A Reality Tour (film)

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A Reality Tour
David Bowie - A Reality Tour DVD.jpg
Video by
Released19 October 2004 (2004-10-19)
Recorded22–23 November 2003
Venue Point Theatre (Dublin)
Genre Rock
Length145:42
Label Columbia
David Bowie chronology
Best of Bowie
(2002)
A Reality Tour
(2004)
VH1 Storytellers
(2009)

A Reality Tour is a DVD released in 2004 of David Bowie's performance at Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland in 2003 during the A Reality Tour.

Contents

Repertoire

The set list includes tracks spanning Bowie's 30 plus years in the music business, from The Man Who Sold the World (1970) all the way to Reality (2003), along with collaborations such as "Sister Midnight" (with Iggy Pop; originally from The Idiot (1977)) and "Under Pressure" (with Queen; released as a single in 1981 and later found on Hot Space the following year). There is a bit more focus, however, on tracks from the albums released since the Earthling World Tour in 1997, Heathen (2002), and Reality, whose tracks constitute 10 of the 30 songs performed.

Albums with no appearance included the cover album Pin Ups (1973), Never Let Me Down (1987), the albums produced with the band Tin Machine ( Tin Machine (1989) and Tin Machine II (1991)), and Black Tie White Noise (1993). Aladdin Sane (1973) also made no concert appearance in the video, although songs from the album appeared on the tour.

A notable inclusion into the performance was the set of three songs from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) as the final encore. Though Bowie had performed the pieces many times through his career, the pieces had not been toured since 1978 when the live interpretations were featured on the Stage album released that same year.

The interpretations presented often a heavier and more complex sound than those of the album releases to suit the band for which the Reality album had been written; a more dynamic "Rebel Rebel" which later saw a release as a bonus track was arranged as an opener which included notably some audience participation and Bowie finishing his performance with the Irish phrase "Tiocfaidh ár lá", which means "Our day will come". Use of audience vocals appear in a number of tunes, including "All the Young Dudes" (from All the Young Dudes (1972) by Mott the Hoople; recorded for the Aladdin Sane album in 1972 and released in mono sound on The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 (1997); won't see a stereo release until the 2014 album Nothing Has Changed , in which Bowie's voice was somewhat out of range to sing the chorus, and "Life on Mars?", which the audience faithfully sang along to.

Track listing

The track listing for this concert by DVD chapter is as follows (NOTE: All songs are written by David Bowie except where noted.):

  1. "Concert Introduction" – 2:42
  2. "Rebel Rebel" (from Diamond Dogs , 1974) – 3:25
  3. "New Killer Star" (from Reality, 2003) – 4:55
  4. "Reality" (from Reality) – 4:21
  5. "Fame" (Bowie, John Lennon, Carlos Alomar; from Young Americans , 1975) – 4:11
  6. "Cactus" (Black Francis; from Heathen, 2002; originally by the Pixies from Surfer Rosa , 1989) – 2:34
  7. "Sister Midnight" (Iggy Pop, Bowie, Alomar; originally from The Idiot by Iggy Pop, 1977) – 4:37
  8. "Afraid" (from Heathen) – 3:26
  9. "All the Young Dudes" (Bowie song first recorded by Mott the Hoople from All the Young Dudes, 1972) – 3:25
  10. "Be My Wife" (from Low , 1977) – 3:12
  11. "The Loneliest Guy" (from Reality) – 4:00
  12. "The Man Who Sold the World" (from The Man Who Sold the World, 1970) – 4:04
  13. "Fantastic Voyage" (Bowie, Brian Eno; from Lodger , 1979) – 3:06
  14. "Hallo Spaceboy" (Bowie, Eno; from Outside , 1995) – 5:27
  15. "Sunday" (from Heathen) – 5:49
  16. "Under Pressure" (Bowie, John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor; originally a single by Bowie and Queen and later found on Hot Space, 1981/1982) – 4:17
  17. "Life on Mars?" (from Hunky Dory , 1971) – 4:47
  18. "Battle for Britain (The Letter)" (Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, Mark Plati; from Earthling , 1997) – 4:40
  19. "Ashes to Ashes" (from Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) ) – 5:29
  20. "The Motel" (from Outside) – 6:00
  21. "Loving the Alien" (from Tonight , 1984) – 5:16
  22. "Never Get Old" (from Reality) – 4:18
  23. "Changes" (from Hunky Dory) – 3:48
  24. "I'm Afraid of Americans" (Bowie, Eno; from Earthling) – 5:19
  25. ""Heroes"" (Bowie, Eno; from "Heroes", 1977) – 7:25
  26. "Bring Me the Disco King" (from Reality; at first recorded for Black Tie White Noise (1993) and again for Earthling) – 8:03
  27. "Slip Away" (from Heathen) – 6:23
  28. "Heathen (The Rays)" (from Heathen) – 6:01
  29. "Five Years" (from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, 1972) – 4:40
  30. "Hang On to Yourself" (from Ziggy Stardust) – 2:59
  31. "Ziggy Stardust" (from Ziggy Stardust) – 4:40
  32. "Concert Exit and Credits" – 2:09

Cinematography

The film was a relatively straightforward presentation of the performance in Dublin Ireland, with footage of all the musicians in Bowie's band as well as the lighting/staging effects used, such as the large platforms onstage, the hanging head tree branches, and the artistic footage played on the background video screens. Several different angles were used of Bowie onstage including cameras placed behind Bowie as well as cameras from the audience, and footage was also included of backstage preparations for the performance during the opening, intermission, and ending credits.

