The Earthling Tour was a 1997 concert tour by English musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album Earthling. The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe and the Americas before concluding in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 7 November 1997.
Background and history
Immediately following his 1995-96 Outside Tour, Bowie went into the studio with his live band to record Earthling (1997) in mid-1996. Bowie first publicly performed new material from these sessions in late 1996, playing "Telling Lies" and sometimes "Little Wonder" at shows on the US East Coast in September and October. On 9 January 1997, the day after he turned 50, Bowie held a 50th birthday concert for himself, performing tracks off the album, as well as a selection of songs from his back catalogue, playing to nearly 15,000 fans at New York's Madison Square Garden. Bowie was joined onstage by artists including Billy Corgan, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Black Francis, Robert Smith and Lou Reed, to perform many of his songs. Other non-performing guests included Beck, Moby, Julian Schnabel, Prince, Charlie Sexton, Fred Schneider, Christopher Walken, Matt Dillon and Bowie's wife Iman. Artist Tony Oursler designed some of the artwork for the video backdrop that played behind the band onstage. The event was recorded for a pay-per-view special commemorating the event, and a portion of the proceeds from the event were donated to the charity Save the Children. Tim Pope, who had previously worked with Bowie directing his 1987 video for "Time Will Crawl", directed the 50th Anniversary video, and Duncan Jones, Bowie's son, was one of the camera operators at the event. A month later on 3 February, Earthling was released and Bowie promoted it with appearances on Saturday Night Live (8 February) and The Tonight Show (11 February). The Pay-Per-View broadcast of the birthday concert followed on 8 March.
Bowie and his band began rehearsing for the tour in April 1997, and expected the tour to last through the end of the year, calling it a "really extensive, a long, long tour" in an interview with the press in February that year. During rehearsals for the tour, Bowie re-recorded updated studio versions of some of his older songs, including "The Man Who Sold the World" and "Stay". These updated versions were performed during the tour, though the latter wouldn't be officially released until 2020 as part of the EP Is It Any Wonder?
The original concept was to perform two sets: one regular and one dance-oriented, incorporating drum and bass. This idea was abandoned, owing to the antipathy of critics and audiences. After the performance at the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht, on 11 June 1997, elements of each were incorporated into one set. "He hated playing things just like the record," recalled guitarist Reeves Gabrels. "He wanted me to dress songs up in the clothes we're wearing now."
The 14 October 1997 show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York – broadcast on MTV's Live from the 10 Spot – was added at short notice due to cancellation by The Rolling Stones. The following show on 15 October 1997 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York was part of the GQ Awards. Bowie and the band also performed at KROQ's "Almost Acoustic Christmas" show in December 1997.
A live album from the European leg of the tour made it to the mixing stage- Bowie, Gabrels and Mark Plati were all involved- but Virgin, the band's label, cancelled the release. The release was eventually made available, albeit with a different track listing than originally envisioned, to BowieNet subscribers as the release LiveAndWell.com, which was re-released in 2021.
For some shows on the tour, Bowie wore outfits designed by Donna Karan.
Tao Jones Index
Bowie and the band performed a small number of "secret" shows under the name "Tao Jones Index", deliberately playing without people knowing who they were. "Tao Jones Index" was a pun based on Bowie's real name, David Jones, and the 1997 Bowie Bond issue (Tao is pronounced "Dow", as in Dow Jones Index from the US stock market). According to Gabrels, drummer Zachary Alford likely came up with the name, and they only played as Tao Jones Index "a half dozen [times] or fewer", eventually wearying of the project as fans began to recognize Bowie and call out for him to play his hits. The sets were, according to Gabrels, less strictly drum and bass so much as "dance remixes": "We were inspired by the various remixes of Earthling songs to reclaim & remake them as a live band." The band played their normal instruments, but without amplifiers, and Alford played electronic drums. There was only one official release from any of the Tao Jones Index's performances: a 12" single of "Pallas Athena" and "V-2 Schneider" (1997).
One live performance was 10 June 1997, from which the live versions of "Pallas Athena" and "V2-Schneider" were recorded; another live performance was on 19 July 1997 Phoenix Festival; their performance in the BBC Radio 1 dance tent preceded the regular performance on the main stage the following day.
Reception The San Francisco Examiner had praise for the tour, saying "The chameleon can rock". The Los Angeles Times complimented his artistic reinvigoration.
Look at the Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)
The band's performance on 20 July 1997, recorded at Long Marston, England during the Phoenix Festival, was released in a live album entitled Look at the Moon! in February 2021. The concert was released in two limited editions: a 2 CD-set or a 3-LP set. This live album was the fourth in the 6-concert series Brilliant Live Adventures. Look at the Moon! reached number 16 on the UK albums chart, and number 92 in Ireland.
Look at the Moon setlist "Quicksand" "The Man Who Sold the World" "Driftin' Blues"/"The Jean Genie" "I'm Afraid of Americans" "Battle for Britain (The Letter)" "Fashion" "Seven Years in Tibet" "Fame" "Looking for Satellites" "Under Pressure" "The Hearts Filthy Lesson" "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)" "Hallo Spaceboy" "Little Wonder" "Dead Man Walking" "White Light/White Heat" "O Superman" "Stay"
Tour band David Bowie – vocals, guitar, alto & baritone saxophone Reeves Gabrels – guitar, backing vocals Gail Ann Dorsey – bass guitar, vocals, keyboards Zack Alford – drums, percussion Mike Garson – keyboards, backing vocals
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Warm-up shows 17 May 1997 Dublin Ireland The Factory Studios 2 June 1997 London England Hanover Grand 3 June 1997 5 June 1997 Hamburg Germany Große Freiheit Europe 7 June 1997 Lübeck Germany Flughafen Blankensee 8 June 1997 Offenbach am Main Bieberer Berg Stadion 10 June 1997 Amsterdam Netherlands Paradiso 11 June 1997 Utrecht Muziekcentrum Vredenburg13 June 1997 Essen Germany (Cancelled) Georg-Melches-Stadion Dortmund Westfalenhalle 14 June 1997 Paris France Parc des Princes 16 June 1997 Rezé La Trocardiére 17 June 1997 Bordeaux La Médoquine 19 June 1997 Clermont-Ferrand Maison des Sports 21 June 1997 Leipzig Germany Agra Hall - Go Bang Festival 22 June 1997 Munich Flugplatz Neubiberg - Go Bang Festival 24 June 1997 Vienna Austria Sommer Arena 25 June 1997 Prague Czech Republic Prague Congress Centre 28 June 1997 Oslo Norway Kalvøyafestivalen 29 June 1997 Turku Finland Ruisrock Festival 1 July 1997 Zagreb Croatia Dom Sportova 2 July 1997 Pistoia Italy Piazza del Duomo 4 July 1997 Torhout Belgium Torhout/Werchter Festival 5 July 1997 Werchter Torhout/Werchter Festival 6 July 1997 Ringe Denmark Midtfyns Festival 8 July 1997 Brescia Italy Stadio Mario Rigamonti 10 July 1997 Naples Neapolis Festival 11 July 1997 Arbatax Rocce Rosse Festival 13 July 1997 Frauenfeld Switzerland Out In The Green15 July 1997 Madrid Spain (Cancelled) Las Ventas Sala Aqualung 16 July 1997 Zaragoza Pabellón Príncipe Felipe 17 July 1997 San Sebastián Velódromo de Anoeta 19 July 1997 Stratford upon Avon England Phoenix FestivalLong Marston Airfield 20 July 1997 22 July 1997 Glasgow Scotland Barrowland Ballroom 23 July 1997 Manchester England Manchester Academy 25 July 1997 Malmö Sweden Mölleplatsen 26 July 1997 Stockholm Lollipop Festival 27 July 1997 Gdańsk Poland (Cancelled) Stadion Lechii 29 July 1997 Lyon France Ancient Theatre of Fourvière 30 July 1997 Juan-les-Pins Pinède Gould 1 August 1997 Birmingham England Que Club 2 August 1997 Liverpool Royal Court 3 August 1997 Newcastle upon Tyne Riverside 5 August 1997 Nottingham Rock City 6 August 1997 Leeds Town & Country Club 8 August 1997 Dublin Ireland Olympia Theatre 9 August 1997 11 August 1997 London England Shepherd's Bush Empire 12 August 1997 14 August 1997 Budapest Hungary Sziget FestivalNorth America 6 September 1997 Vancouver Canada Plaza of Nations 7 September 1997 Seattle United States Paramount Theater 9 September 1997 San Francisco The Warfield 10 September 1997 Los Angeles Hollywood Athletic Club 12 September 1997 Los AngelesUniversal Amphitheatre 13 September 1997 15 September 1997 San FranciscoThe Warfield 16 September 1997 19 September 1997 Chicago The Vic Theater 21 September 1997 Detroit State Theatre 22 September 1997 24 September 1997 Montreal Canada Metropolis 25 September 1997 27 September 1997 Toronto Warehouse 28 September 1997 30 September 1997 Boston United States Orpheum Theatre 1 October 1997 3 October 1997 Philadelphia Electric Factory 4 October 1997 7 October 1997 Fort Lauderdale Chili Pepper 8 October 1997 10 October 1997 Atlanta International Ballroom 12 October 1997 Washington, D.C. The Capitol Ballroom 13 October 1997 New York City The Supper Club 14 October 1997 Port Chester Capitol Theatre 15 October 1997 New York City Radio City Music Hall 17 October 1997 Chicago Aragon Ballroom 18 October 1997 Saint Paul Roy Wilkins Auditorium 23 October 1997 Mexico City Mexico Foro SolSouth America 31 October 1997 Curitiba Brazil Pedreira Paulo Leminski 1 November 1997 São Paulo Ibirapuera Arena2 November 1997 Rio de Janeiro Citibank Hall 5 November 1997 Santiago Chile Estadio Nacional de Chile 7 November 1997 Buenos Aires Argentina Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri Notes
Songs
From Space Oddity "Space Oddity" From The Man Who Sold the World "The Man Who Sold the World" "The Supermen" From Hunky Dory "Quicksand" "Andy Warhol" (Acoustic) "Queen Bitch" From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars "Moonage Daydream" "Lady Stardust" (Acoustic) From Aladdin Sane "Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)" (Acoustic) "Panic in Detroit" "The Jean Genie" From Live Santa Monica '72 "My Death" (originally from La Valse à mille temps (1959) by Jacques Brel; written by Brel & Mort Shuman) "I'm Waiting for the Man" (originally from The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) by The Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed; outtake from various Bowie sessions 1966-72) From Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture "White Light/White Heat" (originally from White Light/White Heat (1968) by The Velvet Underground; written by Lou Reed) From Young Americans "Fame" (Bowie, John Lennon, Carlos Alomar) From Station to Station "Stay" From Low "Always Crashing in the Same Car" From "Heroes" ""Heroes"" (Bowie, Brian Eno) "V-2 Schneider" From Lodger "Look Back in Anger" (Bowie, Eno) "Repetition" (Acoustic) From Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" "Fashion" From Let's Dance "China Girl" (Acoustic) From Tin Machine "Heaven's in Here" (Only performed in snippet solo throughout "The Jean Genie") "I Can't Read" (Bowie, Reeves Gabrels) From Tin Machine II "Shopping for Girls" (Acoustic) From Black Tie White Noise "Pallas Athena" (Tao Jones Index version) From Outside "Outside" (Bowie, Kevin Armstrong) "The Hearts Filthy Lesson" (Bowie, Eno, Gabrels, Mike Garson, Erdal Kızılçay, Sterling Campbell) "Hallo Spaceboy" (Bowie, Eno) "The Motel" (Bowie, Eno) "The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty)" (Bowie, Eno, Gabrels) "I'm Deranged" [Jungle Mix] (Bowie, Eno)