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Bowie General > Images Vol. 60

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homebrewPosted at 2026-02-14 15:58:43(1 hr ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 60)


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As always these articles appear just as they were posted in the Usenet group alt.fan.david-bowie by group member Jamie Soule aka AladINSAnE. I have made no attempt to alter the formatting, spelling, grammar or edit in any way.

Images: 60

More Images
Oh, and once again, this post is free from any additives, therefore, no
spellcheck, no proof reading or any editing was used!


Alomar watches the crowd. Alomar also watches the police, and that has to do
with the possibility that some of the audience are being harasssed by them.
It happens too. Like chewing gum, the songs Modern Love and China Girl were
banned in Singapore, labelled "RESTRICTED." This should be enough to tell
you that there is no welcome mat in the country when it comes to rock bands.
Even so, a local promoter Dr. Goh Pohseng managed to arrange for Bowie to
perform one concert, and he risked his freedom in doing so. Since a concert
is almost unheard of, most people have never had the opportunity to see one.
it was for this reason that Bowie intended to give an impromtu performance
at a local youth club two days before the gig. Bowie showed up, and shortly
after so did the "authorities," along with the police. They were not there
however as "die-hard fans." The reason was a bust, and that is what they
did, they busted the youth club. The resident band was evicted under an
"Indecent Performance" charge. The police then threatened Dr. Goh Pohseng,
saying that they would immediately arrest him throw him in prison if Bowie
performed. There was no "impromptu" performance that evening. At the
performance itself there was a SIXTY FIVE FOOT RAMP in front of the stage to
separate the audience of fifteen thousand from Bowie. According to Bowie
when he looked out from the stage he saw "paramilitary cops" in the audience
at "a ratio of one to two with the first row." They were "fingering their
billy clubs" and had "their hands on their guns," he said. While Bowie is
singing, "Put on your red shoes," a girl wearing a tiger print clad top
approaches the "security boundary" and is met with a "ferocious swing of a
billy club" according to Bowie. This obviously must have disturbed him a
great deal, as he has demonstrated many times in the past that he is
concerned about the well being of his audience, and he has stopped shows
briefly because of them many times. Often, it's because of the pushing and
the shoving,"THE "CRUNCH AT THE FRONT, a feeling I know well. Oh, and the
kicking, stabbing, shooting, brick throwing, stick swinging, punching, and
the people climbing on your head, or running between your legs. Sometimes a
concert becomes a test of physical and mental endurance. I find that slam
dancing provides a good exercise to get in shape for Bowie tours. Bowie has
told audiences to "cool it," stop pushing. "That's the shame about outdoor
gigs," says Alomar, "Whoever is strong enough pushes to the front. After we
play the first few notes, we can see the first three rows drop, as 100,000
people behind them start pushing. Then the next batch comes in, the 100,000
give a little push again. And they drop. And we're saying to ourselves "Oh,
shit.........." He recalls at one show in France, the fans were "coming
UNDER THE STAGE" with "their eyes rolled back in their heads like they just
came from The Night Of The Living Dead. They didn't know where the fuck they
were. The front rows were being hosed down, and eventually they started
picking up those who had fainted, and passed them overhead on to the stage."
Shows have also been interrupted because of the police. Bowie has scolded
both them, and stadium security personell, telling them to stop abusing
people in the audience. I forget where, I believe it was in some country
with a totalitarian regime like Canada, where Bowie was told before the show
NOT TO THROW ANYTHING INTO THE AUDIENCE. The audience was expected to be
orderly and remain seated during the performance, and so throwing anything
would cause them to become unruly, which meant standing up. Therefore, Bowie
was forbidden to kick the balloon with the map of the world on it out to the
audience during Young Americans, as he always did. So, during that song he
didn't kick the balloon off of the stage, instead, he kicked TWO OF THEM.
The audience loved it. Bowie laughed.

The general overall state of the crowd must be assessed by Alomar before the
show, because once it starts those on the stage are unable to see very far
due to the powerful lighting. They become "blind" more or less, and from the
stage Bowie and the band are only able to see the first two rows of the
audience. Although they may be unaware of what is going on past the first
couple of rows, quite often it isn't necessary to see beyond. Alomar and
Rojas are illuminated in bright white light, behind them the plastic columns
on stage are soft purple. They are playing What In The World. The lights
swing. In rapid fire sucession, flashing on and off, they target David Bowie
downstage. Near the end of the number the columns are green, and Bowie is
flanked by Alomar and Rojas at the front of the stage. Bowie looks serious
as he sings, "Ahhhhhh. Oh. Ahhhhhh. Oh. Ahhhhhh. Oh," as white light now
sweeps the front rows of the audience. The band can see the crowd now, and
they are all frozen with surprise in the brightness of aircraft landing
lights. It is as though they have been unexpectedly thrust into a police
line up. THEY ARE CAUGHT! A few seem on the verge of a climax, there are
those crying, one about to throw a shoe, another a rose, one had a note. In
some hands they can see the microphones that are taking in all the sound,
the sound that will eventually reappear on a bootleg recording. It's only
for a moment, after, many turn and check each other out. The band has been
rewarded.


"David Bowie's 1983 world tour, the singer's first in five years, has posted
sellouts at every stop since it began in Brussels," wrote Variety magazine.
Okay, I WANT YOU TO READ THAT AGAIN, AND READ IT VERY CLOSELY! Answer me,
"What did they call Bowie?" A what? Yeah, they called him "A SINGER." Is
that what David Bowie is? Now, you tell me that this wasn't a "CHARACTER."
Go ahead, say I'm wrong. So, to all of you who disagreed, DO YOU GET IT NOW?
His "NEW AUDIENCE" was attracted by a CHARACTER, THE REAL DAVID BOWIE, the
"SINGER." His "FORMER AUDIENCE" was attracted to him because HE WASN'T A
"SINGER." His "NEW AUDIENCE" DID NOT KNOW WHO DAVID BOWIE WAS AT ALL, and
THOSE WHO STRICTLY LISTEN TO BOWIE'S COMMERCIAL WORK DO NOT KNOW WHO DAVID
BOWIE IS! Bowie is either an EXCEPTIONALLY GIFTED AND TALENTED ARTIST, an
INNOVATOR, one who DEFINED and RESHAPED MODERN MUSIC, or he is a SINGER.
Now, what is his COMMERCIAL WORK GIVEN CREDIT FOR, other than being
brilliantly written POP? Well, what? So, the relevance of it is? Did David
Bowie earn his reputation as THE MOST PROLIFIC ARTIST IN HISTORY, and gain
his VALUE AS AN ARTIST WHO CREATED NEW GENRES OF MUSIC THROUGH HIS
COMMERCIAL WORK? No, his COMMERCIAL WORK DID NOT CREATE ANY NEW GENRES OF
MUSIC, did it? The fact is that it is STRICTLY his OLDER WORK that is
credited for DEFINING and RESHAPING MODERN MUSIC, isn't it? Bowie's worth is
as AN ARTIST, and THROUGH HIS IDEAS, EXPERIMENTATION, and HIS CREATIVETY AS
A WRITER OF MUSIC, NOT AS A FUCKING SINGER! His COMMERCIAL WORK CONTRIBUTED
NOTHING. I AM SPEAKING FROM THE ONLY POINT THAT MATTERS HERE, MUSIC, and
MUSICALLY BOWIE'S COMMERCIAL WORK DOES NOT CONTAIN ANYTHING ORIGINAL!
PERIOD! There IS ONLY ONE QUESTION, and as a person who listens to David
Bowie, that leaves you with ONLY TWO CHOICES. There are ONLY TWO POSSIBLE
ANSWERS TO THIS QUESTION. Is the REAL DAVID BOWIE THE COMMERCIAL SONG WRITER
WHO DID NOT PRODUCE ANY MUSIC WHICH WAS ORIGINAL? Yes, or no? His former
audience were those fleeing "SINGERS" and TOP FORTY POP, replacing it with
unconventional and original music. The majority of songs are written as
"entertainment," not for serious listening, and out of most songs that is
all that you receive. Their value is entertainment. Who needs more of the
same? Bowie for example. Commercially, he is just ANOTHER ENTERTAINER. As a
WRITER, he is among the elite, those who are in the fore front, not among
followers. To put ANY VALUE ON BOWIE'S COMMERCIAL WORK, beyond being well
written POP, or insisting it accurately reflects the ESSENCE OF DAVID BOWIE
himself, is SEVERELY MISGUIDED THINKING, and it is also DECEPTIVELY WRONG. I
AM NOT DEMEANING ANYONE, as EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN PREFERENCES, and so,
there is nothing wrong with what people listen to. I do not have to like it
however, and nodody has to like what I listen to. The fact is that people
will listen to whatever they personally decide upon, because each individual
has ther own reasons for determining what they believe has value, is
relevent, and is gratifying to them. What people listen to is based on their
own personal standards. His early work fufilled a set of standards shared by
his FORMER audience, his commercial work fufills a set of standards shared
by his NEW audience. But, understand this , THE STANDARDS FOR BOTH ARE NOT
THE SAME. Bowie's former audience was not satisfied by the work of most
artists because it was commercial, and Bowie was different, so Bowie's work
that is commercially oriented, is the same type of work that his former
audience was attempting to avoid. On the other hand, his new audience was
not interested in what Bowie was doing previously to Let's Dance. His
writing of music which was labelled unconventional, leading eventually to
his reputation as one of the pioneers of modern music, and as one of the
founders of experimental music, was not what interested them, as they
personally preferred Top Forty Pop. There is no right here, and there is no
wrong, it is a PREFERENCE, one that is between "Unconventional Music," or
"Pop." However, David Bowie is first and foremost an artist, and to embrace
him as a writer of Commercial Pop, a Singer, or an Entertainer instead
denies that designation. The essence of David Bowie is his creativity, the
ideas he formulated dominated his writing, it was all him, his work was
motivated by self expression and void of any outside influences. His
commercial work was for another reason. First, Bowie determined what he
thought most people would buy, and then he wrote Let's Dance based on that.
It was supposed to do one thing, and that was to appeal to the mainstream
market and sell as many copies as possible. It was written to be
commercially successful. Self expression as a motivation was replaced by
financial gain. No? Bowie said so. That means right.


It would be impossible to realize that David Bowie now had a "NEW AUDIENCE,"
unless you knew that he formally had a "DIFFERENT AUDIENCE." The only way to
ever know this would be if one had been around before, and after. The
listeners who had been around before 83 were small in numbers, and the media
who had been following his career soley due to an interest in his work, did
not attract a conservative or a mainstream audience. The media and the
audience had both "been around" awhile however. What did others know? The
mainstream media reported on his OUTRAGEOUSNESS, the scandels, all while
ignoring his work. They therefore were oblivious to any facts concerning
Bowie as an artist, and wrote opinions instead, which were derived from
"rumours," which usually arose from being victimized by Bowie himself, as
they made the foolish mistake of placing credibility on the erroneous
statements he made which were intended only to get press coverage, and ANY
press coverage at that. So, to them, that was who David Bowie was.
Considering the average record buyer, it didn't fare much better either.
They knew Bowie from the opinions the mainstream media, and the scandels
they reported on. The truth was "sketchy" at best. So, who was this David
Bowie? He was an enigma, and an elusive one at that. Bisexual for sure,
outrageous, and he was a rock star, although few could name much of his work
other than the obvious. Fame, Rebel Rebel, Ziggy, and a couple of others.
He was known for his "SHOCK VALUE," not as an artist of any importance.
Although he was unknown, everyone knew for sure that he was "WEIRD." That
was those who were old enough to remember him. A five year hiatus. Those who
were eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen at the time don't
rememeber him. Now however, they are in their mid to late teens, and are
radio listeners, record buyers, and they attend concerts. What do they know?
They know what they READ, what they SEE, and what they HEAR, and so, what
was it that they read, and they saw, and they heard? The oracles had spoken.
MTV, Top Forty Radio, Time, Varity, Vanity Fair, all the major magazines had
spoken. It was spoken by the media that has the "influence" powerful enough
to determine trends, they say what is in, or what is out. David Bowie was a
"POP STAR," he was a MAJOR INTERNATIONAL SENSATION, and THE HOTTEST ACT ON
THE PLANET. The trend? DAVID BOWIE, he was "IT," he was "IN." Bowie was
about to enjoy Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame. Well, were they all duped?
Yep. Was it their fault? That depends. The media proved their ignorance, and
how easily they can be manipulated and swindled. The audience, also
manipulated and swindled? Sure. Can you blame them? Nope. How were they
supposed to know any better? They knew almost NOTHING, if anything, about
Bowie's past, and all they had to rely on was what they read, they saw, and
they heard. All they had ever heard was Let's Dance, China Girl, Modern Love
and Cat People on the radio, and all they had ever seen of Bowie were his
recent videos on MTV. Bowie, a clean cut, well dressed "POP SINGER," that is
ALL they knew.


How did he manage to pull it off? Why didn't Bowie get caught? That answer
lies in numbers. You see, his "older" audience was OUT NUMBERED about FOUR
TO ONE against his "new" audience. Those who had been around and listening
to Bowie for years screamed "FRAUD!" Melody Maker screamed "FRAUD!" New
Musical Express screamed "FRAUD!" Critics who understood his work screamed
"FRAUD!" I screamed "FRAUD!" I did, "FRAUD, FRAUD, FRAUD, FRAUD, FRAUD,
FRAUD!" I also screamed, "SELL OUT," and not only me, so did the entire
following he had from early on. DAVID BOWIE SOLD OUT. However, we were
certain it was TEMPORARY. We were an audience of twenty thousand per show,
that versus eighty thousand on the Serious Moonlight tour. The voices of
Melody Maker, New Musical Express, all of the media who really knew Bowie,
and us, were rendered silent. You can't fight MTV, radio, high price
plubicity agents, image consulants, Time magazine, major newspapers, the Pop
Charts, and a wave of hype comparable to a tsunami. Yet, the real war which
was totally unwinable was the one fought to gain "Public Opinion," David
Bowie had won that battle, and therefore he had won the war, "Public
Opinion" was firmly on his side. He was a "POP STAR," and that was it.
Still, you can't fault anyone for shaking their head, completely bewildered
at how Bowie managed it. You see, ANYONE WHO KNEW HIM PREVIOUSLY KNEW THIS
WAS ALL BULLSHIT, what was amazing though was the fact that IT WAS SO
FUCKING OBVIOUS. If David Bowie would have failed to attract an ENTIRELY NEW
AUDIENCE, then NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE WORKED, because everyone else SAW
RIGHT THROUGH IT, for the ACT IT WAS. This WAS NOT DAVID BOWIE, this was a
CHARACTER, one he was using as a tool in order to decieve the world into
believing that HE WAS SOMETHING THAT HE IS NOT, and the MOTIVATION BEHIND IT
WAS ALL FINANCIAL. My opinion? No way. It is a FACT, and one I will prove.
He had a "NEW AUDIENCE," and not I, or anyone else for that matter, was
wrong about this. Ask Carlos Alomar, he was there. In fact, Alomar was
Bowie's longest surviving band member, around ten years if I am not
mistaken. He saw it all, beginning in the mid seventies, and this was his
third time on tour with Bowie. He had this to say, "The minute he signed
that contract, (referring to the one which he signed with EMI America), on
comes the road, on comes the touring David Bowie. But he changed everything,
the band, his office, everything. And he gets a best selling record right
away with Let's Dance. And he gets a "NEW YOUNG AUDIENCE, SIXTEEN YEAR
OLDS," who LOVE that record. They might know Scary Monsters, but they DON'T
KNOW who Aladinsane is, or who Ziggy Stardust is. THEY JUST DON'T KNOW."
Now, speaking about Bowie's previous audience, he said that there were two
reasons they remained dedicated. Fist, "they know better than to miss a
David Bowie concert," and I am sure everyone agrees with that. Second, was
the reason they bought Let's Dance. Aomar said, "they can depend on the man
to deliver a good record, not like when you buy an album with only two good
cuts." Go ahead, read it again, he said it, he said a Bowie album is one you
can depend on, "not like when you buy an album with only two good cuts."
Hmmmm? A PREMONITION perhaps? Whatever it is, I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF when I
read it. Does Tonight and Never Let Me Down sound familiar? Dependable, were
they? How many good cuts? Two, not like any Bowie album.


Alomar was right, and to go from audiences of twenty thousand, to stadiums
holding eighty thousand, with no tours, or even a record in between, well,
these people came from somewhere. Scary Monsters sold 347,000 copies, so, I
don't think all these fans were attracted to Bowie because of it.
Truthfully, they never would have bought it because it is not an album that
a person who listens to Pop would be interested in, save two tracks. If it
was, it would have sold. Speaking of Bowie now having two distinct
audiences, Alomar said, "David is trying to meet these two forces. The OLDER
crowd and the YOUNGER crowd. On this tour he's got to introduce them to his
music, not to the man." That quote is interesting and very well put. Carlos
Alomar was absolutely right, that is EXACTLY what Bowie HAD TO DO,
especially if he wished to establish any longevity with his new audience,
and keep the older crowd. Here comes the question then, answer it, and you
tell me, "Did it work?" The answer to that is yes, it worked, he did it, and
no, he didn't. "Huh," you say, "Yes and no? Impossible." No, it is not
impossible, those are the answers. Look, it worked for awhile, so yes, he
did manage to accomplish it, but later it all unravelled and fell apart in
failure, so no, in the long run he didn't. First off, did Bowie manage to
merge his audiences, the OLDER crowd and the YOUNGER crowd? Yes he did on
the 83 Moonlight tour, inasmuch as BOTH attended the performances. If you
were a Bowie listener before 83 you had endured five LONG years with no
tour, who had a choice? What, you're NOT going to go? You went, and that was
it. His new audience had a choice, but he was the hottest thing going, so
you went, he was "IN," so you had to see Bowie if you were "on top of it."
Follow the trend, yep, follow that trend, follow that trend, follow that
trend, you must follow that trend, follow that trend, follow that trend. So,
he managed to get all of his older audience out, and also there were tens
upon tens of thousands of others who came to see him for the first time,
Let's Dance being their first exposure to Bowie. Now, both audiences came
out, that's for sure, but that doesn't answer the question. They may have
come out, but did Bowie sucessfully "meet these two forces?" This will be
argued for eternity, but I know for a FACT that the point of view on this
from his older listeners is no, he did not. I agree, I saw six performances,
and I saw six divided audiences. Was this only me who thought this? No, it
was not. Here is an interesting account given by a listener who is familiar
with Bowie, and one who started following his work before 83. This gig was
on June 4th, at Wembley, opening night, David Bowie's first performance in
England since 1978. Having seen the 78 tour, they said at Wembley the,
"Crowds seemed slow to congregate, the air of excitement that should have
been there was sadly lacking," and that "the people ouside were strangely
quiet and reserved." The major reason for the state of the crowd was
attributed to the audience itself. They were quick to note that, "Evidence
indicated that a vast majority of ticket owners on that first night were of
THE NEW BREED OF FANS that had only recently been Bowie SNARED by Let's
Dance." Continuing on, it was also noted that "perhaps because of the
audience," Bowie's performance, "though excellent, was somewhat reserved."
It wasn't just Bowie either. The crowd they said was "mostly unresponsive"
until the "first chords of Let's Dance," then the arena "erupted." The
reason was most did not know any of his other work even though he opened
with a well known number which still gets considerable airplay, and that was
Jean Genie. The division was obvious between who was there to see Bowie the
artist, and who came to see Bowie the Pop Star. "Is it over," said a person
they met who had travelled from Holland, and was running, covered in sweat.
They met him as they were LEAVING. He missed it. They had this to say after
meeting this person, and after witnessing the crowd at the show. "Two
stories, one illustrating the dedication that some people have, and there is
no hesitation in pushing to its limits. The other, an example of sheer
ignorance and lack of interest." Yes, it is strongly worded, and after they
asked a question, which may be one you would like to ponder. They closed off
by saying, "The question is, WHO should have been there?" Well? The answer
to that I guess depends on why you listen to Bowie.


Is that a rather arrogant attude ? Yes, maybe it is. Am I guilty of it too?
Yes, I admit to a certain extent I am, and so are most of his former
listeners. There is a reason behind this though, and you can choose to
either agree with it, or disagree with it, it doesn't matter either way, as
this type of attitude among us isn't likely to change anytime soon. The
question was, WHO should have been there? In retrospect, his new audience.
The Wembley show had "NONE of the sublime dignity" associated with the 78
tour they said. Agreed. Now, don't even think about arguing with me, I WAS
THERE, unless of course you have done one thing, and that is to have
ACTUALLY SEEN IT FOR YOURSELF, any way is fine, either you saw it live, or
got it on a bootleg video. Don't dare compare ANY BOWIE TOUR WITH 76, or 78
with me, unless YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, HAVING SEEN ENOUGH OF
EACH ONE THAT ENABLES YOU TO MAKE AN EDUCATED COMPARISON. Also, with 76,
you must see video from an actual show, and NOT the rehearsal tape, as
effects wise it is useless. Do you know what I saw during Word On A Wing in
76? A head, yes, a head, and that IS ALL YOU SAW. It was there, from the
shoulders up, and there was a detatched arm hovering by itself holding a
microphone in front of it, and sometimes all you saw was just the head. A
torso, with no legs would drift across the stage, then it would suddenly
vanish, it literally disappeared into thin air. The whole band, there one
minute, gone the next, or maybe only one, or two of them at a time. Bowie,
walking, poof, gone, only to reappear somewhere far from where he was.
Sometimes only a silouhette, sometimes only half of him, a pair of legs, a
head, an arm would be visible. One step back during a song, and he was gone,
one step forward, and he was back once more, only one more step back and he
was gone again, one step forward, and he was back. Step after step. Oh, I
hear you, "Blah, blah, blah, my OPINION," and once again, no it isn't. If
so, then you tell me ARTISTICALLY what you can compare it to. I'll tell you
right now, NOTHING, it was BRILLIANT, it was the MOST SURREAL THING YOU
COULD EVER EXPERIENCE, it was AMAZING, and it was the first, and the last
time ANYONE WILL SEE ANYTHING LIKE IT AGAIN. EVER! Was it a concert in 76?
No, there wasn't any CONCERT. Instead, it was something else, and don't ask
me what it was either, because I have no answer to give you. I wish I knew
myself. All I can say is that it was a deeply PROFOUND EXPERIENCE, and one
which had a PERMANENT EFFECT on many who saw it, one person being me. Oh, I
have talked to many people who also saw it, same story. Sorry, I can't tell
you what effect it had on me, because I do not know, and neither do the
"others." All I can say is that after seeing it, you somehow "got it" and
you finally "understood everything," THIS WAS DAVID BOWIE. I, like many who
experienced it, have never been the "same" since we saw whatever it was.
People who were leaving that evening were QUIET, except for the odd, "Did
you see that? What the fuck was it? Did you, did you see that? What was it?
Fucking AMAZING!" The songs had NOTHING to do with it, they were just a
bonus on top of it all. Sense Of Doubt, he played that in 78, and he opened
to a crowd bursting with energy that needed desperatley to be released, they
were screaming, wanting ROCK, and what did Bowie do, but give them Warszawa.
Look at the setlist, Blackout, Speed Of Life, Station To Station, Beauty And
The Beast, TVC15, Five Years, Art Decade, Soul Love, and Rock N' Roll
Suicide among others, and the only HITS he played were Jean Genie, Rebel
Rebel and Fame. Oh, and Ziggy Stardust, if you call that a hit. Substance is
what the 78 tour had, yes, there was substance to it, and there was
substance to the 76, and the 74, the 73, and the 72 tours as well. What was
eighty three, well eighty three was a rock concert, like any other rock
concert, there was nothing to distinguish it from any other concert, save it
was a David Bowie gig. The previous tours were all EVENTS. What was behind
the Ziggy, Hunky Dory and Aladinsane tours? Want to discuss the 74 Diamond
Dogs tour? Was it a "concert?" We've covered the next two already. I have
seen enough to know. A band with a "SINGER" who stands out above Almighty
God, and not only does he sing, but he gyrates, dances, and prances, in an
effort to titillate the audience into having an orgasm if possible. IT'S ALL
ABOUT ONE THING. Ask Jagger or Steve Tyler, ask any of them, it's all about
SEX. They allude it from every angle, the clothes, the tight pants
especially, big hair, and the "LOOK." Yes, the LOOK. You've seen it, the
consistant posturing, and the facial expressions which state, "I AM ALL
THAT, and MORE." Oh, "We're so cooooool." It's the POSING that I can't get
over. "So what," you say? You liked the show anyway, it was great, and that
is what is important. Say that, and you MISSED the point. Although it was
not nearly the calibre of the previous ones, I saw six performances, after
all, we are talking Bowie. Whether you liked it, or not, isn't the issue
here. it is content. What separated the Bowie 83 spectacle from any other
"rock concert," other than the fact it was David Bowie? NOTHING! That's
right. Absolutely nothing whatsoever. It was "A band with a "SINGER" who
stands out above Almighty God, and not only does he sing, but he gyrates,
dances, and prances, in an effort to titillate the audience into having an
orgasm if possible. It's Bowie's POSING that I can't get over." A "SINGER,"
and a band, right? Well, what I want to know is where's the David Bowie in
all of this? Remember, the guy who wore "MASKS," the person hiding behind
assumed identities, there were all of those CHARACTERS, you know him, David
Bowie, the guy who "HID" behind all that CREATIVE STUFF.


