https://www.scmp.com/rss/51077/feed David Bowie spent his life in the spotlight, shifting form and musical style from one album to the next. His death was announced on January 11, 2016 after an 18-month battle with cancer. Bowie toured Hong Kong in 1983 and 2004 but his links with the city run much deeper. The video for his song Fashion was filmed in the city, he spent time practising Buddhism and was active in the cause of Tibetan sovereignty. It would be hard to find another pop artist who could claim to have had so much impact... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse With its grey front door and battered picket fence, No 4 Plaistow Grove in the anonymous London suburb of Bromley is unremarkable in every way except for one. The modest town house – originally built as a cottage for railway workers in the late 19th century – is the childhood home of pop phenomenon David Bowie. An inscription on a small blue plaque to the right of the front door is the only clue to the property’s extraordinary past. “David Bowie Singer and Talented Musician 1955 to 1968”, it... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349500/david-bowies-former-london-home-where-pop-star-dreamed-fame-open-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349500/david-bowies-former-london-home-where-pop-star-dreamed-fame-open-public?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US singer Britney Spears has become the latest musician to sell the rights to her catalogue that includes hits like “Baby One More Time” and “Oops!...I Did It Again”, US media reported on Tuesday. The deal is believed to be worth around US$200 million, according to sources cited by celebrity site TMZ, though it said the exact amount is not detailed in legal documents. That sum would be comparable to the sale of Canadian singer Justin Bieber’s catalogue in 2023. Spears, 44, joins a growing list... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343126/britney-spears-sells-rights-her-music-catalogue-reported-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343126/britney-spears-sells-rights-her-music-catalogue-reported-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:52:28 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press When David Bowie died in 2016, he left a vast musical legacy – and a trove of unrealised projects. Tantalising details of those abandoned and unfinished ideas are revealed in Bowie’s archive, which opens to the public this week. The 90,000 items acquired from Bowie’s estate by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum include handwritten notes for a film in which Major Tom – the fictional astronaut “sitting in a tin can far above the world” in Bowie’s song “Space Oddity,” and who returned in “Ashes to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3325194/david-bowies-unrealised-projects-among-items-new-dedicated-centre-londons-va?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3325194/david-bowies-unrealised-projects-among-items-new-dedicated-centre-londons-va?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service When the Scottish band Simple Minds made their live debut at the Satellite City club in Glasgow on January 17, 1978, it is fair to wonder just how big the four teenagers in the band dared to dream. “That’s a good question,” says singer Jim Kerr, who along with guitarist Charlie Burchill, are the only founding members of Simple Minds to have stayed in the band for the 47 years since that first gig. “And it’s one that we’ve been reflecting on a lot recently, because Charlie and I have just... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3312831/when-simple-minds-first-played-us-and-why-singer-jim-kerr-band-crusade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3312831/when-simple-minds-first-played-us-and-why-singer-jim-kerr-band-crusade?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:15:07 +0000 Nepali-American designer Prabal Gurung is as global as his designs. Born in Singapore, he was raised in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and now helms the eponymous New York-based atelier he launched in 2009. He prides himself on celebrating cultural identity and championing inclusivity, and has dressed the likes of Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. Since 2022, he has been vice-chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Style had a chance to catch up with the designer... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/entrepreneurs/article/3300155/designer-prabal-gurung-who-has-dressed-kamala-harris-oprah-winfrey-and-michelle-obama-draws-inspo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/entrepreneurs/article/3300155/designer-prabal-gurung-who-has-dressed-kamala-harris-oprah-winfrey-and-michelle-obama-draws-inspo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Mar 2025 01:00:10 +0000 A London auction of music legend David Bowie’s art collection has ended with sales totalling almost £33 million ($41.5 million), after exhibits of the works drew record crowds, Sotheby’s said. Every item in the collection, which included over 130 works of modern and contemporary British art, was sold in a series of sales as buyers’ enthusiasm for the late musician’s collection exceeded expectations. Exhibitions of the works in London attracted some 51,470 visitors, the highest attendance for any... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2045543/david-bowies-12-million-art-collection-defies-its-worth-sells-41?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2045543/david-bowies-12-million-art-collection-defies-its-worth-sells-41?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Nov 2016 06:10:56 +0000 The “man who sold the world” is soon to have his private art and design estate put on the block by Sotheby’s in London as the auction house brings together for sale more than 350 pieces that belonged to David Bowie until his sudden passing earlier this year. The full collection is on display in London ahead of the three-day sale which kicks off on November 10 and is seen raising over £10 million (US$12 million). This follows recent previews in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Given Bowie was... https://www.scmp.com/culture/article/2042708/david-bowies-private-art-collection-gets-set-us12-million-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/article/2042708/david-bowies-private-art-collection-gets-set-us12-million-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Nov 2016 09:12:31 +0000 Hong Kong fans of the late British rock star David Bowie will have the chance to appreciate more than 30 items including a painting that could fetch as much as £3.5 million (HK$33.3 million) from the musician’s personal art collection. The exhibition in the city is the last part of a global tour ahead of the auction of more than 350 Bowie artworks in London on November 10 and 11. Hong Kong artist remembers David Bowie’s ‘gift for our city’ The most valuable item is a five-foot painting, Air... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2027467/david-bowie-artworks-go-display-sothebys-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2027467/david-bowie-artworks-go-display-sothebys-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 11:43:01 +0000 Late musician David Bowie’s personal art collection will be showcased for the first time in a world tour passing through Hong Kong before being sold at auction in London. The world preview tour for the 400 pieces of painting, sculpture and design – including works from prominent British artists of the 20th century such as Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, Frank Auerbach and Damien Hirst – will start in London on July 20. Hong Kong artist remembers David Bowie’s ‘gift for our city’ Los Angeles and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1989912/david-bowies-art-collection-visit-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1989912/david-bowies-art-collection-visit-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jul 2016 00:00:45 +0000 It’s long been clear that David Bowie was a polymath, an artist as much as a musician, that “chameleon, comedian, Corinthian and caricature” he wrote of in his 1971 song The Bewlay Brothers. But what can we make of his literary legacy, of his influences and output as a writer? It started and ended in a theatrical tradition. “When I was a teenager,” he said in 2000, “I had it in mind that I would be a creator of musicals.” And there are traces of the native talents of Lionel Bart and Anthony... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1926350/what-bowie-read-rocknroll-polymaths-eclectic-reading?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1926350/what-bowie-read-rocknroll-polymaths-eclectic-reading?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Mar 2016 22:00:46 +0000 David Bowie, the British rock star who died at the age of 69 from cancer on January 10, directed in his will that his ashes be scattered in Bali, an island that fascinated him, according to a newspaper report. Bowie’s estimated US$100 million estate will go to his wife, children, a nanny and a personal assistant, in accordance with his 20-page will, filed on Friday in Surrogate’s Court in Manhattan, the New York Times said. His penthouse apartment in the trendy Manhattan neighbourhood of Soho,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1907603/bowies-ashes-be-scattered-bali-splits-us100-million-estate-between-wife?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1907603/bowies-ashes-be-scattered-bali-splits-us100-million-estate-between-wife?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Jan 2016 06:36:23 +0000 Designers in Milan paid tribute to music and fashion icon David Bowie as Milan Fashion Week menswear previews for next autumn and winter continued. Costume National designer Ennio Capasa and Roberto Cavalli’s Peter Dundas both said that the musician had often been a font of inspiration, something apparent in their collections, which were previewing just a week after Bowie’s death. Capasa named his Milan show after Bowie song “Under Pressure” for the state of the world amid repeated violent... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1903646/milan-catwalks-pay-fitting-tribute-david-bowies-influence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1903646/milan-catwalks-pay-fitting-tribute-david-bowies-influence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Jan 2016 16:01:18 +0000 David Bowie’s final album on Sunday hit number one in the United States, his adopted home, with the British music legend posthumously achieving a feat he never managed in life. Blackstar, which was released two days before Bowie’s January 10 death from a secret battle with cancer, debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart for the week through Thursday. Amid the outpouring of grief, Bowie not only scored his first US number one album but became among the rare artists to have two in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1902290/david-bowies-blackstar-finally-gives-him-number-one-album-us-days-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1902290/david-bowies-blackstar-finally-gives-him-number-one-album-us-days-after?