david bowie serious moonlight tour nz

The Spinoff

Pop Culture November 26, 2023

Let’s dance: remembering david bowie’s 1983 show at western springs.

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It’s been four whole decades since David Bowie ‘broke New Zealand’ with his Auckland concert. What was it like to be there?

It might have been 40 years ago to the day, but my dad still remembers the exact Danish spirits he was drinking before David Bowie’s concert at Western Springs (“Aalborg aquavit”). Single and in his early 30s, he’d invited about eight mates to preload at his rental at 83 Old Mill Road, a stone’s throw from the entrance to the stadium. One woman brought Afghani hash. “I was as high as a kite,” he tells me, brimming with nostalgia. “We wandered along the road and went into the concert and I was really high. But I remember the concert really well. It was just spectacular.”

At the same gig – a year before she got together with my dad – was my mum, in her late 20s and attending with her then-boyfriend. “I have an image of [Bowie] standing on the stage with fantastic lights, looking quite alien,” she says. “It was a weird scene in the middle of Auckland at that time, just this megastar standing there. It was quite surreal, almost like he’d landed from another planet.”

November 26, 1983: the Western Springs show was one of the final stops of David Bowie’s seven-month Serious Moonlight tour, promoting his Let’s Dance album. The odds that both my parents would separately attend this one concert aren’t as slim as they might seem, given an estimated 80,000 fans showed up – around 10% of Auckland’s population at the time, according to a quick google and some back-of-the-envelope maths.

In January 1984, Billboard magazine declared it “the single biggest concert ever in the Southern Hemisphere,” and it remains the largest New Zealand gig of all time. If you’re an Aucklander, there’s a decent chance that if you weren’t there, your parents or grandparents were. 

The early 1980s were a pivotal time in Bowie’s career. With the critically beloved Berlin trilogy in his rearview mirror and high on the artistic and commercial success of Scary Monsters (1980), Bowie was poised to become a household name. According to writer Justin E. H. Smith, 1983 marks Bowie’s shift from avant garde cultural powerhouse to mainstream sellout: he calls ‘Let’s Dance’ (the song) “irredeemably dorky” and “indistinguishable from a television advertisement”; arguing that Bowie’s career in the 80s charts the broader social decline into greed and creative stagnation. (My dad’s view: “Let’s Dance is the greatest of the David Bowie albums.”)

In 1995, Bowie called it “an excellent album in a certain genre”, but acknowledged that he fell off creatively shortly after, describing 1984-1987 as his “Phil Collins years” (derogatory). This much, at least, is not in dispute: Let’s Dance tipped Bowie into superstardom, and remains his bestseller. 

By November 1983, Bowie had long retired the wild, cocaine-fuelled lifestyle associated with his Thin White Duke period, hitting our shores clear-eyed and relatively sober. “Bowie, surprisingly, was a very ordinary guy,” promoter Hugh Lynn said years later. “I say that in a good way. There was no ‘get me drugs, get me chicks, get me parties’ … He was past that. He wanted a four-wheel-drive to go exploring in.” 

This wholesome posture pervaded the New Zealand leg of his tour. Interviewed on Radio with Pictures , a bleach-blond, tanned Bowie dressed in immaculate 80s normcore made polite, self-deprecating chit chat with interviewer Brent Hansen; the only evidence of vice being the cigarette he dragged on the entire time (“I only sort of fart about with instruments,” Bowie demurred. “I’m not a great musician by any means.”) He visited Takapūwāhia Marae in Porirua – an experience he felt “terribly honoured” by and described as “one of the most hospitable” of his life – before playing at Athletic Park in Wellington.

Then there was the Auckland show. There were “throngs of people trying to get in,” Mum remembers: she thinks she may have jumped the fence (“I remember ripping my jeans”) that was eventually pushed over entirely as thousands of attendees streamed into the already heaving stadium. Inside, Bowie played an impeccable selection of songs from 1969’s ‘Space Oddity’ on, plucked largely from his highly innovative Berlin and post-Berlin period (1977-80). The crowd was in raptures.

Meanwhile, my dad soaked up the vibes solo. “Once we went in, we separated,” Dad says of his friends. “Some went down to the mosh pit, and I stayed up on the bank so I could see the whole thing. There were people on blankets and little camp chairs and stuff, but I just sat on the grass – I kind of lay back on the grass.” (High as a kite, remember.) When the opening guitar riff of ‘China Girl’ sounded out across the stadium, “you couldn’t hear,” he tells me. “The crowd just erupted.”

My parents’ lives both changed pretty drastically after the Serious Moonlight show. My mum’s boyfriend was out, my dad was in, and four years later, I was born. Gone were the days of watching superstars noodle away at Western Springs with carefree abandon.

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These days, Mum very occasionally sees her ex from the Bowie show, and Dad’s fallen out of touch with the mates who pregamed at his Old Mill Road rental: the woman who brought the hash now lives in Coromandel; many of the others, Dad says, would be dead. But Western Springs in the early 80s were some of the best years of his life, and the Bowie concert in ‘83 was the jewel in the crown. “I can still see the stage, I can still see him, blonde hair, and the band – the whole thing.” At this point, he breaks into a rumbling baritone: “ If you should fall into my arms, and tremble like a flo-o-o-o-WER! You know that one? Wonderful.”

Talking to me about Bowie got Dad reminiscing, and he tells me he found himself scrolling through YouTube later, watching archival footage of the iconic rockstar performing “Heroes”. “When I listen to it again and watch him, I just think, ‘Man am I glad I saw and listened to this guy,’ you know? This guy was part of my life.

“There’s been nobody like him since.”

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• November 26, 1983 Setlist

David Bowie Setlist at Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand

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• Look Back in Anger Play Video
• "Heroes" Play Video
• What in the World Play Video
• Golden Years Play Video
• Fashion Play Video
• Let's Dance Play Video
• Breaking Glass Play Video
• Life on Mars? Play Video
• Sorrow ( The McCoys  cover) Play Video
• Cat People (Putting Out Fire) Play Video
• China Girl ( Iggy Pop  cover) Play Video
• Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) Play Video
• Rebel Rebel Play Video
• White Light/White Heat ( The Velvet Underground  cover) Play Video
• Station to Station Play Video
• Cracked Actor Play Video
• Ashes to Ashes Play Video
• Space Oddity Play Video
• Young Americans Play Video
• Fame Play Video
• TVC15 Play Video
• Star Play Video
• Stay Play Video
• The Jean Genie Play Video
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Edits and Comments

11 activities (last edit by pomes27 , 7 Mar 2020, 17:44 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Golden Years
• Station to Station
• Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
• Let's Dance
• Modern Love
• Ashes to Ashes
• Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
• China Girl by Iggy Pop
• Sorrow by The McCoys
• White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground
• Cracked Actor
• The Jean Genie
• Breaking Glass
• What in the World
• Young Americans
• "Heroes"
• Space Oddity
• Rebel Rebel
• Life on Mars?
• Look Back in Anger

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Western springs stadium.

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David Bowie Gig Timeline

• Nov 20 1983 Sydney Showground Sydney, Australia Add time Add time
• Nov 24 1983 Athletic Park Wellington, New Zealand Add time Add time
• Nov 26 1983 Western Springs Stadium This Setlist Auckland, New Zealand Add time Add time
• Dec 03 1983 National Stadium Singapore, Singapore Add time Add time
• Dec 05 1983 Thai Army Stadium Bangkok, Thailand Add time Add time

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Bowie in New Zealand

David Bowie toured New Zealand four times.

The first time was the Heroes tour in 1978 when he played at Auckland's Western Springs and in Christchurch at QE2 Park.

He came again in 1983 with his Serious Moonlight Tour - again performing at Western Springs and also in Wellington at Athletic Park.

In 1987 he brought his Glass Spider Tour, but only played in Auckland.

