Glass Spider

{{Main|Glass Spider Tour}}

The Glass Spider Tour was a worldwide concert tour launched in May 1987 in support of Bowie's album Never Let Me Down (1987).{{cite book| last = Currie| first = David| title = David Bowie: Glass Idol| publisher = Omnibus Press| place = London and Margate, England| edition = 1st| year = 1987| isbn = 0-7119-1182-7}} The tour was well attended and profitable,{{cite magazine | title=The Man Who Fell to Earth | url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315381,00.html | access-date=8 January 2013 | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | first=Bill | last=Wyman | date=6 September 1991 | archive-date=3 July 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703205950/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315381,00.html | url-status=dead }} but was poorly received by contemporary critics. His first tour since his 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour, the Glass Spider Tour was seen as a chance for Bowie to return to theatrical stage performances, the way he had in his 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour.{{cite magazine| last=Morse | first=Steve | title=David Bowie (Cover Story) | journal=In Fashion Magazine | volume=3 | issue=10 |date=July–August 1987 | pages=151, 153}} As a result, the tour incorporated dancers, music and multi-media elements such as stage projections and props.{{cite magazine | journal=Rock Express|title=A Feast Unknown | last1=West | first1=Corinthia | last2=Stoute | first2=Lenny |year=1987}} The set itself was designed to look like a giant spider and stood over 60 feet (18.3m) high, and was described at the time as "the largest touring set ever".{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/02/arts/bowie-creates-a-spectacle.html |work=The New York Times | title=Bowie Creates a Spectacle | access-date=28 May 2013 | last=Pareles | first=Jon | date=2 August 1987}} The tour features dance choreography by Toni Basil, and Peter Frampton on guitar.{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/03/arts/tv-weekend-david-bowie-glass-spider-tour.html | title=TV Weekend; 'David Bowie: Glass Spider Tour' | last=O'Connor | first=John | date= 3 June 1988 | work=The New York Times | access-date=28 September 2017}} Charlie Sexton makes a guest appearance on vocals and guitar in the video release.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=586}}

Prior to the tour, Bowie stated that he did not intend to produce a live record of the show,{{cite AV media | date=20 March 1987 | title=The Glass Spider Tour Press Conferences (London)|type=vinyl}} but despite this, director David Mallet recorded 8 shows from a nearly 2-week run in Sydney, Australia in the tour's final month. The liner notes say that most of the Glass Spider video comes from the nights of 7 and 9 November 1987, with some footage from the other nights, although Bowie biographer Nicholas Pegg claimed that most of the footage comes from the performance on the evening of 6 November.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}} The video was shot using 17 cameras, and audio was digitally recorded and mastered.{{cite press release | date=1988 | title=David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour ... is about to make home video history |publisher=MPI Home Video|agency=Stenton, S.A.}} While a typical show from the tour ran over 2 hours with around 26 songs, the video release clocks in at under 2 hours and includes only about 20 songs. A 2007 Special Edition re-release includes a CD of the entire show as performed in Montreal, Canada on 30 August 1987, but does not change the video release.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}} The tour and concert film were named after the track "Glass Spider" from the album.{{cite AV media | date=27 October 1987 | title=The Glass Spider Tour Press Conferences (Sydney)|type=vinyl}}

The film was released on VHS in 1988 by MPI Home Video in the US{{cite AV media notes |title=Glass Spider |year=1988 |type=Liner notes |publisher=EMI (Barcode: 030306009636)}} and Video Collection International in the UK.{{cite AV media notes |title=Glass Spider |year=1988 |type=Liner notes |publisher=Video Collection International (Barcode: 5 014138 040437)}} In promotional fliers released by MPI, they stated that for the video release, they would be launching their "biggest [advertising] campaign ever, with extensive consumer, trade and distributor advertising, radio promos, and TV music channel concert clips." The VHS video release was given an MSRP of $29.95 USD, and vendors were able to pre-order the video starting 16 May, 1988. In some regions, it was released on two video cassettes of 10 songs each until a 1990 compilation combined them into a single release.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}} The running time of the combined VHS is approximately 110 minutes.{{cite web | url=http://www.davidbowie.com/news/emi-release-glass-spider-dvd-23451 | title=EMI to Release Glass Spider DVD | access-date=5 June 2013 | date=18 July 2006 | publisher=David Bowie Official Website | archive-date=7 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007082716/http://www.davidbowie.com/news/emi-release-glass-spider-dvd-23451 | url-status=dead }} In 1999 a "semi-official" DVD of the show was released in Far East regions only.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}}

A 1-hour edit from the original release was aired on US prime-time television in early June 1988 on American Broadcasting Company-affiliated stations.{{cite magazine | title=Special: David Bowie: Glass Spider Tour | magazine=TV Guide |year=1987}}

The video was reissued in 2007 on DVD. A regular edition includes the DVD of the same concert as released on VHS, while a special edition also includes a 2 CD live album from the same tour, recorded at Montreal Olympic Stadium on 30 August 1987. The 2007 re-release was originally planned to include a live recording of the song "Glass Spider" recorded in Vienna on 1 July 1987.

