Academy Events presents Celebrating David Bowie exclusive worldwide benefit shows featuring key Bowie musicians Mike Garson, Earl Slick, Adrian Belew, Gail Ann Dorsey, Sterling Campbell, Gerry Leonard and many more…with very special guests including Gary Oldman
To honor David Bowie’s 70th birthday, Bowie band members, friends, and a massive ensemble of top recording and touring musicians from around the world are getting together for a one-time only series of global goodwill concerts, in aid of local charities, called Celebrating David Bowie.
The London concert takes place in David’s birthplace in South London at O2 Academy Brixton, on what would have been his 70th birthday on 8 January, with proceeds from the show benefiting the ‘Children & the Arts’ charity (https://www.childrenandarts.org.uk/).
The concerts, announced sporadically, all take place in cities that have a strong connection with David Bowie and his work. All feature the core 30 musicians traveling, plus another 40 or more local musicians, to create a sound like no other.
The concept grew out of two informal large ensemble shows with over 70 musicians in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the spring of 2016 including Gary Oldman, Seal, Ewan McGregor, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, and Bowie band alumni from Space Oddity to the latest Blackstar album. Then came the unforgettably moving tribute to David at The BRIT Awards 2016 where his touring band performed with Lorde to cover ‘Life On Mars’.
Bowie’s close friend Gary Oldman, who delivered an emotional speech about David at The BRIT Awards, and this giant ensemble from Los Angeles and New York City, are joined in London by former Bowie band members Mike Garson, Earl Slick, Adrian Belew, Mark Plati, Gerry Leonard, Gail Ann Dorsey, Sterling Campbell, Zachary Alford, Holly Palmer and Catherine Russell, along with many other special guests to be announced.
Individually these musicians performed, wrote and recorded together with David through several decades including the 1973’s Ziggy Stardust tour, the Diamond Dogs tour, Isolar II (Heroes) tour, to the hugely successful Serious Moonlight tour, the Sound And Vision greatest hits tour to Glastonbury 2000, Heathen, his final A Reality Tour and many of them appeared on Bowie’s triumphant comeback album, The Next Day.
After The BRIT Awards performance, Bowie’s last touring band refrained from further opportunities to honour him as it was still too emotional, but as word reached them about the sincerity of this particular group with Gary Oldman, they slowly decided to come on board to say goodbye to David properly in a grand show, keeping in line with his tremendous legacy. Far from a tribute and never referred to as one, this ensemble includes David Bowie people, playing David Bowie music and in David Bowie style. This is the first and last time this inner circle will do anything like this and these shows are likely to be the last time that they perform his music together; sadly, this may be the closest anyone will come to a David Bowie live experience ever again.
CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE
O2 Academy Brixton Sunday 8 January 2017
Tickets £55.00 adv – £150.00 adv VIP from ticketweb.co.uk or 0844 477 2000
O2 Priority presale from 16.11.16 at 9am and general sale from 18.11.16 at 9am
#CdB #CelebratingDavidBowie
www.CelebratingDavidBowie.com