David Bowie’s final three recordings during the sessions for ★, his 28th and final album, are being made available on CD and special vinyl editions as the No Plan EP. Among the releases is a limited edition made-to-order numbered die-cut package with white vinyl and an exclusive artwork lithograph that will be available to pre-order for a limited time only. The CD will be available February 24th, vinyl on April 21st and limited edition vinyl with lithograph available on May 26th.
Previously released as the No Plan Digital EP (and before that, available exclusively on the Lazarus Cast Album), those songs – “No Plan,” “Killing A Little Time” and “When I Met You”— along with ★ single and Cast Album title track “Lazarus”–are now available for pre-order on special physical formats. All vinyl configurations of the No Plan EP feature a special laser etching on side B. The No Plan EP artwork has been designed by longtime Bowie collaborator Jonathan Barnbrook. Earlier this month, the No Plan Digital EP reached #1 on the iTunes charts of 11 countries including the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Finland and Sweden, and broke the Top 20 in more than 30 territories.
One minute past midnight on January 8th, the day that would have been David Bowie’s 70th birthday, a subtly stunning video for the song “No Plan” surfaced quietly online. The “No Plan” video has amassed over two million views since it’s January 8th premiere. The “No Plan” clip was directed by Tom Hingston, whose previous collaborations with Bowie include the award-winning visual interpretation of the original version of “Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)” from the Nothing Has Changed compilation. The “No Plan” video features a sparse, compelling narrative that reinforces the hypnotic pull of the ballad hailed by Rolling Stone—who ranked it #4 in their 50 Best Songs of 2016–as “a magnificent coda… one last transmission from the Bowie universe.”
In the 12 months since the release of ★, the album has only grown in stature, establishing itself as a critical and commercial high point of David Bowie’s peerless catalog. Having hit #1 in more than 20 countries (including Bowie’s first #1 in the U.S.), ★ closed out 2016 with five Grammy nominations—Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Recording Package, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical— as well as two Brit Awards nominations – British Male Solo Artist and British Album of the Year (★) – and top honors in critics’ best of 2016 lists including #1 positions in the AV Club, Flavorwire, The Los Angeles Times, MOJO, Newsweek, Now, Paste, Q, The Wire, Uncut and more, #2 spots including the BBC, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, NPR and Rolling Stone, ultimately placing in the year-end lists of more major publications than any album released in 2016.
