Album release: Stage

David Bowie’s live album Stage was released on 25 September 1978.

Initial UK copies were on translucent yellow vinyl, with some European countries issuing it on blue vinyl.

The album was a commercial success, reaching number five in the UK and being certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. It fared less well in the US, where it peaked at number 44.

A single, ‘Breaking Glass’, was released from Stage in 1978 as part of a three-track EP. It was not a success, reaching number 54 in the UK.

In the US, ‘Star’ was released as a single, but failed to chart, as did a Japanese release of ‘Soul Love’ with ‘Blackout’ on the b-side.

Bowie had been unhappy with RCA for some years, a dissatisfaction heightened by the label’s unenthusiastic reaction to Low. In 1978 Bowie, keen to fulfil his contract and move on, clashed with RCA over whether the double-disc Stage constituted one or two albums. RCA prevailed, citing David Live as a precedent, but the incident only increased Bowie’s resolve to leave the label.