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Glass Spider

Glass Spider is a song written and performed by English musician David Bowie, serving as the sixth track on his fifteenth studio album, Never Let Me Down, released in April 1987 by EMI America Records.^[1] The track, co-produced by Bowie and David Richards, features a narrative about a mythical spider in the fictional Zi Duang province, blending orchestral elements with Bowie's signature art rock style.^[2] The name Glass Spider also denotes Bowie's ambitious 1987 world tour, which promoted Never Let Me Down and ran from May 30, 1987, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to November 28, 1987, in Auckland, New Zealand, comprising 86 shows across 15 countries.^[3] This tour marked Bowie's first performances in Austria, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Wales, and was renowned for its theatrical extravagance, including a 60-foot-high inflatable spider stage prop, a 360-ton set transported by 43 trucks, and over 20,000 feet of lighting, creating an immersive experience that blurred the lines between concert and performance art.^[3] The production, featuring dancers, vignettes, and spoken-word introductions, was Bowie's most elaborate to date but took a physical toll on him, leading to visible exhaustion by the tour's end.^[3] Additionally, Glass Spider refers to a 1988 concert film directed by David Mallet, capturing footage from eight performances of the tour at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia during early November 1987.^[4] Released on VHS by Video Collection International, the 104-minute film showcases the tour's highlights, including hits like "Day-In, Day-Out" and "China Girl," alongside the title track, and was later reissued on DVD in 2007 as part of a special edition package.^[5] The film received positive reception for preserving the tour's visual spectacle, earning a 7.3/10 rating on IMDb from user reviews.^[4]

Development and Preparation

Background

Following the success of his 1983-1984 Serious Moonlight Tour, which supported the massively popular Let's Dance album and marked Bowie's transition to mainstream pop stardom, David Bowie sought to reinvigorate his live performances with greater theatrical innovation by the mid-1980s. Amid a perceived creative slump and critical backlash against aging rock icons pursuing commercial success, Bowie aimed to recapture the conceptual depth of his 1970s work through ambitious staging that blurred the lines between music and theater.^[6] The Glass Spider Tour was conceived as a promotional vehicle for Bowie's 1987 album Never Let Me Down, co-produced with David Richards during sessions from September to December 1986 in Switzerland and New York. Initial planning for the stadium-scale production began in late 1986 and continued into 1987, emphasizing elaborate visuals to complement the album's themes of urban decay and personal mythology. The tour's name and central motifs were directly inspired by the album's title track "Glass Spider," a song Bowie wrote after viewing a television documentary on black widow spiders, which depicted their webs as corpse-adorned structures evoking council housing estates and maternal abandonment.^[7]^[8]^[9] The tour was announced through a series of international press conferences starting in March 1987, including events in New York City on March 18 and London on March 20, where Bowie detailed the production's scale, including a 60-foot translucent spider prop. Billed as Bowie's first major stadium tour since 1983, it generated significant hype, with many dates selling out rapidly due to anticipation for the theatrical spectacle.^[10]^[3]

Rehearsals and Staging

Rehearsals for David Bowie's Glass Spider tour commenced in New York City during March and April 1987, where the musician and his band focused on refining musical arrangements and initial staging concepts.^[11] These early sessions laid the groundwork for the tour's theatrical elements, tying into promotion for Bowie's recently released album Never Let Me Down. By mid-May, the production shifted to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for comprehensive full-stage rehearsals at the Ahoy arena beginning May 18, followed by dress rehearsals at De Kuip stadium on May 27 and 28.^[12] The six-month preparation period demanded intense coordination, with Bowie describing it as an exhaustive process of design, staging, and rehearsal that he unlikely to repeat on such a scale.^[13] A primary challenge involved integrating five dancers into the performance, requiring precise synchronization with the band's dynamics through complex choreography crafted by Toni Basil, who co-directed aspects of the show.^[14] Basil's routines emphasized theatrical movement, including aerial elements via the Flying by Foy system, which added layers of difficulty during integration. Technical rehearsals emphasized lighting cues and pyrotechnics, ensuring seamless execution of explosive effects that punctuated key transitions.^[15]^[16] Early crew assembly featured key hires such as lighting designer Allen Branton, responsible for illuminating the multi-level scaffolding and dynamic visuals, and set designer Mark Ravitz, who engineered the tour's centerpiece—a 60-foot-high and 64-foot-wide spider prop with an inflatable body and legs lined in 20,000 feet of color-changing rope lights.^[15] Bowie maintained close involvement throughout, conceiving the production as a narrative-driven spectacle with scripted spoken-word introductions and vignettes linking songs to enhance the immersive storytelling.^[17]