The last time he toured New Zealand was with his Reality Tour in 2004, where he performed his sole gig on Valentines Day in Wellington at Westpac Stadium.

Bowie’s Waiata

In 1983 David Bowie was enjoying the biggest success of his career… The album Let's Dance had gone to number one around the world and the 'Serious Moonlight' tour was playing to record breaking… Video, Audio, Gallery

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Bowie 'treated like family' on marae

Paula Collins was just a child when she led the haka powhiri for David Bowie at Takapūwāhia Marae 33 years ago. In the wake of the rock star's death this week, she remembers the 1983 visit. Audio

Greatest NZ Concert - David Bowie at Athletic Park, 1983

The year was 1983, the month was November, and one of the cleverest, most inventive musicians of the time was on the cusp of global stardom, and playing Athletic Park in Wellington. With Jeremy… Audio

On 23 November, 1983, shortly before his first concert in Wellington, David Bowie was invited to visit Takapuwahia Marae in Porirua, Wellington.

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Radio with Pictures - David Bowie on tour

Television (excerpts) – 1983.

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In New Zealand for his 1983 Serious Moonlight tour, David Bowie stops for a cigarette with Radio with Pictures , to talk about past, present and future projects. Bowie mentions recording hit album Let’s Dance  in three weeks, and briefly touches on mysterious music and screen projects, and the "very funny" Ziggy Stardust concert film. Also mentioned: his opinions on Jagger versus McCartney, his desire to work again with Iggy Pop, and how he feels about making the cover of Time magazine. The interview is bookended with brief footage of Bowie's opening number at Athletic Park.

They were probably short of a good story that week. – David Bowie, on making the cover of Time magazine

Key Cast & Crew

Brent Hansen

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Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision - TVNZ Collection

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• david bowie

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More Information

RNZ programme about Bowie's 1983 concert at Athletic Park, August 2005

Time magazine on Bowie's album Let's Dance, July 1983

Official website for David Bowie

Jemaine Clement on being a Bowie fan, The Spinoff, January 2016

Oral history of Radio with Pictures, AudioCulture website

Oral history of Radio with Pictures, part two

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David Bowie 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour

David Bowie on stage during the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour Tour by David Bowie Associated album Let’s Dance Start date 18 May 1983 End date 8 December 1983 Legs 8 Shows 96

The David Bowie Serious Moonlight Tour was thus far Bowie’s longest, largest and most successful concert tour. The tour opened at the Vorst Forest Nationaal, Brussels, on 18 May 1983 and ended in the Hong Kong Coliseum on 8 December 1983; 16 countries visited, 96 performances, and over 2.6M tickets sold. The tour garnered mostly favorable reviews from the press.

Tour development Bowie himself had a hand in the set design for the tour, which included giant columns (affectionately referred to as “condoms”) as well as a large moon and a giant hand. Some of the musicians from his 1978 tour were re-hired for this tour, including Carlos Alomar, who was the band leader for the tour. Earl Slick was drafted as guitarist a few days before the commencement of the tour due to problems with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s management demanding a contract renegotiation. The band rehearsed for the tour in Dallas, Texas. Each band member wore a costume which was designed “down to the smallest detail.” Two sets of each person’s costumes were made and worn on alternate nights, and everyone got to keep one set at the conclusion of the tour as a souvenir. One song that was on the rehearsal’s song list that never actually got to the rehearsal stage was “Across the Universe,” which Bowie had covered in 1975 on his Young Americans album.