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2016 06:20:08 +0000 “Most rock stars are about 70 years old these days,”wrote the music critic Kate Mossman on the death in 2013 of American musician Lou Reed, and she was not wrong. Fifty or so years after they began blazing a trail into a new world, we refuse to let go of the pop-cultural generation born in the 1940s, even though most of their creative lights have long since dimmed. However, that is hardly the point. When the Rolling Stones played Glastonbury in 2013, I watched a crowd of twenty-somethings stand... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1900622/commentary-how-david-bowie-stood-out-baby-boom-rock-stars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1900622/commentary-how-david-bowie-stood-out-baby-boom-rock-stars?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:00:42 +0000 Drinkers at a dusty Australian Outback pub have been raising their beer glasses this week to the pub’s most famous visitor, David Bowie. More than three decades ago, the mercurial musician made the 650-kilometre drive from Sydney to the tiny outpost of Carinda in parched western New South Wales state to shoot the video for his 1983 hit Let’s Dance at Carinda’s only pub. The pub’s current owner, Malcolm George, said the town of fewer than 200 people hadn’t known that Bowie was coming. And they... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1901091/outback-pub-was-setting-lets-dance-video-toasts-david-bowie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1901091/outback-pub-was-setting-lets-dance-video-toasts-david-bowie?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2016 06:30:00 +0000 In 1983,Geeling Ching was 23 years old and waiting tables at a Sydney cafe when she was chosen to play the lead role in the music video for David Bowie’s China Girl. She says the music video and the brief romance with Bowie that followed in the 1980s were like a surreal dream and a life changer. The death of the British rock star from cancer this week at age 69 stunned fans worldwide. New Zealand-born Ching was watching a tennis tournament in Auckland, where she lives, when her phone started... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1901075/david-bowies-china-girl-says-music-video-changed-her-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1901075/david-bowies-china-girl-says-music-video-changed-her-life?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2016 02:45:45 +0000 When David Bowie walked into the Tsim Sha Tsui shop of Sam’s Tailors, current owner Manu Melwani had no idea who this thin young man with a shock of blonde hair was, but his other customers did. “We thought he was something,” Melwani said. “Later on he was putting some suits on order, and people were looking.” he said, “I said ‘who’s this person?’ They say ‘he’s David Bowie, he’s a well known singer’. “I was very surprised.” The singer, at the early peak of his career and about to play his most... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1900089/david-bowies-tailor-hong-kong-icon-fit-prince-presidents-and-thin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1900089/david-bowies-tailor-hong-kong-icon-fit-prince-presidents-and-thin?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Jan 2016 07:00:30 +0000 David Bowie’s supermodel wife Iman, who was married to the legendary musician for 23 years, posted a series of poignant social media messages in the days leading up to his death. “The struggle is real, but so is God,” she wrote on her public Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts on Sunday, the day that her husband died surrounded by his family after a private 18-month battle with cancer. In the hours after news broke Monday of his death, the post collected thousands of messages of condolence... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1900070/i-will-see-you-sky-imans-poignant-messages-husband-david-bowies-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1900070/i-will-see-you-sky-imans-poignant-messages-husband-david-bowies-death?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Jan 2016 05:00:30 +0000 Nile Rodgers suspected a couple of years ago that his old friend David Bowie might have health problems, but had no idea he was terminally ill. “I was being honoured by my charity [the We Are Family Foundation] and they thought the most appropriate person to give me the award was Bowie,” said Rodgers, who produced Bowie's platinum-selling Let's Dance album. “And he did give me the award, but he had to give it by film. His speech was lovely, charming and really, really big-hearted. But I could... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1900007/david-bowies-final-stunning-surprise-despite-worldwide-fame-cancer-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1900007/david-bowies-final-stunning-surprise-despite-worldwide-fame-cancer-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 23:30:00 +0000 Condolences from Hong Kong’s culture sector poured in after the unexpected death of David Bowie, who was remembered for not only his inspiration for the city’s artists but also the only Chinese song he sang dedicated the city shortly before the handover. In 1997, Bowie released his first and only Chinese song Cha Na Tian Di, a Mandarin version of his song Seven Years In Tibet from album Earthling. Watch: David Bowie dies after 18-month cancer battle Hong Kong lyricist Lin Xi wrote the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1900002/hong-kong-artist-remembers-david-bowies-gift-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1900002/hong-kong-artist-remembers-david-bowies-gift-our?