Tour Details

Itinerary and Performances

The Glass Spider Tour commenced on May 30, 1987, at Stadion Feyenoord in Rotterdam, Netherlands, marking the launch of David Bowie's ambitious worldwide concert series in support of his album Never Let Me Down. Spanning six months, the tour consisted of 86 performances across 15 countries, structured into three primary legs: European from late May to mid-July, North American from late July to late September, and Australasian from late October to late November.^[18]^[19]^[3] The European leg, comprising approximately 30 shows, traversed the continent with stops in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, England, Wales, Sweden, France, Austria, Spain, and Ireland, concluding on July 18 in Turin, Italy. Notable performances included two nights at Wembley Stadium in London on June 19 and 20, drawing large crowds to the open-air venue despite occasional adverse weather conditions that affected outdoor gigs, such as high winds forcing omissions of certain stage elements. Opening acts varied, including Big Country for UK dates, enhancing the tour's high-energy atmosphere in stadiums that often accommodated up to 70,000 spectators per show.^[19]^[20]^[21] Transitioning to North America, the tour's second leg included around 40 concerts across the United States and Canada, starting July 30 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and featuring iconic arenas like Madison Square Garden in New York City for three shows from August 29 to 31. Support acts here included The Georgia Satellites and Duran Duran for select dates, with Bowie adapting his vocal delivery to project over the expansive stadium acoustics, often relying on enhanced sound systems to reach distant audiences. Weather challenges persisted in outdoor venues, including humid conditions during summer performances that tested the production's resilience.^[22] The Australasian leg wrapped the tour with 14 shows, beginning October 29 at the Boondall Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia, and extending to New Zealand, where Crowded House served as openers for several dates. Highlights included multiple nights at Sydney Entertainment Centre and Melbourne's Kooyong Stadium, where the elaborate stage visuals, including the towering glass spider centerpiece, captivated audiences in indoor and semi-outdoor settings. The final performance on November 28 at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland drew a vibrant crowd, though Bowie expressed underlying exhaustion from the tour's grueling schedule, leading to an extended break afterward as he reflected on the production's intensity.^[19]^[23]^[24]

Setlist and Musical Arrangements

The Glass Spider tour's core setlist consisted of 20 to 22 songs per show, strategically blending tracks from David Bowie's 1987 album Never Let Me Down with established hits and occasional rarities to create a thematic flow centered on personal reflection and spectacle. Key album songs included "Day-In Day-Out" (played 97 times), "Glass Spider" (86 times), "Time Will Crawl" (85 times), "Beat of Your Drum" (82 times), and "Never Let Me Down" (81 times), which opened the second half and underscored the tour's promotional focus. Hits such as "China Girl" (86 times), ""Heroes"" (85 times), "Young Americans" (84 times), and "Fame" (70 times) anchored the performance, while rarities like "Up the Hill Backwards" (played 161 times across the tour, often as opener and reprise), "Loving the Alien" (86 times), "Bang Bang" (a cover played 86 times), and "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" (83 times) added depth, drawing from Bowie's 1980s and earlier catalogs.^[25] Musical arrangements were reimagined for the live setting, expanding the album's polished pop sound into a more robust rock framework with extended instrumental sections to sync with the production's dramatic pacing. Guitarist Peter Frampton delivered extended solos, notably in "Time Will Crawl" and "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)," infusing high-energy improvisations that highlighted his talk-box technique and complemented Bowie's vocals. Spoken-word narratives, delivered by Bowie or woven into transitions, connected songs to the tour's surreal spider imagery, enhancing the conceptual unity without dominating the music. Encores typically featured "Modern Love" (played 70 times), though variations included substitutions like "The Jean Genie" in select European dates.^[25] Setlist variations occurred across the 86-show itinerary, with minor regional adjustments to audience preferences; North American legs emphasized 1980s hits like additional plays of "Let's Dance" medley elements, while European and Australian shows retained more experimental tracks such as "Sons of the Silent Age" (played 20 times). Early concerts opened with "Up the Hill Backwards" into "Glass Spider," but later dates, including the Australian finale, sometimes streamlined to start directly with "Glass Spider" for tighter pacing. Overall play counts reflect this evolution, with core tracks appearing in over 80% of shows to maintain consistency amid the tour's theatrical demands. Dancers briefly integrated into musical cues during transitions, amplifying the arrangements' narrative drive.^[25]^[18]

