In Melbourne, Kooyong Stadium was host to
four David Bowie concerts.
Built in 1927 and located in suburban Hawthorn, the
8,500 capacity arena was the current home of
Australian Open Tennis.
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
Kooyong appears to have had two phases as a
rock venue.
Phase 1 - the Early 70s - included:
- Elton John (1971)
- Led Zeppelin (1972)
- The Rolling Stones (3 concerts in
1973)
- Black Sabbath (1 concert in 1973).
Phase 2 - the Mid 80s - took in:
- Midnight Oil and Hunters and Collectors
(1985)
- Bob Dylan and Tom Petty (3 concerts in 1986)
- Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (1986)
- Billy Joel (1987)
... before Bowie appears to have played a
fitting farewell in November 1987. |
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Above
: The Rolling Stones at Kooyong.
More photos at dw*c's
photostream.
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Above
: Led Zeppelin at Kooyong. |
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Above:
Ticket stub provided by Cass Moore.
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The first night of Bowie concerts was reportedly a blistering
performance.
Unfortunately, nearby residents complained about
noise, and as a result, sound levels were adjusted
for the following nights. When Bowie announced
this to the crowd on the second night, there was a
long "booooo" in rightful protest to the
residents!
| Melbourne
Setlist - 18 Nov, 1987 |
1.
Purple Haze (The Jimi Hendrix
Experience song)
2. Up
the Hill Backwards
3.
Glass Spider
4. Up
the Hill Backwards (Reprise)
5.
Day-In Day-Out
6. Bang
Bang (Iggy Pop cover)
7.
Absolute Beginners
8.
Loving the Alien
9.
China Girl (Iggy Pop cover)
10.
Rebel Rebel
11.
Fashion
12.
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
13. All
the Madmen
14.
Never Let Me Down
|
15.
Big Brother
16.
Chant of the Ever Circling
Skeletal Family
17. '87
and Cry
18.
"Heroes"
19.
Sons of the Silent Age
20.
Time Will Crawl
21.
Young Americans
22. The
Jean Genie
23.
Let's Dance
24.
Fame
Encore:
25.
Time
26.
Blue Jean
27.
Modern Love
|
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Above:
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in
Melbourne, 1987.
Photos by Teresa Talent. |
|
Above
and Below: David Bowie's
Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne, 1987.
Photos by Teresa Talent. |
|
 |
On the
second night in Melbourne, Bowie
dropped 'Scary Monsters', 'Time' and
'Modern Love' from the set list,
however he added Iggy Pop and Lou Reed
numbers to the encore.
| Melbourne
Setlist - 20 Nov, 1987 |
1.
Purple Haze (The Jimi Hendrix
Experience song)
2. Up
the Hill Backwards
3.
Glass Spider
4. Up
the Hill Backwards (Reprise)
5.
Day-In Day-Out
6. Bang
Bang (Iggy Pop cover)
7.
Absolute Beginners
8.
Loving the Alien
9.
China Girl (Iggy Pop cover)
10.
Rebel Rebel
11.
Fashion
12. All
the Madmen
13.
Never Let Me Down
14.
Big Brother
|
15.
Chant of the Ever Circling
Skeletal Family
16. '87
and Cry
17.
"Heroes"
18. Sons
of the Silent Age
19. Time
Will Crawl
20. Young
Americans
21. The
Jean Genie
22. Let's
Dance
23. Fame
Encore:
24. Blue
Jean
25. I Wanna Be Your Dog
(Iggy and The Stooges cover)
26.
White Light / White Heat (Velvet
Underground cover)
|
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
The third
night in Melbourne largely repeated
the set list of the second night.
| Melbourne
Setlist - 21 Nov, 1987 |
1.
Purple Haze (The Jimi Hendrix
Experience song)
2. Up
the Hill Backwards
3.
Glass Spider
4. Up
the Hill Backwards (Reprise)
5.
Day-In Day-Out
6. Bang
Bang (Iggy Pop cover)
7.
Absolute Beginners
8.
Loving the Alien
9.
China Girl (Iggy Pop cover)
10.
Rebel Rebel
11.
Fashion
12. All
the Madmen
13. Never
Let Me Down
14.
Big Brother
|
15.
Chant of the Ever Circling
Skeletal Family
16. '87
and Cry
17.
"Heroes"
18. Sons
of the Silent Age
19. Time
Will Crawl
20. Young
Americans
21. The
Jean Genie
22. Let's
Dance
23. Fame
Encore:
24. Blue
Jean
25. I
Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy
and The Stooges
cover)
26.
White Light / White Heat (Velvet
Underground cover)
27. Modern Love
|
| Above :
Peter Frampton on David Bowie's Glass Spider
Tour in Melbourne, 1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie and Peter Frampton. Glass Spider
Tour in Melbourne, 1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour in Melbourne,
1987. Photo by Cass. |
| Above :
David Bowie walks from his Mercedes - Glass
Spider Tour in Melbourne, 1987. Photo by Cass.
|
The final Melbourne
show on November 23 was a unique one. Due to
high winds and heavy rain, much of the usual
Spider set and production was abandoned.
Bowie performed only with his band and not with
the accompanying dancers that normally appeared
on the tour.
The performance has gained a subsequent life via
the bootleg recording He Never Let Us Down.
| Melbourne
Setlist - 23 Nov, 1987 |
1. Day In Day Out
2. Bang Bang
3. Absolute Beginners
4. China Girl
5. Rebel Rebel
6. Loving The Alien
7. Scary Monsters
8. "Heroes"
9. Sons Of The Silent Age
|
10.
Young Americans
11. The Jean Genie
12. I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy and
The Stooges cover)
13. White Light White Heat (Velvet
Underground cover)
14. Let's Dance
15. Fame
Encore
16. Blue Jean
17. Modern Love
|
| Above :
Cover of the bootleg "He Never Let Us Down"
(Click for high res version). |
In an off-concert moment - and keeping
in mind that he was around the
Hawthorn area for nearly a week - Bowie was seen
playing football - more than likely soccer - in
a local park.
See our page here.
The David Bowie concerts at Kooyong might be the
last world class events held at what was then a
world famous venue.
In early 1988, the Australian Open was
moved to Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park while
the residents also got their way of having rock
concerts stopped at the venue. Today, the
stadium still breathes life via the Kooyong
Classic (an exhibition event).
| Above and
Below: Kooyong Stadium, 2012. Photo
by Adam. |
| Above and
Below: Kooyong Stadium, 2012. Photo
by Adam. |
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