The DVD includes stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 sound and presents the video in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.{{cite web| title=David Bowie Glass Spider (1987) | first=Colin | last=Jacobson | url=http://www.dvdmg.com/davidbowieglassspider.shtml | access-date=21 May 2013}}{{AllMusic|class=album |label=Glass Spider| last=Thompson | first=Dave| access-date=5 June 2013| id=glass-spider-mw0000076491}} An error in the sound mix on this DVD left much of Peter Frampton's guitar playing scarcely audible. Pegg claimed that as a result, although the picture quality is superior on the DVD release, the original VHS or 1999 DVD remain a superior choice for audio.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMovie

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite web| url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/david-bowie-the-glass-spider-tour-v12534 | title=David Bowie: The Glass Spider Tour (1987) | first=Sally | last=Barber | access-date=7 October 2013}}

| rev2 = AllMusic

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev3 = People

| rev3Score = B+{{cite web | url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099089,00.html | title=Picks and Pans Review: David Bowie: Glass Spider | date=6 June 1988 | first=Jeff | last=Jarvis | access-date=28 May 2013 | work=People | archive-date=10 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610194237/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099089,00.html | url-status=dead }}

| rev4 = PopMatters (2007 re-release)

| rev4Score = {{Rating|7|10}}{{cite web| url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/david-bowie-glass-spider-tour-special-edition-dvd-2cd-dvd/ | title=David Bowie: Glass Spider Tour (Special Edition DVD) | date=27 August 2007 | first=Tim | last=O'Neil | access-date=28 May 2013 |work=PopMatters}}

| rev5 = Record Collector

| rev5Score = {{Rating|2}}{{cite web | url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/glass-spider | title=David Bowie: Glass Spider (review)| first=Jason | last=Draper | access-date=29 September 2017 |work=Record Collector}}

}}

The home video's original 1988 release received positive reviews from sources such as Variety magazine, the Houston Post and the Toronto Star.{{cite press release | title=MPI: David Bowie Glass Spider Promotional Flier |date=1988 | publisher=MPI Home Video | agency=Stenton, S.A.}} The Chicago Tribune said the video "offers all of the excitement, spectacle and music" of one of 1987's "most visually engrossing" shows.{{cite journal| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/08/21/spider-tour-spins-a-web/ | title="Spider" Tour Spins a Web | date=21 August 1988 | first=Lynn | last=Van Matre | access-date=28 October 2013 | journal=Chicago Tribune}} The AllMusic review called the release "brilliant" and credited the performance with "stunning" live performances that are frequently on par with their studio counterparts. Some reviews were more ambivalent, such as The Boston Globe's review stating simply that "there's a lot to digest." The Los Angeles Times had a mostly negative review of the 1-hour ABC special, calling the show "surprisingly lame" and the stage "silly."{{cite web| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-03-ca-4799-story.html | title=TV Review : 'Glass Spider': A Glitzy Special From David Bowie and Friends | last=Willman | first=Chris | date=3 June 1988 | access-date=26 June 2013 | work=Los Angeles Times}}

One critic found that the video release rendered the show's intended meaning ("rock stars vs reality") "obscured" for two reasons: First, by the time the show was recorded, Bowie had already dropped some parts of the show that elaborated the point; and second, six songs (and at least one vignette) that were performed in the show were omitted from the video itself. Another critic found that the 1-hour ABC special, which showed only a small subset of the songs performed, and showed them out of order, also "obliterated" the show's meaning.

Pegg said that the concert film was "hugely enjoyable" despite the show's flaws, and unless the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour or 1990 Sound+Vision Tour videos are released, this release "leads the field for those wishing to see David Bowie delivering a rock-theatre spectacular."{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}}

All songs were written by David Bowie except where noted.{{efn|Sources for this section:{{cite AV media notes |title=Glass Spider |year=1999 |type=Liner notes |publisher=EMI (Barcode: 4011778979524)}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Glass Spider |year=2007 |type=Liner notes |publisher=EMI (Barcode: 0094639126293)}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Glass Spider |year=2007 |type=Liner notes |publisher=EMI (Barcode: 0094639126224)}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Glass Spider |year=2007 |type=Liner notes |publisher=EMI (Barcode: 0094639126323)}}}} Although they are not mentioned on the sleeve, the original VHS edition contains the same "Intro/Up the Hill Backwards" and band introduction segments that feature on the DVD reissue.

