IT lasts only 39 seconds but the Farewell Speech is the moment from this Hammersmith Odeon concert on July 3, 1973: one of those dates written in rock'n'roll lore.
The night when David Bowie consigned Ziggy Stardust to space forever, saying: "Not only is it the last night of the tour but it's the last show we'll ever do." It still sends a chill down the spine to hear the audience's screams stop in their throats. Without breaking stride, Bowie burst straight into Rock'n'Roll Suicide, seemingly an apt finale. Yet the Thin White Duke would emerge. This 30th anniversary box set, to complement the snazzy DVD version, comes in a new Tony Visconti mix with ticket stub, fold-up poster of Ziggy "obituaries" and essay by film-maker D A Pennebaker. The music? Bowie out of this world, with Mick Ronson's guitar in excelsis.
Updated: 09:28 Thursday, May 01, 2003
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