David Bowie performed at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall on 16 February 1969.
This was the third night of the Tyrannosaurus Rex & Friends tour. Also on the bill was sitar player Vytas Serelis, and the compere was John Peel.
Bowie performed a 15-minute mime. He was paid £102 for his participation in the tour, which also called at Birmingham (15 February), Croydon (16 February), Bristol (23), Liverpool (1 March), and Brighton (8). Bowie did not perform in Bristol.
Marc Bolan was now making rapid headway in his career, but I did not regret my earlier decision to manage David in preference to Marc. Watching them both perform on the same concert only confirmed by opinion. There was something shallow and crude in Marc’s performance and it gave me no reason to believe that it would ever be otherwise, but David invested his work with a couth intelligence that held great promise for the future.
Kenneth Pitt
The Pitt Report
The Pitt Report
Last updated: 20 March 2023
Also on this day...
- 1976: Live: Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville
- 1974: David Bowie sees Mick Ronson live
- 1970: Live: Roundhouse, London
- 1967: David Bowie sees Cream live
- 1966: Recording: Do Anything You Say
Want more? Visit the David Bowie history section.