This rare footage shows David Bowie and his band rehearsing in New York City ahead of the Glass Spider tour in 1987. The songs being rehearsed are:
- ‘Never Let Me Down’
- ‘Blue Jean’
- ‘Time Will Crawl’
- ‘Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)’
Although seen here, ‘Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)’ was never performed as part of the set list on the tour.
The band spent time in 12-hour-a-day rehearsals in New York before moving on to Europe. Bowie described his rehearsal routine:
“I prepare the day’s work when I get up in the morning, and then I go in around 10 o’clock (a.m.) for rehearsals. Then it’s constant rehearsals, both the visual side and the musical side, through about 8 o’clock (p.m.). At around 8 p.m. I look at the video tapes of what we’ve been doing during the day, and make adjustments if necessary. So there really isn’t time to do anything else at all except Sundays, and then I sleep for most of the day. It’s very intensive rehearsals, and physically it’s quite demanding.”
“[The Glass Spider Tour is] the most physical tour that I’ve done ever. … It’s relentless, it never stops. I’m bruised as hell. I feel like a worn out rag doll.” — David Bowie, 1987
Rehearsals with the full Spider set were staged in Rotterdam’s Ahoy Stadium starting on 18 May 1987 before moving to De Kuip stadium for the dress rehearsals (27 and 28 May). Due to relatively easy access to the venues during rehearsals, fans knew what the set list for the show would be before the tour even opened.