Artistic effects were often used as well, amongst them colour distortions (most notably during "Ashes to Ashes") the altering of footage speed (in the opening before "Rebel Rebel"), and rhythmic repetition of footage (the thrashing in "Hallo Spaceboy"). Many were simply embellishing, although some blurred the staging and caused the music to become desynchronised with the musicians. Some interludes into the background footage were used, such as an artistic film of a forest during "The Loneliest Guy" and an introductory clip from The Uncle Floyd Show to "Slip Away" to provide context for the lyrics.

The film was lit by Tom kenny Bowies Designer and programmed by mark cunniffe and has been edited from its original concert appearance; the two sets performed in Dublin on 22 and 23 November do not match entirely with the set from the film. Bowie's signature greeting to every city during the tour, "Hello... you crazy motherfuckers" was not included in the film.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2004)Peak
position
Australian DVDs [1] 14
Austrian Music DVDs [2] 1
Belgian Music DVDs [3] 3
Danish Music DVDs [4] 7
Dutch Music DVDs [5] 4
German Albums [6] 59
Irish Music DVDs [7] 1
New Zealand Music DVDs [8] 9
Norwegian Music DVDs [9] 1
Swedish DVDs [10] 1
US Music Videos [11] 5

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [12] 3× Platinum45,000^
France (SNEP) [13] Platinum20,000*
Germany (BVMI) [14] Gold25,000^
United States (RIAA) [15] Platinum100,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars</i> 1972 studio album by David Bowie

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<i>Reality</i> (David Bowie album) 2003 studio album by David Bowie

Reality is the 24th studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released in Europe on 15 September 2003, and the following day in America. His second release through his own ISO label, the album was recorded between January and May 2003 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City, with production by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti. Most of the musicians consisted of his then-touring band. Bowie envisioned the album as a set of songs that could be played live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffragette City</span> 1972 song by David Bowie

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<i>Heathen</i> (David Bowie album) 2002 studio album by David Bowie

Heathen is the 23rd studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released in Europe on 10 June 2002, and the following day in America. His first release through his own ISO label, it reunited Bowie with producer Tony Visconti for the two's first full-album collaboration since 1980. Recording took place at New York studios from August 2001 to January 2002 and featured guest musicians including Dave Grohl and Pete Townshend. Two tracks, "Afraid" and "Slip Away", evolved from Bowie's shelved Toy project, while three were covers of songs by Pixies, Neil Young and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock 'n' Roll Suicide</span> Song by David Bowie

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hang On to Yourself</span> 1972 song by David Bowie

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziggy Stardust (song)</span> 1972 song by David Bowie

"Ziggy Stardust" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, he recorded it at Trident Studios in London in November 1971 with his backing band the Spiders from Mars—comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. Lyrically, the song is about Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual alien rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. The character was influenced by English singer Vince Taylor, as well as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and Kansai Yamamoto. Although Ziggy is introduced earlier on the album, this song is its centrepiece, presenting the rise and fall of the star in a very human-like manner. Musically, it is a glam rock song, like its parent album, and is based around a Ronson guitar riff.

"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the album Aladdin Sane in 1973. Bowie based it on his friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in Michigan and Pop's experiences during the 1967 Detroit riots. Rolling Stone magazine called the track "a paranoid descendant of the Motor City's earlier masterpiece, Martha and the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run"".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallo Spaceboy</span> Song by David Bowie

"Hallo Spaceboy" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 20th studio album, Outside (1995). It originated as an instrumental by Reeves Gabrels called "Moondust", which Bowie and Brian Eno stripped down and used to form the final track. An industrial rock and electronica number influenced by the Pixies and Nine Inch Nails, the song contains a hypnotic sound, with synthesisers, loops and distorted guitar lines. Lyrically influenced by Brion Gysin, the song contains images of apocalypse and continues the androgynous conundrums of former Bowie songs such as "Rebel Rebel".

<i>Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars</i> (film) 1983 documentary by D. A. Pennebaker

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1979 British documentary/concert film by D. A. Pennebaker. It features English singer-songwriter David Bowie and his backing group the Spiders from Mars performing at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 3 July 1973, the final date of his Ziggy Stardust Tour. At this show, Bowie made the sudden surprise announcement that the show would be "the last show that we'll ever do", later understood to mean that he was retiring his Ziggy Stardust persona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Reality Tour</span> 2003–2004 concert tour by David Bowie

A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in support of his 2003 album Reality. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass Spider Tour. At over 110 shows, the tour was the longest tour of Bowie's career. A heart attack in late June 2004 forced the cancellation of some dates near the end of the tour. Bowie retired from performing live in 2006, making this tour his last.

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The Outside Tour was a tour by the English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the 1. Outside album which it supported. The tour visited stops in North America and Europe.

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The Mini Tour was a small-scale concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie including his performance at the Glastonbury Festival on 25 June 2000 and a concert at the BBC Radio Theatre, BBC Broadcasting House, London, on 27 June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziggy Stardust (character)</span> Character created by David Bowie in 1971

Ziggy Stardust is a fictional character created by English musician David Bowie, and was Bowie's stage persona during 1972 and 1973. The eponymous character of the song "Ziggy Stardust" and its parent album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Ziggy Stardust was retained for Bowie's subsequent concert tour through the United Kingdom, Japan and North America, during which Bowie performed as the character backed by his band The Spiders from Mars. Bowie continued the character in his next album Aladdin Sane (1973), which he described as "Ziggy goes to America". Bowie retired the character in October 1973 after one final show at The Marquee in London.

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