David Bowie Earthling 2LP

On September 11, 1996, a brand-new Bowie track, "Telling Lies," would become the first-ever song to be offered for download via the Internet. Despite the crawling speed rates of the nascent online era, "Telling Lies" was downloaded by more than 300,000 fans prior to being released as a single that fall, and eventually showing up on Bowie's next album, Earthling, early in 1997.

The next preview of Earthling material came with the VH1 Fashion Awards on October 25, where Bowie debuted "Little Wonder," the upcoming album's opening track. "Little Wonder" was also performed alongside nearly every song from the as-yet-unreleased Earthling at David's January 1997 all-star 50th birthday concert at New York's Madison Square Garden. Over the course of the evening, Bowie would be joined on new material, classics and covers alike by special guests and dear friends such as the late legendary Lou Reed, Frank Black of the Pixies, Dave Grohl (on drums as well as guitar with the Foo Fighters), Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, and Billy Corgan. All told, it was not only one of David's most memorable shows but one of the most unforgettable evenings of music in MSG history.

Earthling dropped in February 1997, its striking cover art featuring Bowie in an Alexander McQueen-designed Union Jack coat surreally (mis?)placed in a British pastoral setting - a fitting visual expression of the album's jarring juxtaposition of classic Bowie melodies with post-apocalyptic industrial and drum-and-bass textures. His first self-produced album since Diamond Dogs, Earthling featured Bowie's core touring band of Gail Ann Dorsey (bass, vocals), Mike Garson (keyboards), Reeves Gabrels (guitar, synths), and Zachary Alford (drums). Highlights included the stirring and reflective "Dead Man Walking" and the infectious sardonic humor of "I'm Afraid of Americans," co-written with Eno and accompanied by a spontaneous Dom & Nic video that found Trent Reznor (who plays on the V1 single version of the song) chasing David through the streets of New York's Greenwich Village. The Earthling world tour followed, spanning from May 1997 through its October/November 1997 South American stadium run.