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Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium June 18, 2003
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Topic: David Bowie to Begin World Tour Return to archive
06-13-03 06:11 PM
steel driving hammer Bowie to Begin World Tour in October
33 minutes ago

By Ray Waddell

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - David Bowie (news) is poised to deliver a worldwide dose of Reality.

Reuters Photo



In his most extensive trek in more than a decade, Bowie's A Reality world tour will begin Oct. 7 at the Forum in Copenhagen and hit Europe, the U.S., Australia, and Japan before wrapping in March 2004, Billboard has learned.

The tour is expected to be announced Monday.

Bowie will play North America in December and January. Clear Channel Entertainment (CCE) will produce the tour worldwide.

The A Reality tour will support a new Columbia release set for September, which is also the month U.S. tickets will first go on sale. European on-sales begin the weekend of June 20, with the Dandy Warhols as support.

Bowie will play 30 arenas in Europe; North American dates are tentatively set to begin Dec. 4 and run through January. In the U.S., he will play a combination of full arenas, large theaters, and theater configurations in arenas, depending on Bowie's history in a given market, according to Arthur Fogel, president of touring for CCE's music division.

"This is really his first major, worldwide tour in over a decade," Fogel says. "He did a handful of markets on Area:2 last year, and he has done select shows here and there, but he hasn't done a world tour in more than 10 years."

The tour will visit 17 countries throughout six or seven months, including Bowie's first trip Down Under since the late 1980s.

Recent live performances appear to have stoked Bowie's fire for performing live.

"Last year's shows were such a tremendous high and the audiences so responsive," he told Billboard. "My band is playing at the top of its form right now, and it would be foolish not to play a tour this year while we're in such good spirits about the live-show aspects of our work."

Bowie's touring band is guitarists Gerry Leonard and Earl Slick, drummer Sterling Campbell, bassist/backing vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey, keyboardist Mike Garson, and keyboardist/backing vocalist Catherine Russell.

The tour manager is longtime Bowie associate Frank Enfield. His manager is Bill Zysblat.

Fogel has worked with Bowie since the Serious Moonlight tour in 1983 and has produced Bowie worldwide since the 1990 Sound and Vision tour. He told Billboard that the set list, while not a "greatest-hits" retrospective, will likely include favorites from throughout Bowie's career, with an emphasis on newer material.

That is the way recent live performances have played out, despite a stated intention by the artist to abandon his earlier material in concert. As Bowie told Billboard in a recent interview, "I keep going back on that."

Bowie's recent live performances have been critically acclaimed. But his inclusion on the Area:2 bill did not have the desired box-office impact. Twelve Area shows reported to Billboard Boxscore last year grossed $4.7 million and drew just 122,663 fans, down significantly from the previous year.

A likely explanation for Bowie's lack of clout on Area:2 is that hardcore Bowie fans would prefer seeing the artist in a stand-alone headlining situation, as opposed to a limited set on a multi-act festival.

Bowie was a stadium-level act in 1987 on his Glass Spider tour. It grossed about $20 million (the third-best for that year), with tickets priced at less than $25.

This time out, because Bowie is performing in an intimate venue, he should be able to command a heftier price. Fogel says ticket prices are still being determined, "but David Bowie has never gone nuts with ticket prices. We're probably looking to average about $50 in most markets."

Bowie, 56, had stated a desire to scale back his touring, at least in terms of magnitude.

"I got pretty sick with touring in the 1980s -- the Serious Moonlight and Glass Spider tours were major, major undertakings," Bowie told Billboard last year. "They are so huge and unwieldy -- I stopped doing those type tours altogether."

06-13-03 06:21 PM
Gimme Shelter That's great news!!!! I'll go see him for sure. I've seen Bowie on two other occasions and he rocked both times.
06-13-03 06:23 PM
gringo300 i've heard that mike garson has also been a touring keyboardist for smashing pumpkins.

06-13-03 06:40 PM
Dan Best news I've heard all day. Seen him 8 times and will try to go a few more. Just saw former guitarist Reeves Gabrels at the Baked Potato last week and that was a killer show too.
06-13-03 07:38 PM
Beastie Bry Hey, not bad. And he's still makin' the studio albums...there's gonna be two within the last two years and he released a greatest hits album.
06-13-03 07:40 PM
Sir Stonesalot Well, if it's true that the Stones are NOT gonna come back for some 2004 US shows, then I guess Bowie will be an able replacement.

I just hope the new album doesn't blow as bad as the last two. I think I owned both of them for about a week before I traded them in.
06-13-03 09:37 PM
FM Yes the Boy Bowie will be touring this year - starts September. He is simply the best musical artist that has ever been ; and the best that will ever walk this earth.

Yes, he is even better than the Stones

>I just hope the new album doesn't blow as bad as the last two.

His last two albums were fantastic; hell if only u could see.

Love ALL his albums, save those mid-eighties efforts that are crap; the rest, even Tin Machine = class - LOVE HIM

Fraser

"He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar"
[Edited by FM]
06-13-03 09:54 PM
FPM C10
quote:
Dan wrote:
..saw former guitarist Reeves Gabrels at the Baked Potato last week and that was a killer show too.



What happened to Reeves and Bowie's working relationship? He was my favorite Bowie guitar foil since Robert Fripp!

Reeves - and the rest of Bowie's last band - played on an album by a friend of mine, Jeffrey Gaines. I think it was on Rykodisc.

Anybody ever heard Jeff? He's not bad.

Bowie has never failed to impress me. I've seen him 5 or 6 times, the last time in Roseland. He is a capital R Rock Star in the Mick Jagger mold - the kind they don't make anymore. My favorite Bowie tour was with NIN. "Andy Warhol", "Joe The Lion", "Hurt"... intense stuff, and the SCARIEST Scary Monsters ever heard.
06-13-03 11:42 PM
full moon Sir Stonesalot.. I think you have good opinions, but this time you are way off base.. Bowies last 2 albums ,Heathen and Hours ,were fucking brilliant..... What the hell is the deal???????
06-13-03 11:50 PM
Gimme Shelter Here is the tour poster:

(http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Interact/cp/files/2-310518-reality_tour_500k.jpg)http://host.com/MyHomePage/images/nicepic.gif(http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Interact/cp/files/2-310518-reality_tour_500k.jpg)
06-14-03 12:32 AM
Sir Stonesalot What's the deal?

Simple...I didn't like the music very much. It was, IMO...Bowielite. I don't think that Hours or Heathen stand up well against Outside and Earthling...let alone come anywhere even close to any of his classic works.

I found both Hours, and Heathen...boring. Very average songs, played without much conviction. David is capable of much better.

Mr. Bowie is one of my personal faves...I hold him to a higher standard than I do most artists, because, IMO, he is THAT damn good...and he usually meets those high standards and then some. Like I said before, I owned both of those CDs, and tried them out...I gave them a chance. But honestly, both of them put me to sleep. I wasn't crazy about the production, and Bowie played it very safe. He pushed no boundries, he took no risks. I wasn't impressed.

If you guys like that sort of thing...good for you. I prefer something with a little more balls.
06-14-03 10:57 AM
FM >What happened to Reeves and Bowie's working relationship?

They spilt a few years back because Bowie wasn't touring extensively.

Gabrels felt it was better to therefore concentrate on his own projects.

Fraser

"He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar"
06-14-03 11:37 AM
Sir Stonesalot Sometimes I think some artists forget that the musicians in their backing band don't make much if they aren't out on the road. While Reeves did get some co-writer credits on some things...the lion's share of the $$$ went in Bowie's bank account. $$$ go into Reeves' bank account when they hit the road.

I can understand why Reeves would leave.

I'll bet he's pissed that Bowie has decided to do a bigtime world tour NOW...without him. And don't think that that thought is lost on Mr. Bowie either...David has always been a bit catty. Queen Bitch was written about Lou reed, but it could very easily have been autobiographical! LOL!
06-14-03 11:47 AM
FM Yeah, I understand what you are saying to a degree.

But Bowie had a daughter to care for, and that's one of the reasons he didn't want to tour so much. He said once Lexie was a wee bit older he would be back out on the road.

And Bowie being Bowie was never going to invite Gabrels back now - he seems to like his current band a lot. And I like the new band too (as well as Reeves)

Fraser

"Get drunk and sing along to Queen
Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene"
06-14-03 12:07 PM
Sir Stonesalot Yeah, Bowie never invites ex-band members back....

....Garson and Slick and Visconti must have been oversights.

Dave has made a big mistake in letting Mr. Gabrels leave...Reeves is a highly inventive, creative, edgey guitar player. Bowie's latest efforts without him have lacked that edge. They are soft albums. There is nothing really wrong with Earl Slick, it's just that I like Reeves style of playing better. Earl can play, but his style and tone have just always seemed a bit on the weak side. It doesn't jump out of the speakers at you. Limp.

I must say though...Gail Anne Dorsey is a keeper. She is amazing. Versatile. Funky. Freaky. Inventive. Almost never wears shoes. Gotta love her.

You see, I like big, loud, rock songs. That's my thing. Big, fat, loud, nasty, tasty guitar driven songs. Hours and Heathen lack in that department. It's lightweight stuff...not my bag.
06-14-03 12:41 PM
FM >You see, I like big, loud, rock songs. That's my thing. >Big, fat, loud, nasty, tasty guitar driven songs.

I'm with you there brother.

But I also like that light-weight Heathen shit too.

Now I never said Bowie never invites old members back. Just meant he likes the current band and probably feels comfortable with them.

How long did it take him to invite Garson, Slick and Visconti back ? Maybe there's hope for Reeves in 2020 ;-)

Fraser


"He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar"
06-14-03 12:48 PM
FM PS - yes LOVE Gail Ann Dorsey. Very nice.

And didn't Reeves co-write Hours, and that ain't your bag
(don't you just love that expression ???)

Live ? Yeah different question.

Fraser

"Get drunk and sing along to Queen
Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene"
06-14-03 12:55 PM
Sir Stonesalot I don't know...did he co-write Hours? It doesn't matter if he did, I still don't care for it.

I much prefer Tin Machine.
06-14-03 01:03 PM
FM Yeah the credits say he co-wrote it, but how much input he had - no idea !

I think Reeves is on record as saying he felt Hours was under-produced, and wished Visconti had done it.

Think I am right in saying that.

Yeah, I prefer Tin Machine too, though still like Hours.

Anyway, the tour is announced on Monday - can't wait :-)

Fraser

"Get drunk and sing along to Queen
Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene"
06-14-03 02:05 PM
Martha Oh my gawd what fantastic news...I, for all my years of concert going, have yet to see David Bowie so this is absolutely fabulous news!!!!

I wasn't expecting this to happen, so that make it even more exciting! YAY!

Thanks so much for keeping me posted! This board rules!

And tonight Neil Young and Crazy Horse will astound us in Columbus, OH! :-)

Rock on music lovers!
06-14-03 04:17 PM
Martini Ahh! This is such great news! Bowie's band is great. I liked the multi-guitar approach that Bowie employed last year on the Area 2 tour with Earl Slick and the other fellows, even though I also liked when Reeves Gabrels was in the band. Last year the music had a much meatier sound. Also, Bowie has been quite good to his hardcore fans by breaking out some nice rarities over the last few years, so I�m looking forward the tour.

Woohoo!

-M
06-14-03 05:04 PM
FM Some alleged dates @

http://www.moonagedaydream.it/tour2003.htm

No idea if these are accurate or not.

Fraser
06-14-03 05:51 PM
gotdablouse Yes and check the studio album coming out, less of a wanker than Mick and the boys! At least he's still trying.

And "Heathen" was the most listenable Bowie album in years too...let's see, Scary Monsters possibly.
06-14-03 07:02 PM
FM New album is out Sept 15th (16th in the US ?)

Matt Chamberlain plays on a few tracks.

He was a Pumpkin, wasn't he ?

Maybe Garson introduced them.

Every album since Buddha of Suburbia is his
best or most listenable since Scary Monsters LOL

Fraser

"He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar"
06-14-03 07:09 PM
tDice pimp I saw Bowie live in New York last year, the gig was great, it was in a great club on the bronx, incredible show, I was so close to him. He was playing a lot from the berlin years, "Low" specially (kick ass record). His band is great now, and the setlists are incredible.

Reeves left because Bowie wanted to. He's always changing his sound, Outside and Earthling were very similar soundwise but he wasn't planing on staying with that sound,I mean the guy has had a lot of different guitar players during his carrer.

And he's last albums don't suck, Hours is boring but Heathen is good
06-14-03 11:00 PM
Dan In the Q&A section of Reeves website he says he wont be working with Bowie again. I think they had some kind of falling out. Oh well, the shows I saw with Reeves and Bowie were simply amazing. The Area2 show was good, just too short (82 mins).
Reeves has been playing the Baked Potato in North Hollywood every 2 weeks for months. Cant believe I waited so long to see the solo gig. Usually I was hiding in my apartment with a case of beer and the latest Stones bootleg but I guess its good Ive started getting out more! Plan on going again this Tuesday as well.

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