20 years ago today, David Bowie celebrated his 50th birthday in the most badass way possible – by rocking out to a sold out Madison Square Garden. The show, held the day after his birthday, was billed as David Bowie and Friends: A Very Special Birthday Concert, and in addition to Bowie’s own amazing band (Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsey, Zachary Alford and Reeves Gabrels), he was joined by a number of guests, including The Foo Fighters, Frank Black, Robert Smith, Lou Reed and Billy Corgan. The concert was filmed and aired as a Pay-Per View event a few months later, with proceeds benefiting the Save the Children charity. It was a truly epic night of music, and although the footage is a bit grainy, you can enjoy it in full and be reminded of what an outrageously gifted artist and performer he was. Find the full setlist below the video.
Setlist
- Little Wonder
- The Hearts Filthy Lesson
- Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) [with Frank Black]
- Fashion [with Frank Black]
- Telling Lies
- Hallo Spaceboy [with Foo Fighters]
- Seven Years in Tibet [with Dave Grohl]
- The Man Who Sold the World
- The Last Thing You Should Do [with Robert Smith]
- Quicksand [with Robert Smith]
- Battle for Britain (The Letter)
- The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)
- I’m Afraid of Americans [with Sonic Youth]
- Looking for Satellites
- Under Pressure
- “Heroes”
- Queen Bitch [with Lou Reed]
- I’m Waiting for the Man [with Lou Reed]
- Dirty Blvd. [with Lou Reed]
- White Light/White Heat [with Lou Reed]
- Moonage Daydream
Encore:
- Happy Birthday [Performed by Gail Ann Dorsey]
- All the Young Dudes [with Billy Corgan]
- The Jean Genie [with Billy Corgan]
- Space Oddity
