WARNER MUSIC
A full 29 years after he made his debut at a festival where Michael Eavis was still handing out free milk, Bowie’s victory lap in 2000 was a much-heralded triumph. Bowie was happy to play it with a straight bat and roll out the hits on what is now being issued across a three-disc vinyl set. On dramatic opener Wild Is The Wind, that trademark vibrato is present and correct alongside a perfect pitch, particularly impressive considering Bowie was struck down by laryngitis earlier that week. The band add gritty rock to the melodic China Girl, and Life On Mars, led by pianist Mike Garson, is stunning. The so-so drum ’n’ bass excursion Little Wonder is hidden away between the riff-heavy Rebel Rebel and the lithe funk of Golden Years. A crunching Fame hits the spot, All The Young Dudes is a lighters-aloft anthem and the band stretch themselves on Station To Station. An encore featuring Ziggy Stardust and “Heroes” hammers home a landmark return to Pilton’s hallowed fields.