In 2004, the 12,500 capacity Sydney Entertainment Centre held two back-to-back concerts of David Bowie's A Reality Tour.


Built in 1983 and situated on the fringe of Chinatown, the venue had previously staged no less than EIGHT Glass Spider shows (a personal record for Bowie in terms of most consecutive concerts at any one venue).

The two David Bowie concerts in 2004 were no exercise in nostalgia - on the first night, Bowie debuted 'Fantastic Voyage', 'I've Been Waiting for You' and '5:15 Angels Have Gone' for the very first time on Australasian soil.

Bowie joked with the audience in a mock Australian accent:


"The new songs are OK, but I wish he'd do more oldies. He doesn't do many oldies does he?"


.... this followed with his 1972 smash hit 'All The Young Dudes'. As the song proceeded, Bowie noticed one person waving a pair of crutches...

"Crutches are waving the air. What more can you ask for? What an extraordinary country!".

During the band intro, Bowie recalled that his guitarist Gerry Leonard was once a professor of micropaleontology at Dublin University but threw it all away to play guitar!


"He's got some of the most amazing fossils.

That sounds really lewd doesn't it? I mean why should that sound lewd?

You want to see his fossils? But they're micro-fossils. They're tiny little - it's all that stuff that collects at the bottom of the ocean."

The concert finished with a four song encore (the same as Brisbane but now substituting 'Always Crashing in the Same Car' for 'I've Been Waiting for You .... an appropriate song given the vast amount of time since his last concert on these shores!).


Following the final thank you, Bowie returned to the mic to announce:


"Great to be back....really great...... See some of you tomorrow."

The second night stated off similar to the first - 'Rebel Rebel' and 'New Killer Star', however, those lucky enough to witness both concerts, may have begun noticing the band's ability to add and drop songs from only the third song in.


Following 'Afraid' (from 2002's Heathen), Bowie then played 'Fame' and then 'Cactus' which drew the announcement:


"That was a song about a dress. You wait until I start the songs about the women".


He then followed with:

Someone in the audience then captured Bowie's attention:


"There's a goth girl ..... look I've got a goth girl in the audience. Hi darling. How you doing?

Got the teeth? ..... Oh yes I see you have."


During the band intro, Bowie kept the professor joke running from the previous night. Now Catherine Russell was introduced as a leading professor in Quattrocento Italian history!


Bowie then played 'Under Pressure' with Gail Anne substituting for Freddy Mercury (a momentous task but she does extremely well at this).

Seventeen songs in came the biggest surprise of all .... and with Mike Garson's introduction of two alternating notes on a vibraphone, we heard the the debut of 'Quicksand' on the Reality tour.


The song 'Days' was then followed with another surprise:

Bowie then played the Velvet Underground's 'White Light, White Heat' which he described as being from "a million years ago".


Before commencing the next song he announced "this is not quite a million years old but it ..... (points to the sky) .... starts up there" . Queue 'Ashes to Ashes'.



" I heard a really good version of that song 'Ashes to Ashes' - kinda hip hop by an Australian artist, I think her name was Danielle Spencer. It was really very good".

"I would also like to very much thank Something For Kate for doing such an excellent job in Australia. (mock Australian accent...) A really good band. We're gonna keep 'em for the rest of the tour".


Two more songs to finish up the main part of the concert - 'I'm Afraid of Americans' and the 1977 classic 'Heroes'. Before leaving the stage, DB announced:


"We've had a wonderful, great pleasure being here in Sydney. Some of the band have never been here before and they've had the most excellent time".


Returning for the four song encore - audiences were in for something quite different....


Pianist Mike Garson now back in the limelight as Bowie launches into 'Bring Me The Disco King' backed by Sterling Campbell's shuffling jazzy beat.


This potentially foretelling piece of music ("soon there'll be nothing left of me....nothing left to release") was played for the first and only time on the AUS/NZ tour - something quite special whether audiences knew it or not.


Finally, an unstoppable all-Ziggy trilogy to finish things up: 'Five Years', 'Hang On To Yourself' and the closer 'Ziggy Stardust'.

Backstage in Sydney, Bowie met with guitarist Brendan Gallagher (local musician that added guitar to the Marius de Vries mix of "Survive"), film director Baz Lurhman, fashion designer Collette Dinnegan, actor David Spade and others. Also present were Merrick & Rosso (Nova 969 breakfast radio).


In an exclusive with Bowie Downunder, Gallagher remarked:

"[Bowie] was cool. We talked music, Earl Slick and my chord book which a journo friend gave to him in NYC a few years ago."

"He looks good even at 1 AM"

Hundreds of fans also waited outside for Bowie.


Whilst doing so, they all sang along to his 1969 hit 'Space Oddity' remarkably well and DB himself came out himself to witness.

In Sydney, a Bowie fan named Jen that had traveled over from the US managed to get something signed ----> her back.


She had this made into a tattoo!

While leaving the Sydney Entertainment Centre, I couldn't help but notice an arrangement of photos in the front foyer: Bowie - in his Glass Spider guise - sitting right next to his evil nemesis Phil Collins.

Feb 20 - More details here.