DAVID Bowie played four hugely successful nights at the Glasgow Apollo in June 1978 - but he left a lingering question in the mind of Russell Gilchrist, the manager of the venue at the time.
Glancing through the autograph book signed by many of the stars who entertained Apollo audiences in 1977-78, Gilchrist wondered how Bowie managed to contribute notably fulsome messages to it.
"We wondered how he found the time to write so much -- and so neatly . . . every night of his four-night run, he was always out of the building and into a limo before his band had finished playing", Gilchrist told the Glasgow Herald in March 1989.
Bowie's four nights at the Renfield Street venue remain fond memories for those of his fans who were fortunate enough to be there. According to the Apollo website, his setlist included such classic songs as Heroes, Fame, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City, Station To Station, Rebel Rebel and TVC-15.
Five years before those gigs, Bowie had played the same venue, in January and May 1973, when it was still known as Green's Playhouse. His most recent albums then were Hunky Dory (1971) and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972).
Later in his career, in 1983, Bowie brought his Serious Moonlight tour to a rainy, windswept Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, where some 47,000 fans witnessed the only Scottish date. "I was there, it was fantastic, rain and all, will never forget, best day ever, one to remember", one fan recalls on Facebook.
Writes another: "I don't remember the rain!!! I was on the pitch at the front. It was seriously brilliant. Got to punch the big world ball he threw into the crowd. Walked home amongst hundreds of people. It was magic".
Bowie performed with his new band Tin Machine at The Forum in Livingston in July 1989. Though there was considerable demand for tickets for the show, many critics were cool towards the music on offer.
In November 1991 Bowie and Tin Machine played the Barrowlands in Glasgow. Adverts had announced that tickets would be on sale at the venue on a Sunday morning. Some 200 eager fans duly turned up at a Sauchiehall Street disco called The Venue, to the bemusement of cleaning staff there, who had to point out to the sheepish fans that there was a distinct difference between 'the venue' and 'The Venue'.
When Bowie played the Barrowland in July 1997, he was reputed, during a rehearsal, to have caught a decorative star that had fallen from the ceiling.
In November 2003 he enjoyed a sold-out show at Glasgow's SECC. The David Bowie website has this description of it: "David Bowie ended the final show of the European leg of his A Reality Tour in Glasgow last night with his usual style and brilliance, and a little extra for good measure.
"It's hard not to be whisked along by the sheer enthusiasm of an audience this good and David responded with an evening of total entertainment, confirming for many why he's still the best solo rock act in the world today.
The 28-song set was a perfect balance of old and new, and though the usual ovation for Life On Mars? was there, (if cut a little short by the relatively quick launch into Ashes To Ashes) there was no doubting this crowd's enthusiasm for Starman which received the kind of reaction normally reserved for Life On Mars?
"Even though Glasgow was the final date of this European jaunt, the sadness was short lived when David confirmed he would return next year with the following statement: "Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do, until... The T In The Park, Next year. So, you know... see you there!"
He had however to pull out of the 2004 T in the Park because of a persistent shoulder injury.
A statement on Bowie's official website told fans that he had ''very reluctantly'' accepted doctors' advice not to play any more concerts in July.
It said: ''Due to the continuing pain and extreme discomfort from a trapped/pinched nerve in his shoulder and to prevent possible further injury, David Bowie has been advised by his doctors to cancel his performances at the 11 remaining European dates in July.
''Due to the unpredictable nature of the condition and in an effort to give fans as much warning as possible (and, indeed, to aid promoters in finding a replacement headliner in time for the festival dates), David very reluctantly agreed to take the advice.''
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