| Glass Spider | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The original US VHS cover | ||||
| Video by | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Recorded | November 1987[1] | |||
| Venue | Sydney Entertainment Centre | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 110:00 | |||
| Director | David Mallet | |||
| Producer | Anthony Eaton | |||
| David Bowie chronology | ||||
| ||||
| David Bowie video chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 2007 Re-release | ||||
 Special edition cover | ||||
Glass Spider is a concert film by English singer David Bowie. The release was sourced from eight shows during the first two weeks of November 1987 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia during the last month of the Glass Spider Tour. The 86-show tour, which also visited Europe, North America and New Zealand, was in support of Bowie's album Never Let Me Down (1987). Originally released in 1988 on VHS, the tour was choreographed by Toni Basil, directed by David Mallet, and produced by Anthony Eaton. The VHS was released by MPI Home Video in the US and by Video Collection International in the UK.
The film stars Bowie, his band including Peter Frampton, and a troupe of dancers performing on what was called at the time "the largest touring set ever".[2] Although the tour received mixed critical reviews at the time, later critics noted that the show changed how other artists (such as Britney Spears, Madonna, and U2) performed on their own tours.[3] In 2010, one critic called the Glass Spider Tour one of the "top concert tour design[s] of all time",[4] and in 2016 another critic called the video one of the best for fans wanting to see Bowie delivering "a rock-theatre spectacular."[5]
An edit of the film was shown on American Broadcasting Company-affiliated stations in June 1988 as a concert special. The full concert video was subsequently released in 1999 on DVD and re-released again in 2007 with a Special Edition, which peaked at number 9 on the UK Video Charts.
- ^ Sinclair, Paul (6 February 2013). "Record Collector: David Bowie / Never Let Me Down (1987)". SuperDeluxeEdition.com. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ David Bowie Glass Spider Tour (News report, New Jersey 1987).
- ^ Youngs, Ian (13 August 2009). "Stadium rock, from Beatles to Bono". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ Sandberg, Marian (1 August 2010). "David Bowie Glass Spider (1987) – Top Concert Tour Design of all time". Live Design. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ Pegg 2016, p. 643.