In the history of modern music it was a multi media event unlike anything
that had ever been presented on a stage before, that was Ziggy. In 1974
there was a city, buildings, bridges and street lights. It was called Hunger
City, and when it was designed it was an engineering marvel unlike any
other. They said it couldn't be done, yet he did it, and there is not an
audience in history that had ever seen a set so original, so intricate, or
so remarkable before. There was nothing like it before, and there has been
like it SINCE, that has ever appeared on any concert stage. Seventy six was
worthy of a Picasso, a Dali, Bruenel, Warhol, or a Speilberg, Lucas, and
Preminger. No. It was Dali meets Polanski, that's what it was, with a bit of
Kubrick thrown in for good measure. Seventy eight was about MUSIC, and there
is nothing more to add. That sums it up perfectly. Pop? That's old news.
Inventive? No. Boring? Yes. The "arrogance" of older listeners stems from
the fact that the "new" Bowie fans believe that THEY KNOW BOWIE through his
commercial work. They are the ones who are really to blame however, yes,
they themselves are responsible for his older audience feeling the way they
do.
How? With their attitude. You see, they KNOW IT ALL, and why wouldn't they.
Sure, someone who was born in 1970 would certainly know as much about the
74, 76, and 78 tours as a person who was born in 1957 and saw them. It only
makes sense since they were four, six and eight years old at the time. Then,
there are the others who know everything about that period who WEREN'T EVEN
BORN YET. Crazy? No, and I would know because I get lectured personally by
them all the time. Sure, it makes sense, I mean how could a person who
wasn't born until 1976 know less than one who devotedly followed Bowie's
work for thirty years, had seen over twenty five live performances,
including Iggy in 77, collected, and gathered enough from 76 alone that they
could safely claim is worth recognition? That is not the point however, this
is. The "REAL DAVID BOWIE POP STAR" is a CHARACTER. We KNOW THAT, having
been around David Bowie LONGER THAN YOU. When we say this to you, what
happens? You call us "arrogant" for thinking that we know more than you.
Well, WE DO. Sorry, but that is the TRUTH. We try our best, really we do, to
get the point across to you that Bowie's worth is not found in most of his
LATER WORK. It is in his work PREVIOUS TO 83. Why do we do this? YOU say
it's because of ARROGANCE, a "we're better than you "complex." Guess what? I
bet this never crossed your mind. Did you EVER THINK IT MAY BE BECAUSE WE
WANT YOU TO DISCOVER BOWIE AS WELL? Did you? Hmmmm? What a concept. There is
a slight possibility that just maybe WE WANT OTHERS TO DISCOVER DAVID BOWIE,
because those who do get something back. Bowie's work gives you something
that has DEPTH, SUBSTANCE, WORTH, and it is FOR THE SOUL and the MIND, it
ISN'T CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT. So, we try to open this door and you give us a
slap, a dressing down, or a lecture instead of listening We get that old "we
know just as much as you do" attitude. Do you know how many David Bowie
related news groups and forums on the Internet I read? Lots. I read them to
see what people discuss mostly, and only rarely do I ever post. There is a
reason that I rarely post as well, it is because of what I read on most of
them. Yes, it's the truth. Oh, would you like to know what I read? Sure you
would. Wait now, here you go, these are two posts as a sample:


"When you chat, is it to much to hope you could speak to me, as I've
idolized you since way back. you mean so much to me in my life david,
and i know if i'd ever met you we would have got on so well. Bet i
could've made you laugh, worship you so much David. David, could you
give me any job in your organization? All i offer is loyalty." If you
don't talk to me on june the 4th i'll, i`ll,i`ll, still worship you as
I've always done since those far off 70`s days. "


"Here he is in Utrecht, 1997. Just look at all those people gathered
round all itching to tear his pants off and give him the fuck of his
life. "WHAT! No fucking way. Impossible. Where?" Is that your reaction?
Unbelievable is it? No, it's true, and it came right off the message board.
I printed it word for word. Surely this must have come off of some group
that is made up of people who ARE NOT YOUR AVERAGE BOWIE LISTENERS? Right? I
mean, these people do not represent the majority? Sorry, I have some REALLY
BAD NEWS FOR YOU. Bowienet. No, I am not lying


I am deadly serious, and this is not a joke, because I wouldn't dare to joke
about something like this. I find no humour here, nothing funny, in fact, it
has the complete OPPOSITE effect. I am saddened. Stop right there. This must
be an isolated example, and not one indicative of most of what you read on
the message boards. If you think so, the answer is no, YOU ARE SADLY
MISTAKEN, there are HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of posts just like them on
Bowienet. You know, Bowienet, the place where the real "die-hard" fans
congregate, all of the hardcore listeners. Why don't I post? You tell me.
What do I have to offer to these fans that is worth anything? Besides, I
would only get slapped and receive a lecture on not only being "ARROGANT,"
but a "know it all" as well. Oh, and a pompous one at that. Tell me this.
Where did they come from, these Bowie fans, and what does he have which
interests them so much that they would be not only willing, but also to pay
one hundred dollars to belong to his "Exclusive Club," one which is
supposedly reserved for "THE REAL DAVID BOWIE FAN?" Please, say something.


No? Then in that case I will. It is wrong to judge others, and now that's in
the clear I will proceed, because I am going to anyway. The people who wrote
those posts, and everyone else who praises David Bowie's celebrity as if he
were a Deity, differ greatly from people such as myself, and my
counterparts. The biggest difference lies with our "REASONS," and the
reasons define WHY we even bother with David Bowie and his work in the first
place. Hmmmm? An interesting thought here. His WORK. I see relatively little
mention of his work among these folks, it's true, as they have other
attributes of Bowie's to discuss. These "other" attributes of his that they
consider to be of great importance, and are the focal point of most of their
discussions, quite frankly, are of no importance to me, I am simply not
interested. They are attracted to Bowie for reasons that I am not. Bowie's
former audience was attracted by his work. Music is uneffected by a haircut,
clothing, or a "cute" face. Nineteen eighty three, why a new look? That is
because Bowie HAD TO DO WHAT ALL THE OTHERS DO, IF HE WANTED TO BREAK THE
MARKET. He had to become like every other Pop Star, so, he PLAYED THE ROLE.
Think about it. The Pop market demands certain things, and these things are
what David Bowie had to deliver. Comparitively speaking, what does the Pop
market demand that Bowie wasn't giving in the past. Sadly, the one word that
says it all is "SUPERFISCIALITY." Like the dozens of trends which come and
go every thirty seconds or so, it is all in "THE LOOK," the flavour of the
second. Bowie purposely attracted this "new" audience, and they were
attracted to him FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. It was "THE LOOK."
SUPERFISCIALITY at its finest, and not only Bowie, his audience too. More on
that later. Let me tell you something, it was all carefully controlled, "THE
REAL DAVID BOWIE," and the Serious Moonlight tour. The IMAGE had to be
maintained at all cost. You will soon learn that THE ONLY THINGS YOU SAW IN
1983, or you READ, or that you HEARD, were THE THINGS THAT BOWIE WANTED YOU
TO. The fact is THAT ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WAS CONTROLLED PERSONALLY BY
DAVID BOWIE. How controlled? Watch this.


All it takes is one slip of the tongue to bring down the whole ship, and
someone might just start talking, therefore, that risk had to be eliminated.
How? Easy. Threats always seem to work. Huh? Yeah, I said threats. Well,
vieled ones anyway. It came directly from Bowie, via Isolar, in the form of
a memo. It was sent to every employee at Isolar, every person associated
with the tour, including the band, and any others who did business with him,
Isolar, or any of his other companies, including those he had interests in.
Also included on the "Memo List" were friends, family members, and those who
he socialized with. The memo was short and to the point, it was written as a
"request," a request directly from Bowie. Family, friends, and everyone else
were asked NOT TO GIVE ANY INTERVIEWS to anyone, especially the major media
outlets. In fact, they were told NOT TO SPEAK TO ANYONE ABOUT HIM, either
professionally, or on matters regarding his personal affairs. The memo
concluded with a statement saying that if ANYONE, yes, even family, violated
this request, he would NEVER SPEAK TO THEM AGAIN. In other words, they were
"erased," and permanently. There was one final request as well, and that is
he asked to have the memo signed and returned to him, in order to make sure
that they received it, or to serve as proof if it was ever needed. Next came
Jet 24.


Many bands welcome journalists, sometimes even filmakers, to accompany them
as they tour. Here is a story for you, aside from Bowie, about a Rolling
Stones tour. I can't remember which tour, the early seventies for sure, I
have the video but the year is unimportant. The Stones allowed a filmaker to
travel with them for part of the tour, and they allowed him to film what he
wanted to, there were NO RESTRICTIONS placed on him at all. Well, where do I
start. I'll start with Keith Richards throwing a TV set out the window of a
hotel onto a lower portion of the roof about six stories below. Then here
are the scenes showing groupies on their airplane. I should mention they
were naked I guess. Plus, they were having sex. Oh, yeah, and Jagger was in
the isle dancing and either banging a tambourine or shaking maraccas to the
beat. Dope? The Stones? The Stones doing drugs? Yep, LOTS TOO! Oh, you
better believe it when I say UNRESTRICTED, I mean UNRESTRICTED. There was
nothing that was out of bounds, and full advantage was taken of that
freedom. Name it, he filmed it. The Stones performing, shots backstage, on
their plane, dressing rooms, but the best were the HOTEL ROOMS. The movie
was shot in black and white and is really quite lengthy due to the fact it
is unedited. The title of it is Cocksucker Blues, and my copy is a bootleg
like all others. This is because it was never released. You see, on this
tour Keith Richards was busted in Toronto with a rather decent supply of
something the police referred to as heroin. I was living in Brampton at the
time, which is near Toronto, so I remember it well. Peel County is where
Brampton is, and Richards first appearance was at the Peel County
Courthouse. A posession of heroin charge was really bad news back then.
However, it wasn't only posession, as good ol' Keith had enough of it on him
that it warranted a possession for the purpose of trafficking carge. Now, we
are talking serious shit here. Jail was where you were going back then in
Canada if you were caught with heroin and convicted of possession for the
purpose. The sentence you were likely to receive was five to seven YEARS!
Unfortunately, as evidence, Cocksucker Blues would have done little in the
way of helping Keith, however, what the film showed Richards doing would
have been quite useful to the prosecution. It was shelved, and there it
remains to this day. Oh, in case you wondered. The case went to trial and
Keith Richards was found guilty. The sentencing presented the judge with a
real dilema. He knew that there was no way Richards was trafficking heroin,
except maybe to his wife Anita Pallenberg, and to fellow guitarist Mick
Taylor. I am sure he never charged them anything for it though. Even so,
it's still posession of heroin no matter what, and you couldn't just let
that go. Along with a guilty verdict, and taking into consideration the
quantity of dope he had, the sentence warrented jail time. So, you break up
The Stones for YEARS, because of one person's drug habit. The media backlash
would be brutal, and the Canadian Justice System, along with Canada, would
have been portrayed as something comparable to the Taliban probably, or
worse. So, you can't jail him, you can't let him go, and probation won't
work because he doesn't live in the country. What do you do? On top of that,
all eyes are watching you. He reserved his decision. The judge wanted to
think of some sort of a way out that would serve justice, and not destroy
the band. It didn't help either, as he came up with NOTHING, not even one
idea of any possible way to solve the situation. Then, around ten o'clock
one evening, the judge's doorbell rang at home. He opened the door to find a
blind girl on the porch who wanted to speak with him, and so he invited her
inside. "Have The Rolling Stones perform a charity concert for the blind,"
was all she wanted to say to the judge. After, she left, only to disappeared
as fast as she had come. The wisdom which had eluded a man of many years, a
judge, had come from a teenage blind girl. Keith Richards was sentenced to
have The Rolling Stones perform two charity concerts for the blind and
disabled., after which time his passport would be returned and he was free
to leave the country. The two free performances were held at an arena in
Oshawa, just outside of Toronto, and only those with a disability were
permitted to attend the gigs. Richards was free, The Stones were not broken
up, justice was served, and the sentence served a worthwhile cause. Keith
Richards called this girl "his little blind angel," whoever she was. You
see, no one at all knew her name, because she didn't tell the judge, and she
never spoke to anyone after to take credit. Richards never met her, and her
identity remains a mystery to this very day. That is a true story, every
word of it.


There would be no filmakers accompanying Bowie anywhere however, and there
would also not be any journalists in tow, except one. At Bowie's request, I
mean on his ORDERS, Jet 24 was OFF LIMITS to any person who was not directly
connected with the tour. Jet 24 transported the band, a few assistants,
Bowie, and no one else unless it was a real necessity. The only exception of
course were Bowie's invited guests, like actress Shelly Duvall who managed
to hitch a ride on it to Phoenix. Especially forbidden were the media, and
they were not just alienated from the plane either, they were kept away from
the entire tour. The media provides free promotion, and so it is therefore
usually courted for just that reason. However, they, like everything else on
the tour, were also carefully controlled. The only information was basically
"fed" to them from the plubicity agents, or other "NEWS" sources which were
employed, therefore controlled, by the tour. "NEWS," in these cases is best
defined as "PROPAGANDA." Gee, too bad about Goebbels, I mean, he had a good
job waiting it seems. Anyway, the press was basically denied access to the
"inner" workings" of the tour, meaning they could not "FIND" their own
stories to report, and not only were they kept from travelling with the
band, but they were kept away from the band altogether, except for the
"arranged" interview sessions. The media was not permitted backstage, in
hotel rooms, and they were never allowed to wander about, and security saw
to it that "prying eyes" were kept blindfolded. It wouldn't have done them
any good even if they did somehow manage to get a few minutes alone with
Slick, Alomar or anyone else for that matter. They still would have left
empty handed. Not only were interviews with the band not allowed, but the
band was told not to make any comments at all to the media, unless
authorized, which of course never happened. "Why was all this being done,"
you ask? It was all done in an effort to guarantee that no one found out
the truth about THE REAL DAVID BOWIE. Remember, everything here was
fabricated, even his past history was rewritten, this image had to be
protected. If you think for a second that this wasn't a CHARACTER Bowie was
playing, then you explain this. What was he protecting? In the past he had
already been called everything in the book. Remember, faggot, queer. a
transvestite, a freak, an alien, the one with the orange hair, a Nazi, a
drug addict, a vampire, a homosexual, weird, and the list goes on. What the
Hell could the media have discovered that was any worse? The answer is
nothing? So, why all the secrecy, why the control? I'll tell you, it was to
stop anyone from digging, in case they found the wizard behind the curtain.
Any bad press could possibly bring about disaster, and derail the whole
thing. What is bad press in this case? Well, let's start with the truth
first. Do you know how far he went in order to prevent the truth from coming
out? You wait, I've just started. David Bowie gave interviews on the tour.
Yep, he gave lots of them, and there wasn't one of them where any freedom
existed as far as what questions he was asked. That's right, you couldn't
just ask Bowie any question you wanted to in an interview, no fucking way,
they were submitted to him in advance, he screened them, and only those
which he approved were allowed to be asked. Now, sometimes situations arose
which did not allow time for this formality, or were impromptu. So, in these
cases the media were told not to ask certain types of questions, and
especially off limits were any questions pertaining to his personal life,
and there was a good reason for that too. Skeletons. You know, the ones in
THE CLOSET!


