Ziggy Stardust Tour

The tour lasted a year and a half and included three legs in the UK, two in the US and one in Japan.^[1]

The first show was on 29 January 1972 at the Borough Assembly Hall, Aylesbury, and featured Bowie with his backing group the Spiders from Mars: guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick Woodmansey.^[2] Audio engineer Robin Mayhew had started working on the PA and sound equipment since the end of the previous year, and was the principal sound engineer for the entire tour.^[3]

Unlike typical rock concerts at the time, the shows featured a theatrical element with a rough storyline, and several make-up and costume changes.^[4] Bowie wanted the shows to be entertainment and to be outrageous, which the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had been at one time, and collaborated with mime artist Lindsay Kemp with the on-stage choreography.^[5] Looking for a change of image, Bowie asked local hairdresser Suzi Fussey to cut his long blond hair, later dyeing it red.^[6][7] Some group members were unsure about the stage clothes Bowie asked them to wear, but quickly changed their minds after they realised the attention it gave them with female fans.^[8]

 

The second show was at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth on 10 February, where Bowie unveiled his "Ziggy Stardust" persona for the first time in front of an audience of around 60.^[9][10] Early shows had a similar attendance, but this increased as the tour progressed. The 20 April show at the Manchester Free Trade Hall was only attended by a few hundred people, but at the end of the show, Bowie was carried out into the audience by fans.^[11] At the 17 June show at Oxford Town Hall, Bowie simulated fellatio on Ronson's guitar. The scene was photographed by Mick Rock and was published on the front cover of Melody Maker, greatly raising Bowie's profile in the UK.^[12] On the 25 June at the Greyhound, Croydon, Bowie was supported by Roxy Music and Trapeze.^[13]

The 15 July show at the Friars Aylesbury included several US music journalists in the audience, including Dave Marsh and Lillian Roxon. Bowie's management spent $25,000 (about $182,000 in today's dollars)^[14] to fly them, along with US representatives of their record label RCA Records, to preview his live work before starting a major US tour that autumn.^[15][8]

After several months on the road, Bowie took a break to revisit and re-rehearse the live show, to include greater theatrics and costume changes.^[15][16] Rehearsals took place at the Stratford Royal Theatre.^[17] The first concert after this was at the Rainbow Theatre on 19 August, where Bowie was simply billed as "Ziggy Stardust".^[16] A second show was added for the following day after the first one sold out.^[15] Pianist Nicky Graham was added to the band line-up for these shows.^[18]

The first leg in the US began in September 1972. Bowie travelled there by boat as he did not like flying.^[19] Bowie and the Spiders from Mars played their first US show in the Cleveland Music Hall on 22 September. It was also pianist Mike Garson's debut. Six days later, Bowie played a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall. The concerts drew rave reviews from the press and led to the tour being extended for a further two months.^[20] A concert on 20 October at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was broadcast on radio, and heavily bootlegged before finally being released semi-officially in 1994 as Santa Monica '72 and officially in 2008 as Live Santa Monica '72.^[21] The press coverage of the tour turned Bowie into a star in the US and he was featured on the front cover of Rolling Stone.^[22]

The year ended with a short UK leg, which carried over into the start of 1973. Bowie played two shows at the Rainbow just before Christmas, and asked the audience to bring toys along to the concert that could be redistributed to children. The mid-show acoustic set that had been part of all the gigs until then was discarded, and Bowie with the Spiders played just an electric set.^[23]

At the start of 1973, Bowie called his friend Geoffrey MacCormack, saying he wanted to expand the musical line-up on stage, and asked if he would be a backing vocalist and travel with him.^[24] Another friend, John Hutchinson was recruited as an additional rhythm guitarist; the pair had previously collaborated on the demo of "Space Oddity".^[25]

The second US leg began in early 1973 with a sell-out show at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, on 14 February, which saw fans queuing at 2:30 pm for an evening show.^[26] Bowie's costumes were designed by Kansai Yamamoto. During the end of set, he collapsed and had to be assisted.^[27] The tour subsequently moved to Japan.^[28] Bowie then travelled by ferry across the Sea of Japan to Vladivostok, and travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow in order to get back to Britain.^[24][29] During this time, the Spiders from Mars complained they were still on the same wages as when they had started playing with Bowie despite multiple sold-out shows. They re-negotiated their fees with Bowie's manager Tony Defries, but this caused a rift in the band.^[30]

The final leg of the tour covered the UK and began on 12 May 1973 with a concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in front of an audience of 18,000. Police forced the show to stop for 15 minutes while they battled with fans trying to storm the stage. Mick and Bianca Jagger attended the show.^[31] The concert was fraught with technical difficulties and an inadequate PA system, leading to disgruntled fans.^[32]

The last performance at the Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July was filmed by D. A. Pennebaker.^[33] Woodmansey recalled the show was one of the best the band had played, because it was close to their London base and almost the end of an exhausting tour.^[34] Towards the end of the show, Bowie announced "not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do".^[1][35] Ronson had been told in advance by Bowie that the Spiders from Mars would split, but the announcement took Bolder and Woodmansey by surprise.^[30]

By the end of the final leg, Bowie had grown weary of playing Ziggy Stardust, saying "I had an awful lot of fun doing [Ziggy] ... but my performance on stage reached a peak. I felt I couldn't go on stage in the same context again ... if I'm tired with what I'm doing wouldn't it be long before the audience realised."^[36] Bowie went to France to record his covers album Pin Ups in the second half of 1973, and then his album Diamond Dogs in early 1974. Bowie's next tour, a solo tour without the Spiders, was his Diamond Dogs Tour of 1974.^[37]

According to biographer Nicholas Pegg:^[38]

• David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) – vocals, guitar, harmonica

The Spiders from Mars

• Mick Ronson – guitar, vocals
• Trevor Bolder – bass
• Mick "Woody" Woodmansey – drums

Other musicians

• Robin Lumley – piano (June – July 1972)
• Nicky Graham – piano (19 August – 7 September 1972)
• Mike Garson – piano, keyboards (September 1972 – end of tour)^[39]

Other musicians on the 1973 legs

• John Hutchinson – rhythm guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar
• Warren Peace – backing vocals, percussion
• Ken Fordham – saxophone
• Brian Wilshaw – saxophone, flute

According to Kevin Cann:^[40]

Bowie varied his setlist throughout the tour. A setlist from the tour would include any of the following songs:^[41]

Notes

Citations

Sources

• Interview with Robin Mayhew on the Ziggy Stardust Tour's PA and sound system