Bowie Returns to America Article: 1974

A Melody Maker Tour & Album Tease

Published in the UK on January 13, 1974, Melody Maker’s one-page article “Bowie Returns to America” announced David Bowie’s second US tour in the Spring with his newly expanded Spiders from Mars line-up. The piece also revealed plans for at least two albums that year, including one recorded live from concerts on his first American tour in 1973. A key early 1974 Bowie press moment during the Ziggy Stardust era wind-down.

Article Overview

Publication Details

Magazine: Melody Maker (UK).

Date: January 13, 1974.

Format: One-page news article.

Exact Text from the Article

For his second tour in the Spring with his new expanded Spiders from Mars - and there are plans for at least two albums from Bowie this year, one of them recorded at concerts on his first American tour last year.

Do you have this Melody Maker article in your archive? Ready for the Spring tour? Share in the comments!

The Spiders are now an eleven piece group including a second guitar- ist to free Bowie from having to play guitar on stage, and the line up including original Spiders Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansy, has been expanded to include a horn section, male backing vocals, a Moog synthesiser and possibly a mellotron. Already American jazz pianist Mike Carson has been added to the Spiders.

Said Bowie this week: "I'd like to add a second guitarist so that I don't have to play guitar on stage any more. The guitar has rooted me down to the same spot for too long."

Planned for the Ameri- can tour is a performance at New York's Radio City Hall. The Radio City, pre- served as a living monument of vaudeville, rarely features rock artists, but Bowie is being allowed to perform there because of the music hall qualities of his act.

The Radio City performance will incorporate some of the mime pieces that London audiences saw performed at the Rainbow Theatre last year.

At present Bowie is finishing off a studio album at Trident in London.