Latest news with #DavidBowie
Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Annie Stainer obituary: dance and mime artist who performed with Bowie
'Well, Annie's pretty neat, she always eats her meat,' David Bowie sang in the opening line of his 1972 hit John, I'm Only Dancing. The song's lyric was characteristically opaque and it was rumoured that the 'John' in the song's title was John Lennon. What is more certain is that the inspiration for the carnivorous 'Annie' was in all likelihood the dancer and mime artist Annie Stainer, who appeared alongside Bowie in the video accompanying the song. The film was shot by the photographer Mick Rock during rehearsals for a brace of Ziggy Stardust concerts at the Rainbow Theatre in London in August 1972. Stainer also appeared on stage with Bowie at the concerts, the posters for which advertised that Ziggy would be supported by the Spiders From Mars and a dance troupe called the Astronettes featuring Stainer. Exotically made up and dressed in a fishnet bodystocking, when Bowie sang Lady Stardust during the shows, Stainer and her fellow dancers donned Bowie masks. Stainer met the singer through Lindsay Kemp, the choreographer with whom Bowie had studied mime in the 1960s, and her waif-like figure and long, feathery hair had already appeared with him in a 1970 television show titled Pierrot in Turquoise or The Looking Glass Murders. In the Kemp-devised drama, which was heavily improvised, Stainer played Columbine to the choreographer's Pierrot in costumes created by Natasha Korniloff, who would later create some of Bowie's Ziggy outfits. While they mimed, Bowie sang four songs as a character named Cloud, including a composition named Columbine. After her brief role in the Ziggy Stardust extravaganza, Stainer went on to forge a startling career as a solo performer with three extraordinary thematically linked mime and dance pieces that became known as the 'Annie Stainer Trilogy'. Rooted in mythology and Jungian archetypes, the first work, The Legend of Lilith, was premiered in 1973, with Stainer as Adam's first wife who grew wings and flew away from the Garden of Eden. Drawing on the 19th-century fantasy novel Lilith by George MacDonald and the writings of William Blake, the work was performed around the world, including in the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York. The second part, Moon, a celebration of love, lunar phases and the cycle of the seasons, won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1977. The third part, Changing Woman, was premiered in Glasgow in 1984, and was inspired by vaguely Druidic mysteries after Stainer had been photographed dramatically on the altar stone at Stonehenge during the summer solstice. She subsequently presented all three pieces together in a physically demanding performance in Perth, Western Australia, after her appointment as head of movement at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Her husband, Reg Bolton, an actor and circus clown, predeceased her in 2006. They met in 1967 when they were students at Warwick University and married five years later. She is survived by their children, Joe Bolton and Sophie Bolton. Ann Elisabeth Stainer was born in 1945 in Shaftesbury, Dorset, and grew up in the Wiltshire village of Mere, where her parents, Edna (née Grey) and Ron Stainer, ran the bakery. The night before she was born, her mother had an urge to dance in the garden under a full moon. 'That's where it all began,' said her daughter, Sophie, who went on to help her mother run the Total Theatre, staging multimedia shows and teaching a holistic brand of physical performance. As a child she enjoyed dressing up for the village fête and learning to dance around the maypole. She also took ballet lessons and fondly remembered her first teacher reprimanding her for her 'broken arms', which she undulated as if they were wings and she was attempting to fly. It was a trait that was later to become a central motif in her one-woman shows. Educated at Shaftesbury High School for Girls, she read French at university before enrolling in 1968 at the London School of Contemporary Dance. She subsequently studied mime with Kemp and with Étienne Decroux in Paris. Alongside her solo shows she played the albatross in a 1977 production of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which won a Fringe First award at Edinburgh and was Madeleine Usher in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, presented as a work of 'total theatre' combining acting, mime and dance. 'She creates a theatre that goes beyond the commonplace and takes us into far deeper areas,' Berkoff said of her performance. With her husband she created the Long Green Children's Theatre Company whose shows included Suitcase Circus, which they took on tour around the world, including to Australia, where they settled in 1985. Both Stainer and her husband were offered teaching posts at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Her students recalled her 'infectious energy' and insistence that 'mischief and wonder' should be prioritised over theory and intellectualisation. The same approach characterised the Total Theatre, which she established in Perth in 2002 as both performing company and a school, where students could be riding a unicycle and juggling plates one day, learning Chinese dance the following day and reciting Shakespeare the next. She spent her final weeks planning her next production — a time-travelling love letter to Shakespeare — from a hospital bed. Having always told her children she did not plan to get old until she was 80, she died four months before she reached the milestone. 'So she never grew old,' her daughter noted. Annie Stainer, dancer, mime artist and teacher, was born on September 29, 1945. She died of pneumonia on May 31, 2025, aged 79
