Audio By Carbonatix
A series of streamed music events, shows and new releases are marking David Bowie's birthday and the fifth anniversary of his death.
The musician Bowie would have turned 74 on Friday, while Sunday is five years since he died of cancer.
A star-studded tribute concert and his 2015 stage musical Lazarus will both be streamed over the weekend.
Two previously unreleased Bowie tracks have also been released, while his music has now arrived on TikTok.
The tribute gig, titled A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day, will feature Bowie's former bandmates alongside stars including Boy George, Duran Duran, Trent Reznor, Adam Lambert, Gary Barlow and actor Gary Oldman.
Starting at 18:00 PT on Friday (02:00 GMT Saturday), the show will be led by Bowie's longtime pianist Mike Garson and will be available for 24 hours.
Duran Duran released a timely cover of Bowie's track Five Years ahead of the show. "My life as a teenager was all about David Bowie," singer Simon Le Bon said.
"He is the reason why I started writing songs. Part of me still can't believe in his death five years ago, but maybe that's because there's a part of me where he's still alive and always will be."
On Friday, Bowie's previously unreleased covers of Bob Dylan's Tryin' to Get to Heaven and John Lennon's Mother were also put out into the world.
BBC Four is hosting a Bowie Night on Friday, while there will be special programmes on BBC Radio 4 and 6 Music. They include Bowie: Dancing Out in Space, which will air simultaneously on the two stations on Sunday.
In it, producer Tony Visconti describes how Bowie and Lennon first met awkwardly in a New York hotel room ahead of their collaborations on the former's cover of The Beatles' Across the Universe and his own 1975 song Fame.
"He was terrified of meeting John Lennon," says Visconti. "About one in the morning I knocked on the door and for about the next two hours, John Lennon and David weren't speaking to each other.
"Instead, David was sitting on the floor with an art pad and a charcoal and he was sketching things and he was completely ignoring Lennon.
"So, after about two hours of that, he [John] finally said to David, 'Rip that pad in half and give me a few sheets. I want to draw you.' So David said, 'Oh, that's a good idea', and he finally opened up. So John started making caricatures of David, and David started doing the same of John and they kept swapping them and then they started laughing and that broke the ice."
Meanwhile, next weekend will see the release of Stardust, a film biopic about Bowie's journey to becoming Ziggy Stardust, starring singer and actor Johnny Flynn.
However, Bowie's family have not given it their blessing, meaning the film-makers were not allowed to use any of his music. Instead Flynn, as Bowie, is seen performing songs by Jacques Brel, The Yardbirds and one of Flynn's own compositions.
Latest Stories
-
Mahama swears in Presidential Advisory Group on the Economy to drive recovery agenda
2 minutes -
Man arrested in Tarkwa after neighbour dies following domestic dispute intervention
13 minutes -
Minority alleges political targeting in NIB’s handling of Ofosu Nkansah’s probe
20 minutes -
JoyNews to host national dialogue on district assemblies’ role in galamsey fight on Feb 12
24 minutes -
Mohammed Salisu begins rehabilitation from ACL injury
26 minutes -
Mohammed Kudus to work under new boss as Tottenham sack Thomas Frank
27 minutes -
Ghana’s GH¢33 billion cocoa sector debt crisis threatens global chocolate supply chains
41 minutes -
Princess Burland showcases Ghana at Coca-Cola’s FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour in Abidjan
46 minutes -
Uneducated, female-headed households hardest hit by food insecurity — GSS report
1 hour -
Minority demands immediate release of Kofi Ofosu Nkansah over ‘unacceptable’ detention
1 hour -
Save and invest at least 20% of your income — EDC Investment boss urges Ghanaians
1 hour -
Ghanaians are struggling, yet gov’t deploys NIB – Minority calls it a ‘diversion’
1 hour -
Minority says Ofosu Nkansah’s arrest diverts attention from pressing economic hardships
1 hour -
CDM demands transparency over NIB detention of former NEIP boss Kofi Ofosu Nkansah
1 hour -
Kaizen Gaming launches Betano in Ghana
1 hour