Tour performances Earl Slick November 1983 during the Serious Moonlight Tour On 30 June 1983 the performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London was a charity show for the Brixton Neighbourhood Community Association in the presence of Princess Michael of Kent. The 13 July 1983 Montreal Forum performance was recorded and broadcast on American FM Radio and other radio stations worldwide. The concert on 12 September in Vancouver was recorded for the concert video Serious Moonlight, that was released in 1984 and on DVD in 2006. At the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium – Toronto, ON performance on 4 September 1983, Bowie introduced onstage special guest, Mick Ronson, who borrowed Earl Slick’s guitar and performed “The Jean Genie” with Bowie and band. Mick had only been asked to play the day before, and he later recalled: I was playing Slick’s guitar … I had heard Slick play solos all night so I decided not to play solos and I just went out and thrashed the guitar. I really thrashed the guitar, I was waving the guitar above my head and all sorts of things. It was funny afterwards because David said, ‘You should have seen [Earl Slick’s] face…’ meaning he looked petrified. I had his prize guitar and I was swinging it around my head and Slick’s going ‘Waaaa… watch my guitar’, you know. I was banging into it and it was going round my head. Poor Slick. I mean, I didn’t know it was his special guitar, I just thought it was a guitar, a lump of wood with six strings. The last show of the tour (8 December 1983) was the third anniversary of John Lennon’s death, whom both Bowie and Earl Slick had worked with in the studio previously. Slick suggested to Bowie a few days prior to the show that they play “Across the Universe” as a tribute, but Bowie said, “Well if we’re going to do it, we might as well do “Imagine.”” They rehearsed the song a couple of times on 5 December (in Bangkok) and then performed the song on the final night of the tour as a tribute to their friend.

Tour legacy The tour was a high point of commercial success for Bowie, who found his new popularity perplexing. Bowie would later remark that with the success of Let’s Dance and the Serious Moonlight Tour, he had lost track of who his fans were or what they wanted.[5] One critic would later call this tour his “most accessible” because “it had few props and one costume change, from peach suit to blue.” Bowie later specifically tried to avoid repeating the formula for success from his Serious Moonlight Tour with his 1987 Glass Spider Tour.

Tour band David Bowie – vocals, guitar, saxophone Earl Slick – guitar Carlos Alomar – guitar Carmine Rojas – bass guitar Tony Thompson – drums, percussion Dave Lebolt – keyboards, synthesizers Steve Elson – saxophones Stan Harrison – saxophones, woodwinds Lenny Pickett – saxophones, woodwinds George Simms – backing vocals Frank Simms – backing vocals

Date  City  Country  Venue

Europe 18 May 1983 Brussels ,Belgium ,Vorst Forest Nationaal 19 May 1983  Brussels ,Belgium ,Vorst Forest Nationaal 20 May 1983 FrankfurtWest GermanyFesthalle 21 May 1983 Munich ,Olympiahalle 22 May 1983 Munich ,Olympiahalle 24 May 1983 Lyon ,France ,Palais des Sports de Gerland 25 May 1983  Lyon ,France ,Palais des Sports de Gerland 26 May 1983 Fréjus ,Les Arènes 27 May 1983 Fréjus ,Les Arènes 29 May 1983 Nantes (Cancelled) Le Beaujoire

North America 30 May 1983 San Bernardino, California ,US Festival Glen Helen Regional Park

Europe 02 June 1983 London, England ,Wembley Arena 03 June 1983 London ,England ,Wembley Arena 04 June 1983 London ,England ,Wembley Arena 05 June 1983 Birmingham ,National Exhibition Centre 06 June 1983  Birmingham ,National Exhibition Centre 08 June 1983 Paris ,France ,Hippodrome D’Auteuil 09 June 1983 Paris ,France ,Hippodrome D’Auteuil 11 June 1983 Gothenburg ,Sweden ,Ullevi Stadium 12 June 1983  Gothenburg ,Sweden ,Ullevi Stadium 15 June 1983 Bochum ,Germany ,Ruhrstadion 17 June 1983 Bad Segeberg ,Freilichtbühne 18 June 1983  Bad Segeberg ,Freilichtbühne 20 June 1983  Berlin ,Waldbühne 24 June 1983 Offenbach am Main ,Bieberer Berg Stadion 25 June 1983 Rotterdam ,Netherlands ,Stadion Feijenoord 26 June 1983 Rotterdam ,Netherlands ,Stadion Feijenoord 28 June 1983 Edinburgh ,Scotland ,Murrayfield Stadium 30 June 1983 London ,England ,Hammersmith Odeon 01 July 1983 Milton Keynes ,Milton Keynes Bowl 02 July 1983 Milton Keynes ,Milton Keynes Bowl 03 July 1983 Milton Keynes ,Milton Keynes Bowl

North America 11 July 1983 Quebec City, Quebec ,Canada ,Colisée de Québec 12 July 1983 Montreal, Quebec ,Montreal Forum 13 July 1983 Montreal, Quebec ,Montreal Forum 15 July 1983 Hartford, Connecticut ,US ,Hartford Civic Center 16 July 1983 Hartford, Connecticut ,US ,Hartford Civic Center 18 July 1983 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ,The Spectrum 19 July 1983 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ,The Spectrum 20 July 1983 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ,The Spectrum 21 July 1983 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ,The Spectrum 23 July 1983 Syracuse, New York (Re-scheduled) – Carrier Dome 25 July 1983 New York City ,Madison Square Garden 26 July 1983 New York City ,Madison Square Garden 27 July 1983 New York City ,Madison Square Garden 29 July 1983 Richfield, Ohio ,Richfield Coliseum 30 July 1983 Detroit, Michigan ,Joe Louis Arena 31 July 1983 Detroit, Michigan ,Joe Louis Arena 01 August 1983 Rosemont, Illinois ,Rosemont Horizon 02 August 1983 Rosemont, Illinois ,Rosemont Horizon 03 August 1983 Rosemont, Illinois ,Rosemont Horizon 07 August 1983 Edmonton, Alberta ,Canada ,Commonwealth Stadium 09 August 1983 Vancouver, British Columbia ,Pacific Colesium 11 August 1983 Tacoma, Washington ,United States ,Tacoma Dome 14 August 1983 Los Angeles, California ,The Forum 15 August 1983 Los Angeles, California ,The Forum 17 August 1983 Phoenix, Arizona ,Veterans Memorial Coliseum 19 August 1983 Dallas, Texas ,Reunion Arena 20 August 1983 Austin, Texas ,Frank Erwin Center 21 August 1983 Houston, Texas ,The Summit 24 August 1983 Norfolk,Virginia,Scope Cultural & Convention Center 25 August 1983 Norfolk,Virginia,Scope Cultural & Convention Center 27 August 1983 Landover, Maryland ,Capital Centre 28 August 1983 Landover, Maryland ,Capital Centre 29 August 1983 Hershey, Pennsylvania ,Hersheypark Stadium 31 August 1983 Foxborough, Massachusetts ,Sullivan Stadium 03 September 1983 Toronto, OntarioCanada ,National Exhibition Stadium 04 September 1983 Toronto, Ontario ,Canada ,National Exhibition Stadium 05 September 1983 Buffalo, New YorkUnited StatesBuffalo Memorial Auditorium 06 September 1983 Syracuse, New York ,Carrier Dome 09 September 1983 Anaheim, California ,Anaheim Stadium 11 September 1983 Vancouver, British Columbia ,CanadaPacific National Exhibition Coliseum 12 September 1983 Vancouver, British Columbia ,CanadaPacific National Exhibition Coliseum 14 September 1983 Winnipeg, Manitoba ,Winnipeg Stadium 17 September 1983 Oakland, California ,Oakland Alameda Coliseum

Asia 20 October 1983 Tokyo ,Japan ,Nippon Budokan 21 October 1983 Tokyo ,Japan ,Nippon Budokan 22 October 1983 Tokyo ,Japan ,Nippon Budokan 24 October 1983 Tokyo ,Japan ,Nippon Budokan 25 October 1983 Yokohama ,Yokohama Stadium 26 October 1983 Osaka ,Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 27 October 1983 Osaka ,Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 29 October 1983 Nagoya ,Kokusai Tenji Kaikan 30 October 198 3 Osaka ,Expo Commemoration Park 31 October 1983 Kyoto ,Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium

Oceania 04 November 1983 Perth ,Australia ,Perth Entertainment Centre 05 November 1983 Perth ,Australia ,Perth Entertainment Centre 06 November 1983 Perth ,Australia ,Perth Entertainment Centre 09 November 1983 Adelaide ,Adelaide Oval 12 November 1983 Melbourne ,VFL Park 16 November 1983 Brisbane ,Lang Park 1 9 November 1983 Sydney ,RAS Showgrounds 20 November 1983 Sydney ,RAS Showgrounds 24 November 1983 Wellington ,New Zealand ,Athletic Park 26 November 1983 Auckland ,Western Springs Stadium

Asia 03 December 1983 Kallang ,Singapore ,National Stadium 05 December 1983 Bangkok ,Thailand ,Thai Army Sports Stadium 07 December 1983 Hung Hom, Kowloon ,Hong KongHong Kong Coliseum 08 December 1983 Hung Hom, Kowloon ,Hong Kong Coliseum

The Songs From Space Oddity “Space Oddity” From Hunky Dory “Life on Mars?” From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars “Soul Love” “Star” “Hang on to Yourself” From Aladdin Sane “Cracked Actor” “The Jean Genie” From Pin Ups “I Can’t Explain” (originally non-album single by The Who, written by Pete Townshend) “Sorrow” (originally by The McCoys, written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer) From Diamond Dogs “Rebel Rebel” From Young Americans “Young Americans” “Fame” (Bowie, John Lennon, Carlos Alomar) From Station to Station “Station to Station” “Golden Years” “TVC 15” “Stay” “Wild Is the Wind” (originally a single by Johnny Mathis, written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington) From Low “Breaking Glass” (Bowie, Dennis Davis, George Murray) “What in the World” From “Heroes” “Joe the Lion” “”Heroes”” (Bowie, Brian Eno) From Lodger “Red Sails” (Bowie, Eno) “Look Back in Anger” (Bowie, Eno) From Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” “Ashes to Ashes” “Fashion” From Let’s Dance “Modern Love” “China Girl” (originally from The Idiot by Iggy Pop, written by Pop and Bowie) “Let’s Dance” “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” (originally from Cat People: Original Soundtrack, written by Bowie and Giorgio Moroder) Other songs: “Imagine” (originally from Imagine by John Lennon, written by Lennon) “White Light/White Heat” (from White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground, written

8 thoughts on “David Bowie 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour”

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To this day this was the best concert I’ve ever been to. David always loved playing in Philadelphia and that’s where I seen him. I’ve been to well over a 100 concerts over 45 years . No one has the stage presence of David Bowie.

A memorable concert in Munich

I was at the Washington DC Event in August 1983. Six of my friends went in tux’s and a limo. I remember they kick a 14 foot inflated world ball into the crowd and it made its way around the whole stadium.

Great memories!!!

I remember i couldn’t get a ticket for England, so got a ticket for the 25th of june in Rotherdam, fond memories had to take a train to London, then coach to Rotterdam, stayed in nice hotel, brilliant time.

I saw the September 5 concert in Buffalo. It was a thrill to see him and a great spectacle. He came out as the Thin White Duke at one point–very theatrical. I wish I could remember who opened that show.

Was at the Sept 9 gig and was looking for the opening band’s lineup, I know the Go Go’s and Madness opened but my memory fails the rest, I will say a guy was hit and killed by a train of all thing’s on his way to the concert, kinda sad. But, what was worse was the radio station KROQ in Los Angeles played Ozzy’s Crazy Train all the next day because of it…and they didn’t play rock and roll..good times ✌🧡

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David Bowie: Serious Moonlight (1983) [1080p AI Upscale Remaster]

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• David Bowie albums

Serious Moonlight (Live ’83)

Released: 12 October 2018

David Bowie: vocals, acoustic guitar Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick: guitar Carmine Rojas: bass guitar Tony Thompson: drums David LeBolt: keyboards Lenny Pickett, Stan Harrison, Steve Elson: horns Frank Simms, George Simms: vocals

Tracklisting

Recorded in Vancouver during David Bowie’s 1983 world tour, Serious Moonlight (Live ’83) was released as part of the Loving The Alien (1983–1988) box set in 2018.

