The Night Jeff Beck Joined David Bowie At The Final Ziggy Stardust Concert

January 10th will forever mark the anniversaries of the deaths of two acclaimed musicians in British rock ‘n’ roll history. David Bowie passed away at age 69 on this date in 2016 and Jeff Beck died at age 78 two years ago today.

Bowie and Beck, both influential and innovative musicians, were prominent figures in the scene that developed in and around London in the 1960s. Beck’s pioneering approach to electric guitar with The Yardbirds and as a solo musician and Bowie’s development of various creative personas, most notably Ziggy Stardust, brought the pair of musicians success and admiration from fans and fellow performers alike.

Beck was the first to enter the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992 as a member of The Yardbirds. Bowie entered the Rock Hall four years later. Beck was inducted a second time, as a solo performer, in 2009.

Among Bowie’s crowning achievements was donning the Ziggy Stardust persona, which resulted in the landmark concept album, 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The resulting Ziggy Stardust Tour in support of the album saw Bowie, as the alien rocker Ziggy Stardust, performing with The Spiders From Mars, the core of which consisted of guitarist Mick Ronson, drummer Mick Woodmansey and bassist Trevor Bolder (other auxiliary musicians participated a various points of the tour as well).

The Ziggy Stardust Tour spanned January 1972 to July 1973. Bowie began the tour by extensively performing across England throughout the first several months of 1972, before bringing the show to the United States.

According to the official David Bowie website:

“The US Ziggy tour began in September ‘72, with sold-out shows full of stunning costumes taking inspiration from Japanese theater to interstellar sci-fi, snarling guitars courtesy of Mick Ronson, and a bold, daring approach to performance that propelled the audience into a rock n roll fervor for their otherworldly messiah.

The first U.S leg of the Ziggy Stardust Tour ended in December 1972. Bowie continued to perform as Ziggy Stardust for the first part of 1973, touring in the United Kingdom and Asia, as well as returning to North America.

The official David Bowie website account of the last legs of the tour states:

“By spring of 1973, Ziggy had circled the world, hordes of kids from London to Japan shearing their hair into rooster cuts and clomping to ‘Suffragette City’ in their new platform heels. Bowie just as abruptly laid Ziggy and the Spiders to rest on [July] 3, 1973, introducing ‘Rock n Roll Suicide’ with the pronouncement: ‘Of all the shows on the tour, this one will stay with us the longest because not only is this the last show of the tour, but it is the last show we will ever do.’ This surprised everyone in the house – not least the members of his band.”

The unexpected announcement of Ziggy Stardust’s retirement was the second big surprise of Bowie’s concert on July 3, 1973 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Moments before making the shocking declaration, Bowie brought out Jeff Beck for an inspired collaboration.

Beck, who Bowie reportedly originally wanted for The Spiders From Mars, emerged at the start of the encore. The collaboration began with Beck adding his signature guitar to Bowie’s “The Jean Genie,” which appeared on Bowie’s 1973 album, Aladdin Sane. “The Jean Genie” segued into a brief performance of The Beatles’ classic “Love Me Do.” The Bowie/Beck summit ended with an energetic run through Chuck Berry’s “Around And Around.”

Renowned documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker recorded the final Ziggy Stardust concert, which was the basis of a feature length concert film released in 1979. Notably, Beck’s contributions to the concert were cut from the movie, purportedly because Beck refused to give Pennebaker the proper clearance.

In an interview in 2010, Beck – who was not alerted that Bowie was recording the Hammersmith show – blamed his wardrobe choice on the night of the historic concert for opting out of the film.

“The most disgusting pair of dirty-white stack-heeled shoes you’ve ever seen,” Beck told The Sunday Times when describing his regretful footwear selection. “And Bowie rang me about 10 times and said, ‘Look, man, I understand about the shoes, ‘cos I didn’t like what I was wearing either…'”

“I just felt so out of my depth [performing with Bowie],” Beck added. “All these girls screaming their heads off, then I start playing and they were screaming some moreI thought, ‘This is good!’ I’d never played that audience.”

Beck’s appearance with Bowie was later officially released on the 50th anniversary edition of the soundtrack to Pennebaker’s film. Footage of Beck and Bowie in concert together was finally included in the 2022 Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream, directed by Brett Morgen. Beck also appeared in the updated cut of Pennebaker’s film that was shown in theaters globally to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the July 3, 1973 concert.

Revisit the meeting of the two important musicians below.

[Originally Published January 10, 2024]