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Spiders From Mars bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Woody Woodmansey were two very special guests that appeared at the unveiling of the new plaque commemorating the 40th Anniversary of David Bowie’s ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.’

The celebration took place on Heddon Street, where the album cover photograph was originally taken (in black and white) by Brian Ward before he colorized it for the cover art which was designed by Terry Pastor.

The end result is a cover that is now immortalized as the landing spot of Bowie’s fictional character Ziggy Stardust. The infamous glow of the street lamp, the K.West sign and the telephone booth, combined with the allure of a wet, trash filled alley all play a special part in contributing to an image that is now considered legend.

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) a well-known Bowie fan had the superb privilege of being spokesperson at the event and his memories shared on BBC radio and partly in this video, remind us of the glam-filled lore that still binds Bowie fans together to this day.

Clearly, it was always about the songs and the intense musical talent of Bowie and his guitarist Mick Ronson and our favorite rhythm section from Hull, Bolder and Woodmansey. Still, the cover art helped to fuel our fantasies and as Kemp pointed out, that K-WEST sign could easily have been interpreted as QUEST, right?

No matter; how you discovered it, how you’ve drowned in it, how you remember it, it’s an official landmark now - complete with a plaque so that every passer-byer can be lifted by the original site that brought us the galactic sounds of a Starman in summer 1972.

Watch The Unveiling Of The Ziggy Stardust Plaque At Heddon Street below and stay tuned as Weird and Gilly plan to share more stories and photos in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Ziggy Stardust.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFkCXBUEnF0

Join us tonight at the RHOF to welcome Gloria Jones!

The Rock Hall hosts an evening with singer and songwriter Gloria Jones as part of Museum’s Black History Month celebration

WHAT:   On Wednesday, February 29, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will host an evening with singer and songwriting Gloria Jones (“Tainted Love,” “If I Were Your Woman”).  This event is part of the Museum’s month-long Black History Month celebration.

WHEN:             Wednesday, February 29, 2012 7pm.

WHERE:           Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Foster Theater

TO RSVP:         This event is FREE with a reservation. Reservations can be made by  visiting at the Rock Hall Box Office.   A limited number of tickets will be available for those without internet access through the Rock Hall’s RSVP phone system by calling (216) 515-8426.

Can’t make it to Cleveland for this event?  No worries! This event will be live streamed on the RHOF website.

MORE INFO:   Cincinnati-born soul singer and songwriter Gloria Jones has been performing for nearly five decades, first appearing in the spotlight in the mid-1960s with her original recording of “Tainted Love.” The song went on to be covered by Soft Cell and reached international success in 1981. Jones joined British rock band T. Rex as keyboardist and backing vocalist in 1974 until the band’s end in 1977. As a songwriter, Jones penned a number of songs  through the years, including “My Mistake” (Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye) and “If I Were Your Woman” (Gladys Knight).

Photo (C) Karen 'Gilly' Laney

Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry married Amanda Sheppard in a romantic island ceremony earlier this week. Sheppard who is much younger than Ferry has been dating the singer since 2008. Love is the drug, right?

Weird and Gilly wish the newlyweds the absolute best. While we’re at it we’d like to share a few photos from Ferry’s last stop in Cleveland in 2011 during the ‘Olympia’ tour. You can view them in the photo gallery.

Ferry was especially kind to pose for us behind the building after the show. Here it is ~ “for your pleasure.”

David Bowie turns 65 today and we wish him a very happy birthday and a year full of life’s richest blessings. Weird and Gilly celebrate a 24th Anniversary today. 24 years of creating together.  We’ve been listening together and laughing together a lot longer than that but that’s another story. Until we can tell it, crank it up and “let yourself go.” Cheers to the person that created this graphic – (unknown) and a much larger cheer to YOU.

Now, go CELEBRATE!!!

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David Bowie 1973 ‘Top Of The Pops’ anyone?  So ~ like you, we kept hearing about the possible T.O.T. P. ‘Jean Genie broadcast on Dec. 21, 2011 but just about the time we settled with the notion of having to wait,  BBC2 aired it as part of their Christmas special. Almost immediately, posting after posting started to appear on youTube and it felt like the entire planet was tuning in.

Bowie and The Spiders From Mars are caught here, in their absolute prime and the delivery of this video, 38 years later and the week of Christmas ~ kicked our spirits into overdrive.  Read part 1 of the story here and the follow up here for the complete story  but the video you’ll find posted below. Lean back and get ready to time-travel: UK 1973. “Let Yourself Go!!”

Watch David Bowie and The Spiders  Perform Jean Genie

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John Roberts the performer and comedian who has gained an audience by doing humorous and original character work live across the country and on television has hit a home-run with this end of year classic.

Most of us can identify with the ‘Last Year Next Year This Year New Year’ attitude that Roberts taps into and who doesn’t have a friend like Harry (Fran)? Come end of year, one can only hope that the new year will be awesome and who better to share in that sentiment than a good friend like Fran?

As the two BFF’s smirk and cheat by eating chips and chocolate, struggling to find Dick Clark on the tube before the ball drops, it’s only natural that one of them passes out. Harry on the other hand takes her bow in the kitchen sink and rebounds with enough time to grab another Apple-tini and watch the ball drop by her lonesome.The morning after is to die for (quite literally) and reality quickly sets in. Still, imagine sharing the last night of the year with Deborah Harry and that my friend, is well worth toasting to. A big thanks to Rocky and Leslie for turning us on to this.

Watch Harry in ‘Last Year Next Year This Year New Year video:

What a fabulous year!! Less postings than ever but that’s because we’ve been rocking out, traveling, working new jobs, hanging out with family, making new friends, seeing old friends and overall,  Weird and Gilly have been ”jammin’ good” the entire year.  Thank God for good folks like yourself who pop in and keep us going, we couldn’t do this without you. So, as one eye looks back fondly, the other one is focused on the future and we anticipate a bright and glamorous 2012 – together. Wishing all of you the absolute best year of your lives!!!

Photo (c) Karen 'Gilly' Laney

So, 25 years to the day after first seeing/meeting Ian Hunter, our anniversary of that epic event couldn’t of been any more perfect. A line stretched around the Beachland in Cleveland, Ohio as many folks buzzed about hoping to obtain a ticket, some lucked out, others we hear, did not. One thing is for certain, Hunter brings out the old school who rarely leave their house, except for when he’s in town. Reminiscing with old friends (some traveled for miles) is half the fun of seeing Hunter in Cleveland and his fans are beyond loyal so it’s something we’ve come to expect but we never take for granted. Hunter’s fans are the best. Some nice video footage has surfaced which we’ve obtained permission to upload here, so return soon to see some live action from this memorable night in Cleveland.

Meanwhile you can read my full account of the concert here and please bare with us while we correct the glitches in the weirdandgilly.com photo gallery.  Going forward, we hope to blog more often and share with you some fantastic photos; some new and some from the archives. Typical WaG, slow but sure.

Lastly, we’re thrilled to report that Hunter will return to the studio on Jan. 9, 2012 and we look forward to the new “rocking” record. More on that and  ’The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople’ documentary will soon follow. Until then, we’ll go on record to say that this show at the Beachland with the Rant band was one of the best performances we’ve seen from Hunter in years.
Anything but just another night.

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Ian Hunter and his band will play the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, OH on Friday, Oct.28 and frankly we can’t wait. This will be a very special night for multiple reasons. Firstly, it’s been a few years (Mott The Hoople, London 2009) since we’ve seen Ian and his visits to Cleveland are always extra special.

Though his latest release ‘Man Overboard‘ came out in 2009 we suspect we’ll have the good fortune of hearing a few of those songs, as he hasn’t been here to support that album yet. Clearly, whatever Ian and the band decided to perform it’ll surely be well received. “He’s a rocker and WE are too!”

In addition the night will be billed as a tribute to Ian’s friend and former manager, Steve Popovich from Cleveland International. We thought a lot of Popovich and want to thank the Beachland Ballroom in advance for pulling this together. Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers will open (another artist managed by Cleveland International) the gig which will be an added bonus.

Last but not least, this will be a milestone of sorts for Weird and Gilly as it will mark the 25th anniversary of our very first Ian Hunter concert in Canton, OH. On the 28th of Oct. 1986 Ian Hunter and the Roy Young Band played Trippers Night Club and we couldn’t of been more excited. Youthful, glittered and wide-eyed, we hung on to his every note while keeping our positions, front and center stage.

After the concert,  we waited for about an hour by the back door before we were escorted in, sans any credentials. We were huge fans and in those days, that was good enough. Ian was very kind to put up with us (then and now) and it was a night we’ve often talked about since. When I (Gilly) realized that Ian’s return to Cleveland 2011 would be on the very same night that we met all those years ago, I contacted Weird and we shared a laugh in the name of strange coincidence and the pure magic of glam.

We’re really thankful for all the years, for the music, for the shows, for our time with Popovich and the people we’ve come to know through our love of Ian Hunter. Best wishes to Hunter and the band as they continue to tour. We look forward to your arrival in Cleveland.

michaelmonroe.com

Former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe has just released a new record titled  ‘Sensory Overdrive’ and he and his all-star band are out on the road now.

Guitarists Steve Conte (New York Dolls), Dregen (Backyard Babies/Helicopters), bassist Sami Yaffa (Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls) and drummer Karl Rockfist (Danzig) are currently trekking across the USA. The band will perform at Peabody’s in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct.7 and after all these years, we’re more than ready. ‘Welcome To The Club!’

Mott The Hoople fans may recall the production work that MTH bassist Overand Watts and drummer Dale ‘Buffin’ Griffin did with Hanoi Rocks on ‘Back To Mystery City’ and ‘All Those Wasted Years.’

Others may remember Ian Hunter collaborating with Monroe on his 1989 solo album called ‘Not Fakin’ It’ which was one of the best records released that year. Song two on that album is a prize to hear live;  it’s in-your-face, straightforward rock ’n’ roll. Does anyone remember Hunter/Ronson performing ‘While You Were Lookin’ At Me’ on tour during the late ‘80s? Good times!

Moving forward, Michael Monroe and company appear to be having a real good time in the here and now, so pick up the record and check out their live show. You know what they say, it’s – ‘Dead, Jail Or Rock ‘N’ Roll.’ As for Weird and Gilly, we choose the latter.

Watch The Official Video For Michael Monroe ’78′

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0R68LBeQ3U