''Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)'' is a live album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie recorded on the Isolar II Tour. It had a limited vinyl release on 21 April 2018 for Record Store Day. A more widely available CD edition followed on 29 June 2018, along with digital releases for download and streaming.

Recording

The album was recorded live during the Isolar II Tour at Earls Court, London on 30 June and 1 July 1978 by Tony Visconti with the RCA mobile unit. It was mixed by Bowie and David Richards at

Mountain Studios Mountain Studios was a commercial recording studio founded by American singer and composer Anita Kerr and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio was under the ownership of Queen and then long ...

, Montreux, from 17–22 January 1979. The 1st July performances of "

Be My Wife "Be My Wife" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was the second single from '' Low'' (1977), released on 17 June 1977. Its presence in ''Low'' tones down the electronic feel of the rest of the album. The song also features a more c ...

" and " Sound and Vision" were previously released on the semi-official 1995 Mainman compilation album, ''

Rarestonebowie ''Rarestonebowie'' is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie. This release was one in the series of mid-nineties releases by MainMan, Bowie's former management company during the seventies (other ones being ''Santa Monica '72'' and ...

''. The shows were filmed by the director

David Hemmings David Edward Leslie Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1966 mystery film ' ...

for cinematic release later in 1978. Bowie was dissatisfied with the film and it was never released, saying in 2000, “I simply didn’t like the way it had been shot."

Track listing

Vinyl release

CD Release

Personnel

*David Bowie – vocals, chamberlin * Adrian Belew – lead guitar, backing vocals * Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar, backing vocals,

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

* George Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals * Dennis Davis – drums, percussion * Roger Powell – keyboards, Moog Taurus bass pedals, synthesizer, backing vocals * Sean Mayes – piano,

ARP String Ensemble The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United States by ...

, backing vocals * Simon House – electric violin * Producer: Tony Visconti * Post production mix: David Bowie, David Richards * Photography: Sukita and

Chris Walter Chris Walter was a photographer of classic rock and pop musicians, who began working in London in the early 1960s, photographing mainly rock musicians. He initially began the company South London Photo Agency (later The London Photo Agency), co ...

Live performance personnel *Jan Michael Alejandro – band tech *Vern "Moose" Constan – band tech *Leroy Kerr – band tech *Buford Jones – FOH mixer *Townsend Wessinger – Showco sound crew *Billy King – Showco sound crew *Russell Davis – Showco sound crew *Randy Marshall – Showco sound crew *Glenn George – Showco sound crew

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowie, David David Bowie live albums Albums produced by Tony Visconti Parlophone live albums RCA Records albums