Remember Terry, his brother? Remember the promises he made to him, a private
psychiatric hospital, instead of the one operated by the government he was
in. Oh, and he would have his own room. No more living on a disability
pension, wearing torn clothes, surviving with only the bare necessities, and
it was only because of the charity from a few relatives such as his aunt Pat
that he made ends meet, and had cigarettes. Bowie was setting up a trust
fund, from now on he would be well provided for. Bowie talked about his
brother, how close they were, how much he admired him, and how it was due to
his influence that Bowie persued art and music as a career. Terry was his
mentor. David Bowie did in fact make a substantial contribution to medical
treatment, and he paid for a private hospital, and a private room
Unfortunately, it was not for Terry, it was for his cousin Christine who had
contracted cancer. It had been over nine months since he made all those
tearful promises to Terry, and the brother he told the press about, the one
he was so "GRATEFUL" to, was the same brother who did not receive one thing
that David had promised him. Terry still remained at Cane Hill living on the
disability pension, and he would never live to see the day any of those
promises were kept. Terry was forgotten, because Bowie could not come to
terms with his brothers condition. It scared him, so he avoided dealing with
it.


Here is something for you to figure out, the reviews. The British press
which gave the opening night performance in Brussels poor reviews, having
seen right through his ACT, are extremely rare. Here is a challenge for you.
The press raved about Bowie and the Moonlight tour. Now, there is no way
that every performances on a tour can be spectacular, it's impossible, there
will be a few off nights. Now, you go and try to find one review from 83
where the critics and the journalists do not lavish praise all over Bowie.
Go ahead, try it. Oh, and good luck, because you'll need it, bad reviews
don't exist. Okay now, doesn't it seem a wee bit odd that ALL THE CRITICS
SUDDENLY AGREE WITH EACH OTHER? Do you find it rather unusual that the
REVIEWS for EVERY PERFORMANCE were SPECTACULAR, and they ALL PRAISED BOWIE.
Yep, EVERY GIG WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, it was, EVERY GIG WAS ABSOLUTELY
PERFECT? IT WAS ALL WONDERFUL! Well? I not only found it odd, strange, and
unusual, I also found it RATHER SUSPICIOUS. Coincidence? No, something's
wrong here, and there was. Yes, and as I discovered there was something
wrong, these reviews were not a coincidence at all, there was a really good
reason they were all the same. The reason the tour reviews were excellent,
and all the press coverage on Bowie was glowing, was because IT HAD TO BE!
The media HAD NO CHOICE WHATSOEVER in what they wrote, they had NO CONTROL.
The truth is that it was DAVID BOWIE WHO CONTROLLED THE MEDIA. Are you
laughing? Yeah, sure, Bowie controlled the media, HA, HA, HA, bullshit, it's
impossible. Really? You listen to this then, because your HA, HA, HA's are
going to vanish quite abruptly, you'll be left rather quiet I imagine, and
staring in disbelief. Well. BELIEVE IT! Bowie is hot property, so hot that
everyone wants to cover him. Bowie on the front cover, or an interview
inside is what sells magazines. When a celebrity is in demand the press
fight over them, if your competitor gets coverage, you must also. If Censored
graces the issue's of every major magazine who is your competitor, and for
some reason you are left out, what does it do to you? It destroys your
magazine's reputation as a major player, because you can't keep up.
Magazines are about what's fashionable, what's hot, what's trendy, and they
have to be on top of things. They are not only news, they also predict the
next hottest thing coming, and so their fingers must be on the pulse of
whats going on. If not, they're dead, nobody wants yesterday's news. In 83,
you better be covering David Bowie, and if not, you're out of the loop. If
your magazine is worth anything, then you are covering the biggest event on
the globe, and if you are covering the biggest event on the globe, that
means you are covering David Bowie. I am sure that it was probably worded
quite politely, but the message was clear none the less. The media was told
that what they reported should accurately reflect the truth, and the truth
was that EVERY PERFORMANCE WAS SPECTACULAR, EVERY GIG WAS ABSOLUTELY
PERFECT, and IT WAS ALL WONDERFUL! Now, should anyone be foolish enough to
deny the truth, and print anything otherwise, then David Bowie would not
grant them another interview ever again for as long as he lived. In
addition, they would be barred from attending any future press conferences,
media events, or be given a press pass to cover future performances.
Essentially, they would be "cut off" from ever having access to David Bowie
again. Imagine what that would do to the image of magazines such as Rolling
Stone, Billboard, Spin, Playboy, Penthouse, Time, and a hundred others, if
they were cut off. David Bowie's return to the stage after a five year
absence was the most newsworthy event in all of1983, nothing rivaled it, or
even came close for that matter, and YOU MISSED IT! I am confident that you
all had very few problems figuring this out, correct? Either you covered
Bowie, or you were fucked royally. Up to you. This is the message Bowie sent
to the media. Was he serious? What do you define as being "serious?" All I
can tell you is that Bowie and Coco hired people who did nothing but collect
and read every article written about him in every major magazine world wide.
If they discovered one which was not "complementary" it was forwarded on to
Coco, and then to Bowie. The reviews in the next day's paper were read
immediately by both of them. Television news coverage was taped. If it
turned out that he wasn't serious it didn't matter, because NOBODY DARED TO
RISK IT.


Hmmm. THE REAL DAVID BOWIE, eh? One with a complete news blackout on
everything apart from his public appearances. Gag orders placed on friends,
relatives, business associates and employees. The media, interferred with,
dictated to, so he could control what was reported to the public. Interviews
that were scripted, rehearsed, and approved before ever becoming public.
"Sanitized" news releases from Isolar and his publicists with his past
rewrittten. "Mini biographies" were created by his publicity agents to
profile David Bowie, and were then given out to the media. Almost all of
the information contained in them was fabricated. So was much of what he
claimed in interviews, well, that stuff was not really fabricated, it was
more along the lines of outright lies. Photo opportunities for the media
were arranged in advance, and photograhers were told WHEN, and WHAT they
could photograph. Otherwise, cameras were not permitted around Bowie, they
were confiscated at the door and given back later. Other than the arranged
times, the media was not permitted around David Bowie, the band, backstage,
the after concert parties, any of the hotels, Jet 24, or any employees. The
only things they saw to report on, were the things which were authorized by
Bowie, otherwise, they they were kept away. Oh, you may think, why didn't
any of them sneak their way backstage, or into the post concert parties.
They could smuggle a camera in and maybe come out with a nice "scoop,"
which is worth a fair amount of cash if you get the right one. Yeah, you are
right, but remember, it better be a " nice scoop," because it's the last one
they're ever going to get. They would never get close to Bowie again. It
wasn't worth the risk, and chances are he would eventually have found out
who you were. By not allowing the media close to the tour itself, does not
mean that it was not documented. It was, and documented quite extensively on
video, and in print. I'll talk about the videos later. It is called "David
Bowie's Serious Moonlight, The World Tour," and in my opinion the
photography in the book is excellent, and well worth owning simply for that
fact alone. Unfortunately, I heard it is out of print, but I am sure copies
can be uncovered without too much effort, there were lots printed if I am
not mistaken. Some of the editorial is worth reading because it has some
decent information, the rest of it is some of the finest propaganda you
could ever hope to lay your eyes on, and the bullshit is of unusually high
quality, even for Bowie standards. The book was written by Chet Flippo, the
well known journalist who earned his fame as a reporter for Rolling Stone
magazine. This is NOT HIS BOOK however, it was COMMISSIONED BY DAVID BOWIE
and is the OFFICIAL TOUR BOOK. It is for this reason that you will not find
anything unique in it, as far as interesting ancedotes, or any "wild"
stories. Flippo did not have any freedom at all when he wrote it, as once
again, David Bowie controlled all of the information contained in it. It was
"sanitized" as well, like everything else. Although Chet Flippo probably has
a zillion things he could tell you about the tour, having travelled on Jet
24 along with Bowie and the band for months, you will never hear them. That
is because he too has been effectively silenced, and he has been silenced
permanently. When he was hired to write the book, his contract had a clause
in it which legally prevents him from ever writing about the tour, or ever
discussing it in a situation where the media may gain access to information
that has not been authorized. Oh, and don't expect any members of the band,
or anyone else who was on the tour to write a book or start giving
interviews, because it isn't going to happen. Before being allowed on the
tour each one of them were required to sign a legally binding contract as
well, forbidding them from ever discussing Bowie, or the tour. More
permanent gag orders. He must have them printed in packages of a thousand. I
wonder if the penalty for violating one is death, or something even more
drastic, like having to listen to Tonight, or even something unthinkable,
such as having to watch the ARACHNID AND INSECT TOUR video. Personally, if I
had a choice, death would be preferrable. I couldn't begin to imagine what
it would be like to have to go through those other two things. I better stop
now, or I'm going to get nightmares. Now, considering the great lenghts that
they went to in order to effectively control everything that you saw and
heard, there is one fact which arises out of all of this that you must
understand. What you must understand is this, what you saw, and what was
REALLY GOING ON, are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. Quite often the things
which people were led to believe were being used mainly to hide things that
were going on, which they did not want anyone else to find out about. As you
will soon see, there were PLENTY OF GOOD REASONS WHY THIS HAD TO BE DONE IN
THE FIRST PLACE, and even more reasons why they HAD TO PREVENT THIS
INFORMATION FROM BECOMING PUBLIC. Before any of that however, let's have a
look behind the scenes of this "nice show" of Bowie's, that are "nothing
that serious."


Question: Why did you decide to go on tour again?
Bowie: I missed it.


Sure, Dave. Oh, get this one.


Question: The critics could not be better?
Bowie: They've been terrific.


Like they had a choice. What a laugh. Can you tell me something? Bowie said
this time around he was just a "PERFORMER," and the shows were "nothing that
serious." How long does it take to make "nothing that serious?" I ask
because this "nothing that serious" was TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING! To me,
that's a long time to make a "nothing that serious." You know what, this
wasn't really "nothing," instead, this was about as fucking serious as it
gets. Oh, one more thing I noticed, it said "SERIOUS" before "MOONLIGHT."
How odd.


Question: What was the main consideration that made you decide to play the
US Festival?
Bowie: Um. The money for that was incredibly attractive.


HEY! I GOT IT! The tour might be about MONEY, sure, because that's sure
something that is "nothing that serious." I think we may just be able to
prove that too. All we have to do is see if Bowie thinks money is "nothing
that serious," and if he does, then we're right. Okay? Let's go.


Where did the US Festival money go, do you know? Well, let me tell you where
it went. Brussels was the "TEST," it all hinged on that ONE PERFORMANCE.
Either the Pop Star Act worked, or it didn't. If it worked, that meant they
believed, and if they believed, he had not only shattered the mainstream
market with Let's Dance, it also meant that he had a new audience that would
be willing to see the tour. If that was the case, and you added up the sales
figures for Let's Dance and the singles, the numbers were incredible,
unbelievable. This tour was going to draw a massive audience, and massive
was measured in millions. The answer awaited them in Brussels, the few shows
immediately following would only serve as a confirmation. Even before Bowie
hit the stage opening night on April,18th there was a positive sign of
things to come. On his arrival the paparazzi were waiting to stage their
usual ambush, and better yet, these were world syndicate photographers, not
the "locals." Two days were spent in Brussels after opening night, and by
this time they knew. Frankfurt got rave reviews right after. In Munich the
crowds smashed through the barriers at the front of the stage. A few more
dates were met with sell out crowds, rave reviews, and the hype was well on
its way to a frenzy. It was already a given, and exactly where this thing
was going became guess work. All was pointing directly in the direction
of something unimaginable in proportions. It was sealed by the third date,
when it became obvious that people were starting to travel from other
countries to see the shows. Bowie took what money he needed from the bundle
he made at the US Festival, and he had another stage built identical to the
one he was using. With the two stages he could "leapfrog" the tour. This
meant simply that while he was playing in one city, they could be setting up
in another, allowing him to play the next date immediately. Now, DATES
COULD BE ADDED with no trouble at all, and it also opened up some additional
areas to perform, especially in the Far East. Well, what do you think, is
it really "nothing that serious? Now, I'll be right up front. This next
part is going to take awhile for you to read, if you read it that is. This
"nothing serious" quote is nonsense, and it is really nothing more than a
prime example of CLASSIC BOWIE BULLSHIT in action. I am going to show you
exactly how serious all of this is, and to do so I am going to have to go
into a considerable amount of detail. You see, to give you a solid picture
of what I'm talking about, it is necessary to present a few facts, as well
as some figures associated with the tour. Although this is going to be
lenghty, and believe me, I MEAN LENGTHY, I will promise you one thing if you
decide to read it. First, you are going to learn something. Now, you may
well believe that you understand the magnitude of this tour, and already
know the numbers, but chances are you do not. Now, I WANT TO MAKE THIS
CRYSTAL CLEAR. When I say that "you probably do not understand," I AM NOT
IMPLYING THAT I KNOW ANY MORE THAN YOU DO, it has to do with the facts and
figures themselves. So, let me put it to you this way. In order to really
understand the magnitude of this tour A LOT of these FACT and FIGURES are
required. However, you WILL NOT FIND THEM ALL IN ONE PLACE, and, so, to get
them ALL you will have to spend a great deal of time doing reasearch, and
after, put it all together. Well, I've saved you the work, because THIS IS
WHAT I DID. I went looking, using many different sources, got all of the
information that was needed, compiled it, and put it all together in this
segment of Images. The one thing I promise is that if this subject interests
you, that you will TRULY UNDERSTAND after reading this, the complexity,
magnitude, and just how fantastic an accomplishment the 1983 Serious
Moonlight tour was. I know this because THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS
INFORMATION HAS EVER BEEN COMPILED, ALL PUT TOGETHER, and APPEARED IN PRINT.
You will be amazed. I sincerely hope my efforts paid off, I do. After
reading this I really hope you found it entertaining, informative, and WELL
WORTH YOUR TIME. Let's get started, shall we?


The Serious Moonlight tour opened in Brussels on May 18, 1983, and closed in
Hong Kong on December 8, 1983. The band originally learned 35 songs in two
weeks, and the set list for each gig was a compilation of 26 songs out of
these 35. There were 96 performances on the tour, which meant they played
2,028 songs, that's 12,270 minutes of music, in 59 cities. Out of those
cities the tour occupied 9,457 hotel rooms. Bowie and his band flew
3,787,000 miles on Jet 24, and along with them the plane carried 7,788
pounds of luggage in 177 bags. Behind them was 64,000 pounds of equipment
and two complete stages. The longest flight was twenty three and a half
hours, Nice to Los Angeles, and the shortest was Buffalo to Syracuse,
fifteen minutes. The fuel for Jet 24 to travel from Brussels to Los Angeles
cost $45,000.00. All together the tour employed 12,245 people, some very
briefly, but they managed to drink 35,720 cans of pop anyway. The largest
festival crowd Bowie played to was over 300,000, that was at the US
Festival. The smallest audience was 2,120, at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Auckland holds the record for the largest show, 80,000 people. All in all
there were TWO MILLION SIX HUNDRED AND ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY
SIX PEOPLE that bought tickets which all together weighed 5,224 pounds.
Sadly, my truly sincere efforts over the past TWENTY YEARS to obtain the
figures as to exactly how much the tour cost, and how much Bowie made, have
so far been completely unrewarded, yet, I continue to try right up to this
very day. Therefore, since this is the case, as much as I would like to I am
unable to provide you with these numbers, however, all is not lost. I do
have some "estimates" concerning these figures. Now, althought I can't claim
these numbers to be completely accurate, I can tell you that they were
arrived at using very credible sources, and between these sources the
figures matched up surprisingly well. That in itself tells me something.


The Serious Moonlight tour opened in Brussels on May 18, 1983, and closed in
Hong Kong on December 8, 1983. The band originally learned 35 songs in two
weeks, and the set list for each gig was a compilation of 26 songs out of
these 35. There were 96 performances on the tour, which meant they played
2,028 songs, that's 12,270 minutes of music, in 59 cities. Out of those
cities the tour occupied 9,457 hotel rooms. Bowie and his band flew
3,787,000 miles on Jet 24, and along with them the plane carried 7,788
pounds of luggage in 177 bags. Behind them was 64,000 pounds of equipment
and two complete stages. The longest flight was twenty three and a half
hours, Nice to Los Angeles, and the shortest was Buffalo to Syracuse,
fifteen minutes. The fuel for Jet 24 to travel from Brussels to Los Angeles
cost $45,000.00. All together the tour employed 12,245 people, some very
briefly, but they managed to drink 35,720 cans of pop anyway. The largest
festival crowd Bowie played to was over 300,000, that was at the US
Festival. The smallest audience was 2,120, at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Auckland holds the record for the largest show, 80,000 people. All in all
there were TWO MILLION SIX HUNDRED AND ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY
SIX PEOPLE that bought tickets which all together weighed 5,224 pounds.
Sadly, my truly sincere efforts over the past TWENTY YEARS to obtain the
figures as to exactly how much the tour cost, and how much Bowie made, have
so far been completely unrewarded, yet, I continue to try right up to this
very day. Therefore, since this is the case, as much as I would like to I am
unable to provide you with these numbers, however, all is not lost. I do
have some "estimates" concerning these figures. Now, althought I can't claim
these numbers to be completely accurate, I can tell you that they were
arrived at using very credible sources, and between these sources the
figures matched up surprisingly well, and that in itself tells me something.
It tells me that even though there is no guarantee, I would be very willing
to promise that what I tell you is in my opinion COMPETELY TRUSTWORTHY, and
close enough to the truth to be correct. This all comes later though. Oh,
talking about money, here is something you didn't know about Bowie's number
one hit in 1983, And I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT LET'S DANCE, or THE SINGLES FROM
IT. BOWIE HAD A NUMBER ONE HIT IN 1983 THAT DIDN'T COME FROM LET'S DANCE.
Surprised? Here is a hint, "Made loud to be played loud." That's all I'm
saying for now.
What really happened was exactly the same science behind a tidal wave. It
starts all at once with a vibration, usually an earthquake. Now, it is not
overly large to begin with, but as it goes along it picks up large amounts
of additional water due to the laws of physics that govern "wave action,"
and Newton's laws of motion. Although the density of the wave remains
consistent as it moves, the constant addition of water has a signifigant
measured effect on its mass and volume, causing its dimensions to increase
both in height, length, and width. Weight is also added as the volume of
water increases. There is a proportional effect on motion, as the volume,
weight, and mass of the wave is increased. The proportional effect on motion
is manifested by an increase in the rate of speed at which the wave is
travelling. There is a proportional effect as the force of the wave also
increases due to the change in dimensions, weight, and speed. As the forward
motion of the wave continues to increase, the process repeats itself as more
water is being added. What happens then is that the mass, volume, weight,
and dimensions of the wave are effected, they all increase once more, this
causes the rate of speed in the wave's motion to increase, so the force of
the wave increases also. Now, to the experiment. This experiment deals with
discovering what the possible outcomes would be should the forward motion of
the wave be interrupted by an object half of its size. This is accomplished
by constructing a solid object with fixed dimensions and securing it firmly
in place where the wave will strike it causing an impact. The results can
then be determined simply by measuring what occurs as a result of the
impact. It's okay, don't worry, I've already done this so I know. You don't
have to do any of this yourself. When the wave comes in contact with the
object it fuckind destroys it. I mean, it is really fucking destroyed,
there's NOTHING LEFT OF IT. You see, the impact causes the wave to stop. You
see, the wave was moving faster than Fripp on Scary Monsters, and without
any resistence, so, the solid object became an impediment to the forward
motion. When it contacted this impediment all Hell broke loose. The action
that resulted when the impediment was struck is called an impact. Now, at
the moment of impact the wave got really fucked up. I mean bad too. All of
the mass, volume, density and the rest of the shit in the wave was kind of
distupted by the impact. The objects resistance caused the speed of the wave
to decrease from ten billion miles an hour, to a couple of hundred miles an
hour. The impact happened as FAST AS IT WOULD TAKE ME TO PULL THE TRIGGER
WHEN PERTER FRAMPTON IS SINGING AND DESTROYING THE CHORUS OF TO SONS OF THE
SILENT AGE. The symmetry of the wave is destroyed at this moment, as well as
the object that some idiot left in front of it. The strength of the force,
which is the energy generated by the motion of the wave is not diminished,
but it is released. It is sound advice that anything which happens to be in
the path of this energy when it is released, and may impede its progress,
should fucking run away as fast as they can go, and don't stop. The most
important thing which can be learned from this experiment is demonstrated in
this equation. "Mass + Volume + Weight + Dimensions + Rate Of Forward Motion
= Energy. So the bigger the wave is, the more energy is has. That means
after a while it will destroy almost anything put in front of it. That is
of course until it gets so fucking big that NOTHING IN THE UNIVERSE CAN STOP
IT. So, that, my friends, is it, the science behind the the Serious
Moonlight tour. It's really simple, a bit of physics, that's all.


One thing to note here. The energy was not confined, I mean the action
wasn't just centered around the tour itself. There were a lot of other
things effected by the Serious Mooonlight tour as it made its way arond the
planet. Remember a company called RCA Records And Tapes? Remember a guy
named Tony Defries? Sure you do. Let me ask you this, "What was going on
with RCA, Defries and Bowie after he left and signed with EMI America?
Nothing. Bowie disliked Defries for ripping him off, and he had no respect
for RCA, so they weren't even speaking. There was no reason to. That answer
is one of the most common misconceptions I hear among Bowie listeners. It
seems to make sense after all that happened, but it wasn't the case at all.
The reality was that Bowie was talking to RCA, and not only was he talking,
but months before the tour even began he had worked out a plan so they both
could start working together again. This meant of course that Tony Defries
had to be involved, as HE STILL OWNED THE RIGHTS to Bowie's catalog from
1975 and back. Oh yes, it's true, and there was a damned good reason for it
as well, as you are going to learn right now. If you look at the setlist for
the shows on the tour, you will see that they only contain four new songs,
China Girl, Let's Dance, Modern Love, and Cat People. This meant that the
other twenty four songs were all on RCA's label. So, can you even begin to
imagine the plans that RCA started devising the very second they heard that
David Bowie was going on tour. People forget, and they never consider what
Let's Dance did for RCA, even though it was on another label. You see it now
though, don't you? Previous to the release of Station To Station, Bowie did
not own the rights to any of his work, Defries did. Also, nothing had
changed between Defries and RCA, they continued to have a very amicable
working arrangement finding new ways to repackage Bowie's work. Defries and
Bowie had parted by the end of 1975, and Bowie remained under contract to
RCA of course until 1982. His contract with RCA gave them the right release
a "Greatest Hits" package, and they exercised that right in 1976 with the
release of CHANGESONE. Understand this however. RCA could not just take the
tracks on CHANGESONE, put them all together, press an album, put it in a
cover, and then ship it out to the retailers so it could be sold. There was
no damn way, unless they wanted to wind up in court on the wrong end of a
lawsuit. Neither RCA or Bowie owned the copyrights to any of the songs used
on CHANGESONE, so before they did anything they needed to first get
permission from Tony Defries. RCA had never stopped releasing Bowie's work.
Bowie had fufilled his obligations to RCA when he handed over Scary
Monsters, and although he still had almost three years left on his contract
he refused to give them another album. This is when RCA went to Defries and
struck up a deal to repackage and sell Bowie's work, and they never stopped.
An bit of interest in Bowie was rekindled when he released Let's Dance, and
this rekindled interest became a ten thousand alarm raging inferno when the
album and the singles rose to the top few inches on every Pop Chart in the
world. This renewed interest sparked a flurry of album sales, and people
were not just buying his new stuff either, and the combination of Defries
and RCA had control over EVERY ALBUM BOWIE EVER RECORDED, except ONE. Due to
the success of Let's Dance, the sales of his older albums skyrocketed, and
this meant royalties. Nobody could have been more happier than RCA and
Defries with Bowie and his new album, except perhaps EMI. Now, when I say
that sales of his older albums skyrocketed, I am not exaggerating, look at
the charts. There was a reletively new feature which appeared around this
same time in Billboard magazine, the Midline chart. This chart worked the
same way as a Pop Chart, where positions are based on unit sales, however
the chart was reserved for older albums which had been re released at a
discount. On the cover of one those re releases were the words, "Made loud
to be played loud," and the title of that album was "The Rise And Fall Of
Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars." When RCA re released it, Ziggy
Stardust shot immediately up to number one. Bowie's offer to RCA was a
brilliant business move on his part in a number of different ways. First of
all, he knew that RCA and Defries would do everything that they possible
could in order to capitalize on his newly found international stardom. Also,
the upcoming tour would make him even more visible, this would of course
have caused RCA and Defries to only work that much harder in an effort to
develop even more ingenious schemes to profit from his popularity. As it
stood, RCA and Defries could do whatever they wished with his work, he had
no say. However, if he offered them a business deal to work as a partnership
it would provide Bowie the opportunity to have some control over his
previous work, and maybe having some say could possible effect the quality
of the re releases. It is well known that Bowie despised the way much of his
older material was re issued because it looked "cheap," and they kept re
issuing the same material in different packaging, or adding a track, and
this was forcing collectors to purchase two, three, or more copies of the
same album, or single, just for the packaging. He felt his fans were "being
bled." He'd never do that of course? Funny how things can come back and
haunt you, isn't it? Anyway, there is another reason as well that this was
an absolutely brilliant business move by Bowie. Advertising. David Bowie
personally managed to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
advertising for his albums, and for the tour, and it got it all FREE. Here
is how it all worked.


