David Bowie left this earth in the midst of one of those creative streaks that occurred regularly throughout his masterful career, releasing two late-career classic albums in the period before his death, the second just days before. But one huge element of what made Bowie such a special artist that was missing from those final years was live performances.
Bowie was in excellent form during his Reality tour that ran from 2003-2004 and no-one who was there would have assumed those dates would be the last chance to see him in concert. During the European leg of the tour, Bowie suffered a heart attack at the end of a show in Scheessel, Germany. He would never play another headline gig.
But that isn’t to say he never graced the stage again. It’s 18 years ago today that his proper final performance took place, when he appeared at a charity benefit concert in New York. He played a three-song set as part of an annual fundraiser by Keep A Child Alive’s called the Black Ball, performing Wild Is The Wind, Fantastic Voyage and Changes, the latter a duet with Alicia Keys, who was also on the bill.
Around this time, there were also live cameos with Arcade Fire and David Gilmour, plus a live rendition of Little Fat Man, the song he sang for a scene in Ricky Gervais’s Extras, to introduce Gervais at a show in New York. But come on, we’re not having David Bowie’s last ever live performance be singing Little Fat Man.
No, his real finale was that trio of songs at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Unfortunately, footage of the show is rather sketchy, reduced to grainy fan-filmed takes, but Bowie’s voice sounds as grand as ever. Following the show, he went to ground, spending time with his family and seemingly retired until he returned with 2013’s excellent The Next Day. But his touring days were behind him, and the Black Ball remained his live farewell. Watch Changes from the show below:
