UK :DAVID BOWIE AND SINEAD O'CONNOR TOP THE BILL ON THE LAST DAY OF THE THREE-DAY PHOENIX FESTIVAL AT LONG MARSTON

Record ID: 387033

  • Title: UK :DAVID BOWIE AND SINEAD O'CONNOR TOP THE BILL ON THE LAST DAY OF THE THREE-DAY PHOENIX FESTIVAL AT LONG MARSTON
  • Date: 20th July 1997
  • Summary: LONG MARSTON, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 20, 1997) (REUTERS) BOWIE ( SOUNDBITE ENGLISH ) SAYING, "IT'S QUITE EXTRAORDINARY, A FRIEND OF MINE IN HONG KONG, ELVIN WONG, WHO IS A DJ, ONE OF THE SORT OF UNDERGROUND STATIONS, LIKED THE EARTHLING ALBUM VERY MUCH AND ALSO FELT QUITE SIMILARLY ABOUT THE CHINESE OCCUPATION OF TIBET - WHICH IS THE SUBJECT OF ONE OF THE SONGS - AND HE
  • Embargoed: 4th August 1997 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONG MARSTON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA6V2TKL9G0Z9X72SIWPJ6VXOEC
  • Story Text: The fans may have been disappointed by this year's Glastonbury festival after it turned into a mud bath, but the sun decided to put on a strong performance at England's Phoenix music festival last weekend.

    As fans stripped off to enjoy the weather, they were treated to four days of music on seven different stages from Black Grape, The Charlatans, Jamiroquai, Sinead O'Connor and David Bowie, amongst a host of other artists from across the musical spectrum.

    Bowie, who until recently had been reluctant to perform his "golden oldies", received wild applause from the audience for his updated renditions of songs like "Jean Genie", "The Man Who Sold The World", "Fame" and "Fashion".

    Tracks from his current album, "Earthling", were also well-received, indicating that his latest drum 'n' bass influenced music is a hit with new fans and old.

    Bowie has been touring extensively this year - the Phoenix was his 23rd festival gig - with his new dance music friends The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and Orbital. More performances are yet to come, with tour dates in France and Sweden later this summer.

    "I've had a ball," Bowie told Reuters Television. "It's been a holiday".

    Bowie explained that his fondness for dance music dated back to his early career when he was performing in clubs.

    Before he took to the Phoenix main stage, Bowie took his wife, Somalian model Iman, over to the dance stage to watch the king of the jungle music movement Goldie perform.

    Indeed, Bowie himself made a surprise appearance on the same stage on Saturday (July 19) under the alias of Tao Jones index, where he accompanied his young dance band on the saxophone as they pounded a startled audience with a drum 'n' bass set.

    Bowie said he didn't want to have a fixed musical style or "Bowie sound." "I prefer to be a free agent and move from one thing to another as my enthusiasms take me," he said.

    Another area of enthusiasm for the 50-year-old musical chameleon is the campaign for religious freedom in Tibet - Bowie is a Buddhist himself. Whilst many artists have spoken out on the subject, Bowie went one step further with his song "Seven Years in Tibet", which he recorded in Mandarin with the help from a language coach.

    The song shot straight to number one in the Hong Kong Chinese-language radio chart, a first for an international artist.

    Earlier this year, Bowie scored another first when he floated himself on the Wall Street stock exchange with the creation of the "Bowie Bond" against his future royalties, earning him the reported sum of 33 million pounds to finance new projects.

    Just in case that's not enough, Bowie has also struck a major deal with EMI records for distribution rights to his back catalogue, including thousands of hours of previously unreleased material.

    "I can't quite believe how much rubbish I've written in my life, I think that's the overwhelming reponse to going through old tapes", Bowie said. "But some of it's just too funny and I have to put it out." Sharing the Phoenix bill with Bowie on Sunday (July 20) was Sinead O'Connor, in an upbeat mood following the start of an IRA ceasefire earlier in the day.

    O'Connor's musical career has often been overshadowed in the press by her knack for generating controversy, especially in the religious and political arenas.

    Her interest in politics remains - she is studying for a degree in Irish and Caribbean Studies. But her latest EP "Gospel Oak" seems to mark a new, more serene period for the Irish songstress.

    The record was received with critical acclaim when it was released in May.

    "In a way the songs are political, but not about politics, really about the politics of children, if you like," O'Connor said.

    O'Connor has two children herself, and the "Gospel Oak" track "This Is To Mother You" is an ode to her daughter, Roisin. Other songs on the 6-track EP are dedicated to "the people of Israel, Northern Ireland and Rwanda." One such track is "Petit Poulet", which although it deals with atrocities in Rwanda, focuses on the need to comfort the children scarred by the tragedy rather than resorting to political invective.

    O'Connor's difficult relationship with Catholicism is well-documented - she famously tore up a photograph of the Pope on U.S. television - and controversy is likely to rear its head with her role in the upcoming Neil Jordan film "The Butcher Boy".

    The film's story is based on Pat McCabe's book of the same name, about a boy who is visited by the Virgin Mary when his terrible experiences drive him mad. Naturally, O'Connor (who is now a Buddhist) plays the Virgin Mary.

    Asked how it felt to step into the Virgin Mary's shoes, O'Connor explained: "I think all women have been born in her shoes, and have been in her shoes, so it didn't feel any different, being a woman." Another area of past controversy for O'Connor was her refusal to sing the United States national anthem before a concert, to protest the Gulf War. But now even O'Connor's relationship with America seems to be healed and she is looking forward to a tour of the region from August 8-30.

    "Americans are great," said O'Connor, "In England they kind of concentrate on the controversy but in America you don't find that, they tend to leave the crap behind. It's a great place to play." O'Connor is also scheduled to play two festivals in Lorrach and Jena in Germany (July 24-25), London (July 28), Lorient, France (August 2), and Dranouter in Belgium (August 3).
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