By the time Bowie contacted RCA they had already finalized some of their
marketing stategies for capitalizing on the "Bowie Phenominum," and there
were also plans still in the developmentmental stages. Bowie knew about
these plans now because of the partnership between himself, RCA, and
Defries, so there were no surprises coming. One thing RCA was planning to do
was to release another "Greatest Hits" package, and Bowie agreed to this. In
addition there were also plans to re issue all of his back catalog, and an
album which contained "rare" material. One thing you must understand is that
this "partnership" was not sudden, Bowie had it planned well in advance,
and as a matter of fact Bowie, RCA and Defries had started working together
again as far back as NINETEEN EIGHTY TWO, yes, EIGHTY TWO if you can believe
it, the very same year he split with RCA. They were well ready to go by the
time 1983 came around. "Bowie Rare," a collection of material which was not
well known was on the shelves by January of 83. This was followed by the re
release of Pin Ups and The Man Who Sold The World in February, and Lodger in
March. RCA's plans did not stop with Bowie's albums either, there were the
45's also. So, in June RCA released twenty of Bowie's singles
Now, out of all of his work that RCA and Defries had re issued, there was
only one which Bowie personally liked, and that was "Fashions." This was a
set of ten 45 RPM picture disk singles which came packaged in a vinyl
"booklet." Bowie referred to "Fashions" as "tasteful," and he said that
there was "some imagination behind it." Therefore, it comes as no surprise
that the twenty singles RCA re released were packaged in "PICTURE SLEEVES."
This was a wonderful idea, because of the pictures, and the fact that his
singles are often difficult to come by, these re issues were guaranteed to
be snapped up by his older listeners and collectors. It was a great
opportunity as I said, because for the first time theses singles had become
easily available. In August the promised "Golden Years," was released by
RCA, an album containing even more of his "Greatest Hits" that were never
hits in the first place. Also released in 83 by RCA was the double album
sound track for "Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture. Bowie had given RCA
the schedule for the Serious Moonlight tour months in advance, in fact, they
had it long before the tour was even announced. This, again, business wise,
was another ingenious move by Bowie. At Bowie's suggestion, he encouraged
RCA to co ordinate "David Bowie Promotions" with the record retailers,
supplying them with posters and other items to display in their windows, or
put on their shelves. Who paid for all of this advertising? RCA paid for all
of it, and the royalties went directly into Bowie's Swiss bank account.
Bowie also got RCA to arrange a series of promotions with the radio
stations, and because of this, and the tour, Bowie got an incredible amount
of airplay. This of course resulted in even more transfers to a bank in
Switzerland. Smart moves, weren't they?


After the US Festival the tour really got going when it next landed in
London for a three night stint at Wembley. Now, get ready, because I am
going to tell you what the demand for tickets was like. The tickets were
scheduled to go on sale at the box office on April 11th, this was on a
MONDAY. However by the previous THURSDAY, that's FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE
TICKETS WERE EVEN SCHEDULED TO GO ON SALE, there was a line up of FOUR
THOUSAND PEOPLE at the box office, and it steadily grew. This, all for a man
who could not fill a hockey arena on his last tour. When the box office
opened all three shows were sold out in a matter of a few hours. Gone, every
one of them, in hours. This, all for a man who could not fill a hockey arena
on his last tour, and those three nights at Wembey didn't even begin to
satisfy the demand for tickets. Harvey Goldsmith, the London promoter, said
that the demand for Bowie tickets was oversubscribed eight times over, which
he said was far higher than the demand for Rolling Stones tickets on their
last tour. Demand had exceed available seating by EIGHT HUNDRED PERCENT!
Scalpers were getting well above retail value the night of the first
performance, that is until the box office unexpectedly opened and four
hundred tickets went on sale. As I explained the first show was "reserved,"
the others apparentley were better. Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Rod
Stewart were among the members of the "Rock Royalty" that attended, along
with tennis great John McEnroe, and actors Terrence Stamp and Carrie Fisher.
Oh, and Pete Townsend, the children's rights advocate was also in
attendance. Critic Anthony Denselow of the Observer noted that the
"atmosphere of the crowded tiers was more often akin to Lourdes, than to the
usual rock concert jostle in shabby Wembley." Next it was off to Birmingham
where it was the same story, two sold out shows in two days. After
Birmingham it was off to Paris for two sold shows. Jee Ling, Bowie's
girlfriend who appeared in the video for China Girl showed up the first gig.
The two shows drew an audience of one hundred and twenty thousand. On the
charts Let's Dance was still at number one.


The motion of the "Bowie Wave" as it moved from venue to venue was having an
enormous effect due to the laws of physics. Volume and density, in the form
of people and money, steadily grew, and as that grew, so accordingly did the
force of the wave. In Sweden Bowie performed at Ullevi Stadium in
Gothenberg, and the demand for tickets sparked A RIOT the day they went on
sale. As it turns out, before Bowie had even arrived in Sweden a local
newspaper had run a wonderful article on the tour, including the upcoming
performance. Now, accompanying the article was a lovely diagram featuring
the floor plan of the Park Hotel where he was staying. As a result of this
helpful little diagram, by the time he got there the hotel was literally
beseiged by fans, forcing him to have to enter by way of the back door and
through the kitchen. The audience of 59,000 broke the stadium record
previously held by The Rolling Stones, by a wide margin apparentley. As
expected the reviews were absolutely glowing with Aftonbladet calling it
"the event of the year," and going on to say that "it lived up to all
expectations." The 47,444 that showed up in Edinburgh set a record also,
but this time not just for the stadium itself, it set a record as the
largest audience to ever attend a rock concert IN THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND!
It was the same everywhere, sold out shows, and attendance records
shattered. The European leg of the tour wound up in Milton Keynes, just
outside London, where Bowie peformed for three nights, July 1st, 2nd, and
3rd. Ticket prices were ten and eleven pounds, and that's what people paid
until they were all gone, all 174,984 of them. Over a month before the
concert was to happen there were whole columns in the classified sections of
the weekly music publications devoted ENTIRELY to the buying, selling, and
trading of Bowie tickets. Although all the tickets were all sold the
scalpers got burned on this event. Just before Bowie went on stage they
dropped their ticket prices to half of the retail value. The long lineups at
the gates had started to form several hours before the show began. On the
first day temperatures soared, and those who were early enough had seven
hours of standing under the blazing sun while being crushed to look forward
to. Bowie especially liked these gigs, and on the last night he played to an
audience which was over capacity. As Modern Love played the hudge inflatable
silver moon with blinking eyes was hanging over the crowd on the end of a
crane. At the conclusion of the song the show ended, and the moon opened up
releasing hundreds of pieces of shining gold foil all cut into the shape of
the moon and stars.


Just before the final shows ending the European leg of the tour David Bowie
returned once again to the very stage from which Ziggy Stardust had retired
at the Hammersmith Odeon. It was June 30th, only one month short of a decade
since Ziggy had said his final farewell. This night at The Hammersmith Odeon
Bowie performed for charity, The Brixton Neighbourhood Community
Association, and in attendance was a crowd of 3,000 including Princess
Michael Of Kent. This was an intimate show, and therefore quite relaxed with
the band performing in their street clothes on a simple stage. The small
venue allowed Bowie to establish a close rapport with the audience, and so
compared to the other performances this one seemed much less "staged." Bowie
made good use of the items thrown on the stage as props. This left a toy
clown dangling from his microphone after he took it off his shoulder. Now,
where they bought it, I do not know, and why they bought it is a complete
mystery to me, but someone threw an "inflatable leg" up on the stage at one
point. Yes, you heard me, an "inflatable leg." In Bowie's hands however it
became a guitar, and when he inserted the toes into his mouth it instantly
doubled as a saxaphone. There was an interesting incident which occurred as
the final notes of Modern Love shot from the speakers and drifted over the
satisfied multitude. There isn't an orchestra pit in front of the stage at
the Hammersmith, and this allows the audience to congrgate extremely close
to the stage, and a boy took full advantage of this situation by bolting out
of the crowd and on to the stage. When he got up there he grabbed Bowie and
started to pull him over to one side of the stage. He stopped pulling Bowie
when he reached the point directly in front of his friends who were sitting
in the audience. It was there that one of his friends raised the camera and
took the picture. He got it just in time, before the young man was separated
from a grinning Bowie and hustled off the stage by security.


You have heard me make mention of the "Advance Promotion Teams" that Bowie
hired, yet I have not yet explained to you why they were hired or what their
function was, so I will do that now. Nothing, absolutely nothing was left up
to chance on this tour. It had to be one of the most well planned assaults
in history, and there were plans in place on how to handle every situation
which could possibly arise, as well as a complete list of contingency plans
should anything unexpected occur, or should any of the plans fail to work as
predicted. Normally, it is the promoters who are responsible for generating
ticket sales, as it should be, because their own livelyhoods depend on them.
Before an act will book the promoter has to guarantee them a certain amount
of money no matter how many tickets are sold for the event, and the promoter
trecoups this guarantee by ticket sales. So, the situation is that if
tickets don't sell the promoter is on the hook for the cash personally, and
in the past this has lead to some extremely devastating losses for some of
them. As I said, Bowie left nothing up to chance, and he wasn't about to
take a chance by leaving anything important up to someone else, he wanted to
make sure things were done. As you have already noticed, I am sure, the
publicity surronding Bowie was astronomical. This was all of course due to
the agencies he hired, which were the best money could buy, as well as the
advertising and promotion which was done by EMI America, RCA Records And
Tapes, radio stations, television, record retailers, local promoters, and
the media. The publicity machine had started generating hype long before the
tour started, and by the time it did, the hype is best defined as OVERKILL.
There was so much promotion done by the time of the tour that there wasn't a
person on the planet, living or dead, who did not know who David Bowie was,
and once the tour actually started it only drilled it deeper into their
heads. Did it stop there? You've got to be kidding, not a "chance."
Remember, no "chances." On top of the promotional OVERKILL was the fact that
just an announcement that the tour was even coming to a city was enough for
a date to sell out in a couple of hours. Now, if this wasn't already as
overboard as one could get, Bowie went as far as to specifically target
every city where he was scheduled to play in order to generate a frenzy well
in advance of his arrival. Bowie had hired, as I told you, Rogers And Cowan,
the number one rated plublicty agency in America, and who had done an
incredible job. Their responsibility was to put the name David Bowie on
every set of lips on the planet, which they accomplished. Bowie didn't want
to risk the chance that having his name and face hammered so hard on people
that those who had never heard his music were having dreams about him may
not be enough. In every city the tour was scheduled to play Bowie hired a
local plublicity and promotional agency to generate more hype, which was
intented to create feelings of anxiousness and inticipation. Again, another
brilliant move. You see, doing this was NOT INTENDED TO SELL TICKETS, Bowie
knew they would all sell, he did it ONLY TO MAKE THEM SELL FASTER. By
getting people wound up in anticipation of the show it caused those who had
delayed purchasing their tickets to become extremely nervous and start to
fear that they might not be able to get one if they left it too long. This
guaranteed that not only would every show sell out, but it would sell out
early. This meant that the sooner a show sold out, the sooner he got the
money, and the quicker that money was in his Swiss bank account, the quicker
it started earning him interest. There was of course always a "chance" that
these people you hired in each city may not do a proper job, and Bowie would
never take a "chance" that this may happen, therefore he took steps to make
sure they did what he hired them to do. The steps he took was to hire and
assemble his own "Advance Promotion Teams." These teams were sent in to each
city to work with, and to co ordinate the local agencies Bowie hired. This
was done to ensure that the arrival of the Bowie tour WOULD BE AN EVENT OF
MASSIVE PROPORTION, and not just another concert in town. Bowie's advance
teams also went to the local radio stations in order to make sure that his
music was receiving enough airplay and that the concert was being hyped. The
local record retailers were also checked on to make sure that they were
running Bowie promotions in advance of the concert. The promoters were on
the list too, the "Advance Team" were to make sure that enough advertising
was in place and report back how many tickets had been sold, as well as how
fast they were selling. Having information on ticket sales well in advance
was crutial, because if there was an exceedingly high demand in a city an
extra show could be added if the tour schedule permitted. The staging of an
"EVENT" was still regarded as their most important duty. Bowie had a good
reason for this as well which went beyond simply "local promotion." By using
these "Advance Teams" to co ordinate the promotion for the Serious Moonlight
tour, along with the publicity agencies he hired, the advertising done by
EMI America, RCA and the promoters, as well as the extensive media coverage,
Bowie wanted enough hype created to make people firmly believe that this was
the EVENT OF THE DECADE. He wanted people to place SUCH GREAT IMPORTANCE ON
IT that they wouldn't dare miss if if possible. Also, he wanted to make
those people who did not buy tickets to feel "guilty," as if they actually
did miss out on something. They were made to feel "Left Out," as though they
really missed something "BIG" in their lives. Hopefully, this would
encourage them to buy his records to see what they missed, or even better,
if at all possible buy a ticket and travel to the next city he played in to
see the show. The hype worked too, as you can see by the media. The tour had
been praised by many of them as truly being "The Biggest Event Of The Year,"
and to some, it had become the event of the "DECADE." The brilliance, and
the effectiveness of this promotion can't be overstated. I say this because
the tour was being touted as the "The Biggest Event Of The Year" not only in
a few places, it was being hailed as "The Biggest Event Of The Year" in
every city he was due to visit, IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! This is your answer as
to how David Bowie could go to the entertainment capital of the world, Los
Angeles, and sell out a 32,000 seat venue in a record breaking 90 minutes.
With his ideas for promoting himself, Let's Dance, and the tour, Bowie
suceeded in creating the greatest "MONEY GENERATING MACHINE" ever devised,
and one history is never likely to see repeated.