Bowie’s concert at Vancouver’s 11,000-seater Pacific National Exhibition Coliseum took place on 12 September 1983 . The show was recorded and filmed, with David Mallet directing the latter.

The film of the event was released on VHS and laserdisc in 1984. It included the majority of the concert, although ‘Red Sails’ , ‘Star’ , ‘Stay’ , ‘The Jean Genie’ , and ‘Modern Love’ were omitted due to time constraints.

A remastered DVD version came out in 2006, with new 5.1 and DTS audio remixes by EMI’s Peter Mew.

A digital EP featuring four audio tracks from the show was released in February 2006, and included ‘Space Oddity’ , ‘China Girl’ , ‘Breaking Glass’ , and ‘Young Americans’ .

The full live album was released on 12 October 2018 in the Loving The Alien (1983–1988) box set, and on 15 February 2019 as a standalone release.

The majority of the tracks were mixed by Bob Clearmountain, although Nile Rodgers and Jason Corsaro mixed the closing ‘Modern Love’ , which was recorded at the Forum in Montreal on 13 July 1983. The live recording had previously been released as the b-side of the ‘Modern Love’ single.

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I am a huge Bowie fan and I always thought it was so cool that this album was recorded at the Pacific Coliseum! The arena is only a few blocks from where I currently live.

This is my Bowie album. I was part of the Perth effort. Seriously, one of the greatest concerts I had ever been involved in. And the afterparty was… well ya had to be there. This is sublime musicianship from some of the best rent-a-sounds ever. Think I’ve still got the t-shirt and tape somewhere signed by the Thin White Duke himself. The Edgley Entertainment Centre came alive… so did a 21 year old.

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At the first Sydney concert, thousands apparently lined up from 9 AM.

As the morning went on , TV cameras were sent to film the scene for the evening news, and radio stations gave bulletins.

It was a long, hot wait until the gates opened at 2:00 PM.

B y 4:00 PM the crowds were so thick that members of the road crew, and David's entourage were coming on stage with cameras to capture the scene.

Above: Sydney RAAS Showground, 1983. Photo by Geoffrey Schuck

At 6:00 PM, the support band - the Models - were due to go on. They apparently performed a good show although the crowd remained subdued.

"At one point someone with very bright blonde hair walked out....and screams erupted. People stood up, but the poor man stood still, shocked. He shook his head, waved and left. He was the drummer from the support band. ~ Starzone.

Above: Models in their 1983 video 'I Hear Motion'

By the time Bowie was set to go on stage, it was nearly dark.

The large video screen lit up clearly on a clear, balmy night, complete with a full - and serious - moon. Minutes before going on stage, Bowie presented members of an Aboriginal dance school a cheque for an unspecified amount. Present were the stars of the 'Let's Dance' video, and it was a welcome boost for the school as funds were running out.

Bowie then walked up the stairs and strode on to the Sydney stage.

In exhaustion everyone prepared to file out.

But there was a surprise - the sky lit up to a magnificent fireworks display.

On the final night, the concert began extra early to avoid disturbing the nearby residents. This meant that the show was half over before the video screen was able to be seen. R egardless, the second show was reportedly even better than the first and Bowie was in fine voice - strong, pure and carrying all around the grounds.

Whilst in Sydney, Bowie went on a hired boat ride in Sydney Harbour to alegedly "write some new songs, and to get away from it all".

The previous night, he had been 'nightclubbing' at Jamison Street disco.

The press told stories of how Bowie keeps fit by boxing, and mentioned that he often went to beaches to practice. Early risers were told they would get a chance to see him practice if they could guess which beach he went to.

Fans kept a vigil outside his hotel and newspapers carried stories of those lucky enough to meet him and receive autographs.

According to Starzone , 1983 wasn't the awed welcome of 1978 but more like "a special hello to an old friend".