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 18:15:15 +0000 One of life’s few pleasures, said Kurt Cobain, the tortured, late genius of Nirvana, was listening to song after song from a great album without having to skip tracks. For me, David Bowie, who died of cancer aged 69, produced at least two such great albums: Ziggy Stardust and Diamond Dogs. There are books, movies and bands that define one’s youth. Those two albums definitely helped define mine. Diamond Dogs was my introduction to George Orwell. Its theme of fascist totalitarianism preceded Pink... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1899984/remembering-david-bowie-very-personal-perspective?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1899984/remembering-david-bowie-very-personal-perspective?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 16:15:54 +0000 From Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke and Aladdin Sane, David Bowie was rock’s definitive chameleon. A master of reinvention whose career spanned two generations, he dazzled millions with his taste for experiment, taking on everything from glam rock and soul to electronica and punk. He marked his 69th birthday by releasing his 25th studio album, the jazz-inspired “Blackstar”, hailed by many as one of his most innovative yet. Happy Birthday to David Bowie & his many faces.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1899965/david-bowie-was-chameleon-rock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1899965/david-bowie-was-chameleon-rock?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 11:15:00 +0000 David Bowie was arguably fashion’s king of self-invention. For almost 50 years he was both androgynous and highly sexual. His avant-garde guises launched the glam-rock movement, catapulting the fashion world into another orbit. From his metallic striped Ziggy Stardust bodysuit to his sharp-tailored ice-blue suit, his many images continue to resonate through popular culture today. Designers including Raf Simons, Hedi Slimane, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Dries Van Noten have paid homage to the singer... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1899937/david-bowie-didnt-just-sing-fashion-he-made-it-ziggy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1899937/david-bowie-didnt-just-sing-fashion-he-made-it-ziggy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:15:00 +0000 Over the course of a recording career that started in 1967, David Bowie was a musical chameleon who worked in a bewildering range of styles from pop and glam rock to electronic and experimental music. Of his 27 studio albums – the final being Blackstar, released on January 8, just two days before his death – here are the five most influential. Hunky Dory (1971) The breakthrough album that, after the baffling heavy rock of The Man Who Sold the World a few months before, announced Bowie as a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1899928/5-best-albums-visionary-rocker-david-bowie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1899928/5-best-albums-visionary-rocker-david-bowie?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 09:15:15 +0000 David Bowie had always been a man who shocked the world, even until his last moment on earth. When news of the music legend’s unexpected death flashed on my mobile, my hands trembled as memories of his last performance in Hong Kong played back in my head. It was 2004, at Wan Chai’s Convention and Exhibition Centre, Bowie’s second live Hong Kong appearance since 1983, and, as it turned out, it was his last. At the time, I wouldn’t have called myself a loyal long-time Bowie fan. But as a young... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1899927/david-bowie-remembered-hong-kong-journalists-fond-memory-his-2004?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1899927/david-bowie-remembered-hong-kong-journalists-fond-memory-his-2004?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 09:00:00 +0000 Legendary music icon David Bowie has died aged 69, according to his official account, after an 18-month battle with cancer. An official statement was posted on his social media accounts on Monday, while his representatives confirmed it to media.   January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with... Posted by David Bowie on Sunday, January 10, 2016 ”Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while,” his son... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1899906/music-legend-david-bowie-dies-aged-69-after-cancer-battle-tributes-pour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1899906/music-legend-david-bowie-dies-aged-69-after-cancer-battle-tributes-pour?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2016 07:00:45 +0000 Here are 10 of the most notable box sets released this year. David Bowie, “Five Years 1969-1973” (Parlophone, US$97) Bowie had spent the five years previous to this box set trying to break out as a theatrical crooner in swinging London. Five Years documents David Jones’ transition into rock with the 1969 David Bowie album, which included his first hit, the poignant, otherworldly Space Oddity. He enlisted a band with guitarist Mick Ronson and did some myth-building. He appeared in drag on the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1891822/musics-best-box-sets-2015-bowie-dylan-little-richard-frank-sinatra?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music/article/1891822/musics-best-box-sets-2015-bowie-dylan-little-richard-frank-sinatra?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Dec 2015 04:00:15 +0000 David Bowie, known for the intellectual bent of his music, is helping compose a musical based on cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. Chicago’s Oriental Theatre announced that the English rock icon and artist is leading an array of top musicians in composing the score for SpongeBob The Musical which will premiere there on June 7 next year. Other musicians who will contribute material include The Flaming Lips and They Might Be Giants, two US bands with similarly eclectic interests, as well as... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1854675/sponge-oddity-david-bowie-helps-compose-spongebob-musical?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1854675/sponge-oddity-david-bowie-helps-compose-spongebob-musical?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2015 08:15:30 +0000 Blur appear to have discovered their inner Chinese. The indie-rock veterans, who came to prominence during the 1990s Britpop era, might still be widely regarded as the personification of Englishness, but for their new album the band looked East for inspiration. And not just looked, but also travelled: the main recording sessions for The Magic Whip took place in mid-2013 at Avon Studios in Kowloon. "We definitely drew on influences from our time out there, in a similar way to how we used to draw... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1724861/hong-kongs-impact-blur-berlins-david-bowie-damon-albarn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1724861/hong-kongs-impact-blur-berlins-david-bowie-damon-albarn?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2015 23:45:00 +0000 Hunky Dory David Bowie RCA The watchword for David Bowie has always been "change": from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke, from soul crooner to stadium rocker, his very career has been an evolving performance copied by many, matched by none. Changing characters, changing music and changing appearance - stylistically Bowie has never stood still. The signs of his future trajectory were made apparent early in his career on Hunky Dory and as if to presage the future, Changes - the opening track... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1672920/1971-when-david-bowies-hunky-dory-album-foretold-music?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1672920/1971-when-david-bowies-hunky-dory-album-foretold-music?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2015 13:00:30 +0000 You've probably already heard about David Bowie's cocaine spoon. It's one of hundreds of artefacts from the rock star's career that help make up the open-armed, headphone-insistent, steadily applauding show, "David Bowie Is", newly mounted at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) for its only US stop. The spoon sits, without fanfare, in a case alongside Bowie's sketches and journal entries, and below the cover art for his 1974 album Diamond Dogs, a portrait of the artist as a partial... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1608877/travelling-bowie-exhibition-captures-singers-evolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1608877/travelling-bowie-exhibition-captures-singers-evolution?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2014 15:16:34 +0000 Nods to David Bowie were everywhere in Paris. Whether as an embroidered motif on a Lucien Pellat Finet jumper for Thom Browne's quirky military styling (think runway models in uniforms with heels and red lipstick) or as a youthful rock 'n' roll metaphor from Saint Laurent, you simply couldn't escape the Paris menswear shows without spotting a reference to the British glam rocker. Leading the pack for spring-summer 2014 was Hedi Slimane's collection for Saint Laurent. His "heroin-chic" and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1275387/designers-bow-bowie-2014-spring-summer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/1275387/designers-bow-bowie-2014-spring-summer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has marked his upcoming departure from the International Space Station by singing a cover version of David Bowie's classic song Space Oddity recorded on the orbiting laboratory. Hadfield, pictured, who became a global star during his half-year stint on the ISS with regular and sometimes quirky postings on Twitter, is due to touch down back on Earth early today. The video of the Canadian spaceman crooning his way through the Bowie track has already become a huge... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1236998/astronauts-space-oddity-farewell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1236998/astronauts-space-oddity-farewell?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Dousing the lights for Earth Hour Sydney becomes one of the first cities to mark Earth Hour, the annual environmental campaign to encourage global sustainability, by turning off the lights on the Opera House and the harbour bridge. More than 7,000 cities around the world will turn off their lights at 8.30pm for one hour. In Hong Kong the global conservation body WWF and the faculty of science of the University of Hong Kong are holding a "light pollution science roadshow" on the Avenue of Stars... