View source for Serious Moonlight Tour

{{Short description|1983 concert tour by David Bowie}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox concert 
| concert_tour_name = Serious Moonlight Tour
| image             = David Bowie Serious Moonlight Tour 1983.jpg
| image_caption     = The Serious Moonlight Tour promotional poster
| artist            = [[David Bowie]]
| location          = {{hlist|Europe|North America|Asia|Oceania}}
| album             = ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]''
| start_date        = 18 May 1983
| end_date          = 8 December 1983
| number_of_legs    = 8
| number_of_shows   = 96
| last_tour         = [[Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour]]<br />(1978)
| this_tour         = '''Serious Moonlight Tour'''<br />(1983)
| next_tour         = [[Glass Spider Tour]]<br />(1987)
}}
The '''Serious Moonlight Tour''' was a worldwide [[concert tour]] by the English musician [[David Bowie]], launched in May 1983 in support of his album ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'' (1983). The tour opened at the [[Forest National|Vorst Forest Nationaal]], Brussels, on 18 May 1983 and ended in the [[Hong Kong Coliseum]] on 8 December 1983; 15 countries visited, 96 performances,<ref name=DBSM84>{{cite book | last=Flippo | first=Chet | title=David Bowie's Serious Moonlight : The World Tour | publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc. | date=1984 | isbn=978-0-385-19265-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/davidbowiesserio00oreg }}</ref> and over 2.6 million tickets sold.<ref>Pimm Jal de la Parra, ''David Bowie: The Concert Tapes'', P.J. Publishing, 1985, {{ISBN|90-900100-5-X}}</ref> It was the biggest tour of the year 1983.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=582}} The tour garnered mostly favourable reviews from the press.<ref name=SIDC>{{citation | title=David Bowie: The Starzone Interviews | editor=David Currie | isbn=978-0-7119-0685-3 |location=England | year=1985 | publisher=Omnibus Press}}</ref>
It was, at the time, his longest, largest and most successful concert tour to date, although it has since been surpassed in length, attendance and gross revenue by subsequent Bowie tours.

==Background and development==
In 1980, [[David Bowie]] had released his album ''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]'', at the time expecting to support the album with a tour.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=662–664}}{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=325}} However, the [[murder of John Lennon]] in December 1980 deeply affected Bowie{{efn|Bowie and Lennon became friends in the mid-1970s and collaborated with each other for "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]" and a cover of Lennon's [[The Beatles|Beatles]] song "[[Across the Universe]]", both released on Bowie's 1975 album ''[[Young Americans]]''}} and as a result, he cancelled his tour plans and withdrew to his home in Switzerland where he became a recluse and continued working.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=662–664}}{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=325}} Consequently, the Serious Moonlight Tour was Bowie's first tour in 5 years.

This tour, designed to support Bowie's latest album ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'', was initially designed to be a smaller tour, playing to the likes of sub-10,000-seat indoor venues around the world, similar to previous Bowie tours. However, the success of ''Let's Dance'' caused unexpectedly high demand for tickets: there were 250,000 requests for 44,000 tickets at one show, for example, and as a result the tour was changed to instead play in a variety of larger outdoor and festival-style venues. While reviewing the album the week following its release, the [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Magazine]] stated that "Bowie's first tour in five years would only enhance sales fire".<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 16, 1983 |title=Billboard's Top Albums Picks: David Bowie - Let's Dance |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1983/BB-1983-04-16.pdf |access-date= |website=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>

The largest crowd for a single show during the tour was 80,000 in Auckland, New Zealand, while the largest crowd for a festival date was 300,000 at the [[US Festival|US 83 Festival]] in California. The tour sold out at every venue it played.<ref name="DBSM84" />

Bowie used boxing (of which he was a fan) to get in shape for the tour. His son [[Duncan Jones]] pointed out years later that "Each round [of boxing] is approximately the same length as a song, so if you can get your cardio up enough to do a full 12 or so rounds, you’re ready to go!"<ref>{{cite tweet |user=ManMadeMoon |number=1231816818307690496 |date=23 February 2020|title=Posted this to someone else, but it applies here too... It’s a great way to train for tours and dad did train this way for this tour. Each round is approximately the same length as a song, so if you can get your cardio up enough to do a full 12 or so rounds, you’re ready to go! }}</ref>

