Album · Live
David Live
David Live is David Bowie's first official live album, released by RCA on 29 October 1974. It was recorded that July at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, during the opening leg of the Diamond Dogs Tour. That tour was his most ambitious yet, with a giant set evoking Diamond Dogs' post-apocalyptic "Hunger City" and his biggest band to date, led by Michael Kamen.
The record catches Bowie between two selves, moving from Ziggy Stardust-era glam towards the "plastic soul" of Young Americans. The cover shows him in soul-influenced style from the tour's later leg, though the music predates that reworking. It reached number two in the UK and the top 10 in the US and Canada, yet early reviews were largely negative, criticising the arrangements and his strained vocals. Time has been kinder, and some now value it as a document of a transitional moment. A 2005 reissue added four tracks and a new Tony Visconti remix.
David Live: tracklist, credits and charts
17 tracks · 1:21:06Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 11984David Bowie3:21
- 2Rebel RebelDavid Bowie2:42
- 3Moonage DaydreamDavid Bowie5:10
- 4Sweet ThingDavid Bowie8:48
- 5ChangesDavid Bowie and Daniel Licht3:36
- 6Suffragette CityDavid Bowie3:46
- 7Aladdin SaneDavid Bowie4:58
- 8All the Young DudesDavid Bowie4:19
- 9Cracked ActorDavid Bowie3:29
- Disc 2
- 1Rock ’n’ Roll With MeDavid Bowie and Warren Peace4:19
- 2Watch That ManDavid Bowie4:23
- 3Knock on WoodSteve Cropper and Eddie Floyd3:08
- 4Diamond DogsDavid Bowie6:34
- 5Big BrotherDavid Bowie4:11
- 6Width of a CircleDavid Bowie8:14
- 7Jean GenieDavid Bowie5:19
- 8Rock ’n’ Roll SuicideDavid Bowie4:49
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Tony Visconti
- Recorded at
- Tower Theater
- Recorded
- 8–12 July 1974
- Mixed by
- Eddie Kramer, Tony Visconti
- Labels
- RCA, RCA Victor
- Length
- 1:21:06
Singles
- “Knock on Wood” · 13 September 1974 (UK)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 2 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums | 12 |
| Hungarian Albums | 28 |
| Dutch Albums | 89 |
| Italian Albums | 99 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) | 163 |
| French Albums | 165 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States · 1974 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
70.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
66k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
3.4k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
David Bowie
1967
David Bowie
1969
The World of David Bowie
1970
The Man Who Sold the World
1970
Hunky Dory
1971
Do Anything You Say
1972
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
1972
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
1973
Images 1966–1967
1973
Aladdin Sane
1973
Pin Ups
1973
Diamond Dogs
1974
Young Americans
1975
Station to Station
1976
ChangesOneBowie
1976
Low
1977
“Heroes”
1977
David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
1978
Stage
1978
Lodger
1979
David Bowie
1980
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
1980
The Best of Bowie
1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1981
ChangesTwoBowie
1981
In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal
1982
Rare
1982
Supergroups
1983
Serious Moonlight
1983
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1983
Let’s Dance
1983
Golden Years
1983
Fame and Fashion (David Bowie’s All Time Greatest Hits)
1984
Love You Till Tuesday
1984
Tonight
1984
Labyrinth: From the Original Soundtrack of the Jim Henson Film
1986
Never Let Me Down
1987
Glass Spider
1988
Sound + Vision
1989
Changesbowie
1990
Early On (1964–1966)
1991
Black Tie White Noise
1993
The Singles Collection
1993
The Buddha of Suburbia
1993
Live Santa Monica ’72
1994
RarestOneBowie
1995
1.Outside: The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle
1995
Earthling
1997
The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979
1998
‘hours…’
1999
Liveandwell.com
2000
Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68–72
2000
All Saints (Collected Instrumentals 1977–1999)
2001
Heathen
2002
Best of Bowie
2002
Reality
2003
Club Bowie: Rare and Unreleased 12″ Mixes
2003
Live EP (live at Fashion Rocks)
2005
The Collection
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Bowie 1965!
2006
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
2007
Outside / Earthling / Hours / Heathen / Reality
2007
iSELECT
2008
VH1 Storytellers
2009
Space Oddity
2009
A Reality Tour
2010
The Next Day
2013
Pin-Ups Radio Show
2013
The Next Day Extra EP
2013
Nothing has changed.
2014
Five Years 1969–1973
2015
★
2016
Who Can I Be Now? 1974–1976
2016
Lazarus
2016
Legacy
2016
No Plan
2017
Live Nassau Coliseum ’76
2017
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74)
2017
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
2017
Welcome to the Blackout (live London ’78)
2018
Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
2018
Glastonbury 2000
2018
Conversation Piece
2019
Is It Any Wonder?
2020
ChangesNowBowie
2020
I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
2020
The Width of a Circle
2021
Toy
2021
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
2021
Brilliant Adventure EP
2022
Toy E.P.
2022
Fun Mix
2022
Moonage Daydream: A Film by Brett Morgen
2022
Divine Symmetry
2022
Rock ’n’ Roll Star!
2024
Ready, Set, Go! (live, Riverside Studios ’03)
2025
I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002–2016)
2025
The Shel Talmy Recordings
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Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
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There Is Nothing Left to Lose
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Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1974 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 29 October 1974 (GB) | |
| Wikidata | 29 October 1974 | |
| US release | 1974 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 29 October 1974 | earliest UK or European date |
10 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | US | RCA | original | |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | remaster | |
| 1990 | GB | EMI | 0077779536221 | other |
| 2005 | XE | EMI | 724387430495 | other |
| 2005 | — | EMI | 724387430426 | other |
| 2005 | XE | EMI | 724387430723 | other |
| 2005 | US | Virgin | other | |
| 21 February 2005 | GB | EMI | 094631124822 | other |
| 25 November 2016 | XW | Rhino | 0190295971236 | remaster |
| 10 February 2017 | US | Parlophone | 190295990220 | remaster |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 3217×2759 | rejected |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |