David Bowie placed on an excessively particular bash for his fiftieth party in January, 1997. Nope, now not for Bowie a travel to TGI Fridays or a disco in his native church corridor or a reunion of his 11-a-side footy workforce (even though he did all the ones issues too, who is aware of?) – for his giant 5-0, Bowie placed on an enormous celebratory display at iconic New York venue Madison Sq. Lawn, enjoying via his vintage hits with the assistance of some well-known buddies together with Robert Smith, Frank Black, Billy Corgan, Kim Gordon and Lou Reed. Foo Opponents carried out too, enjoying with Bowie on a scorching model of his drum’n’bass-tinged monitor Hallo Spaceboy. Dave Grohl’s band had been nonetheless a moderately new bunch at that time – their debut was once launched in 1995 – and a couple of years in the past, bassist Nate Mendel instructed this author how the star-studded bash was once a bit of of an eye-opener.
“It was once roughly a milestone for us as it ended up being the remaining time our first drummer William Goldsmith performed with the band,” Mendel mentioned. “And it was once our first time in Madison Sq. Lawn, first time we met Bowie and primary time that we most certainly performed a degree any place close to that massive. It was once excellent at the heels people having recorded The Color And The Form, this got here up someplace in there recording that document. It was once pulling us out of the studio, going to New York, assembly a legend and simply having these types of firsts. It was once lovely huge from my point of view, it was once impactful.”
Pondering again to the evening of the display, Mendel remembered feeling intimidated behind the curtain within the presence of a large number of legeneds. “Everyone was once very supportive,” he mentioned, “so we had been temporarily in a position in a position to recover from the ones nerves of being requested to do that huge factor. Bowie was once so gracious and approachable. I bring it to mind being excellent vibes. And seeing my first rock legend snorting cocaine in the toilet too. It was once like, ‘Oh, I’ve heard about this, I’ve examine this in books and there you’re doing it’.”
While Mendel wouldn’t reveal who it was once getting caught into the Columbian marching powder, he did say that he cringes each and every time he sees the well-known picture of Bowie and all his visitors – the image on the most sensible of this web page. “Each every now and then, my spouse will pull up the picture and feature a excellent snigger,” he mentioned. “Everyone seems to be in black and taking a look like they’re in a rock band, and I am getting seated at once in the back of Bowie for the picture, which is unlucky as a result of I’m in a white button-up quick sleeve blouse that’s about 10 occasions too giant for me. It’s a nasty glance and it’s very distinguished because of the scope of the sizing and the color.”
Mendel has higher reminiscences of the particular efficiency, although. “I bring it to mind going smartly, in truth being a laugh within the second. It labored and I used to be in a position to concentrate on the truth that ‘Oh, I’m 20 toes clear of Bowie and we’re enjoying a tune in combination’.” Watch pictures from the efficiency underneath:
