Our final episode on the life (or lives) of David Bowie begins and ends with a birthday. We start in 2013, when David reentered public life nearly a decade after his heart attack with the surprise release of “Where Are We Now," his first new song in a decade. It was one of the most stunning comebacks in music history. Most fans assumed that David had simply retired from the industry, content to live out the rest of his days as a father, husband, and anonymous New Yorker. Instead, he'd recorded a...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 13
We’re taking a brief break from the story this week. (We’ll be back with our final chapter on David Bowie on Monday, May 3rd!) But today we have something very special in store: a conversation with Carlos Alomar — a funk guitar icon, and one of David’s most crucial musical collaborators. He cut his teeth in the late ‘60s as one of the youngest players ever in the Apollo Theater’s house band, leading to stints backing James Brown, Chuck Berry and Wilson Pickett, all while still in his teens. Carl...
Apr 26, 2021•47 min
Our latest chapter covered David Bowie’s creative renaissance in the ‘90s and early 2000s. The records that he made in this period are often overlooked but rank among the most experimental of his career, as he rejoined formative ‘70s collaborators like Brian Eno and Tony Visconti to create some of the most daring music he ever made. But one crucial collaborator during this period was new to Bowie’s circle — bassist Gail Ann Dorsey. Over the years she’s worked with everyone from Lenny Kravitz, Ga...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Today we’re looking at Bowie the Rock ‘n’ Roll Elder Statesman. Throughout the ‘90s, he continued to change and challenge, inspiring new generations with his work. Far be it from David to go gently into middle age. In this era, he produced later-career gems like '1. Outside,' 'The Buddha of Suburbia' and 'Heathen,' reconvening with creative partners like Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. But more than ever, he enjoyed life outside of the spotlight. David had a second chance at marriage and fatherhood...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Today’s ‘Labyrinth’ Week guest is puppeteer Steve Whitmire, who performed several characters in this beloved film — including one of the fiery figures in the “Chilly Down” dance sequence, and (my favorite) Ambrosius, the trusty dog of Sir Didymus. But these roles, impressive though they are, are just a minuscule part of his resume. If you know anything about Muppet history, then this man needs no introduction. For 26 years he was the voice and soul of Kermit the Frog. And don’t forget Ernie (of ...
Apr 14, 2021•54 min
This week on 'Off the Record,' we're playing special tribute to Jim Henson's 1986 film 'Labyrinth,' the beloved cult classic that introduced David Bowie to generations of kids. We're kicking off the festivities with conceptual designer Brian Froud, the man who imagined world of 'Labyrinth.' A legendary illustrator and painter, the movie began with Brian’s drawings of goblins, monsters and surreal landscapes. These visions formed the basis for the film’s script, written by Monty Python veteran Te...
Apr 12, 2021•57 min
The climax of our last chapter is David Bowie’s set at Live Aid in the summer of 1985 . Our guest today was alongside him on the Live Aid stage – and in the helicopter on the nerve-wracking ride out to Wembley Stadium. His name is Thomas Dolby, and his time with Bowie is just one entry on his extremely lengthy resume. On his twitter bio, he describes himself as a recovering synth enthusiast, but even that barely scratches the surface. He’s best known as a techno-pop pioneer who helped define the...
Apr 07, 2021•49 min
Today’s episode looks at David in the ‘80s, a time that saw him grow from a famous artist to a global superstar — a one-man brand bolstered by the fresh force of MTV. David embraced the exponential growth of mass media, and shamelessly courted mass popularity with the Nile Rodgers-assisted ‘Let’s Dance.’ He got the success he craved, but it changed his reputation in a way that was irreversible. Up till then, he was the world’s most famous outsider. To all who felt marginalized or misunderstood, ...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 11
So far we’ve discussed the making of Bowie’s landmark track “Heroes” — one of the most mythic songs in his cannon. Everything about its creation is loaded with drama. It was recorded in an old Nazi concert hall within sight of watchful East German snipers atop the Berlin Wall. And of course there was the famous kiss by the wall, which allegedly inspired one of the song’s best known verses. Jordan’s guest today not only worked at the legendary Hansa Studios (the so-called Hall by the Wall) when “...
Apr 02, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Our last two episodes followed David Bowie in the late ’70s as he recorded ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes,’ the twin pillars of his so-called Berlin Trilogy. (Sorry, ‘Lodger’ fans.) These records are an artistic triumph on nearly ever level, and contain the most innovative music Bowie ever made. In addition to co-producer Tony Visconti and mad musical scientist Brian Eno, another crucial collaborator during the German sessions was Edu Meyer. Edu was an engineer at Hansa Studios — the famous Hall by the Wall ...
Apr 01, 2021•25 min
Today’s episode looks at Bowie’s years in Berlin. It was a time of tremendous personal and artistic growth as the newly minted 30-year-old escaped the trappings of his showiness bubble and re-entered reality. Holed up in a nondescript apartment with his friend Iggy Pop, Bowie lived a generally anonymous life in the German capital. The experience forced him to grow up and become an adult — a scary proposition for anyone involved in rock ‘n’ roll. But newfound maturity brought exciting new music, ...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Our latest chapter chronicles The Thin White Duke, David Bowie’s most infamous and unsettling character. He makes his grand entrance on the title track to Bowie’s landmark 1976 album ‘Station to Station.’ Today we’re visited by Mr. Earl Slick, the man response for much of the album’s incendiary guitar work. Earl is a bonafide rock legend, and Bowie is just a part of his remarkable resume. That’s him on John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Double Fantasy,’ and he’s also played with David Coverdale, Robert...
Mar 24, 2021•48 min
Today’s chapter is a portrait at The Thin White Duke, the manifestation of megalomania and paranoia that gripped David Bowie at his personal low. Among his most frightening creations, the icy character unveiled on the title track to 1976’s ‘Station to Station’ is the physical embodiment of the drug abuse and psychic darkness that threatened to destroy him following years of mired in the toxic hedonism of Hollywood. Thankfully, he would rescue himself from these dire circumstances and move back i...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Our latest chapter of ‘Off The Records’ delves into a dark era for David Bowie: the months spent in Los Angeles in 1975. Famously subsisting on a diet of cocaine, milk and red peppers, he stayed awake for days at a time, driving himself to the brink of sanity through malnutrition and sleep deprivation. “It was a dangerous period for me,” David would later say. “I was at the end of my tether physically and emotionally and had serious doubts about my sanity.” But from the depths of his personal he...
Mar 17, 2021•24 min
At the height of his fame in the mid-'70s, David Bowie battled his deepest demons in the City of Angels. After a costly split from his management company, he found himself adrift in Hollywood, driving himself to the brink of sanity with a diet of cocaine, milk and red peppers. Time passed in a breakneck blur as Bowie stayed up for three or four days at a stretch. The mix of sleep deprivation and drugs drove into a state almost indistinguishable from psychosis,. His grasp on reality slipping, he ...
Mar 15, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In our latest chapter, David Bowie went from Starman to Soulman, trading high concept sci-fi tales and glam rock for the music that had enthralled him as a boy — rhythm and blues. David’s renewed love of R&B was stoked by his new girlfriend at the time, a striking young model and burgeoning singer named Ava Cherry. They’d met at a party in early 1973 and quickly hit it off. As she would later say, their romance had all the hallmarks of a fairy tale — strolls in Paris, nights in an elegant ca...
Mar 12, 2021•1 hr 6 min
In August 1974, Patti Brett was among the throngs of supremely devoted David Bowie fans camped outside of Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound while the man himself toiled inside, undergoing his transformation from Starman to Soulman. Bowie was hard at work recording ‘Young Americans,’ the funked-out R&B album that would mark his most abrupt musical shift to date. Seeking some instant feedback on his new sound, he invited a handful of fans inside for an impromptu listening party. It was the least he c...
Mar 10, 2021•45 min
David Bowie arrived on U.S. shores in the spring of 1974 to launch the mammoth Diamond Dogs tour, the Broadway-style production inspired by Orwell’s 1984 , and his own unnerving trip behind the Iron Curtain. The show was his most elaborate venture to date, epitomizing the dystopian drama that had made him a star. Yet as David spent more and more time in the States, he found himself reconnecting with the music that enthralled him as a young boy: American soul and R&B. This radical departure b...
Mar 08, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 7
We’re taking a quick a quick midseason break from our story this week; we’ll have the next chapter of Bowie’s life for you on Monday, March 8th! But today we have something extra special in store — a conversation with Mr. Ken Scott, the man who co-produced a string of Bowie’s most beloved albums, including Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, and Aladdin Sane. For most people, that’s enough bragging rights to last a lifetime, yet it’s just a small part of Ken’s legendary career. On his first day as an en...