{{track listing

|headline = VHS (1988 release/1999 DVD release)

|title1 = Glass Spider

|title2 = Day-In Day-Out

|title3 = Bang Bang

|writer3 = Iggy Pop, Ivan Kral

|title4 = Absolute Beginners

|title5 = Loving the Alien

|title6 = China Girl

|writer6 = Bowie, Pop

|title7 = Rebel Rebel

|title8 = Fashion

|title9 = Never Let Me Down

|writer9 = Bowie, Carlos Alomar

|title10 = "Heroes"

|writer10 = Bowie, Brian Eno

|title11 = Sons of the Silent Age

|title12 = Young Americans/Band Introduction

|title13 = The Jean Genie

|title14 = Let's Dance

|title15 = Time

|title16 = Fame

|writer16 = Bowie, John Lennon, Alomar

|title17 = Blue Jean

|title18 = I Wanna Be Your Dog

|writer18 = Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Pop

|title19 = White Light/White Heat

|writer19 = Lou Reed

|title20 = Modern Love

}}

{{track listing

|headline = DVD (2007 release)

|title1 = Intro/Up the Hill Backwards

|title2 = Glass Spider

|title3 = Day-In Day-Out

|title4 = Bang Bang

|title5 = Absolute Beginners

|title6 = Loving the Alien

|title7 = China Girl

|title8 = Rebel Rebel

|title9 = Fashion

|title10 = Never Let Me Down

|title11 = "Heroes"

|title12 = Sons of the Silent Age

|title13 = Band Introduction

|title14 = Young Americans

|title15 = The Jean Genie

|title16 = Let's Dance

|title17 = Time

|title18 = Fame

|title19 = Blue Jean

|title20 = I Wanna Be Your Dog

|title21 = White Light/White Heat

|title22 = Modern Love

}}

{{track listing

|headline = Disc 1

|title1 = Up the Hill Backwards

|length1 = 3:51

|title2 = Glass Spider

|length2 = 5:55

|title3 = Day-In Day-Out

|length3 = 4:34

|title4 = Bang Bang

|length4 = 4:02

|title5 = Absolute Beginners

|length5 = 7:08

|title6 = Loving the Alien

|length6 = 7:14

|title7 = China Girl

|length7 = 4:55

|title8 = Rebel Rebel

|length8 = 3:30

|title9 = Fashion

|length9 = 5:04

|title10 = Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

|length10 = 4:52

|title11 = All the Madmen

|length11 = 6:39

|title12 = Never Let Me Down

|length12 = 3:56

|total_length = 61:40

}}

{{track listing

|headline = Disc 2

|title1 = Big Brother

|length1 = 4:47

|title2 = {{-'}}87 And Cry

|length2 = 4:07

|title3 = "Heroes"

|length3 = 5:10

|title4 = Sons of the Silent Age

|length4 = 3:10

|title5 = Time Will Crawl/Band Introduction

|length5 = 5:23

|title6 = Young Americans

|length6 = 5:06

|title7 = Beat of Your Drum

|length7 = 4:37

|title8 = The Jean Genie

|length8 = 5:23

|title9 = Let's Dance

|length9 = 5:01

|title10 = Fame

|length10 = 7:05

|title11 = Time

|length11 = 5:11

|title12 = Blue Jean

|length12 = 3:26

|title13 = Modern Love

|length13 = 4:53

|total_length = 63:19 (124:59)

}}

Adapted from the Glass Spider liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Glass Spider|others=David Bowie|year=2007|publisher=EMI America Records (Barcode: 0094639100224)|type=DVD booklet}}

{{div col}}

Musicians

• David Bowie – lead vocals, guitar
• Carlos Alomar – guitar, backing vocals
• Alan Childs – drums
• Richard Cottle – keyboards, saxophone, tambourine, backing vocals
• Peter Frampton – guitar, vocals
• Erdal Kızılçay – keyboards, trumpet, congas, violin, backing vocals
• Carmine Rojas – bass guitar
• Charlie Sexton – guitar, backing vocals

• Melissa Hurley
• Viktor Manoel
• Constance Marie
• Stephen Nichols
• Craig Allen Rothwell ("Spazz Attack")

• David Mallet – film director
• Anthony Eaton – film producer
• Toni Basil – choreography
• David Richards – audio mixing
• Mark Ravitz – set design
• Allen Branton – lighting design

{{div col end}}

The 2007 re-release reached number 9 on the UK Video Charts.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=643}}

{{Notelist|2}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book | title=The Complete David Bowie New Edition: Expanded and Updated | last=Pegg | first=Nicholas | date=2016 | publisher=Titan Books |location=London |isbn=9781785655333 }}

{{Refend}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{IMDb title|0381210|Glass Spider}}

{{David Bowie}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

Category:1988 live albums

Category:1988 video albums

Category:David Bowie video albums

Category:David Bowie live albums

Category:1980s live video albums

Category:Films directed by David Mallet (director)

Category:Concert films

Category:Films shot in Sydney