A rare and historic David Bowie performance from 2003 will be released as a limited-edition two-LP vinyl set and CD as part of the 2025 Record Store Day event on April 12. Ready, Set, Go! (Live, Riverside Studios ’03) captures a special performance Bowie gave in London on September 8, 2003, that featured him playing his entire then-new album Reality.
Videos by American Songwriter
The one-off concert was beamed live simultaneously to 86 theaters in 26 countries. At the time, it was one of the biggest live interactive music satellite events ever.
The show featured Bowie and his backing group performing the Reality album in order one week before its official release. The concert also featured renditions of several other tunes.
Ready, Set, Go! features performances of the 11 songs from Reality, plus three tunes from other Bowie albums that were played during the show’s encore. Those last songs were “Hallo Spaceboy” from the 1995 album Outside, and a cover of the Pixies’ “Cactus” and the original tune “Afraid,” which both appeared on David’s 2002 record, Heathen.
Bowie’s band for the concert featured Mike Garson on keyboards, Gail Ann Dorsey on bass, Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard on guitars, Sterling Campbell on drums, and Catherine Russell on additional keyboards and guitar. Dorsey, Leonard and Russell also contributed backing vocals.
A performance of Reality’s lead track, “New Killer Star,” from the concert has been released as an advance digital track from the live album. A video of the performance also has debuted on David’s official YouTube channel.
More About the Reality Performance and the Concert Screenings
The special concert was a groundbreaking technological event. It was the biggest non-television satellite broadcast. It also was the first live satellite event to feature 5.1 surround sound, which was overseen by frequent Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti. The show also featured a Q&A hosted by British broadcaster and major Bowie fan Jonathan Ross.
The concert also was beamed to theaters in Asia one day later; that event featured a live Q&A between Bowie and fans in Japan, Australia, Singapore, and some Southeast Asian countries. In addition, the show was beamed to cinemas North and South America, on the day Reality was released. For those screenings, David did new live Q&A sessions.
More About Reality
Reality was Bowie’s 24th studio effort, and was co-produced by David and Visconti. The album peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the U.K. chart.
Reality featured nine new original songs, as well as covers of Jonathan Richman’s “Pablo Picasso” and George Harrison’s “Try Some, Buy Some.”
Ready, Set, Go! (Live, Riverside Studios ’03) LP Track List:
Side 1
- “New Killer Star”
- “Pablo Picasso”
- “Never Get Old”
Side 2
- “The Loneliest Guy”
- “Looking for Water”
- “She’ll Drive the Big Car”
Side 3
- “Days”
- “Fall Dog Bombs the Moon”
- “Try Some, Buy Some”
- “Reality”
Side 4
- “Bring Me the Disco King”
- “Hallo Spaceboy”
- “Cactus”
- “Afraid”
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