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Famed Photographer Says He Was 'Surprised' by David Bowie's Behavior Off the Stage (Exclusive)
The photographer toured with Bowie in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s Denis O'Regan had an unlikely road to his place as one of rock's most iconic photographers. In his new book David Bowie by Denis O'Regan, the famed photographer takes a heartfelt and meticulous look back at touring with the iconic singer over three decades — in the 1970s, at the end of his Isolar II World Tour; in the 1980s, on the Serious Moonlight and Glass Spider world tours; and in the 1990s, during the Tin Man and Outside tours. Speaking with PEOPLE about the collection of photos and stories that comprise the book, O'Regan opens up about what it was like getting to know Bowie. "When I got there, I thought David would be seen in these different guises, and no one had ever really seen him offstage that much. I thought, 'Well, he's going to keep us [at] arm's length. He won't let me do this. He'll be demanding about that,'" he recalls. "And of course, that wasn't the case." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. O'Regan was shocked by the "Rebel Rebel" singer's comfortability giving him "unfettered access to everything, everywhere and anywhere." "I just did what I did and captured it all, and we got along," he shares. "That really helped. I was fairly lazy, so that also helped because I wasn't constantly hassling him or anyone I worked with to take pictures." Getting to know Bowie was an experience in itself. O'Regan found himself "surprised" by "how pleasant he was and unprepossessing." "He was very normal and that's not what I expected from the person I'd seen on stage. He was still this English lad who hid a cigarette in his hand behind his back like he was a naughty schoolboy," he recalls. "He was also very funny. He loved to imitate people and he laughed continually. And that I didn't expect. So I didn't expect him to be so friendly and accommodating really is what it was, and so enthusiastic about what I was there to do." The photographer came to appreciate Bowie's character, on and off stage. "From David being around all the time, he had gone from this person who was an enigma for me and this hero, to there I was, with him all day, every day. Sometimes I did wonder how I'd managed it." O'Regan also got used to seeing other stars, from those who worked with Bowie to those who were simply fans of the musician and would come to his shows. On one occasion, the photographer was preparing to shoot a show at Wembley Stadium when he learned that Princess Diana was coming and eager to meet Bowie. "I thought, 'Well, Princess Diana, that's fun.' But there was no communication. I was out in the audience at Wembley Stadium, and I took my father and my brother out there to get them a good place, and we were gone for quite a while," he recalls. "Then I came back and David and his PA just said, 'Diana's on her way.' " O'Regan says Diana was with "a friend," who would later be revealed to be Army Major James Hewitt, though, at the time, no one had any suspicions the two were romantically involved. "On that day, she was just with a friend. And it was only when that was reported over the next couple of days that we really knew what was going on," he adds. "It didn't make any difference to our day, but that's what happened." When Diana arrived, O'Regan asked promoter Harvey Goldsmith if he could photograph her. Goldsmith then told him to "ask her yourself." The photographer remembered feeling like "protocol went out the window." "I thought, 'Okay, wasn't quite sure that's how it's done.' So I did and I said, 'Would you like a picture taken with David?'" he recalls. "And she said, 'Do you think you'd really want one taken with me?' And I went, 'I think he would actually,' so then we did it. But it was lovely, and she was lovely, and it was great to have done it." Another unforgettable celebrity sighting was when Michael Jackson spent time backstage with Bowie — narrowly missing Prince, who "scuttled off just before" his fellow pop star arrived. "With Michael Jackson, everyone was just milling around in the green room, and Michael didn't want any pictures taken," he recalls. "So I said, 'Well, it's either pictures with David or it isn't,' so he agreed, and that was the first time I met." "I think the thing that surprised me about Michael Jackson was he was quite tall, and that threw me," O'Regan shares. "He was coming across as this little boy. If you look at the piece, he's as tall or taller than David." It wasn't unusual to see the stars showing up to greet Bowie at any gig. Noting there were "always people milling about," O'Regan saw famous faces including Andy Warhol, Duran Duran, and Gary Oldman. "I'd wonder if they were fans or if they just wanted to meet him or get their picture taken with him," he admits. "Mick Jagger was an old friend, so I photographed them together more than once during those tours. And one picture of David and Mick, it's in the book, but I took it at a club after a Wembley Stadium show, and it's Mick and David sitting at the table. And when David passed away, Mick tweeted that picture as his tribute." Similarly, Madonna used a photo taken by O'Regan to commemorate Bowie's death in January 2016. "She just cropped herself and David out, but to the left, there was Sam Kinison, the comedian, and next to him was Billy Idol. I know David was a hero to Madonna because Sean Penn told David that Madonna based her entire career on David, and the change of look and things like that, so that must've been quite a moment for her," O'Regan says. The photographer found that, like himself, "loads of people, from all different walks of life" adored Bowie. David Bowie by Denis O'Regan is available wherever books are sold beginning on Tuesday, August 5. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The TV Shows And Movies That Spurred Their Sexual Awakening, And I Can't Help But Giggle
We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the TV show, movie, or other piece of media they consider responsible for their sexual awakening. Some of the results really made me giggle. Here's what folks revealed: 1."The Hex Girls. Dusk, the angsty drummer, just did something for me." —monikap6 2."Val Kilmer as Madmartigan in Willow. The hair, the declaration of love to Sorsha, holding Princess Elora Danan…Top shelf Daikini, that one." —luxahoy 3."Leah Remini on The King of Queens. She's still gorgeous, but in those early seasons, she was my first celebrity crush, and I realized what I wanted my wife to look like even when I was just a child. Now, that's still my type." —edgysealion411 4."David Bowie in Labyrinth. I'm sure I really don't have to say much more than that." —padawanryan 5."The Bangles' video for 'Walk Like an Egyptian' was the first time I remember getting the tingle feeling. Susanna Hoffs' eyes and Debbi Peterson dancing with the tambourine. It still gets me!" —theplunger10 6."Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. And Alan Rickman in anything else. But that was the start." —pastelbutterfly37 7."Possibly a bit weird, but Lola Bunny in Space Jam has to be up there. The eyes, the voice, the athleticism were —Anonymous 8."Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas in The Mask of Zorro. Especially when they spar in the stable and he slices off her clothes!" —Anonymous 9."Vanilla Ice, when he first came on the scene." —pepperopigeon 10."I must have been about 10 when I watched The Thorn Birds. I tried to watch it anytime it came on, just so I could watch Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward slow burn until they finally had sex. That was the only thing I cared about through the whole movie!" —ssstege11573 11."Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Both the horse and Little Creek. But I think mostly Spirit and Rain's 'romance' really did it for me." —Anonymous 12."The Rocky Horror Picture Show exposed me to bisexuality AND introduced me to Tim Curry. Perfection!" —Anonymous 13."Walking past Le Senza in the mall (I'm Canadian) had me wanting to kiss girls, so I was then pretty confused when Don Juan DeMarco came out and got me wanting to kiss boys. Turns out, I'm bi!" —Anonymous 14."The Phantom of the Opera film." —Anonymous 15."I saw the movie Hellraiser at a slumber party when I was around 13, and DID NOT expect the wild sexual energy that this movie has. In retrospect, it's a pretty well-known fact that Hellraiser explores a lot of pain/pleasure dynamics, but at the time, I was just really confused about why this random horror movie was making me feel so many THINGS. Also, I had an immediate hard crush on both Pinhead AND Kirsty, so there's the added bonus of realizing I was bi." —mcrivellokhan 16."Jasmine and Aladdin kissing on the magic carpet." —Anonymous 17."I was watching Hackers with Angelina Jolie. She was so tough, cool, and sexy. I didn't even notice the guys in that movie. My fiancé commented on her beauty and then tried to pressure me into a threesome with another woman. I said I'd rather break up with him and just date a girl like Angelina. I still think about her in that film in ways I never think of my ex. That's when I knew I was not only bisexual, but also not into assholes." —Anonymous 18."Jacob Black from New Moon. To this day, I'm still Team Jacob. Those abs, man, SWOON!" —Anonymous 19."Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic." —Anonymous 20."It was an early TV show called T.H.E. Cat. The leading man was a handsome cat burglar and wore lots of black turtlenecks and black leather gloves and was always tying up bad guys. I wanted him to tie me up because it made me feel funny. I found out later that the leading man was Robert Loggia, who was the 'dancing boss' in Big." —Anonymous 21."Seeing Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully in The X-Files being a badass medical doctor and even more badass FBI agent when women in male fields weren't nearly as common. She was sassy, smart, and a bad bitch! She is also still one of the hottest women alive. Scully forever!" —Anonymous 22."Watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3, with Eliza Dushku as Faith. I already knew I was straight and attracted to women, but seeing Faith kick ass in leather pants cemented the type of woman I'm interested in. And I am now married to one." —Anonymous 23."Jim from Treasure Planet. At the start of the movie, when he's flying on the hoverboard, something about the ponytail and ear piercing had me obsessed for years." —Anonymous 24."Elvira: Mistress of the Dark." —Anonymous 25."'Cecilia' by Simon & Garfunkel has a line, 'Making love in the afternoon with Cecelia up in my bedroom.' As a 12-year-old, I was shocked to learn that people had sex during the day. Everything I had been told up until then said it was a nighttime affair." —Anonymous 26."Star Trek: Voyager. Jeri Ryan joined the cast just before my 12th birthday. That was the first time I felt the stirrings of sexual attraction. No nudity, no sex scenes. Just a beautiful woman in a suggestively tight body suit. That was the first twinge." —Anonymous "Sting semi-naked in Dune. Lean but a little muscular guys are still my type!" —Anonymous What do you think is responsible for your sexual awakening? Was it a suggestive movie scene? A swoon-worthy TV character? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Robin Williams Reportedly Said He'd Buy an '80s Strip Club to Impress This Music Legend