==Set design==
Initially, Bowie worked with [[Derek Boshier]] to design the stage for the tour, as Boshier had designed the artwork for the ''Let's Dance'' album itself. The design proposed by Boshier was an "extravagant design reminiscent of the [[Diamond Dogs]] set with multiple platforms and levels, rotating prisms revealing different backdrop designs on each facet, and a gigantic cartoon figure of Bowie with a guitar", but this was rejected as too expensive, so instead Bowie worked with [[Mark Ravitz]] to come up with what was the final design,{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=577}} which included four giant columns (affectionately referred to as "condoms") as well as a large moon and a giant hand.<ref name=Stardust>{{citation | last1=Edwards | first1=Henry | last2=Zanetta | first2=Tony | title=Stardust: The David Bowie Story | publisher=1986 | isbn=978-0-07-072797-7 | year=1986 | url=https://archive.org/details/stardustdavidbow00edwa }}</ref> Ravitz had designed the set for Bowie's 1974 [[Diamond Dogs Tour]], and would work on Bowie's next touring set as well, the 1987 [[Glass Spider Tour]].<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160824/park-slope/former-david-bowie-set-designer-keeps-park-slope-building-dripping-with-art |title=Former David Bowie Set Designer Keeps Park Slope Building Dripping with Art |first=Leslie |last=Albrecht |date=24 August 2016 | access-date=29 August 2016 |website=DNAInfo.com | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914040748/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160824/park-slope/former-david-bowie-set-designer-keeps-park-slope-building-dripping-with-art | archive-date=14 September 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The Serious Moonlight stage was deliberately given a vertical feeling (especially due to the columns) and an overall design that Bowie called a combination of classicism and modernism. The weight of one set (of which there were two) was 32 tons.<ref name=DBSM84 /> Lighting the set were 40 [[Vari-Lite]]s, some of which were set horizontally across the stage, which allowed them to "create set-piece landscapes" for certain songs.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=577}}

==Tour rehearsals and musicians==
[[File:Earl slick at serious moonlight 1983.jpg|left|thumb|Earl Slick performing in November 1983 during the Serious Moonlight Tour]]
Bowie used the musicians he'd newly collaborated with on ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'', along with some longer standing collaborators, including [[Carlos Alomar]] who was the designated tour band leader.<ref name=DBSM84 /><ref name=Stardust /> [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]], who had contributed guitar solos to six of the songs on ''Let's Dance'' and who was up and coming, was to join the tour, also to please the American audience.<ref name="Gregory">{{cite book|last=Gregory|first=Hugh|title=Roadhouse Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Texas R&B|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iWkzJssSXcEC&pg=PA75|year=2003|publisher=Backbeat|isbn=9780879307479|pages=75–76}}</ref> Early rehearsals were held in Manhattan<ref name=DBSM84 /> without Vaughan and Bowie, and were overseen by Alomar.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=577}} Rehearsals moved to Las Calinas, Texas in April,<ref name=SIDC /> where Bowie and Vaughan joined the band,{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=577}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guitarplayer.com/news/1024/hear-david-bowie-and-stevie-ray-vaughan-in-1983-rehearsal/55897|title=Hear David Bowie and Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1983 Rehearsal|last=Scapeletti|first=Christopher|date=11 January 2016|work=[[Guitar Player (magazine)|Guitar Player]]|access-date=17 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://forgottenguitar.com/2016/05/17/soundboard-recordings-of-stevie-ray-vaughans-1983-rehearsal-with-david-bowie-in-dallas-texas/|title=Soundboard Recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan's 1983 Rehearsal with David Bowie in Dallas Texas|date=17 May 2016|publisher=Forgotten Guitar|access-date=17 May 2016}}</ref> but Vaughan showed up with a cocaine habit, a hard-partying wife and an entourage looking for easy access to drugs.<ref name="Barres">{{cite book|last=Barres|first=Pamela Des|title=Rock Bottom: Dark Moments in Music Babylon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHmPCHZM-9wC&pg=PA259|year=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=9780312148539|page=259}}</ref> Given that Bowie himself had moved to Berlin in the late 1970s to try and kick his own cocaine habit,<ref name="UCR">{{cite web|last1=Mastropolo|first1=Frank|title=The History of David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy: 'Low,' 'Heroes' and 'Lodger'|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-berlin-trilogy/|website=[[Ultimate Classic rock]]|date=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Wilcken|first=Hugo|date=2005|title=Low|location=New York|publisher=Continuum|isbn=978-0-8264-1684-1|page=24}}</ref> Bowie and Vaughan's management failed to come to an agreement on how to temper the situation, and in the end Vaughan pulled out of the tour.<ref name="Gregory"/> Bassist [[Carmine Rojas]] called Vaughan's release "one of the most heartbreaking moments he had ever witnessed on the road, Stevie left standing on the sidewalk with his bags surrounding him."{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=578}} Bowie, who was in Europe promoting the album and tour when the disagreement arose, did not have a say in Vaughan's departure.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=578}} This happened less than one week before the tour's opening night, and as a result, Vaughan's replacement [[Earl Slick]] spent the next few days in his hotel room, learning all of the 31 songs on the setlist.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=578}}

