Radio: In Concert

David Bowie recorded a BBC radio session for In Concert on 3 June 1971. It was his sixth session for BBC radio.

This edition was presented by John Peel, and was broadcast on 20 June 1971.

The recording took place at the BBC Paris Studio on Lower Regent Street, London. It was produced by Jeff Griffin and engineered by Chris Lycett and John Etchells.

Bowie sang and played guitar and keyboards. The other performers were Mick Ronson and Mark Carr-Pritchard on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, Mick Woodmansey on drums, and George Underwood, Dana Gillespie and Geoff MacCormack on vocals. It was Bolder’s first public appearance with Bowie.

Ten songs were recorded: ‘Queen Bitch’, a href=”/songs/bombers/”>’Bombers’, ‘The Supermen’, ‘Looking For A Friend’, ‘Almost Grown’, ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’, ‘Kooks’, ‘Song For Bob Dylan’, a href=”/songs/andy-warhol/”>’Andy Warhol’, and ‘It Ain’t Easy’.

MacCormack sang lead vocals on ‘Almost Grown’, while George Underwood and Dana Gillespie did the same on ‘Song For Bob Dylan’ and ‘Andy Warhol’ respectively. All three sang lead vocals on ‘It Ain’t Easy’.

‘Oh! You Pretty Things’ was not broadcast because Bowie’s voice failed during the performance. He was deeply upset afterwards, telling friends he thought his career was over.

‘Bombers’, ‘Looking For A Friend’, ‘Almost Grown’, ‘Kooks’, and ‘It Ain’t Easy’ were released on Bowie At The Beeb in 2000. The entire session, apart from ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’, was released on Divine Symmetry in 2021.