David Bowie/Osaka, Japan 1983

In the 1980s, Bowie’s 70s albums disappeared from record stores all at once due to contractual issues. There was a time when many of the great records from the past were considered out of print and could not be purchased new. Even so, the record store had a proper “DAVID BOWIE” corner, which contained several records. If you take a look, you’ll see “Let’s Dance” and “Tonight,” and after a while, “Never Let Me Down.” In other words, despite being an artist of Bowie’s caliber, there was a long period in which only these three albums were available. Long-time fans did not respond well to Bowie’s dance/disco style that was popular at the time. However, the bright, pop, danceable tunes and flashy, glittering stage are far removed from the profound world of “Low” and “Eiyu Yumegatari” that were performed at the performance in Japan just a few years ago. It is also true that they have gained a new fan base. “Let’s Dance” was a huge sales success. And the accompanying tour is SERIOUS MOONLIGHT TOUR. The Serious Moonlight Tour, which opened in Brussels on May 18, 1983, ended up being Bowie’s biggest, longest and most successful tour ever. Bowie had been well-known to rock fans up until then, but I think it was around this time that he became famous to the general public. The number of tours was actually 96 performances. Initially, the tour was scheduled to focus on medium-sized venues with a capacity of around 10,000 people, but as sales of the album “Let’s Dance” far exceeded expectations, tickets became competitive, so the tour was not held at large stadiums or large venues. An outdoor venue has been scheduled. In Japan, venues of various sizes were chosen, from arenas to stadiums. The dates for the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour in Japan are as follows: October 20, 1983 Tokyo Nippon Budokan October 21, 1983 Tokyo Nippon Budokan October 22, 1983 Tokyo Nippon Budokan October 24, 1983 Tokyo Nippon Budokan October 25, 1983 Yokohama Stadium October 26, 1983 Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium October 27, 1983 Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium October 29, 1983 Nagoya International Exhibition Center October 30, 1983 Osaka Expo Commemorative Park October 31, 1983 Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium…In terms of size, it is a conventional Bowie It was an unprecedentedly large-scale performance, including four consecutive performances at the Budokan, and Yokohama was the largest in terms of number of performances and attendance, reflecting its popularity at the time. And this work is a complete recording of the first appearance performance October 27, 1983 at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in high quality as the first appearance sound source. Old jazz music is playing in the venue. When the song ends, an announcement is made in Japanese, “Mina sama, konbanwa. Gonembrino, Nippon Koendesu”. The concert begins with the count, “Ichi, ni, ichi, ni, san, shi,” which is also a king-like Japanese count that is a little weak. The opening song is “Look back with anger” from “The Tenant”. What follows is “Heroes”, followed by “What in the World” and “Golden Years”… It’s strange that songs from the album “Let’s Dance” don’t appear often. Finally, a medley of “Let’s Dance” is performed from “Fashion,” but after that, it’s back to “Broken Mirror” and “Life on Mars.” “Sadness of Love” is also rare, but it was released 10 years ago. What does this mean? In the end, there are only 4 songs from the album “Let’s Dance” including the title song, and Bowie classics make up the majority of the set list. Of course, there are many songs that will be played for the first time live, and this tour is the first live version of songs included in the album “Scary Monsters”, as well as important numbers such as “Ashes To Ashes”, which later became indispensable on Bowie’s stage. be. Instead, the bright atmosphere that covers the entire song makes the atmosphere of the song different from the previous songs, although there are no major changes in the arrangement. This impression may be due to the fact that the band, including the horns, is more luxurious and larger in number than before. Fashionable and handsome, blond-haired Bowie sings on a gorgeous stage. There is no doubt that it is a fun stage that fully conveys the cheerfulness of the 80’s. Whether by design or not, Bowie is performing many of his past songs to his newly acquired fans at a time when old catalogs are hard to come by. Of course, the fact that “Let’s Dance” only contains eight songs may have something to do with it, but I wonder if it was an attempt to appeal to the record company that “Hey, it’s this popular.” It is said that Bowie did not want to sell his back catalog cheaply. He may have been willing to discontinue production until a satisfactory contract was reached. A new contract was not actually signed until another seven years later. From Bowie’s highly successful 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour, a complete recording of the first performance at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on October 27th in high quality. Sample sound source PREFECTURAL GYMNASIUM OSAKA JAPAN October 27, 1983 DISC ONE 01. Opening 02. Introduction 03. Look Back In Anger 04. “Heroes” 05. What In The World 06. Golden Years 07. Fashion 08. Let’s Dance 09. Breaking Glass 10. Life On Mars? 11. Sorrow 12. Cat People 13. China Girl 14. Scary Monsters 15. Rebel Rebel 16. White Light White Heat DISC TWO 01. Station To Station 02. Cracked Actor 03. Ashes To Ashes 04. Space Oddity 05. Member Introductions 06. Young Americans 07. Fame 08. Star 09. Stay 10. The Jean Genie 11. Modern Love