Each band member wore a costume which was designed "down to the smallest detail", as if a character in a play.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thisrecording.com/today/2011/9/14/in-which-it-is-neither-the-plane-nor-the-pilot.html|title=In Which It Is Neither The Plane Nor The Pilot|website=thisrecording.com}}</ref> Two sets of each person's costumes were made and worn on alternate nights, and everyone got to keep one set at the conclusion of the tour as a souvenir.<ref name=SIDC /> The bands' costumes were a nod, a "slight parody", on all the New Romantic bands that were growing in popularity at the time.<ref name=DBSM84 />

==Song selection==
Faced with high demand for tickets for the tour, Bowie decided to play his more recognizable songs from his repertoire, saying a few years later that his goal was to give the fans the songs that they'd heard on the radio over the past 15 years, calling the setlist a collection of songs that the fans "probably didn't realize when added up are a great body of work".<ref name=InFashion>{{Citation | last=Morse | first=Steve | title=David Bowie (Cover Story) | journal=In Fashion Magazine | volume=3 | issue=10 |date=July–August 1987 | pages=151, 153}}</ref> Bowie and Carlos Alomar selected an initial list of songs for the tour, 35 of which they rehearsed for the tour.<ref name=DBSM84 /> One song that was on the rehearsal's song list that never actually got to the rehearsal stage was "[[Across the Universe]]", which Bowie had covered in 1975 on his ''[[Young Americans (album)|Young Americans]]'' album.<ref name=SIDC /> The setlist for the tour was the basis for the track list for the 1989 box set ''[[Sound + Vision (box set)|Sound + Vision]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rougvie |first=Jeff |date=15 November 2015 |title=It Was 26+ Years Ago Today Part 3 & Maybe 4 & 5, too |url=https://jeff-rougvie-1f6j.squarespace.com/bowie-blog/2015/11/15/it-was-26-years-ago-today-part-3-maybe-4-5-too |website=JEFF ROUGVIE HUB |access-date=15 March 2019 |via=Squarespace}}</ref> Some of Bowie's less well-known songs, such as "[[Joe the Lion]]" and "[[Wild Is the Wind (song)|Wild Is the Wind]]" were performed only on early dates of the tour.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=579}}

==Tour performances==
[[File:Bowie 1983 serious moonlight.jpg|right|thumb|David Bowie on stage during the 1983 tour]]
Various artists opened for Bowie across different legs, including [[UB40]], [[Icehouse (band)|Icehouse]], [[The Tubes]], [[The Beat (British band)|The Beat]] and [[Peter Gabriel]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=580}} To counteract counterfeiting, tickets and backstage passes were printed with small flaws that casual observers would not notice, but tour staff and security were trained to spot.<ref name=DBSM84 />

On 30 June 1983, the performance at the [[Hammersmith Odeon]] in London was a charity show for the [[Brixton]] Neighbourhood Community Association in the presence of [[Princess Michael of Kent]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=580}} The show raised nearly £100,000 for charity (about £{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|93000|1983|r=-4}}}} in today's currency), and was performed without the standard set.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=580}} The 13 July 1983 [[Montreal Forum]] performance was recorded and broadcast on American [[FM radio]] and other radio stations worldwide, and it was from this concert that the live version of "[[Modern Love (David Bowie song)|Modern Love]]" was recorded.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=581}} The concert on 12 September in [[Vancouver]] was recorded for the concert video ''[[Serious Moonlight (1983 film)|Serious Moonlight]]'', that was released in 1984 and on DVD in 2006.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=581}} There were discussions to release a live CD from these performances as well, but that idea was later discarded.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=581}}