Mar 01, 2021•38 min
Tony Zanetta is a crucial figure in New York’s experimental downtown drama scene of late '60s and early ‘70s. He first entered David Bowie’s orbit as a cast member of Andy Warhol's play ‘Pork’ in 1971 (co-starring with last week's guest, Cherry Vanilla.) Soon he would be swept up in the whirlwind of David's management company, MainMan, headed up by Bowie's larger than life manager, Tony DeFries. In practice, the organization was more like an elaborate performance piece than a strict bottom-line ...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 6 min
The American sibling of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane was born on the road as David Bowie embarked on his triumphant first tour of the United States. With his face bisected by his trademark lightning bolt, the character reflects an artist coming apart at the seams. It seemed like everything David had worked towards was coming through, yet he felt more confused than ever. His finances were a mess. His marriage was beginning to disintegrate. He was exhausted — mentally, physically and spiritually. ...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Ziggy Stardust wouldn’t have been the same without the help of David Bowie’s new friends from the cast of Andy Warhol’s play, ‘Pork.’ The groundbreaking avant garde theatrical production shocked audiences by taking aim at pretty much every social taboo you could imagine — and maybe a few you can't. David loved it, but he loved the cast even more. He was entranced by their bold style, an unmissable blend of gritty New York street and gaudy old Hollywood glamor. They, in turn, appreciated David's ...
Feb 17, 2021•52 min
At last, a starman is born. The arrival of Ziggy Stardust brought David Bowie the fame he'd been working towards for nearly a decade. Fusing innovative fashion, avant-garde theatrical flair, far out sci-fi and killer song craft, he transformed rock 'n' roll into concept art. But he didn't do it alone. The latest installment explores the genesis of Bowie's most iconic creation, with influences ranging from Warholian speed freaks to teen idol burnouts to '50s pulp TV shows and a cult American coun...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 5
The latest chapter of ‘Off the Record’ opens with David Bowie’s first trip to the United States in January of 1971. The arrival was a triumph for David — until he was detained by customs officials for his feminine clothes. He received a warmer welcome Ron Oberman, his press agent set to greet him by his label, Mercury Records. Ron was joined by his entire family — his mom, his dad, and his younger brother, music journalist Michael Oberman. The Oberman’s welcomed the young, unknown singer into th...
Feb 10, 2021•33 min
At the dawn of the decade he’d grow to dominate, David Bowie found himself in low spirits. His first taste of fame with “Space Oddity” was not so sweet, and he seemed in danger of becoming that most sorry of acts: a one hit wonder. As his music career floundered, he grew closer to Angie Barnett, his girlfriend and creative co-conspirator. Their marriage in 1970 was one of the wilder rock unions, characterized by mutual ambition and sexual exploration. At Angie’s encouragement, David began to exp...
Feb 08, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Our latest chapter followed David Bowie in the late ‘60s — a thrilling, colorful time when his creativity soared to new heights. After half a decade of near constant rejection from the mainstream music industry, David had started to rebel. Instead of chasing pop hits, he embraced the avant garde arts scene that was beginning to blossom in London. A key figure in David’s life was Mary Finnigan, his friend, lover and (somewhat unusually) his landlady. A journalist by day, Mary was deeply involved ...
Feb 03, 2021•33 min
Frustrated by his stalled pop career and emboldened by the creative daring of the psychedelic era, David Bowie begins to embrace more experimental art forms. Mime, movement, avant garde theater and film acting all serve as fascinating artistic detours, and he expands his mind with Tibetan Buddhism. But his first heartbreak makes him feel more alone and adrift than ever, inspiring a song about an astronaut drifting into the black abyss of space. Fusing science fiction with his innermost feelings,...
Feb 01, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Our latest chapter focused on teenage David Bowie as he struggled for fame in the mid '60s. It was a frustrating period for the wannabe rockstar — a time of high hopes and repeated failures as he fronted a string of short-lived bands that followed in the wake of the Beatles and the Stones. David leapfrogged from group to group, hoping he'd find the right one to catapult him to success, but none ever made an impact on the charts. The strongest of Bowie's early bands was a group called the Lower T...
Jan 29, 2021•39 min
Our latest chapter followed young David Bowie as he struggled to find his place in the Mod music scene of swinging sixties London. It was an exciting yet frustrating time for him as he fronted a lengthy list of doomed R&B bands — so close, yet so far from headliners like the Beatles, the Who and the Rolling Stones. Jordan spoke to one of David’s closest friends during that crucial learning period — Dana Gillespie, the legendary British blues singer whose career spans more than 70 albums. Her...
Jan 27, 2021•46 min
At the peak of the Swinging Sixties, young David Jones remained on the fringe of the London music scene, watching bands like the Beatles, the Stones, the Who and the Kinks have all the fun. In just a few short years, the teenager fronted a lengthy list of short-lived groups, all destined to vanish without a trace. His first recordings flopped, and he faced ridicule and humiliation at nearly every turn. It was the most frustrating time in his life as he navigated the sharks and hucksters keen to ...
Jan 25, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 2
