Glastonbury 2000 diary – part four

In May and June 2000, ahead of his triumphant appearance at the Glastonbury Festival, David Bowie kept an eight-part diary which was published in Time Out magazine. Here is the fourth instalment.

Rehearsals begin in enthusiastic but musical abandon. Lots of jamming that gradually becomes a serious attempt to come to grips with so much material. Being British, the main thing on my mind, of course, is wardrobe. Several Brit designers and a French person have offered an item or two, a happily anticipated show tradition for my by now. Trouble is, I’m tempted to wear all of them, at once. Looking back at some of the festivals that I did in the nineties I think I probably did.

To get a feel for what we are about to do I’ve put in some very low profile warm-up shows for the 16th, 17th and 19th of June. I picked a small, three thousand capacity venue called The Roseland Ballroom in mid-town Manhattan as it allows Iman and me to get home in a few minutes after the show and also because I love the name. These few shows will hopefully allow us to feel the relative strengths and weaknesses of our material and still afford us the time to make changes and tighten up anything that needs an overhaul. The third date should prove to be particularly festive as it’s exclusively for Bowienet members.

My ‘nick’ in the Bowienet chat-room has been Sailor for some time now, so that virtually dictates what I shall wear that night, leastways.

A Britsider friend of mine sends me pictures of the latest Hirst. Hymn, eh? The Saatchi-Hirst combination looks more and more like the Medici-Michaelangelo combo. Should have called it ‘David V.2.’ and been done with it. Wonder if he does ceilings?

I remember Hirst telling me about this idea some time ago when he first bought the toy for his son.I thought then that it was a bit Koons-like, what with Jeff remaking his own son’s toys twenty feet high for his Celebration show. I wonder if any of the rest of Hirst’s new stuff will have the punch and poke of his older pieces? I expect he gets really tired of people harping on about the Shark and the Sheep, though. It’s a bit like a songwriter’s first popular album. It’s the only work that’s taken on board by much of the public. The cutting edge can sometimes create open wounds, I think.

I liked some of his initial work although I’ve only ever bought one piece. A spin painting. I made one of those with him a few years ago. Lots of fun. He kindly gave me that one. And so I bought another. He also gave me a Perspex-boxed sardine in formaldehyde, about five inches long. It started me off on devising a Portable Art Collection that could be carried most conveniently in the various pockets of one’s attire.

Other Glastonbury diary entries:

• Part one – 15 May 2000
• Part two – 19 May 2000
• Part three – 25 May 2000
• Part five – 6 June 2000
• Part six – 7 June 2000
• Part seven – 9 June 2000
• Part eight – 11 June 2000