Stage

Recorded: 28, 29 April; 5, 6 May 1978
Producers: David Bowie, Tony Visconti

Released: 25 September 1978

Personnel

David Bowie: vocals, Chamberlin keyboard
Carlos Alomar, Adrian Belew: guitar, vocals
Sean Mayes: piano, string ensemble, vocals
Roger Powell: keyboard, synthesizer, vocals
George Murray: bass guitar, vocals
Dennis Davis: drums, percussion
Simon House: electric violin

Tracklisting

Stage, David Bowie’s second live album, was recorded during his Isolar II 1978 World Tour, and released in September that year. It was recorded over four concerts in Philadelphia, Providence and Boston during the US leg of Bowie’s tour.

Bowie’s live band featured the core rhythm section of guitarist Carlos Alomar, bassist George Murray, and drummer Dennis Davis. It was augmented with lead guitarist Adrian Belew, pianist Sean Mayes, keyboard and synth player Roger Powell, and Simon House on electric violin. The band were brought into the studio in September 1978 to record the Lodger album.

As originally released, the songs on Stage were presented in mostly chronological order of release. The album began with four songs from The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, followed by songs from Station To Station, Young Americans, Low, and “Heroes”. The song ‘Fame’ was included out of sequence, between ‘Station To Station’ and ‘TVC 15’.

The chronological running order was decided by Tony Visconti, with Bowie’s approval.

We made a drastic decision to put the album into a very different running order than the live performances. We assembled the tracks in a sort of chronological order, as to the date they were originally recorded, from Ziggy Stardust to “Heroes”; David loved the idea. The Brian Eno ambient compositions took up one of the four sides of the double vinyl LP.