At the [[Canadian National Exhibition Stadium]] performance on 4 September 1983 in [[Toronto]], Bowie introduced special guest [[Mick Ronson]], who borrowed [[Earl Slick]]'s guitar and performed "[[The Jean Genie]]" with Bowie and band.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=581}} Mick had only been asked to play the day before when he had been backstage at the previous night's show, and he later recalled:
{{Blockquote|I was playing Slick's guitar ... I had heard Slick play solos all night so I decided not to play solos and I just went out and thrashed the guitar. I ''really'' thrashed the guitar, I was waving the guitar above my head and all sorts of things. It was funny afterwards because David said, 'You should have seen [Earl Slick's] face...' meaning he looked petrified. I had his prize guitar and I was swinging it around my head and Slick's going 'Waaaa... watch my guitar', you know. I was banging into it and it was going round my head. Poor Slick. I mean, I didn't know it was his ''special'' guitar, I just thought it was a guitar, a lump of wood with six strings.<ref name=SIDC />}}

The last show of the tour, on 8 December 1983, was the third anniversary of [[John Lennon]]'s death, whom Bowie and Slick had previously worked with in the studio. Slick suggested to Bowie a few days prior to the show that they play "Across the Universe" as a tribute; but Bowie said, "Well if we're going to do it, we might as well do '[[Imagine (John Lennon song)|Imagine]]'." They rehearsed the song a couple of times on 5 December (in Bangkok) and then performed the song on the final night of the tour as a tribute to their friend.<ref name=SIDC />

==Legacy==
[[File:David Bowie - 1983 Let's Dance Promo 004.jpg|thumb|left|[[David Bowie]] in a 1983 promotional picture]]
The tour was a commercial high point for Bowie, who found his new popularity perplexing. He later remarked that, with the success of ''Let's Dance'' and the Serious Moonlight Tour, he lost track of who his fans were or what they wanted.<ref name=Live97>{{citation |last=Pond |first=Steve |title=Beyond Bowie |journal=Live! Magazine |date=March 1997 |pages=38–41, 93}}</ref> One critic would later call this tour his "most accessible" because "it had few props and one costume change, from peach suit to blue."<ref name=Details91>{{Citation | last=Cohen | first=Scott | title=From Ziggy Stardust to Tin Machine: David Bowie Comes Clean | journal=[[Details (magazine)|Details magazine]] |date=September 1991 | pages=86–97}}</ref>

"The 'Blond Ambition' tour, as we ended up calling it, in 1984 ''[sic]'' was pretty good," Bowie conceded in 2003. "We'd booked it before everything went huge and it really was quite innovative. It was the first big theatrical-show-type tour there had been. [[Madonna]] and [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] came to see it and it had an influence."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Steve|last=Lowe|title=Q200 – David Bowie|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=March 2003|issue=200|page=62}}</ref>

The 26 November show in Auckland became – at the time – the most attended concert in the Southern Hemisphere with over 80,000 people in attendance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Billboard Magazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-01-28.pdf|access-date=14 December 2016|page=7|date=28 January 1984|quote=David Bowie's 'Serious Moonlight' Tour of Australia and New Zealand ` .. eclipsed all previous concert attendance records Down Under. More the 80,000 people attended the final Australasian concert in Auckland. That's the single biggest concert ever in the Southern Hemisphere. 1nact, the audience outnumbered the fifth largest city -in New Zealand.}}</ref>

Bowie specifically tried to avoid repeating the Serious Moonlight Tour's successful formula for his 1987 [[Glass Spider Tour]].<ref name=FL87>{{citation | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1987/09/18/bowie-is-back-and-bolder-than-ever-his-controversial-glass-spider-tour-proves-the-ageless-rocker-is-still-full-of-surprises/ | title=Bowie Is Back, And Bolder Than Ever His Controversial Glass Spider Tour Proves The Ageless Rocker Is Still Full of Surprises | journal=The Orlando Sentinel | first=Gary | last=Graff | date=18 September 1987 | access-date=28 May 2013 | archive-date=29 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201930/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1987-09-18/lifestyle/0150000163_1_david-bowie-spider-tour-glass/2 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Set list==
This is the set list from the performance in [[Vancouver]], Canada, on 12 September 1983. It's not intended to represent all shows throughout the tour.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=640-641}}
{{div col}}
# "[[Look Back in Anger (song)|Look Back in Anger]]"
# "[[Heroes (David Bowie song)|Heroes]]"
# "[[Golden Years (David Bowie song)|Golden Years]]"
# "[[Fashion (David Bowie song)|Fashion]]"
# "[[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance]]"
# "[[Breaking Glass (song)|Breaking Glass]]"
# "[[Life on Mars (song)|Life on Mars?]]"
# "[[Sorrow (The McCoys song)#David Bowie version|Sorrow]]"
# "[[Cat People (Putting Out Fire)]]"
# "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]"
# "[[Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (song)|Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)]]"
# "[[Rebel Rebel]]"
# "[[White Light/White Heat (song)#David Bowie version|White Light/White Heat]]"
# "[[Station to Station (song)|Station to Station]]"
# "[[Cracked Actor (song)|Cracked Actor]]"
# "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]"
# "[[Space Oddity]]"
# "[[Young Americans (song)|Young Americans]]"
# "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]"

;Encore
#<li value=20> "[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Star]]"
# "[[Stay (David Bowie song)|Stay]]"
# "[[The Jean Genie]]"
# "[[Modern Love (David Bowie song)|Modern Love]]"
{{div col end}}

==Personnel{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=576-577}}==
[[File:Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983 publicity photo by Don Hunstein).jpg|thumb|right|alt=A black and white photograph of three men, one is wearing a wide-brimmed black hat.|Stevie Ray Vaughan (middle) and his band Double Trouble in 1983: Vaughan was originally slated to be the guitarist on the tour before being replaced by Earl Slick.]]
*[[David Bowie]] – lead vocals, guitar, [[saxophone]]
*[[Earl Slick]] – guitar
*[[Carlos Alomar]] – guitar, backing vocals, [[music director]]
*[[Carmine Rojas]] – bass guitar
*[[Tony Thompson (drummer)|Tony Thompson]] – drums, percussion
*Dave Lebolt – keyboards, synthesizers
*Steve Elson – saxophones
*[[Stan Harrison]] – saxophones, [[Woodwind instrument|woodwinds]]
*[[Lenny Pickett]] – saxophones, woodwinds
*[[The Simms Brothers Band|George Simms]] – backing vocals
*[[Frank Simms]] – backing vocals

