Radoslav Sharapanov

FIRST EVER DOWNLOADABLE SINGLE IS 30 “Telling lies (Ooh, ah, visionary)” On 26th August 1996, DavidBowie.com made a special announcement... + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + In an unprecedented move, DAVID BOWIE and Virgin Records will be releasing his recently recorded song Telling Lies exclusively on the Internet through the official David Bowie web site, beginning Wednesday, September 11 at 10 PM (Eastern). + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + And so it was on that very day, the first downloadable single by a major artist was released following a CU-SeeMe event where Bowie and two imposters were asked questions by the audience. In the first four days of its Internet release, there were more than 46,000 downloads of the track, over 10,000 per day. “I often plunge myself into the deep end of a situation just to see what happens,” he said to fans on the night on his official web site. Bowie was joined at a secret New York City location by two imposters: guitarist Reeves Gabrels and Patrick Briggs, outrageous frontman for Psychotica, the Bowie-influenced group who were featured on the main stage of the 1996 Lollapalooza tour. It featured the three David Bowies, two in disguise (and both telling lies). The conference was simultaneously held in CompuServe's Convention Center and on the World Wide Web. Each disguised and silhouetted "BOWIE" answered questions from the fans and those users in the Convention Center voted for whom they believed to be the real BOWIE. Here's a sample question: “What are the contents of your wallet now?” DAVID #1: “Because I'm an Englishman, I don't have a wallet. I just have a room key.” DAVID #2: “American Express, platinum card, three condoms and two hundred dollars.” DAVID #3: “Passport, a driver's license and no money.” Another question: “What is the reason you chose to do these four ballroom shows?” (An inquiry about his recent sold-out East Coast weekend shows, which were scheduled for fun while recording Earthling in New York.) DAVID #1: “’Cause they're all within driving distance of New York so we can drive back and get into the studio.” DAVID #2: “Well, I've always liked ballrooms. I've always liked Fred Astaire. I figured this is one way to see those places I always wanted to see as a child.” DAVID #3: “Well, I quite like the intimacy of a small room as most artists do.” Even though the real Bowie (#1) told the truth in every answer, fans actually placed him last in their vote behind their first (Briggs #3) and second (Gabrels #2) choices. The first image here was taken in NYC by Ian Davies in October 1996, the other two images show Bowie three days after the launch, on September 14th, 1996, at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC by Ken Sharp. We have also pictured two of the later CD releases of Telling Lies. More of which, later. #VisionaryBowie #BowieTellingLies30