Robin Williams Reportedly Said He'd Buy an '80s Strip Club to Impress This Music Legend originally appeared on Parade. Some people write love songs for their idols. Others name-drop them in speeches. Robin Williams? He walked into a London strip club and threatened to buy the whole place—just to impress David Bowie. On Monday, July 21, The Guardian published a new interview with The Comic Strip Presents… creator Peter Richardson ahead of the show's remastered film screenings at Edinburgh Fringe. While reflecting on the wild early days of the British alt-comedy scene, the article resurfaced a jaw-dropping moment involving the late actor and the music icon. Back in 1980, Williams reportedly turned up at the Comic Strip club—hosted inside the Raymond Revuebar strip club in Soho—with Bowie and made it clear he expected stage time. Comedian Alexei Sayle, who helped run the venue, recalled offering the Mrs. Doubtfire star a 15-minute slot. 'I told [Bowie] I'd do an hour,' Williams said. When Sayle refused, the Mork & Mindy icon responded, 'I'll buy the club!' Unfortunately for Williams, the venue wasn't for sale. 'We don't own it,' Sayle told him. 'It belongs to a bouffant-haired pornographer.' The Comic Strip, founded by Richardson with support from Rocky Horror Picture Show producer Michael White, helped launch the careers of comedy legends like Rik Mayall, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Adrian Edmondson. The shows were edgy, strange, and often risky—just what Channel 4 was looking for when it tapped Richardson to bring something new to TV. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 That something became The Comic Strip Presents…, a tonally unpredictable anthology series that ran throughout the '80s and returned for occasional specials until 2016. 'It wasn't good television,' Richardson admitted. 'Because it wasn't repetitive, and television is about repeating a formula.' 🍳 SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & fun food news in our daily Pop Kitchen newsletter 🍳 Now 73, Richardson is remastering the series for theatrical screenings, which kick off next month. 'We've discovered that there is an audience around the country who want to see these films on the big screen and talk about them,' he said. 'It's fantastic that something we created 30 or 40 years ago is still creating laughter.' As for Williams, he never did buy the club—or any club, for that matter—but he did go on to become one of the most beloved performers of his generation. He won an Oscar for Good Will Hunting, two Emmys, six Golden Globes, and five Grammys over the course of his career. He died by suicide in August 2014 at age 63, after battling undiagnosed Lewy body dementia—a rare and aggressive brain disease that was only discovered after his death. Robin Williams Reportedly Said He'd Buy an '80s Strip Club to Impress This Music Legend first appeared on Parade on Jul 21, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Club where Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie played commemorated by book
A book to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a club that brought music legends to Cheltenham is being Gone To The Moon was written by Richard Goddard, Dave Jackson, Chris Stanbury and Mike Williams, who are former members of the Blue Moon Club. The High Street venue attracted music fans from all over the country, as well as from the US. Jimi Hendrix, Sir Elton John and David Bowie, who were all relatively unknown at the time, were just some of the artists who performed during the two-year period the venue was open for. Mr Williams said "it was that buzz of being among people that were all likeminded" that made the club so special. Former members still reunite a few times every year to dance and listen to music from the Williams was there on the opening night, which was headlined by the Bo Street Runners, a London R&B band."Their claim to fame was Mick Fleetwood was their drummer," he said."He went on to play for Fleetwood Mac of course, but we never saw or heard from them again." One of the most famous nights in the Blue Moon's two years came in February 1967, when Jimi Hendrix Goddard jumped the queue, which trailed back to The Promenade."I went along having heard him on the radio, he was up-and-coming," he said."We got in but it was absolutely rammed. The capacity was about 350 or 360 but there was over 700 in there." The Blue Moon Club closed in May 1967 after the owners decided to change than 500 members of the club came forward to contribute to the book."The publisher basically said 'Stop', we were putting too much into it and he's prompted us with a few ways we could go forward, something like a second edition," Mr Goddard said."A lot of people have put a lot of effort into giving us this information."
