This show was quite different from anything he had ever done before. No more spectacular drama of the kind of Ziggy or Halloween Jack,but a show that was opened by a surrealistic black & white 1922 film called ‘Un Chien Andalou’ ,by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. This surrealism had a firm hold upon his show,which it self was kept in black and white as it were,with Bowie being dressed in black trousers and shoes,white shirt and black waistcoat,and the lights being all white. No brightly coloured lighting,just white,but with different degrees of brightness. There was also a roof of neon-lights,the same that was – on a larger scale – used in the ’78 tour.
THE STATION TO STATION TOUR
This show was quite different from anything he had ever done before. No more spectacular drama of the kind of Ziggy or Halloween Jack,but a show that was opened by a surrealistic black & white 1922 film called ‘Un Chien Andalou’ ,by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. This surrealism had a firm hold upon his show,which it self was kept in black and white as it were,with Bowie being dressed in black trousers and shoes,white shirt and black waistcoat,and the lights being all white. No brightly coloured lighting,just white,but with different degrees of brightness. There was also a roof of neon-lights,the same that was – on a larger scale – used in the ’78 tour.
Bowie had created a totally new character,which fitted perfectly into the surrealistic atmosphere of this show: a frosty,unlaughing figure who never showed any emotion. He called him The Thin White Duke. It wasn’t always easy to play this part from beginning to end,and so,during many a concert Bowie stepped out of his role to greet the enthusiastic audience.
Besides the musicians listed below,Bowie had originally planned to take Ava Cherry and Claudia Lennear as backup singers,but later on he thought better of it ,deciding thut two joyfully dancing singers would be out of tune with his cold ,surrealistic show. As usual,the audience were quite stunned by his show and on the whole it was well received whereever it came. Bowie dubbed his band ‘Raw Moun’.
THE 1976 EUROPEAN TOUR
After 39 concerts in North America,Bowie set out on his very first tour of Europe in April. Most of the time he played in small houses for no more than 3,000 people and often when he did play in larger places these were not sold out. During the majority of the 25 concerts Bowie was as drunk as a judge and reeling off a lot of nonsense,but nonetheless he always got a good reception,and his popularity was much enchanced by the shows.
Tour by David Bowie Start date 2 February 1976 End date 18 May 1976 Legs 2 Shows 64
Tour band
In March 1976, the band became known as Raw Moon.
David Bowie – vocals, saxophone Stacey Heydon – lead guitar Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar George Murray – bass guitar Dennis Davis – drums Tony Kaye – keyboards, synthesizers
North American Leg of the Tour 1976/02 02nd Vancouver, Pacific National Exhibition Coliseum – Canada 03rd Seattle, Seattle Centre Coliseum – USA 04th Portland, Memorial Coliseum – USA 06th Daly City, Cow Palace – USA 08th Los Angeles, The Forum – USA 09th Los Angeles, The Forum – USA 11th Los Angeles, The Forum – USA 13th San Diego, San Diego Sports Arena – USA 15th Phoenix, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum – USA 16th Alberqurqe, Alberqurqe Civic Auditorium – USA 17th Denver, McNichols Sports Arena – USA 20th Milwaukee, Milwaukee Arena – USA 21st Kalamazoo, Wings Arena – USA 22nd Evansville, Roberts Municipal Stadium – USA 23rd Cincinnati, Riverfront Coliseum – USA 25th Montreal, Montreal Forum – Canada 26th Toronto, Maple Leaf Gardens – Canada 27th Cleveland, Public Auditorium – USA 28th Cleveland, Public Auditorium – USA 29th Detroit, Cobo Arena – USA
1976/03 01st Detroit, Cobo Arena – USA 03rd Chicago, International Amphitheatre – USA 05th St Louis, Henry W Kiel Opera Auditorium – USA 06th Memphis, Mid-South Coliseum – USA 07th Nashville, Municipal Auditorium – USA 08th Atlanta, Omni Coliseum – USA 09th Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum – USA 11th Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Civic Arena – USA 12th Norfolk, Scope Cultural and Convention Centre – USA 13th Landover, Capital Centre – USA 14th Landovern, Capital Centre – USA 15th Philadelphia, Spectrum Arena – USA 16th Philadelphia, Spectrum Arena – USA 17th Boston, New Boston Garden Arena – USA 19th Buffalo, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium – USA 20th Rochester, Rochester Community War Memorial – USA 21st Springfield, Springfield Civic Centre – USA 22nd New Haven, New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum – USA 23rd Uniondale, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum *FM broadcast – USA 26th New York, Madison Square Garden – USA
European Leg of the Tour 1976/04 07th Munich, Olympiahalle – Germany 08th Duesseldorf, Philipshalle – Germany 10th Berlin, Deutschlandhalle – Germany 11th Hamburg, Kongress Zentrum Halle – Germany 12th Hamburg, Kongress Zentrum Halle – Germany 13th Frankfurt, Festhalle – Germany 14th Ludwigshafen, Friedrich-Eberthalle – Switzerland 16th Frankfurt, Night Club – Germany 17th Berne, Festhalle (Cancelled due to re-scheduled) – Switzerland 17th Zurich, Hallenstadion – Switzerland 24th Helsinki, Nya Masshallen – Finland 26th Stockholm, Kungliga Tennishallen – Sweden 27th Oslo, Ekebergshallen (Cancelled due to re-scheduled) – Norway 27th Stockholm, Kungliga Tennishallen – Sweden 28th Gothenburg, Scandinavium – Sweden 29th Copenhagen, Falkoner Teatret – Denmark 30th Copenhagen, Falkoner Teatret – Denmark
1976/05 03th London, Wembley Empire Pool – UK 04th London, Wembley Empire Pool – UK 05th London, Wembley Empire Pool – UK 06th London, Wembley Empire Pool – UK 07th London, Wembley Empire Pool – UK 08th London, Wembley Empire Pool – UK 11th Brussels, Vorst Forest Nationaal – Belgium 13th Rotterdam, Sportpaleis Ahoy – Holland 14th Rotterdam, Sportpaleis Ahoy – Holland 17th Paris, Pavillon de Paris – France 18th Paris, Pavillon de Paris – France 19th Paris, Pavillon de Paris (Cancelled) – France