Live: Meltdown Festival, London

David Bowie kicked off his Heathen Tour with a performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 29 June 2002.

It was part of the annual Meltdown Festival, which this year was curated by Bowie. Also appearing were Asian Dub Foundation, Baby Zizanie, Badly Drawn Boy, Bobby Conn, Coldplay, Daniel Johnston, David Kitt, Fischerspooner, Gonzales, Harry Hill, Kimmo Pohjonen, Luke Haines, Mercury Rev, Peaches, Pete Yorn, Philip Glass, Senor Coconut Y Su Conjunto, Six by Seven, Stew, Suede, Supergrass, Television, The Dandy Warhols, The Divine Comedy, The International Noise Conspiracy, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, The Lonesome Organist, The Polyphonic Spree, The The, The Waterboys, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Bowie had first performed at the Royal Festival Hall on 3 June 1968. He returned during the Ziggy Stardust Tour on 8 July 1972.

On this occasion he performed 1976’s Low and 2002’s Heathen in full, although Low was out of sequence. He finished with a five-song encore.

Earl Slick was on guitar, Gerry Leonard played guitar and keyboards, and Mark Plati played guitar, bass guitar, and keyboards. Gail Ann Dorsey was on bass guitar, guitar, and backing vocals, and Mike Garson played keyboards. Sterling Campbell was on drums, and Catherine Russell played keyboards and percussion and sang backing vocals.

The setlist

• ‘Weeping Wall’
• ‘Warszawa’
• ‘Speed Of Life’
• ‘Breaking Glass’
• ‘What In The World’
• ‘Sound And Vision’
• ‘Art Decade’
• ‘Always Crashing In The Same Car’
• ‘Be My Wife’
• ‘A New Career In A New Town’
• ‘Subterraneans’

• ‘Sunday’
• ‘Cactus’
• ‘Slip Away’
• ‘Slow Burn’
• ‘Afraid’
• ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’
• ‘I Would Be Your Slave’
• ‘I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship’
• ‘5:15 The Angels Have Gone’
• ‘Everyone Says ‘Hi”
• ‘A Better Future’
• ‘Heathen (The Rays)’

• ‘White Light/White Heat’
• ‘Fame’
• ‘Ziggy Stardust’
• ‘Hallo Spaceboy’
• ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans’