Earthling Tour

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Lore & Background

The tour's original concept was to perform two sets: one regular and one dance-oriented, incorporating drum and bass. This idea was abandoned due to the antipathy of critics and audiences. After a 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." For some shows, Bowie wore outfits designed by Donna Karan. Bowie and the band also performed a small number of "secret" shows under the name "Tao Jones Index", deliberately playing without people knowing who they were. According to Gabrels, drummer Zachary Alford likely came up with the name, and they only played as Tao Jones Index "a half dozen [or] fewer", eventually wearying as fans began to recognize Bowie and call out for him to play his hits. The band played their normal instruments, but without amplifiers, and Alford played electronic drums.

In Their Own Story

On 9 January 1997, the day after he turned 50, Bowie held a 50th birthday concert for himself at New York's Madison Square Garden, performing tracks off the album and a selection of songs from his back catalogue to nearly 15,000 fans. He was joined onstage by artists including Billy Corgan, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Black Francis, Robert Smith and Lou Reed. Other non-performing guests included Beck, Moby, Julian Schnabel, Prince, Charlie Sexton, Fred Schneider, Christopher Walken, Matt Dillon and Bowie's wife Iman. The event was recorded for a pay-per-view special, with a portion of the proceeds donated to Save the Children. Tim Pope directed the 50th Anniversary video, and Duncan Jones, Bowie's son, was one of the camera operators. A month later on 3 February, Earthling was released. The 14 October 1997 show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York was added at short notice due to cancellation by The Rolling Stones. The following show on 15 October at Radio City Music Hall was part of the GQ Awards.

Reader's Guide

The tour band consisted of David Bowie on vocals, guitar, alto & baritone saxophone; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and backing vocals; Gail Ann Dorsey on bass guitar, vocals, and keyboards; Zack Alford on drums and percussion; and Mike Garson on keyboards and backing vocals. A live album from the European leg made it to the mixing stage—Bowie, Gabrels and Mark Plati were all involved—but Virgin, the band's label, cancelled the release. It was eventually made available to BowieNet subscribers as LiveAndWell.com, re-released in 2021. The band's performance on 20 July 1997 at the Phoenix Festival in Long Marston, England was released as a live album titled Look at the Moon! in February 2021. It reached number 16 on the UK albums chart and number 92 in Ireland. The setlist included songs like "Quicksand", "The Man Who Sold the World", "I'm Afraid of Americans", "Fashion", "Under Pressure", "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)", "Hallo Spaceboy", "Little Wonder", and "Stay".

Did You Know?

• Bowie's 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden on 9 January 1997 featured guests including Billy Corgan, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith, and Lou Reed.
• Bowie and his band performed secret shows under the name 'Tao Jones Index', a pun on his real name David Jones and the 1997 Bowie Bond issue.
• The 14 October 1997 show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York was added at short notice due to a cancellation by The Rolling Stones.
• A live album from the European leg was cancelled by Virgin Records but later released to BowieNet subscribers as LiveAndWell.com.
• For some shows on the tour, Bowie wore outfits designed by Donna Karan.