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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Jan 28, 2013 17:30:45 GMT
Caravel (and Opsis) did some good TOTP films though.
I have seen a few and one has superb stop-motion photography in it.
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Post by Dale Rumbold on Jan 28, 2013 18:43:14 GMT
It remains far and away his best song (and I have most of his early 70s stuff too, before anyone thinks I'm not a Bowie fan). It is also a wonderful way to wind-up other Bowie devotees, I've found. Apparently he never includes it in his shows ...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2013 18:50:59 GMT
It remains far and away his best song (and I have most of his early 70s stuff too, before anyone thinks I'm not a Bowie fan). It is also a wonderful way to wind-up other Bowie devotees, I've found. Apparently he never includes it in his shows ... ;D I don't dislike it... funnily enough I was listening to the stereo mix of it just last night thanks to this thread - very nice it is too. A pity the NME campaign to get fans to vote for Bowie to play the song on the 1990 tour was scuppered though Bowie must had taken notice admitting some time after he had tried working out an arrangement with his band and pointing out it had a strong Velvet Underground feel. But yes... more often than not, mentioning "Gnome" to Bowie fans provokes reactions usually of the roll eyes variety!
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Post by markjhaley on Jan 28, 2013 20:04:31 GMT
Yep, like Phillip, I just had a quick listen. There's some good stuff going on in that arrangement. At the end Bowie seems to be genuinely cracking up at the absurdity of what he's doing. I can picture the various musos, tape op and producer laughing along with him in the studio. It's probably best to think of him as plain old David Jones when you hear it. Everyone has skeletons in their closet
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Post by Richard Marple on Jan 28, 2013 20:14:24 GMT
DB also did some sessions for budget labels in the mid late 1960s, covering hits of the time.
Elton John & 3/4 of Queen did similar work while trying to hit the big time.
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Post by ajsmith on Jan 28, 2013 21:26:17 GMT
I'm sure it doesn't exist, but does anyone know if Bowie did any TV for "Laughing Gnome" at the time?
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Post by Brian Denton on Jan 28, 2013 22:11:25 GMT
It's always surprised me how long it took Bowie from when he first started (1964?) to superstardom (1972, arguably - Space Oddity was a hiccup). Can anyone think of a comparable gestation period?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2013 22:21:34 GMT
I'm sure it doesn't exist, but does anyone know if Bowie did any TV for "Laughing Gnome" at the time? A good question though I get the distinct feeling it's highly probable he did no TV in 1967 for it or any of his other Deram singles though would be nice to be proved wrong... and nicer still if by any miracle such footage still exists. Given the novelty nature of the song, the highbrow arts shows wouldn't had touched it with a bargepole, though maybe one of the kids shows might had considered it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2013 23:03:52 GMT
Bowie did no tv performances for 'The Laughing Gnome' nor any other tv for the BBC in 1967. But in 1967 he did tv performances in Europe for 'Fan Club' (Love You Til Tuesday) and '4-3-2-1-Musik Fur Junge Leute' (Love You Til Tuesday/Did You Ever Have A Dream/Please Mr Gravedigger), both of which seem to have gone astray sadly.
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Post by Peter Stirling on Jan 28, 2013 23:09:58 GMT
It remains far and away his best song (and I have most of his early 70s stuff too, before anyone thinks I'm not a Bowie fan). It is also a wonderful way to wind-up other Bowie devotees, I've found. Apparently he never includes it in his shows ... I enjoy his later work with the bullshit lyrics, but there is something so sensitively crafted in the songs from the Gnome to Man who sold the World period which are stark observations of human life with a story like beginning middle and end..and of course a sense of humour.
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Jan 29, 2013 9:03:32 GMT
It's always surprised me how long it took Bowie from when he first started (1964?) to superstardom (1972, arguably - Space Oddity was a hiccup). Can anyone think of a comparable gestation period? Elton. Elt started playing in bands in 63; first worldwide hit 1971....
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Post by ajsmith on Jan 29, 2013 9:52:19 GMT
I think it's quite likely Bowie was slightly embarrassed by The Laughing Gnome even at the time.. .. note that the singles before and after TLG (Rubber Band and Love You Til Tuesday) were both included on his debut album while Gnome was omitted.. same with the Love You Too Tuesday film, where that and Rubber Band have videos but there's no Gnome clip... I don't know much about Bowie's bio but I'm getting the impression that management were behind the single release of TLG in the hopes of a quick novelty hit.
I also think Bowie's Deram work was some of his strongest and I think the Gnome connotations have long tainted many peoples view of this period.
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Post by ajsmith on Jan 29, 2013 9:54:02 GMT
Bowie did no tv performances for 'The Laughing Gnome' nor any other tv for the BBC in 1967. But in 1967 he did tv performances in Europe for 'Fan Club' (Love You Til Tuesday) and '4-3-2-1-Musik Fur Junge Leute' (Love You Til Tuesday/Did You Ever Have A Dream/Please Mr Gravedigger), both of which seem to have gone astray sadly. Wow, "Please Mr Gravedigger" is a pretty grim selection for a pop show.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2013 10:34:25 GMT
I also think Bowie's Deram work was some of his strongest and I think the Gnome connotations have long tainted many peoples view of this period. I couldn't agree more. His 1967 debut remains one of my most played Bowie albums. By the way, the 'Please Mr Gravedigger' performance was actually a mime piece which makes it even more fascinating.
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Post by Neil Megson on Jan 29, 2013 10:43:46 GMT
You often see the Decca LP "The World Of David Bowie" in used-record shops - it has a full-on 1973 glam cover with DB in glitter and spiked orange hair, but all the tracks are from his mid-to-late 60s period ! I wonder if people who bought this at the time were disappointed at first, but then grew to like it ?
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