==Tour dates==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! width="200"| Date
! width="150"| City
! width="150"| Country
! width="300"| Venue
! width="150"| Attendance (approx)
|-
! colspan="4"| Europe
|-
| 18 May 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Brussels]] || rowspan="2"|Belgium || rowspan="2"|[[Forest National|Vorst Forest Nationaal]]
|-
| 19 May 1983
|-
| 20 May 1983 || [[Frankfurt]] || rowspan="3"|West Germany || [[Festhalle Frankfurt|Festhalle]]
|-
| 21 May 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Munich]] || rowspan="2"|[[Olympiahalle]]
|-
| 22 May 1983
|-
| 24 May 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Lyon]] || rowspan="5"|France || rowspan="2"|[[Palais des Sports de Gerland]] || rowspan="2"| 23,615<ref name="bowietouring">{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-03-24.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]|title=David Bowie said "Let's Dance"|page=7|issn=0006-2510|date=24 March 1984|accessdate=11 April 2024}}</ref>
|-
| 25 May 1983
|-
| 26 May 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Fréjus]] || rowspan="2"|Les Arènes || rowspan="2"| 28,937<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 27 May 1983 
|-
| 29 May 1983 || [[Nantes]] || <em style="color:red;font-style:normal">(Cancelled)</em> Le Beaujoire
|-
! colspan="4"| North America
|-
| 30 May 1983 || [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]] || United States || [[US Festival]]<br/>Glen Helen Regional Park || 300,000<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
! colspan="4"| Europe
|-
| 2 June 1983 || rowspan="3"|London || rowspan="5"|England || rowspan="3"|[[Wembley Arena]] || rowspan="3"| 23,162-27,000<ref name="bowietouring"/><ref name="letsdancetour">{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1983/BB-1983-09-17.pdf|title=EMI, RCA Dancing For Joy Over Bowie's 'Moonlight' Tour|magazine=[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]|pages=9–76|date=17 September 1983|access-date=11 April 2024|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122000648/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1983/BB-1983-09-17.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 3 June 1983
|-
| 4 June 1983
|-
| 5 June 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Birmingham]] || rowspan="2"|[[National Exhibition Centre]] || rowspan="2"| 22,000<ref name="letsdancetour"/>
|-
| 6 June 1983
|-
| 8 June 1983 || rowspan="2"|Paris || rowspan="2"|France || rowspan="2"|[[Auteuil Hippodrome|Hippodrome D'Auteuil]]|| rowspan="2"|120,000<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 9 June 1983
|-
| 11 June 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Gothenburg]] || rowspan="2"|Sweden || rowspan="2"|[[Ullevi Stadium]] || rowspan="2"| 101,000<ref name="letsdancetour"/>
|-
| 12 June 1983
|-
| 15 June 1983 || [[Bochum]] || rowspan="5"|West Germany || [[Ruhrstadion]] || 33,843<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 17 June 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Bad Segeberg]] || rowspan="2"|[[Kalkberg Stadium|Freilichtbühne]] || rowspan="2"| 24,150<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 18 June 1983
|-
| 20 June 1983 || [[West Berlin]] || [[Waldbühne]] || 22,245<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 24 June 1983 || [[Offenbach am Main]] || [[Bieberer Berg Stadion]] || 24,720<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 25 June 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Rotterdam]] || rowspan="2"|Netherlands || rowspan="2"|[[Stadion Feijenoord]] || rowspan="2"| 101,311<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 26 June 1983
|-
| 28 June 1983 || [[Edinburgh]] || Scotland || [[Murrayfield Stadium]]||47,444<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 30 June 1983 || London || rowspan="4"|England || [[Hammersmith Odeon]] ||2,120<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 1 July 1983 || rowspan="3"|[[Milton Keynes]] || rowspan="3"|[[Milton Keynes Bowl]]|| rowspan="3"|174,984 (over all 3 nights)<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 2 July 1983 
|-
| 3 July 1983
|-
! colspan="4"|North America
|-
| 11 July 1983 || [[Quebec City]] || rowspan="3"|Canada || [[Colisée de Québec]] || 14,400<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 12 July 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Montreal]] || rowspan="2"|[[Montreal Forum]] || rowspan="2"| 32,547<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 13 July 1983
|-
| 15 July 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] || rowspan="16"|United States || rowspan="2"|[[Hartford Civic Center]]
|-
| 16 July 1983
|-
| 18 July 1983 || rowspan="4"|[[Philadelphia]] || rowspan="4"|[[Spectrum (arena)|The Spectrum]] || rowspan="4"| 64,235<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 19 July 1983
|-
| 20 July 1983
|-
| 21 July 1983
|-
| 23 July 1983 || [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] || <em style="color:red;font-style:normal">(Re-scheduled)</em> – [[Carrier Dome]]
|-
| 25 July 1983 || rowspan="3"|New York City || rowspan="3"|[[Madison Square Garden]] || rowspan="3"| 57,820<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 26 July 1983
|-
| 27 July 1983
|-
| 29 July 1983 || [[Richfield, Ohio|Richfield]] || [[Richfield Coliseum]]
|-
| 30 July 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Detroit]] || rowspan="2"|[[Joe Louis Arena]] || rowspan="2"| 37,268<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 31 July 1983
|-
| 1 August 1983 || rowspan="3"|[[Rosemont, Illinois|Rosemont]] || rowspan="3"|[[Rosemont Horizon]]
|-
| 2 August 1983
|-
| 3 August 1983
|-
| 7 August 1983 || [[Edmonton]] || rowspan="2"|Canada || [[Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)|Commonwealth Stadium]]
|60,000<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 January 2016 |title=David Bowie's 1983 Edmonton concert was once Alberta's biggest |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/music/david-bowies-1983-edmonton-concert-was-albertas-biggest |website=edmontonjournal.com}}</ref>
|-
| 9 August 1983 || [[Vancouver]] || [[Pacific Coliseum ]]
|-
| 11 August 1983 || [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] || rowspan="13"|United States|| [[Tacoma Dome]]
|20,000<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2016 |title=David Bowie played Tacoma as the first rock performer at the Dome |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/article54221705.html |website=thenewstribune.com}}</ref>
|-
| 14 August 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] || rowspan="2"|[[The Forum (Inglewood, California)|The Forum]]
|-
| 15 August 1983
|-
| 17 August 1983 || [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] || [[Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum]]
|-
| 19 August 1983 || [[Dallas]] || [[Reunion Arena]]
|-
| 20 August 1983 || [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] || [[Frank Erwin Center]]
|-
| 21 August 1983 || [[Houston]] || [[The Summit (Houston)|The Summit]]
|-
| 24 August 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] || rowspan="2"|[[Norfolk Scope|Scope Cultural and Convention Center]] || 21,370<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 25 August 1983
|-
| 27 August 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Landover, Maryland|Landover]] || rowspan="2"|[[Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)|Capital Centre]] || 29,371<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 28 August 1983
|-
| 29 August 1983 || [[Hershey, Pennsylvania|Hershey]] || [[Hersheypark Stadium]] || 25,230<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 31 August 1983 || [[Foxborough, Massachusetts|Foxborough]] || [[Sullivan Stadium]] || 60,000<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 3 September 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Toronto]] || rowspan="2"|Canada || rowspan="2"|[[Canadian National Exhibition Stadium]] || rowspan="2"| 101,239<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 4 September 1983
|-
| 5 September 1983 || [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] || rowspan="3"|United States || [[Buffalo Memorial Auditorium]]
|-
| 6 September 1983 || [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] || [[Carrier Dome]]
|-
| 9 September 1983 || [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] || [[Anaheim Stadium]] || 67,401<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 11 September 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Vancouver]] || rowspan="3"|Canada || rowspan="2"|[[Pacific National Exhibition Coliseum]]
|-
| [[Serious Moonlight (1983 film)|12 September 1983]]
|-
| 14 September 1983 || [[Winnipeg]] || [[Winnipeg Stadium]] || 34,816<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 17 September 1983 || [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] || United States || [[McAfee Coliseum|Oakland Alameda Coliseum]] || 57,920<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
! colspan="4"| Asia
|-
| 20 October 1983 || rowspan="4"|Tokyo || rowspan="10"|Japan || rowspan="4"|[[Nippon Budokan]] || rowspan="4"| 42,984<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 21 October 1983
|-
| 22 October 1983
|-
| 24 October 1983
|-
| 25 October 1983 || [[Yokohama]] || [[Yokohama Stadium]] || rowspan="3"| 25,989<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 26 October 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Osaka]] || rowspan="2"|[[Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium]] 
|-
| 27 October 1983
|-
| 29 October 1983 || [[Nagoya]] || [[Nagoya International Exhibition Hall]] || 10,064<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 30 October 1983 || [[Suita]] || [[Expo Commemoration Park|Festival Plaza]]
|-
| 31 October 1983 || [[Kyoto]] || Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium
|-
! colspan="4"| Oceania
|-
| 4 November 1983 || rowspan="3"|[[Perth]] || rowspan="8"|Australia || rowspan="3"|[[Perth Entertainment Centre]] || rowspan="3"| 23,063<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 5 November 1983
|-
| 6 November 1983
|-
| 9 November 1983 || [[Adelaide]] || [[Adelaide Oval]] || 18,409<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 12 November 1983 || [[Melbourne]] || [[Waverley Park|VFL Park]] || 37,914<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 16 November 1983 || [[Brisbane]] || [[Lang Park]] || 26,757<ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
| 19 November 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Sydney]] || rowspan="2"|[[Sydney Showground (Moore Park)|RAS Showgrounds]]
|-
| 20 November 1983 ||  25,000<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 24 November 1983 || [[Wellington]] || rowspan="2"|New Zealand || [[Athletic Park (Wellington)|Athletic Park]] ||50,000<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
| 26 November 1983 || [[Auckland]] || [[Western Springs Stadium]] || 80,000–90,000<ref name=DBSM84 />
|-
! colspan="4"| Asia
|-
| 3 December 1983 || [[Singapore]] || Singapore || [[Former National Stadium, Singapore|Former National Stadium]]
|-
| 5 December 1983 || [[Bangkok]] || Thailand || [[Thai Army Sports Stadium]] || 9000-14,981<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/WOIRDZiE2KA Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210905124652/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOIRDZiE2KA&t=3s Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOIRDZiE2KA&t=3s| title = สารคดี โบวีในกรุงเทพ แขกรับเชิญคุณ อัมพร จักกะพาก BOWIE IN BANGKOK - THE PROMOTER - full interview | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="bowietouring"/>
|-
|-
| 7 December 1983 || rowspan="2"|[[Hong Kong]] || rowspan="2"|Hong Kong || rowspan="2"|[[Hong Kong Coliseum]]
|-
| 8 December 1983
|}

==Song list==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
From '''''[[David Bowie (1969 album)|David Bowie]]'''''
* "[[Space Oddity]]"
From '''''[[Hunky Dory]]'''''
* "[[Life on Mars?]]"
From '''''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars]]'''''
* "[[Soul Love (David Bowie song)|Soul Love]]"
* "Star"
* "[[Hang On to Yourself]]"
From '''''[[Aladdin Sane]]'''''
* "[[Cracked Actor (song)|Cracked Actor]]"
* "[[The Jean Genie]]"
From '''''[[Pin Ups (album)|Pin Ups]]'''''
* "[[I Can't Explain]]" (originally a non-album [[Single (music)|single]] (1965) by [[The Who]]; written by [[Pete Townshend]])
* "[[Sorrow (The McCoys song)|Sorrow]]" (originally by [[The McCoys]] in 1965 and made famous by [[The Merseybeats#The Merseys|The Merseys]] the following year; written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and [[Richard Gottehrer]])
From '''''[[Diamond Dogs]]'''''
* "[[Rebel Rebel]]"
From '''''[[Young Americans (album)|Young Americans]]'''''
* "[[Young Americans (song)|Young Americans]]"
* "[[Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame]]" (Bowie, [[John Lennon]], [[Carlos Alomar]])
From '''''[[Station to Station]]'''''
* "[[Station to Station (song)|Station to Station]]"
* "[[Golden Years (David Bowie song)|Golden Years]]"
* "[[TVC 15]]"
* "[[Stay (David Bowie song)|Stay]]"
* "[[Wild Is the Wind (song)#David Bowie recording|Wild Is the Wind]]" (originally a single by [[Johnny Mathis]], written by [[Dimitri Tiomkin]] and [[Ned Washington]])
{{col-2}}
From '''''[[Low (David Bowie album)|Low]]'''''
* "[[Breaking Glass (song)|Breaking Glass]]" (Bowie, [[Dennis Davis]], [[George Murray (musician)|George Murray]])
* "[[What in the World]]"
From '''''[["Heroes" (David Bowie album)|"Heroes"]]'''''
* "[[Joe the Lion]]"
* "[[Heroes (David Bowie song)|Heroes]]" (Bowie, [[Brian Eno]])
From '''''[[Lodger (album)|Lodger]]'''''
* "Red Sails" (Bowie, Eno)
* "[[Look Back in Anger (song)|Look Back in Anger]]" (Bowie, Eno)
From '''''[[Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)|Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]'''''
* "[[Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (song)|Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)]]"
* "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]"
* "[[Fashion (David Bowie song)|Fashion]]"
From '''''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'''''
* "[[Modern Love (David Bowie song)|Modern Love]]"
* "[[China Girl (song)|China Girl]]" (originally from ''[[The Idiot (album)|The Idiot]]'' (1977) by [[Iggy Pop]]; written by Pop and Bowie)
* "[[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance]]"
* "[[Cat People (Putting Out Fire)]]" (originally from the ''[[Cat People (1982 film)|Cat People]]'' [[Cat People (1982 film)#Soundtrack|soundtrack]] (1982); written by Bowie and [[Giorgio Moroder]])
Other songs:
* "Imagine" (originally from ''[[Imagine (John Lennon album)|Imagine]]'' (1971) by John Lennon; written by Lennon)
* "[[White Light/White Heat (song)|White Light/White Heat]]" (from ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'' (1968) by [[The Velvet Underground]]; written by [[Lou Reed]])
{{col-end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist-la}}

==References==
<references />

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Buckley |first=David |title=Strange Fascination: The Definitive Biography of David Bowie |publisher=Virgin Books |date=2005 |orig-date=1999 |isbn=9780753510025 |edition=Revised}}
* {{cite book |last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |title=The Complete David Bowie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqFkDQAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Titan Books]] |location=London |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78565-365-0 |edition=Revised and updated }}

{{David Bowie}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:David Bowie concert tours]]
[[Category:1983 concert tours]]