David Bowie performed at the Oval in Adelaide, Australia, on 11 November 1978, as part of the Isolar II Tour.
This was the 66th date of the tour, which began on 29 March in San Diego, and Bowie’s first show in Australia.
His guitarists were Carlos Alomar and Adrian Belew. Simon House was on electric violin, Sean Mayes played piano, and Dennis Garcia was on keyboards and synthesizers for this and the two subsequent Australian shows. George Murray played bass guitar and Dennis Davis was on drums.
It may have been cold but it was one hell of a show – the first for four months, everyone a little nervous, and the glory of playing outside and to such a joyous crowd.‘We’re just going off for ten minutes,’ announced David, half way through, ‘and when we come back… we won’t be wearing slippers!’
The crowd went crazy in the second half. People were throwing streamers on-stage, also a sparkler, a camera sling and a blue muppet wearing a DEVO badge. Towards the end, Carlos was losing his voice and David forgot some of the words in ‘Station To Station’. But we stormed through the encores, then down off the stage, across the grass and into the cars. The police swung the gates open and we swept back to the hotel.
Life On Tour With Bowie
Bowie returned to the Oval on 9 November 1983 during the Serious Moonlight Tour.
The setlist
- ‘Warszawa’
- “Heroes”
- ‘What In The World’
- ‘Be My Wife’
- ‘The Jean Genie’
- ‘Blackout’
- ‘Sense Of Doubt’
- ‘Breaking Glass’
- ‘Fame’
- ‘Beauty And The Beast’
- ‘Five Years’
- ‘Soul Love’
- ‘Star’
- ‘Hang On To Yourself’
- ‘Ziggy Stardust’
- ‘Suffragette City’
- ‘Art Decade’
- ‘Alabama Song’
- ‘Station To Station’
- ‘Stay’
- ‘Rebel Rebel’
Also on this day...
- 1991: Live: Tin Machine, Brixton Academy, London
- 1971: Recording: Ziggy Stardust, Star, Hang On To Yourself, Looking For A Friend, Velvet Goldmine, Sweet Head
- 1968: Television: Für Jeden Etwas Musik
Want more? Visit the David Bowie history section.