Production Elements

Stage Design and Visuals

The Glass Spider tour's stage design centered on a monumental translucent spider prop, measuring 60 feet high and 64 feet wide, constructed from fiberglass and steel with an inflatable body and dangling legs that evoked the album's titular creature. This structure descended from the rafters via hydraulic mechanisms, allowing David Bowie to make dramatic entrances by rappelling from its belly in a chair, while its eight legs were lined with 20,000 feet of color-changing rope lights to simulate a glowing web for immersive effect in arena settings. The prop's innovative engineering enabled dynamic movements, including jaw-like motions, enhancing the theatrical spectacle across the tour's 86 shows.^[26]^[27]^[15] The overall set layout incorporated multi-level scaffolding designed by Mark Ravitz, providing platforms for the six-piece band and five dancers to interact fluidly, with Flying by Foy rigging facilitating aerial descents and traversals that integrated performers into the spider's framework. Large video screens flanked the proscenium, broadcasting close-up footage to ensure visibility in stadiums, while pyrotechnics erupted during high-energy segments like "Day-In Day-Out" to amplify the explosive energy of the performance. These elements created a cohesive environment that supported the tour's emphasis on movement and scale, requiring four to five days for assembly per venue.^[15]^[26]^[27] Visually, the production wove surreal narrative arcs inspired by the themes of isolation and redemption in Never Let Me Down, featuring costume changes for Bowie—such as vibrant neon-hued suits in chartreuse and red—and character-driven attire for the dancers portraying archetypes like an androgynous rebel or ethereal figure. Choreography by Toni Basil blended street dance, ballet, and minimalist symbolism, with vignettes including extended crawls and synchronized descents that mirrored the album's storytelling without overt plot. The lighting design by Allen Branton utilized an extensive rig to highlight these motifs, casting dramatic shadows and color washes that transformed the stage into a dreamlike tableau, prioritizing immersion over literal replication.^[14]^[28]^[27]^[15]

Personnel and Contributors

The Glass Spider Tour featured a core band lineup that blended David Bowie's long-standing collaborators with notable guest musicians, emphasizing a rock-oriented sound with theatrical flair. David Bowie served as lead vocalist, guitarist, and occasional saxophonist, directing the overall musical vision and performing throughout the 86-date tour.^[19] Peter Frampton, a renowned guitarist known for his work with Humble Pie and his solo hit "Show Me the Way," handled lead guitar and backing vocals, often sharing the spotlight with Bowie during extended solos in songs like "Heroes" and contributing to the tour's improvisational energy.^[29] Carlos Alomar, Bowie's frequent collaborator since the 1970s on albums like Young Americans and Station to Station, played guitar and provided backing vocals.^[19] Erdal Kizilcay, a multi-instrumentalist who had collaborated with Bowie on previous projects, added atmospheric synths, keyboards, trumpet, congas, and violin layers, drawing on his experience to enhance the tour's cinematic scope.^[19] The rhythm section was anchored by bassist Carmine Rojas, who delivered steady grooves informed by his sessions with artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, and drummer Alan Childs, whose precise beats supported the band's dynamic shifts, as heard in live recordings from the tour.^[19] Keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Richard Cottle rounded out the ensemble on synths, saxophone, and tambourine, adding textural depth and occasional leads.^[19] The tour incorporated a troupe of five dancers who performed synchronized routines during 8 to 10 songs per show, integrating physical theater with Bowie's performance art style. Choreographed by Toni Basil, a veteran collaborator who had worked with Bowie on the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour and directed music videos like Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It," the dancers executed high-energy sequences that complemented tracks such as "Fashion" and "Boys Keep Swinging."^[15] The group included Melissa Hurley, known for her modern dance background; Constance Marie, a versatile performer with Broadway credits; Spazz Attack (Craig Allen Rothwell), specializing in acrobatic and contemporary moves; Viktor Manoel, who brought folkloric influences from his early training; and Stephen Nichols, contributing to the ensemble's fluid formations.^[18] Key production contributors shaped the tour's elaborate staging and visuals. Set designer Mark Ravitz, who had previously crafted sets for tours by Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones, created the iconic 60-foot spider prop and multi-level platforms that facilitated dynamic performer movement.^[15] Lighting designer Allen Branton, with prior experience on Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour, deployed over 400 fixtures to produce dramatic effects syncing with the choreography and video projections.^[15] Video director Christine Strand oversaw the integration of large screens displaying surreal imagery, enhancing the narrative flow.^[15] For the tour's documented concert film, director David Mallet, a Bowie staple since videos for "Ashes to Ashes" and "Let's Dance," captured the performances with a focus on the ensemble's interplay.^[30] Guest appearances were minimal, with Frampton's co-lead roles providing the primary collaborative highlights.