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1197475/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1197475/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 London Fashion Week may have ended a month ago, but like the undulating ripples that continue long after a stone makes its dramatic splash into a pool, we’re still feeling the effects of one of the season’s biggest style events. It seems that everywhere we look lately, there’s a Brit who’s just being incredibly, infuriatingly cool. It seems the birthplace of Yorkshire puddings, greyhound racing and J. K. Rowling has produced more than its fair share of style icons of late, and we’re quite happy... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1196934/david-bowie-duchess-cambridge-and-brit-style?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1196934/david-bowie-duchess-cambridge-and-brit-style?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:25:52 +0000 Balloon accident victims' bodies returned home The bodies of the nine Hongkongers killed in a hot-air balloon explosion in Egypt last month are expected to arrive in the city today at about 5.30pm and be transferred to Kwai Chung Public Mortuary, according to the Immigration Department. The nine were among 19 killed after their balloon caught fire during a sightseeing trip in Luxor. Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said Egyptian authorities had turned down its request to help investigate... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1187894/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1187894/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 British rock icon David Bowie broke a decade-long musical silence yesterday, unveiling a new single to coincide with his 66th birthday and announcing that he will release an album in March. The outlandish star surprised fans by posting a video for the single, entitled Where Are We Now?, on his website, and it will also be available to download on iTunes. The new album, The Next Day, will be released on March 11. Bowie has been a relative recluse in recent years, having released no new musical... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1123329/bowie-ends-10-year-silence-new-single?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1123329/bowie-ends-10-year-silence-new-single?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 'If it makes a noise I'll shoot it,' says music photographer Mick Rock of his recent work with artists such as Janelle Monae, Cee Lo Green and Lady Gaga. During his many years in the business he has snapped some of the most influential people in music. In his dark sunglasses and long, tousled hair, Rock has the presence of a rock star himself. Dubbed 'the Man Who Shot the Seventies', he is in town to open Rocked, a travelling exhibition of some of his most famous pictures and one or two new... https://www.scmp.com/article/1003978/frame-and-fortune?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1003978/frame-and-fortune?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Ziggy played guitar for the first time 40 years ago this week, beaming one of rock's most iconic albums down to earth in an explosion of glitter and eye-liner, and reshaping the way pop was performed and packaged. In the fictional world of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, David Bowie's alter-ego was an alien prophet sent to rescue a doomed planet. In the real world, the concept album, released on June 6, 1972, helped save pop from stagnation. It also helped... https://www.scmp.com/article/1002811/alien-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1002811/alien-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The Idiot Iggy Pop RCA Few artists can claim to have created a new genre of rock through just one album. Iggy Pop, however, did it twice. Arguably, his debut record with The Stooges (titled The Stooges) in 1969 forged the template for the 1970s punk movement. And then his first solo outing, The Idiot, provided the mould for the more adventurous and artistically febrile post-punk movement. It encoded the futuristic tenets of the late-70s, early-80s movement that took punk's DIY ethos and... https://www.scmp.com/article/997081/album-1977?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/997081/album-1977?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 WHILE living in Berlin a few years ago, I found myself taking a David Bowie tour of the city. This wasn't an official tour; there were no guides or any semblance of organisation, and it took more than a week to complete, given all the drinking dens that 'needed' to be visited. The tour was a personal journey gleaned from various Bowie-in-Berlin trivia I had acquired over the years. After a visit to Hansa Studio (where the seminal albums Low and Heroes were recorded), much of the time was spent... https://www.scmp.com/article/994863/agent-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/994863/agent-change?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 David Bowie Low RCA David Bowie found himself in a quandary in 1976. Four years earlier, the chameleonic star had zapped the charts in a laser-beam of white-hot rock theatre with Ziggy Stardust. He had re-imagined George Orwell's dystopian view of the future as a rock album with 1974's Diamond Dogs. He then switched gears again to record two albums of so-called plastic soul, Young Americans and Station to Station. Now Bowie was at an artistic crossroads and looking for another new... https://www.scmp.com/article/969766/album-1977?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/969766/album-1977?