Stephen Holland - Multimedia Journalist

  The Bowie Project #31 - Blackstar (2016) After an intensive career that saw incredibly highs and desperate lows, going from an alternative cult act to stadium superstar, through ambient dreamscape and drum and bass freakouts. You can call him Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, Thin White Duke, the Man Who Fell to Earth just to name a few. His career is one of the most long lasting, influential, and interesting in the entire music industry. When taken as a whole the work that he did adds up to a complete body of work that was consistently pushing the boundaries and daring to push pop culture past the point of what was considered appropriate or acceptable. This kid who was born in Brixton just two years after the end of World War II grew up with an innate need for success, a drive that saw him become on of the most recognizable figures on the planet, and a sense of showmanship and theatrically that would bleed through right up until the moment of his death. Da...

The Bowie Project #30 – The Next Day (2013) In the early 2000s David Bowie’s career had something of a resurgence, the release of the albums Heathen and Reality and the reconciliation with longtime producer Tony Visconti had restored his critical standing that for quite a few years had been in question. His songwriting was strong, he enjoyed performing live, he had cemented his role as a legend in the music industry and with a run of two strong album’s it looked like this wasn't going to slow down anytime soon. In 2003, he hit the road for what would be the longest tour in his entire career with plans to play to more than one million people across 17 countries, Bowie started to appear regularly on our TV screens making appearances on German and French television stations, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on the BBC, The Today Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, The Late Show with David Letterman and more. He would perform new and old music and it seems like he felt content to entertai...

The Bowie Project #29 – Reality (2003) Reality is the 24th studio album by David Bowie. It was released in Europe on September 15 2003 and a day later in the United States. Like his previous record Heathen it was produced by the once estranged and now reunited longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti showing that their previous effort was not just a one-off reunion or a sentimentally fueled exercise in nostalgia. Bowie had been re-energised from the Heathen tour the previous year and was excited to produce a set of songs that could be played live with his touring band. As such this record has a more straightforward rock sound than his previous release, it’s got a direct and edgier sound and sees Bowie feeling quite comfortable in his style for once, he’s not really reaching for anything grander than to make an enjoyable album, he’s giving it his all but in a way that feels confident and secure in a way much of his work through the later part of the 1990s didn’t. At this point in his caree...

The Bowie Project #26 - Hours (1999) The David Bowie of 1999 is an interesting one, after an incredibly experimental and while uneven never uninteresting 1990s he seems to finally becomes at peace with his own legacy and place in the pop and rock musical landscape. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not only was this a decade of intense musical experimentation, it was also a time that focused on endeavours outside of the music industry with a particular interest in the power of the rapidly expanding Word Wide Web. In 1998 Bowie became the first (maybe only?) rockstar internet service provider with the founding of BowieNet. This service not only offered fans high-speed internet access but also unparalleled access into the world of David Bowie including live chats, live video feeds, chat rooms and bulletin boards for just £19.95 per month. The forward-thinking Bowie always saw the potential of technology and the far-reaching impact it could have, this has been a theme in his music sin...