Releases and Media

Live Album

The official live album from David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour, titled Glass Spider (Live Montreal '87), captures a complete performance from the tour's North American leg. Recorded on 30 August 1987 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada, the album features the full concert with minimal editing to preserve the live atmosphere of the stadium show. It was first released on 31 July 2007 as a two-CD set bundled with a DVD reissue of the 1988 concert film, under Parlophone (a division of EMI at the time). The album spans 25 tracks with a total runtime of approximately 125 minutes, presenting the band's dynamic interplay and the tour's elaborate musical arrangements without significant overdubs.^[31] Produced by David Bowie alongside Aisha Cohen and Nigel Reeve, the album's audio was remixed from the original multitrack recordings to enhance clarity and energy for modern listeners. The production emphasized the raw stadium sound, highlighting Bowie's vocals, Peter Frampton's guitar work, and the rhythm section's drive, while integrating the tour's theatrical elements through crowd noise and transitions. This approach differed from the more edited 1988 video release by focusing on unadulterated concert fidelity rather than narrative cohesion. The track selection draws directly from the tour's standard setlist, opening with "Up the Hill Backwards" and closing with "Modern Love," but omits the encores "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "White Light/White Heat" for pacing.^[31]^[32] Key tracks include the title song "Glass Spider," showcasing its atmospheric build-up with strings and percussion; "Day-In Day-Out," a high-energy rendition from the Never Let Me Down album; and covers like "The Jean Genie," adapted to fit the tour's rock-oriented sound. The sequencing reflects the concert's flow, blending new material with classics such as "China Girl" and "Fame," providing a comprehensive snapshot of Bowie's 1987 stage persona.^[32]^[33] Subsequent editions expanded accessibility. A standalone two-CD version followed in 2008, while the 2018 remaster—part of the Loving the Alien (1983–1988) box set—featured improved audio quality with new artwork and was released independently on 15 February 2019 by Parlophone. This remaster, also available as a limited-edition triple blue vinyl in 2019, maintained the original track order but enhanced dynamics for high-resolution formats. These variants underscore the album's role in documenting the tour's musical legacy without altering the core live captures.^[31]^[34]

Concert Film and Video

The concert film Glass Spider was directed by David Mallet and produced by Anthony Eaton, with footage captured during eight performances at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia in November 1987.^[4]^[5] Initially released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1988, the film presented an approximately 110-minute edit comprising 15 songs drawn from the tour's elaborate setlist, highlighting key tracks like "Glass Spider," "Day-In, Day-Out," and "Heroes."^[5]^[35] The production featured a multi-camera approach to document the tour's theatrical staging, including Bowie's descent from the 60-foot-wide translucent spider prop and the choreographed dances performed by the ensemble.^[15]^[5] Post-production occurred in London, where color grading enhanced the footage's vibrant, theatrical aesthetic to match the tour's visual spectacle. A DVD edition followed in 2007, restoring the full 105-minute concert with 22 songs and adding extras such as a photo gallery and an accompanying booklet.^[36] The film has been available for streaming on platforms like Apple TV in select regions since around 2016.^[37] Unlike the live album Glass Spider (Live Montreal '87), which provides an audio-only recording from a different tour stop, the video emphasizes the complete production with integrated visuals, narrative segments between songs, and dynamic stage elements absent from the soundtrack release.^[31]

