Has anyone tried researching as to when this was performed in '74 (ie other than the night it was played captured on David Live)?

Was it just a one off performance, or has it appeared on any rare / barely circulated recordings from that tour?

my "research" usually involves lifting the nicholas pegg book from the shelf. in his own words: "it is not known to have been performed at any other dates on the tour - although another unsubstantiated claim has it that the song was played as an encore at the Tampa gig on 2 July 1974." sorry if this is old news.

It seems it was performed at one of the Philadelphia 74 shows, and a video recording exists. There's some information in this thread...

Ah thank you both.

Not sure where my Pegg book is right now, must dig it out again (only got the original, not one of the updates though!).

Yes, I think I do remember seeing the post on the David Live a while back during a reading marathon on this forum!

thanks again.

Its recorded on this set.

Recorded July 12-15 1974
Philadelphia, PA
Tower Theatre

under here today.

you can get the complete set from

http://worldofbowiebootlegs.blogspot.com/search/label/live%201974

But that's just the Ryko version of David Live, isn't it?

Some people are saying that this recording is not actually part of the concert, but a recording of the rehearsals that were done earlier and then fitted into the album, So would this account for why it was never included in the original running order and always tagged at the end.

Yes, when Ryko issued David Live all those years ago it did seem like HTGT wasn't actually part of the gig, and maybe a soundcheck or something, but it doesn't explain why DB says "We're gonna put in some extras tonight, some silly ones". This implies more than one extra.
On the original album, the only 'extra' to the regular set was "Knock On Wood". Now I know DB spent much of the tour zonked out of his brain, but would he really have referred in the plural to extras, if they were only going to play just one silly one?
And what with all the backstage hassles re the recording of the gig is it likely that a soundcheck would have been recorded anyway?

Cheers,
Richard

There a video of one of the Philly nights that includes HTGT. I haven't actually seen the footage but if I remember well the person who has it confirmed that this was the version that ended up on the David Live reissue.

Doesn't the 2005 remix of David Live have HTGT in its original place in the running order?

It certainly does. From the press release:

David Live was culled from five performances from July 8 through July 12. 1974 at Philadelphia's Tower Theatre. No studio overdubs or re-recordings of voices, instruments or audience have been added, with the exception of several backing vocals due to a loss of microphone contact in places. With a brand new mix by the album's original prouder, Tony Visconti (who also wrote the new edition's liner notes), this double CD features for the very first time the complete setlist in correct running order.

As I just posted in another thread, I believe that only two July '74 shows were recorded for the live album to come (David Live). Visconti's liner notes on the 2005 edition say something to this effect (thus contradicting the 8th-12th found elsewhere in the same booklet). I don't remember why, but I believe the two receordings were of the 11th & 12th.

One Cleveland area internetter once posted that DB played HTGT there that June (presumably on the 18th, as it isn't part of the audio from the 19th). As this is an Ohio Players song and as Bowie did phone Stax studio to speak with one of the writers of Knock On Wood prior to the Memphis show with an invitation in mind, I do not discount this possibility. It would be nice to have a contemporary newspaper account.

Interesting - and indeed possible.

I have a Big Audio Dynamite concert on DVD were Mick Jones says performing "1999", the Prince song, that he had to pay £3000 to do so, and that he had to sign papers as well. Even allowing for exaggeration on the sum paid to perform the song (seemed very steep...but then it was for a filmed show, which could explain why / suggest some veracity), it would suggest that in music circles performing a cover is not taken lightly. I only read the other day that Mike D'Abo was actively involved in the studio sessions in terms of arranging for both Rod Stewart's and Chris Farlowe's original version of his song Handbags and Gladrags.

So indeed Bowie might have phoned the writers of Knock on Wood and perhaps Here Today Gone Tomorrow too.