Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)

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Welcome to the Blackout
(Live London '78)
Welcome To The Blackout (cover).jpg
Live album by
Released21 April 2018 (2018-04-21)
Recorded30 June – 1 July 1978
VenueEarls Court, London
StudioRCA Mobile
Genre Art rock
Length108:13
Label Parlophone
Producer Tony Visconti
David Bowie chronology
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
(2017)
Welcome to the Blackout
(Live London '78)

(2018)
Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
(2018)
David Bowie live albums chronology
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)
(2017)
Welcome to the Blackout
(Live London '78)

(2018)
Glastonbury 2000
(2018)

Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) is a live album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie recorded on the Isolar II Tour. It had a limited vinyl release on 21 April 2018 for Record Store Day. [1] [2] A more widely available CD edition followed on 29 June 2018, along with digital releases for download and streaming. [3]

Contents

Recording

The album was recorded live during the Isolar II Tour at Earls Court, London on 30 June and 1 July 1978 by Tony Visconti with the RCA mobile unit. It was mixed by Bowie and David Richards at Mountain Studios, Montreux, from 17–22 January 1979.

The 1st July performances of "Be My Wife" and "Sound and Vision" were previously released on the semi-official 1995 Mainman compilation album, Rarestonebowie .

The shows were filmed by the director David Hemmings for cinematic release later in 1978. Bowie was dissatisfied with the film and it was never released, saying in 2000, “I simply didn’t like the way it had been shot." [4]

Track listing

Vinyl release

All tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Warszawa" David Bowie, Brian Eno  
2."'Heroes'"Bowie, Eno 
3."What in the World"  
Side two
No.TitleLength
4."Be My Wife" 
5."The Jean Genie" 
6."Blackout" 
7."Sense of Doubt" 
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Speed of Life"  
9."Sound and Vision"  
10."Breaking Glass"Bowie, Dennis Davis, George Murray  
11."Fame"Bowie, Carlos Alomar, John Lennon  
12."Beauty and the Beast"  
Side four
No.TitleLength
13."Five Years" 
14."Soul Love" 
15."Star" 
16."Hang On to Yourself" 
17."Ziggy Stardust" 
18."Suffragette City" 
Side five
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
19."Art Decade"  
20."Alabama Song" Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill  
21."Station to Station"  
Side six
No.TitleLength
22."TVC 15" 
23."Stay" 
24."Rebel Rebel" 

CD Release

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Warszawa"6:27
2."'Heroes'"7:34
3."What in the World"4:07
4."Be My Wife"2:53
5."The Jean Genie"6:34
6."Blackout"3:43
7."Sense of Doubt"3:40
8."Speed of Life"2:37
9."Sound and Vision"3:12
10."Breaking Glass"3:31
11."Fame"3:52
12."Beauty and the Beast"4:58
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Five Years"6:09
2."Soul Love"2:52
3."Star"2:30
4."Hang On to Yourself"2:40
5."Ziggy Stardust"3:25
6."Suffragette City"4:02
7."Art Decade"3:08
8."Alabama Song"3:59
9."Station to Station"11:10
10."TVC 15"4:18
11."Stay"6:59
12."Rebel Rebel"3:53

Personnel

Live performance personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Welcome to the Blackout
Chart (2018)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [6] 55
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [7] 39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [8] 96
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [9] 32
French Albums (SNEP) [10] 127
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 58
Irish Albums (IRMA) [12] 36
Italian Albums (FIMI) [13] 83
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) [14] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [15] 30
Scottish Albums (OCC) [16] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [17] 86
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [18] 75
UK Albums (OCC) [19] 16
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [20] 23

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