy ranging over the last 30 years but focusing on 2013. Backed by a 7-piece band he sounded excellent and we had songs from Culture Club, his solo music, songs from his latest record and a couple of classic covers. As ever, he was backed by John Themis and Kevan Frost, his writing partners as well as leaders of his band. The addition of a horn section added a whole new texture to enjoy. Bringing on some guest musicians that played on the album made fora crowded stage but enhanced the sound. Which was great.

George opened with a reggae section of 5 or 6 songs from the new album and also gave us reggae-ish versions of 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me' and 'Karma Chameleon' - he must be so bored of playing those songs endlessly but they're what made him a global star. We also had great versions of 'Church of the Poisoned Mind' and 'Victims' from the Culture Club days.

I liked hearing the new songs which, strangely, sound even better live than on the record. I particularly liked the countrified 'Any Road', the rock of Yoko Ono's 'Death of Samantha' and the great 'Bigger Than War' in which I had to join in the chorus of 'Bigger than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones; Bigger than Elvis... but not Yoko!'. O no, not Yoko.

The two covers were T.Rex's 'Get It On' which he really should record, with chugging guitar forcing it along and great sax, and a less polished but heartfelt 'Starman' by Bowie. George is, indeed, a child of his times, like the rest of us!

I also loved his rock star version of 'Satan's Butterfly Ball' from 'Cheapness & Beauty' and the great 'Bow Down Mister'. I'd tweeted George earlier that day saying I hoped he'd play this so I could chant along for Poly Styrene. He didn't play it at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of Yoko's Meltdown festival but he did at Koko, a great big rousing version in which I sang along to 'Hare Krishna, Hare Rama' for Poly. Word perfect, obv.

It was great fun to see George on top form, giving us all what we wanted and enjoying it, laughing and joking with the crowd. Well done, George, let's have more!

Trevor Bolder and The Spiders From Mars

The sad news tonight is that Trevor Bolder has died. He did lots in the musical world but will always be remembered for his work with the Spiders From Mars. He had the ridiculously long side-burns and was on Top Of The Pops that fateful night when David Bowie introduced us to Ziggy Stardust and 'Starman'. That one performance burned him into our memories.

Farewell Trevor, you are - and will always be - part of history.

David Bowie is - The Victoria & Albert Museum

I went to see the 'David Bowie is' exhibition at the V&A yesterday and am jolly pleased I did. Anyone around my age will remember Mr Bowie from the early '70s, that alien life-form that appeared on Top of the Pops as Ziggy Stardust in 1972 singing about the 'Starman' who thought he'd blow our minds. Too late, Ziggy, you did and they stayed blown. And what a thrill it was to see your Ziggy suit in the flesh (so to speak) on a mannequin point out of the glass case at me.

The V&A exhibition is based on David's archives, his costumes and clothes over the last 40 years, hand-written lyrics, videos and memorabilia like his coke spoon and Berlin flat keys. It's a multimedia experience with touch and smell being the only senses denied. a giant video screen fills the wall of the penultimate room and that plays the 'lost' extended recording of 'The Jean Genie' from Top of the Pops all those years ago, David 100 feet tall and glorious in his electric power.

You don't get a ticket to the show, you get a sound recording to hang around your neck and earphones to listen to it all. I can see it, a sound n vision experience, I have a loathing for the audio-guide things so hung it round my neck and ignored it. I don't care what some anonymous voice is going to tell me, I want to see David's stuff. So I skipped the queue waiting to look in the peep holes at the start of the exhibition and threw myself into it properly.

It opens with David in the late '60s, his first attempts to be a pop star, the scene setting covers of books and records, most of which I by-passed and headed straight into the '70s and things I could recognise and that meant something to me. And there he was, Ziggy suit on a mannequin pointing at me, just as he'd done on Top of the Pops when he sang, 'So I picked on you-ou-ou' and pointed into the camera.  That's when the alien landed and he wasn't going to leave us alone. Ever.

Photographs, mannequins in costumes, hand-written lyrics with crossings out and replacement words, video screens, notes about recording sessions, photos I've never seen, notes from others to David (such as a note from Jim Henson about the early script for 'Labyrinth') and a wonderful host of other things. Different versions of the cover for the latest album, 'The Next Day' including one based on the 'Aladdin Sane' album cover. Stage sets for various tours, tour costumes and suits worn off stage.

Favourites were his Ziggy suit (of course), his distressed 'Earthling' Union Jack coat and his brocade McQueen frock coats, the lyrics to 'Starman', the contact sheet for the 'Diamond Dogs' photoshoot, his pierrot costume for 'Ashes To Ashes', the Berlin room and the enormous video wall. The astonishing thing is the attention to detail for everything over the last 40 years. Such a mind that could encompass it all, understand it all and link it all. And make it reality.

It's an excellent exhibition and I'd encourage everyone to go to it. Bowie has been in our lives forever and influenced virtually everybody in one way or another. The only downside to the exhibition is that the first series of rooms are so small that they get terribly crowded, particularly with people queueing to look through the peepholes (I didn't bother). The lighting could also be set to brighter in a few places. But, on the whole, it's an exciting experience and you'd do well to see it while you can.

Y'know what? David Bowie is.

Yoko Ono's Meltdown 2013

If you've looked at this blog before then you're probably familiar with the annual Meltdown festival on the Southbank in London. Every year someone is chosen to curate a festival of art and music. Past curators have been David Bowie, Morrissey, Patti Smith and Ray Davies. This year it's the turn of Yoko Ono.

I've seen Yoko at past Meltdown festivals, as part of the ensemble at Patti Smith's Meltdown and full (and quite astonishing) Plastic Ono Band gig as part of Ornette Coleman's Meltdown. I went to see a retrospective of Yoko's work at the Serpentine Gallery last year. As soon as she was announced as the 2013 curator I knew we were in for a treat.

I'm a member of the Southbank to hear about and buy tickets to events before they go on general sale. The pre-sale for members was on Tuesday and the tickets go on general sale tomorrow, Thursday. I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band open the festival at the Royal Festival Hall, Siouxsie playing her first gig in five years, Patti Smith doing an evening of words and music in the intimate Purcell Room, and Marianne Faithfull and Boy George at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. 

That haul alone justifies the cost of my membership. I'm still mulling over trying for tickets to see Iggy & The Stooges and, of course, more events are still to be announced. I quite like the idea of seeing the film 'Battleship Potemkin' with the Pet Shops Boys soundtrack at the British Film Institute. No doubt, more will be announced in the next few weeks.

Thank you Yoko, I'm looking forward to this. I hope we get another Onochord at your gig!