Reception and Impact

Critical Response

Contemporary reviews of David Bowie's Glass Spider tour in 1987 lauded the production's high energy and striking visuals, particularly the towering mechanical spider centerpiece that dominated the stage and created a sense of awe during key sequences. The New York Times highlighted the "dizzying overload of visual activity" from dancers tumbling and Bowie appearing to fly, emphasizing the spectacle's innovative scale in tracks like "Day-In, Day-Out."^[38] Similarly, the tour's elaborate props, including Stonehenge replicas and video projections, were praised for their wow factor, with Rolling Stone later recalling the spider's dramatic entrance as a highlight amid the era's arena rock trends.^[39] Critics, however, frequently lambasted the tour's over-theatricality, arguing that the excess overshadowed the music and led to pacing issues in the choreography. The New York Times described much of the staging as "overkill" that often appeared "just plain silly," with Toni Basil's routines reducing songs to ineffective "hair-flinging, shoulder-twitching" gestures.^[38] The Los Angeles Times echoed this, critiquing the "hollow glitz" of special effects and "hokey mini-dramas" that disconnected from the songs' spirit, especially newer material from Never Let Me Down, which felt flat and underdeveloped amid the bombast.^[40] Songs like "Glass Spider" were seen as weak links, their dramatic pretensions clashing with the tour's frenetic pace. In later reflections during the 1990s, Bowie himself assessed the tour harshly, describing it as a symbol of excess in interviews where he cited the production's bloated scale as a misstep that exhausted him creatively. This contrasted sharply with fan enthusiasm, many of whom cherished the immersive spectacle despite the critical backlash.^[39] Retrospective views up to 2025 have offered more balanced reappraisals, with music blogs and documentaries emphasizing the tour's influence on modern arena rock through its bold theatrical integration, including a May 2025 analysis highlighting its reevaluation in Bowie scholarship as a pivotal experimental work. A 2017 Atlantic analysis portrayed it as an "underrated" endeavor with its own "weird magic," crediting the acrobatic staging and Frampton's guitar flair for enduring appeal.^[6]^[41] The 2018 remix of Never Let Me Down, part of the Loving the Alien box set, indirectly elevated the tour's perception by revitalizing the album's sound and highlighting strong live elements like Peter Frampton's contributions.^[42]

Commercial Performance and Legacy

The Glass Spider Tour achieved significant commercial success, grossing $86 million across 86 shows and drawing an estimated three million attendees, with average crowds exceeding 20,000 per performance. This made it one of the highest-grossing tours of 1987, particularly dominant in markets like North America and Australia, where it set attendance records for indoor venues.^[43]^[44] The accompanying live album, Glass Spider (Live Montreal '87), released in 2019 from recordings of the tour's North American leg, peaked at No. 97 on the UK Albums Chart but saw limited commercial traction in the US. The original concert film, released on VHS in 1988 and later on DVD in 2007, performed strongly in home video sales and earned gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry for over 25,000 units shipped in the UK.^[45]^[46] The tour's legacy endures through its pioneering use of theatrical staging and large-scale visuals, which influenced elaborate productions by artists including U2, Madonna, and others in the late 1980s and 1990s, as acknowledged by U2's longtime designer Willie Williams. Retrospectives in 2025, marking ongoing interest in Bowie's career, have emphasized its role in his experimental phase during the decade. The tour's cultural footprint includes its documentation in the official concert film and appearances in broader Bowie biographies, alongside a wealth of fan-recorded bootlegs and archival footage now accessible online via platforms like YouTube.^[47]^[41]^[4]

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[48]
Glass Spider Stage Set Acknowledged By U2 Set Designer
Aug 18, 2009 · U2's long-time stage designer Willie Williams says: "That has become the blueprint for Madonna, Janet Jackson, Britney, Kylie... "There will be ...Missing: production team
[49]
The Return of the Glass Spider - Maggiore on Bowie
May 14, 2025 · Both the tour and the album have a somewhat bad reputation, but my post today is just meant to be a positive little appreciation. My first Bowie ...