After Europe the tour ripped through Quebec City, Montreal, and then
Hartford. Things were running so smooth that Hartford was "barely
remembered." In Philadephia another attendance record was shattered. Until
David Bowie came in 83, no other rock star The Philadelphia Spectrum's
sixteen year history had ever sold out four nights in a row. Oh, and one of
these gigs saw another rather interesting "Fan" incident. Apparentley this
girl simply couldn't wait for Modern Love, Space Oddity was as far as she
made it. Now, I guess The Spectrum security staff presented a problem
because she determined that to mount a frontal assault on the stage would
prove itself unsucessful. Ruling out attacking from the front, she continued
probing the security perimiter which was effectively separating her from the
"TARGET" looking for any weak points that would allow her to breach the
perimiter. She found none. A ground assault was not possible. Thinking that
there had to be another possible way gave her an idea. Like a war, if you
can't attack from the ground, do it from the air. Yes, the air. It was then
that she decided she would drop a bomb. Am I kiddlng? Look, not even my
twisted imagination could come up with something this bizarre. She did it
too. The attack came from the rear, she bombed the stage. This was
accomplished as she jumped from the balcony at the rear of the stage. The
impact occured stage right in the approximate area of Dave LeBolt's
keyboards, a surprised Lebolt was rather astonished at her ability to her
evade the bodyguards in an attempt to clear a path between her and Bowie.
"Pop Idols" are rarely attacked by fans from the rear, so, I am sure he
would never had expected it, and therefore I would imagine that he never
watches his back. Either way, he was certainly unaware of what was going on
behind him this time. At the time this was all occuring Bowie was playing
Space Oddity using a brand new red Ovation guitar which he had just
purchased, and had never been used before on stage. Nothing could be done as
she defeated the efforts to stop her by the only remaining barrier that was
left separating her from the "TARGET." The path was now clear. I forgot to
mention that the "bomb" dropped on the stage was a slightly "larger" one
than normal. She closed in on her "TARGET" and her aim proved to be deadly.
It was a direct hit, David Bowie was now captured, being firmly held in a
locked embrace that was not going to be easily broken. In addition to this
girl being tightly secured to Bowie with her grip, there was another little
matter of concern, as she had also now become fully entangled in the guitar
strap around Bowie's neck that held his brand new red Ovation. Bowie could
not move in any direction at all without dragging the girl along. This
however did not thwart Bowie from making a valiant attempt to escape
captivety by trying to untangle himself. Now, I want to make this clear by
telling you straight up that I personally am not an expert on the design and
manufacturing of red Ovation guitars. However, I can tell you for sure that
I know they have certain tolerance levels built into their design, and when
these levels are exceeded the main frame of the instrument may be
compromised, and this may result in a failure. I know this about guitars
because Bowie's movements as he made his escape attempt, coupled with the
girls weight pressing against the front portion of it, smashed a brand new
red Ovation guitar into pieces. What did Bowie do after? Well, HE SAID HE
WAS SORRY to the audience. His exact words were, "I want to apologize for my
mother." was the one that all performers fear the most. Argueably, because
of the venue, the next perfomance would be the most important on the tour,
and not just Bowie's tour, it is the most important venue on any tour. This
next stop is the one that all performers fear the most, and that is because
of the audience. For any performer this is one crowd you have to win over, I
mean you have to, only your entire reputation depends on it. Any guesses
where? Here is a hint, MSG is not only a food preservative. The tour is
holed up on West 52nd Street, staying at the Berkshire Hotel. This is New
York City, MSG, Madison Square Gardens, and here you MAKE IT, or you BREAK
IT, because sitting in that audience in front of you will be all your peers.
This is JUDGEMENT DAY! What a nightmare, and it's just beginning. You know,
I was just thinking something? This might be the perfect opportunity to give
you a BEHIND THE SCENES look at a performance, a view from THE INSIDE. Would
you like that? I may as well. Just watch how it all starts.


Start with this. Who gets tickets for the show? Who doesn't get tickets for
the show? That is one of the first decisions that has to be made. What do I
mean? You are probably telling yourself that, "Anyone can get tickets to a
show at the box office. Nobody decides who can go to the show and who
can't." Sorry, you're wrong, most tickets yes, not these ones however, these
are much different. The ticket problem belongs to the tour's creative
director, Gail Davis. There is a "buzz" of activity which has been going on
since early morning at the Berkshire, much of it in suite 1610 and 1612.
This suite belongs, for now anyway, to Bill Zysblat, who has the
reponsibility of being the "money manager," he is the tour's accountant, and
he is also concerned with the "ticket" problem. The ticket worries also make
their way down to suite 1120, Carlos Alomar's temporary residence, keeping
him occupied. Part of the band are tucked away in a meeting in suite 1114.
Upstairs in suite 1414 is a Mr. J. Rickett, and Mr. Rickett is not concerned
about the tickets, he has other worries. You see, the man who is registered
as Mr. J. Rickett will soon be on a stage at Madison Square Gardens,
hopefully giving the performance of his life as "THE REAL DAVID BOWIE." Back
at the tour management office the staff are dealing with the problem which
occurred whan SEVEN THOUSAND REQUESTS came in from people wanting VIP
tickets for the first show. Oh, before I forget, I should mention that the
seating capacity at The Gardens is around TWENTY THOUSAND. The problem
doesn't end with the number of requests either, that's just the beginning.
How do you verify them? Yeah, there's a real problem for you. The phone
rings and it's Tom Cruise's representative wanting six seats for Tom, then
the executive secretary to the president of Capital Records calls wanting
four seats, Steven Speilberg wants ten, Bob Geldof is on line three, Bette
Middler is on hold, Cher wants seats and she's in a hurray, and if fact, the
biggest names in the entertainment industry are all on the line. Add to that
the movers and shakers of corporate America, congressmen, senators, judges,
and others in public office, film studio executives, and a host of others
who believe that they are entitled to be beneficiaries of VIP tickets for
"THE EVENT OF THE MILLENIUM," which the hype has made it by now. The point
is how do you know that it's really Tom Cruise's representative on the
phone, or it's really Bob Geldof on the line, because it could be anybody?
People calling in to get tickets by pretending to be someone they are not is
quite a common occurance, and it is a hassle to deal with. Scalpers are
especially bothersome. So, not only do the calls come in from people, but
you are required to make as many calls as are necessary in order to verify
the identity of these callers before releasing any tickets. But, before
that's even done, you better brush up on your diplomatic skills, because you
now have to decide not just who gets what seats, but who they sit beside,
because there are some celebrities that you can't seat beside others. This
is because there may be some sort of a feud between them, like a lawsuit,
or it's a rival, maybe the ex wife from their most recent marriage which
lasted a whole three days, there's the possibility of a cheating girlfriend,
a cheating boyfriend, more likely a husband where celebrities are concerned,
and the list of personality clashes, and other reasons for having to act
like a shepard carries on. After the tickets are given out then you'd better
be prepared to handle the people who thought they deserved better seats, and
deal with the accusations of how you have offended their dignity by putting
them in the wrong pecking order as far as they are concerned. Hmmmm? I never
considered all of these problems either, but what a mess, it's quite petty
really. Oh, and then on top of it all, there's the celebrity mentality to
contend with , as in the inflated egos and the pointless whining for the
sake of pointless whining. If it were me, " No thanks, keep it." Gail Davis
had requests laying on the floor that were ankle deep. Back at the Berkshire
in suite1120, Carlos Alomar's phone was ringing constantly. It was "FRIENDS"
wanting tickets, "FRIENDS," that Alomar said he "didn't know he even had."


The band will meet in the lobby at three forty five. They will leave from
there and go directly The Gardens


Many of those who were on the VIP list were not just content with the
tickets they were given, they also expected that they would be granted an
audience with Bowie at some point, or at least be shown preferrential
treatment by being allowed backstage. These expectations are not unusual in
the entertainment industry, especially where rock concerts are concerned.
It is customary that the band, or artist, will t have a "Hospitality Room"
set up backstage to entertain VIP's, friends, people in the business, and
other invited guests. The presence of these rooms have become a well known
fixture on most tours, being well stocked with beverages, including alcohol,
and plenty of food. Some artists use this room as a means of displaying
their success, as one would buying a Rolls Royce to drive. This is done by
stocking their hospitality rooms with expensive booze, and using an
expensive caterer. It is expected of the performer to make an appearance to
mingle with those who have been invited. A Bowie tour is quite different
however, as he has NEVER set up a hospitality room backstage on any of his
tours. The fact is that David is not much of a socializer in the first
place, save the very few who are close to him personally, and this is
especially true when it comes to people hanging around the tour itself. This
does not mean that he doesn't go out, or socialize at times while he is on
the road, he does, but he does it away from "work." He knows he is expected
to entertain, and disliking it immensely has caused him to develop a scheme
to keep those who expect to be catered to by him happy, and at the same time
avoid having to play host. He will, if he considers it necessary, have post
concert parties for invited guests and the media, and these get togethers
are NEVER held backstage at the venue he is performing in. Oh, and I should
explain what I mean by "necesssary." I mean when it becomes neccessary for
business, as in cities where there are influential media outlets, or a large
population of people related to the entertainment industy. He will host
parties in these instances, and is not afraid to make the affair worth
remembering by spending money, however it is not spent in an attempt to
demonstrate his success by lining the bar with the best liquor money can
buy, or by having an extravegant display of food fit for King Henry The
Eighth. This is not to say that what he presents is modest by any means, it
isn't, but in true Bowie fashion he spends the money on making these post
concert parties something to be remembered as extremely classy events. These
parties are more than adequate to keep everyone happy. He takes care of his
dislike for socializing quite often by not personally showing up at these
parties, or when he does go, only spending a short time before leaving. He
goes out, sometimes often, to local clubs after a gig, however it is seldom
with the band who are usually out quite frequently, not having wake up calls
if they are staying in a city until three in the afternoon. During the
rehearsals in Dallas for the 78 tour Bowie and the band popped into a local
bowling alley. The bartender asked Sean Mayes what he was doing in town
after noting his British accent. Mayes told him he was on vacation, not
wanting to reveal he was playing piano on a Bowie tour. The reason was that
David was over at a pool table chaulking up a cue and nobody in the place
had any idea who he was. This was a rare moment for Bowie, one where he
could be just a normal person for a few minutes, and Mayes did not want to
spoil it. Bowie has been known to frequent the lounges at hotels, and has
on more than one occasion stood up to do an impromptu performance with the
house band. There was one occasion he did this, and either nobody knew who
he was, or they just refused to even conside, let alone believe that it
could really be him, because the people in the place didn't pay much
attention to him at all. Any time he chose to walk on the streets he was
constantly shadowed by a limousine driven by his long time protector Tony
Mascia, and he always had a hand on the door. Another record was broken at
Madison Square Gardens in 83. This was the first time in history that a
hospitality room had ever appeared backstage on a David Bowie tour.


It doesn't matter. No, it doesn't. It could be an arena or a stadium, it
doesn't matter, and neither does the name of the city, or the town. It could
be in any country, that doesn't matter, or in any language. A few people, or
many, that doesn't matter. Time is unimportant, the day, or the year. One
thing is for sure, the atmosphere before a rock concert is electric. A
stage, above it speakers, waiting to have thousands of watts of music
blasted from them. A stage, the band, surrounded by an eerie fog, and bathed
in an rainbow of light. A stage, and out in front, tens of thousands of
people waiting in a suureal sea of energy, and flowing anticipation.
Anxiousness bordering on nervous, yet the feeling is unique, because it is
joyfull. Yet, in defiance of reality, there is one small piece of ground on
the Serious Moonlight tour where the atmosphere resembles the silent
reverence of a monestary before showtime. There are three, maybe four people
who will ever pass through and enter this oasis, all others are kept on the
other side of the door. This oasis is David Bowie's dressing room. Bowie is
a loner before he steps out on that stage, NOBODY, and I MEAN NOBODY gets
through that door. Possessing a backstage pass reading "ALL AREAS" will do
nothing for you in terms of getting anywhere near Bowie before, or after a
gig. He demands privacy, and quiet before a gig, and he will not tolerate
any unecessary disturbances. Frankie Enfield works in Bowie's production
office. Frankie is a "SHEPHERD." Yes, a shepherd. Oh, not with four footed
creatures mind you, the two legged sort I meant. The flow of people that
will be working the gig, as well as the invited guests has to be carefully
managed. One reason is privacy, to keep Bowie and members of the band from
being disturbed when they are preparing to go onstage, and also for security
reasons. This, of course, is accomplished by passes, and these passes
control where people are allowed to go by limiting them to prescribed areas
inside the venue. Frankie is responsible for preparing these passes, and
this is no small feat due to the variety of them that have to be dealt with.
We are not talking one or two different passes here, or three and four.
We're talking lots. Every single function required to stage a show is
identified by its own unique pass. Here are what some passes denote for
example. There is Backstage, Labourer, Driver, Electrician, Doctor,
Promoter, Guest, Loader, Security, Band, Stagehand, Press, Security,
Caterer, and so forth. Each one unique in itself, and some carry a
photograph. The tour was inundated by people who believed they were
important enough to DEMAND backstage passes, and upon demand they were
informed, at Bowie's personal request, to "FUCK OFF." The only people who
were given access to the area behind the stage were those who HAD TO BE
THERE IN ORDER TO WORK, or those who were authorized to be there by Bowie
PERSONALLY. The backstage area on a Bowie tour, especially this one due to
its sucess, is so tightly controlled it is beyond belief. As I said, a pass
reading "ALL AREAS," or "BACKSTAGE," will do nothing to get you anywhere
close to David Bowie. I'll tell you why, using The Gardens as an example.
You see, on this tour even the area backstage is divided up into
predetermined "AREAS" Each one of these "AREAS" are separate, and each one
requires a special pass before a person is permitted to enter. Oh, and all
of them are sufficiently guarded as well, so it isn't worth the effort to
even try to venture where you're not supposed to be without a pass. How do I
know for sure? I don't. All I can tell you is that during the entire length
of the tour not one person made it anywhere close to Bowie backstage who
wasn't first invited. Okay, first, you get a pass that reads "BACKSTAGE,"
and so, fine, that gets you backstage, then what? You're backstage, that's
all. Do you think you'll see anything? Nope, because the tunnel that Bowie
will use to get to the stage has a nice big blue curtain hanging from it, so
you won't be able to see anything. One more problem too, your pass won't
allow you to get even NEAR the curtain. A pass stating "BEHIND BACKSTAGE"
on it will get you there however, as far as the curtain that is, but not
past it. If you are Jesus Christ, and manage a "HOSPITALITY SUITE" badge,
that will open the curtain, and that means you're getting in. You're getting
in to the Hospitality Suite that is. Oh, I should mention that is as far as
you are going to get too. And Bowie? No way. Not even close. Just past the
hospitality suite the hallway leads to the band room. You will never see
that hallway, let alone travel it as there is one more of those pesky blue
curtains hanging down that blocks your view. Okay, supposing ALMIGHTY GOD
can't make it, and he does give you his pass to the band room, you are no
better off. You will not find David Bowie with the band before a gig
normally until it's almost show time. You be able to see where the door is
to Bowie's dressing room from here, but you will never actually see the
door, because it is concealed by a brown curtain, and that is one curtain
you are not getting anywhere near. Actual colour charts are made showing the
badges and the designated areas they apply to. Hours before the show these
charts are used to brief stadium security, and a copy is given to each
person after. Just suppose you manage to get your hands on a "used"
backstage pass from an earlier show on the tour. That should work, right?
Nope, sorry, it won't. Most passes used on the tour are not changed, notice
I said most. However, backstage passes are the exception, they are changed
for each performance, so, an older one is useless, except as a nice addition
to your collection, or as a start to one.


The pesky blue curtain even prevented a view of the arriving VIP's who had
invitations to the "HOSPITALITY SUITE." In this suite you may have expected
to find a decent sized crowd gathered, but you wouldn't have. Instead, you
would have seen that the guest list was very short. Ron Wood, who security
made hide his bottle of Rebel Yell whisky before they would let him in the
door. It went down his pants, covered by his jacket. Yoko Ono, Mick Jagger,
Jerry Hall, Keith was there with girlfriend Patti Hansen, Grace Jones, and
David Byrne to name a few. The Los Angeles gig brought out the likes of
Michael Jackson, Bette, Middler, David Byrne, Cher, Tina Turner, Sting,
Giorgio Moroder, director David Hemmings, Irene Cara, Henry Winkler, Duran
Duran, and Iggy Pop. Back in New York, Raquel Welch, Censored Hoffman and
Susan Sarandon were invited along with director Dino DeLaurentis. From the
business side, the top executives from the major labels, and others who were
influential in the entertainment industry. Bowie, for the most part
remained behind the BROWN curtain, Jagger and Jerry Hall however made it
past on Bowie's invitation. The door behind the brown curtain led to a
simple room ten by fifteen feet. Bowie's stage clothes hung on a portable
racks. The cement walls were hidden by yellow curtains hanging on more
racks. A well lit mirror, a comfortable armchair is pulled up to a dressing
table where the make up, brushes, combs and hair gel sat. There were a
couple of folding chairs where others could sit. On a table in the corner
there was a cheese and fruit plate, plus a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal
Champagne. The Champagne was for guests because Bowie does not drink before
a performance, a personal rule he always obeys. Other than Bowie, the only
others you are likely to find are Coco, his personal assistant, and Glenis,
who may be in there using the portable iron and ironing board for a last
minute pressing of his shirts. Guests are extremely rare, and trust me, I do
mean extremely. Further down the hall in the band room you will find
considerably more action, but not the kind of action you think. Like most
band rooms there is beer, wine, and hard liquor. Steaming trays of
meatballs, cheese plates, fruit, and other snacks are arranged on a long
table. Soda pop, juice, and bottled water as well. Oh, and coffee, I forgot
the coffee. The wildest action going on is the game of tag being played
between Marita, Earl Slick's daughter, and Frank Simm's daughter Molly.
Backstga at Milton Keynes it was the band themselves that were wild, they
loved that venue due to the Space Invaders video game they had in their
room. Yes, Bowie too, and I heard that he apparentley played it quite a lot.
Is that surprising to you? It's not surprising in the least to me. Why?
Well, remember, he did say, "I'm a SPACE INVADER" on Moonage Daydream. Some
of the band member's wives, girlfriends and children, accompanied them on
parts of the tour. The "rowdiness" you hear about backstage on most rock
tours does not occur on a Bowie tour. I can tell you that Bowie's
professionalism, and his high standards. He has the highest standards you
could ever imagine, he places them on himself, his work, and he DEMANDS
nothing short of excellence from those he employs. Anything less, and it's
goodbye to you. On this tour there was a NO DRUGS policy in place and anyone
caught violating it would be fired immediately. Yes, including the band. It
would not be an uncommon sight to see Dave Lebolt sitting with a schematic
diagram in front of a set of partially dismantled keyboards, or Slick
checking a guitar out for anything that needs repairing. Sometimes the sound
of a saxaphone can be heard coming out of the washroom where Lenny Pickett
is practicing because of the great accoustics. He is standing in the SHOWER
STALL. Others join in. Bowie makes a surprise early visit and reads the
review out loud from the previous nights performance. "I think this tour has
legs now," he comments after, "It is a strong show. I can lean on it if I'm
not feeling up. It's strong all around."


The floor out in the seating area of Madison Square Gardens is in a state of
organized chaos as workers in a state of shear panic calmly prepare all of
the equipment to get it in working order for the show that night. Although
they can never make it, they always do. Fortunately, there seems to be an
unlimited supply of miracles which keep occuring, and these always manage to
not just keep each show going, but to also keep the entire tour on the road.
Security is tight at the door long before the time of the scheduled
performance, often DAYS IN ADVANCE, because fans will not think twice about
"camping" under a seat for a day or two if they can get in. First, before
anything, the frame of the stage must be assembled, and after the grey
boards which make up the platform that will support Bowie, the band, the
sound equipment and lights must be firmly secured on top of it. While this
is being done the folding chairs are being placed on the floor. Up near
where the stage is being erected, an enormous grey crescent moon shaped
balloon, with a mouth painted on it and blinking lights for eyes lays on the
ground. It opens in the front. Beside it people are inflating smaller
balloons. These ones are about a foot long and made of gold coloured foil.
They are shaped like the bigger moon. Also being inflated are smaller star
shaped balloons which are gold and silver coloured. After, these smaller
balloons will sealed inside the large balloon, which will then be hoisted up
and left to dangle over the audience seated on the floor. Sixty four
thousand pounds of equipment is unpacked from hundreds of damage proof
cases. Lights, speakers, amplifiers, control boards, racking, instruments
and cables. There is enough cable and wire that must be put in place to
confound Einstein, and that's on a good day. Bowie called them "CONDOMS,"
refferring to the clear plastic columns that were used on stage. Thirty feet
above from where Bowie stands rows of lights are mounted, and on each side
of the stage the "Vari - Light" bars are set up. All of these are then wired
to a control consol. During the show the lights will not be manuevered
manually, their sequences have all been pre programmed into a computer which
will operate most of them. I am just guessing here, but comparing a
soundboard to the controls of the space shuttle, I'll take the shuttle. It
looks much easier. That undefinable face of a billion numbers amidst an
array of knobs, buttons, dials, swtiches, guages, meters, lights, and
sliding bars, must be wired to ever piece of equipment which houses a
speaker. I never cease to be amazed at how anyone can set this thing up when
I marvel at the infinite number of wire cables coming out of it that are
arranged in an unsolvable tangle. How the fuck do they figure ANY OF THIS
OUT? Unbelievable. OH! DAMN IT, I have to tell you this one since we're
speaking of soundboards. Want a real laugh? Listen. On the way to the US
Festival Jet 24 went from Nice, stopped in Brussels to get more fuel, and
then flew to Los Angeles. This, as you can imagine, is one long gruelling
flight. They had real problems in Europe the first few shows with the
soundboard they were using. Finally, they needed a new one. So, they get
one, and because the other equipment was already in transit they had to take
it with them on Jet 24. Now, there are FORTY PEOPLE on the plane, the
luggage comparment is full, and they have this soundboard. The ONLY place
where there was room enough for it was the rear lavatory, and that is where
it went. This meant however, because of space, that no one could use this
restroom during the flight. No problem, Jet 24 has two, one in the back, one
up front. Airplanes are well built for safety reasons, but, FORTY PEOPLE,
ONE RESTROOM? That's sort of pushing things a bit too far, don't you think?.
Well, it was pushing things way too far, and in fact, as it turned out,
TWENTY TWO HOURS was all it could handle before it was out of commission.
Why? The reason is because it was full, REALLY REALLY FULL. Now, there are
no bathrooms, but that wasn't the problem. Okay, here's the plan, they land
in Los Angeles, clear customs and immigration, then fly from there to
Phoenix. So, they land in LA, customs and immigration officials come out to
Jet 24 to get everyone cleared. They get on the plane. The health department
arrived after being called by custom's agents after they took one whiff
inside the plane and then ran out. After boarding the plane and looking at
the situation the health department had Jet 24 OFFICIALLY SEALED OFF.
Before leaving a sign was posted on the door which read "WARNING. HEALTH
HAZARD. DO NOT ENTER." Bowie chartered a bus. The driver got lost. Oh, the
glamour of it all.


Once completed the stage is five feet high. Later, stadium security will
assume positions behind a metal, pipe, and plywood barricade which will be
placed in front of it, keeping Bowie and the audience a respectable distance
apart. There is one problem which still remains uncorrected. Security at The
Gardensis not equipped with surface to air missles, so, as in Philadephia,
this still leaves Bowie vunerable to an attack from the air. The largest
items are mostly set up by five thirty in the afternoon, so, now comes the
smaller items which need to be unpacked and readied, and then everything has
to be tested. Lighting co ordinator Alan Branton is already running tha
"Vari - Lights" through their sequences, the rack of lights above Bowie are
concealed by trusses. You see them run out when a string on a guitar breaks,
or some other peice of equipment has failed. They appear, grab the offending
item and rush away with it to be quickly repaired. They belong to the "Tech
Crew," and one of their members is Frank Pavlich who is now unpacking Earl
Slick's guitars. There are two of them. One is solid black, and the black
strap attatched to it is adorned with a red lightening bolt. The other
guitar is red with a white strap that also has a lightning bolt on it. This
one however is red. Slick's guitars are both custom made solid wood
DiMarzio's. They are rich in colour due to the factory applied twelve coats
of acrylic paint. During the show Earl Slick will use the black one, as he
always does because he likes the way it looks under the lights. The red one
will be used only as a substitute, if a string breaks, or there is any other
problem with his black one. Frank will tune each one after unpacking them,
and when the show starts he will spend the duration of it standing in the
darkness just out of sight on the right hand side of the stage. Alomar
rattles off a few licks at quarter to six. Fifteen more minutes. Included in
the never ending string of miracles is Bowie's continious prompt arrival for
the sound check. Today the time is six o'clock when he makes his appearance.
By the six o'clock sound check outside on Seventh Avenue everything is
already in full swing, and the "TICKET TRADE" business is booming in. The
prices? Well, they're now set at whatever the market will bear, and since
the venue holds a meazly twenty thousand people, supply and demand has put
them a considerable amount over face value. A couple of hours before the
show, the street prices for tickets were thirty dollars a piece for nose
bleeds, and a hundred a piece for the front rows. Scalper's prices are often
the truest measure of how "HOT" an act really is, because they show exactly
what people are willing to pay. So, by using street prices, how hot was this
Bowie gig? It was so hot that what was occurring outside on the street is
almost UNPRECIDENTED, and when I say UNPRECIDENTED, I AM NOT REFERRING TO
TICKET PRICES. Yes, I know, you can get a good idea of the high ticket
demand by looking at the prices they were fetching. What is the real story
though is WHO was buying the tickets. Outside of Madison Square Gardens it
was the SCALPERS WHO WERE LOOKING FOR TICKETS, yes, the SCALPERS, They WERE
MORE INTERESTED IN BUYING THAN IN SELLING. Now, is that a show in hot demand
or what?


MoRE To COmE.............
AlADInsaNE

Last edited by homebrew on 2026-02-14 16:29:25



""I don't begrudge any artist for finding an audience"
- David Bowie abt. 1987
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homebrewPosted at 2026-02-14 16:47:38(53 mins ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 60)


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Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of each installment I DID do a bit of tweaking on this one. Because these articles have been copied and pasted from many different text and word editors the formatting gets all wonky as you have seen. In this one I separated the paragraphs for ease of reading and there were some glaring misspellings and typos. Most I left alone because Jamie's intent was clear. There were one or two however that were just so damned confusing that I had to correct them.


""I don't begrudge any artist for finding an audience"
- David Bowie abt. 1987
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