David Bowie’s final live performance took place at The Theater in New York’s Madison Square Garden on 19 May 2007.
Bowie had largely retired from live appearances by that time, and this was an unusual engagement: he introduced comedian Ricky Gervais at the High Line Festival.
The appearance was not pre-announced. Bowie took to the stage and sang ‘Little Fat Man’, from episode two, series two of Gervais’s TV comedy Extras. That episode was also Bowie’s final appearance on TV, although he subsequently voiced Lord Royal Highness in the 2007 television film SpongeBob’s Atlantis SquarePantis.
Last updated: 5 December 2023
Also on this day...
- 2004: Live: Milwaukee Theatre, Milwaukee
- 2000: Glastonbury 2000 diary – part two
- 1987: Rehearsal: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam
- 1983: Live: Forest National, Brussels
- 1978: Live: Sporthalle, Cologne
- 1973: Live: Empire Theatre, Edinburgh
- 1972: Live: Oxford Polytechnic
- 1968: Live: Middle Earth, London
Want more? Visit the David Bowie history section.