‘hours…’

The release

Beginning on 6 August 1999, the album was unveiled track-by-track, with 45-second song snippets posted at a time. The artwork was similarly revealed piece-by-piece.

On 21 September a notice was posted on BowieNet:

For the first time in the history of the music business, a major recording artist and a leading record company are joining with retailers to bring a complete album to music fans via download from the internet.

I am hopeful that this small step will lead to greater steps by myself and others, ultimately giving consumers greater choices and easier access to the music they enjoy.

While the decision was in keeping with Bowie’s far-reaching vision of the internet’s possibilities, it was not well-received by traditional retailers. An HMV spokesperson summed up the divide between old and new:

If artists release albums on the net before other people can buy them in the shops, it’s not a level playing field. Records should be available to everyone at the same time, and not everyone has access to the internet… It’s unlikely that we would stock the artist in question. Retailers are not going to stand for it.

‘Thursday’s Child’ was released on 20 September 1999 as the first single from ‘hours…’. It was BBC Radio 2’s record of the week, and reached number 16 in the UK, becoming Bowie’s 56th top 40 hit.

The various formats included the additional tracks ‘We All Go Through’, ‘No One Calls’, ‘Thursday’s Child’ (Rock Mix), ‘We Shall Go To Town’, and ‘1917’, as well as the full-length video for ‘Thursday’s Child’ in QuickTime format.

‘hours…’ followed two weeks later, on 4 October. It reached number five on the UK albums chart, before swiftly dropping down. In Japan it contained the bonus track ‘We All Go Through’.

‘We Shall Go To Town’ is the song we wrote and recorded for ‘hours…’ that epitomized the emotional tone I hoped the album would have – yet it didn’t make it onto the album. Instead, it was the b-side to a single release of ‘Thursday’s Child’. To my mind ‘We Shall Go To Town’ would have been a linchpin track on the album, adding heavier meaning to even the lighter songs. The story has a sci-fi quality: Two people, madly in love, are so grotesque in appearance that in the past, when they went out in public, people tried to kill them. Almost like stoning in Biblical stories. One night, weary of living in shadows, the pair put on their best clothes, go to a fine restaurant, and have a night on the town despite knowing it would likely end horribly. That’s love, and that’s courage.

Neither was ‘We All Go Through’ on the album as originally released, because to my surprise David decided it sounded too much like a George Harrison song. It was, though, included on a Japan-only release and laster, on a re-release of ‘hours…’ with bonus tracks. That song came to me in a dream in my NYC apartment. I climbed out of bed and sketched it out in the gray light of sunrise in my bathrobe, headphones on, playing a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar. By the time I left home that morning, most of the guitar and synth tracks were done. I carried them to the studio on a drive under my arm.

The album failed to enter the top 40 in America, peaking at number 47, although it was a top 10 hit in France, Germany, and Italy.

Three singles followed. ‘The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell’ was issued on 14 October, although it had been released on 20 September in Australia and Japan.

The third single from ‘hours…’ was ‘Survive’. Released on 24 January 2000, it reached number 28 in the UK. The single’s formats included a Marius De Vries mix; the Stigmata soundtrack version of ‘The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell’; live versions of ‘Survive’, ‘Thursday’s Child’ and ‘Seven’ recorded in Paris on 13 October 1999; and the video in QuickTime.

‘Survive’ is probably my favourite, one of the two favourite new songs from the ‘hours…’ album. There’s something that I really find authentically early Seventies about the writing structure of ‘Survive’, and it’s a joy to sing on stage. It’s probably one of the favourite of the new songs to actually perform.

Fourteen Bowie/Gabrels songs were released on the album, singles, b-sides and/or special releases. David and I further provided music to Eidos/Quantic Dream for Omikron: The Nomad Soul, including alternate versions of several songs, some with lyric alterations, some instrumentals, and all integral to the game which, once published, won awards and accolades.

After mastering, after artwork and all necessaries went off for pressing, and after we’d performed a show for VH1 Storytellers, I sat down with David and told him it was time for me to go. Though he hadn’t expected it, I’d been thinking it necessary for some time, and ours was an amicable parting. I suggested to David that he ask Mark Plati to become musical director for upcoming shows, and I made several suggestions for lead guitarists.

Making ‘hours…’ together concluded my creative journey with David Bowie. A brilliant adventure.