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 1. Barton Hollow (album) - Civil Wars A sweet country duo - Joy Williams and John Paul White - with lovely harmonies. They've kind of blown up recently, but their popularity is cool because it was mostly reliant on celebrity tweets and word of mouth. 2. Interiors (album) - Brad An amazing band that didn't seem to ever make it - they're a kind of supergroup, with Stone Gossard from Pearl Jam and a bunch of other 90s Seattle-scene guys. 3. Foxes Mate for Life - Born Ruffians This is from... https://www.scmp.com/article/966478/ali-reid-bass-player-david-bowie-knives-and-owner-turtle-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/966478/ali-reid-bass-player-david-bowie-knives-and-owner-turtle-media?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000 J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, would be 150 today, if he were still with us. Inspired by the death of the Scottish writer's teenage brother in an ice-skating accident, the book was a phenomenal success both at home and abroad. Charles Frohman, who produced the West End and Broadway plays of the story, channelled Peter Pan with the line, 'Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure in life,' when declining a lifeboat seat aboard the rapidly sinking RMS Lusitania ... The 1915... https://www.scmp.com/article/713873/six-degrees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/713873/six-degrees?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A black T-shirt and jeans aren't normally the kind of ensemble a fashionista like Joanne Ooi would wear to her own party, unless it's for a good cause. That was the case on Tuesday night at the Box Thai restaurant as the Clean Air Network Ooi now heads hosted a cocktail event to highlight its agenda. 'I wanted the campaign to be subversive, artistic and creative, and also show that we are not afraid to be daring,' said the former Shanghai Tang creative director and now co-owner of the Ooi... https://www.scmp.com/article/699471/fashionista-goes-back-basics-her-campaign-clear-air?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/699471/fashionista-goes-back-basics-her-campaign-clear-air?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Horrors Primary Colours (XL Recordings) Remember The Horrors as dandy-goths plying a near-comedic Hammer movie schtick with barely enough ability to hold a guitar, let alone play one? Then think again. The former Jack the Ripper obsessives have reinvented themselves with a new look and, more importantly, a new sound - a new and far-improved sound. In fact, the sound is so good this CD has to be in line for album of the year. As volte-faces go, the sea-change in the Southend hipsters... https://www.scmp.com/article/681241/horrors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/681241/horrors?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Man Who Fell to Earth David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Buck Henry Director: Nicolas Roeg David Bowie may be an innovative and charismatic performer, but his talents have not translated well onto the big screen. But The Man Who Fell to Earth, directed by British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, fitted his androgynous, other-worldly persona perfectly. Bowie acts naturally in a story about a thoughtful alien on a mission to Earth. In doing so, he elevates a good film to a work of... https://www.scmp.com/article/676524/film-1976?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/676524/film-1976?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 At the age of 19, he was the youngest male solo artist to reach No.1 in the UK charts with his debut single Fill Me In. Seven years later, Craig David, or the British R&B prince, is back with his fourth album Trust Me. It has been two years since the release of David's last album The Story Goes... Patient fans will be relieved to find the new album as catchy and bouncy as his previous releases. Produced in Havana, Cuba, the 11-track offering features Cuban elements - vibrant brass, rhythmic... https://www.scmp.com/article/616188/feast-latin-beats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/616188/feast-latin-beats?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Craig David is tongue-tied by Tagalog. He's just finished an interview with a Philippine radio station and is taping several on-air promo spots. One contains a cool colloquialism that might translate to 'homeboys' in the country's national language, but stumbling off the tongue of the singer-songwriter from Southampton it sounds neither cool nor colloquial. 'Manong ka-bar-ka-da! What's up, Philippines!? I'm Craig David ...' The interviewer has flown to Hong Kong for the release of David's fourth... https://www.scmp.com/article/616069/fall-guy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/616069/fall-guy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:00:00 +0000 The highlight of Gabe Andre's music career, he says, was telling Avril Lavigne to f*** off. The soon-to-be-megastar had interrupted a recording session by calling the band's producer and didn't seem in a hurry to get off the phone. Andre, getting impatient, took the phone from the producer, who was a friend, and told Lavigne they were trying to record an album. 'She said, 'We were just talking',' Andre says. 'And I said, 'Well, f*** off'.' His mate wasn't impressed. 'He said, 'You... https://www.scmp.com/article/594052/knives-come-out-one-night-stand-sex-rock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/594052/knives-come-out-one-night-stand-sex-rock?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 May 2007 16:00:00 +0000