David Bowie, Hammersmith Odeon - 3rd July 1973
David Bowie in character as one his androgynous stage personas.
Ziggy and Roxy at the Rainbow
1972
On the 19 August 1972 David Bowie entered the second leg of his Ziggy Stardust tour with two nights at London's Rainbow Theatre. Supporting him were Roxy Music, whose single "Virginia Plain" was riding high in the charts. Bowie spent two weeks in rehearsal for the concerts, which were massively elaborate affairs featuring dancers known as The Astronettes, choreographed by Lindsay Kemp. The audience were understandably gobsmacked by the costume changes and dry ice but some were less taken with the blatant theatricality. Elton John declared it "too camp"; Bryan Ferry felt it was "eight years out of date and rather embarrassing". Chris Welch wrote in Melody Maker, "Whether all this fol de rol can survive the summer remains to be seen, but by God it has brought a little glamour into all our lives, and Amen to that."
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Nicholas the pixie.. maldon Essex.
O.k guys... You better hang on to yourselves... This is the gosple according to the Pixie. Who changed music forever ? Well i'll tell ya.. 1. The Beatles. 2. David Bowie. 3. Radiohead.The End.Vivian Barnsley
It was so cool to see my icon in Sheffield at just 16, as I had to queue overnight for tickets and wag school! After the concert the manager came past and asked if me and my friend wanted to join the party, we didn't know who it was so we declined!!!!!!!!!!!Mark Solomon, Guildford
I'm confused as to how camp something would have to be to exceed Elton John's personal capacity :-)Personally, I've always been a Roxy fan more than Bowie - my earliest memory of TOTP is Roxy doing 'Virginia Plain' (IIRC, on the same show Bowie did Starman but I could be wrong). There always seemed more substance to Ferry's group persona than Bowie's solo - although I will admit that the Berlin trilogy stand out as masterworks of their time.
Lloyd Watson
Musician
Rock and blues guitarist who supported both Ziggy and Roxy in 1972.