A BOWIE CELEBRATION TOUR // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW

A Bowie Celebration’s Diamond Dogs Tour got the crowd in a whirl with an emotional accolade that sent everyone back 30 years and featured the best artist line-up to date.

**A BOWIE CELEBRATION TOUR PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S O2 ACADEMY -**

★★★★☆ (4/5)

A Bowie Celebration (ABC) is a cover show comprising of alumni musicians from David Bowie’s life. The line-up changes and often features surprising special guests. With a repertoire of beloved tracks as options, their regular tours remain unique and tickets are sought after. Attendees flocked to Glasgow’s O2 Academy and a merry crowd filled in; everywhere people were smiling, joyous anticipation was ripe.

The January cold air could not stop the fan’s cheers erupting out to group’s arrival on stage. Mike Garson seemed to lead the pack and smiled with a tender warmth throughout. The night started with the album Diamond Dogs in its entirety and ‘Future People’ perfectly blew open the doors for the musically free night that was to come. Hearing ‘Candidate’ played with the grandeur it deserved followed by the glorious ‘Sweet Thing (Reprise)’ left the audience exulted at seeing these under the radar gems given the spotlight.

Virtuoso piano maestro, Mike Garson has featured on many of Bowie’s most beloved albums and tours. Garson shared the stage with incredible musicians for the night and the stoplight was passed back and forth. Brummie musician Mr. Hudson joined the tour and he was phenomenal. Wearing a boiler suit and, at times, pacing the stage; he delivered each song with the intensity it required. His performances of emotional numbers like ‘Five Years,’ ‘Starman,’ and ‘Life on Mars?’ stirred the stillest of internal waters.

Vocalists Corey Glover is an incredible talent. Glover currently plays with the band rock Living Colour and works with the funk band Galactic. For ABC’s Glasgow set, Glover was dressed in electric blue suit and, with his funky tribute of ‘Young Americans,’ he had the crowd positively shaking. Husky voiced singer Sass Jordan also blasted it out; adding her own flare to the numbers. During ‘Moonage Daydream’ she came out punching and the crowd hung to her every word. Charming guitarist Gerry Leonard knocked out a charming mix of ‘Loving the Alien /Andy Warhol’ in the night encore.

Playing brilliance after brilliance, the night was sensational. The long encore included ‘Aladdin Sane’ and closed with ‘Heroes’ and ended the evening with an empowering charge. Highlights were near-impossible to separate. The crowd could have stayed for another hour, supercharged from their experience but, although it was over, the viewers left ecstatic. A Bowie Celebration is a must see for any fans of any Bowie era. It smashes together the past and the present and creates a party of rejoicing in the one and only David Bowie.