The period from mid-1975 to mid-1977 was very important in the career of David Bowie - it saw him finally leave the "vile pisspot" of Los Angeles and return to his native Europe and in particular England for the first time in three years. This return had a remarkable effect on him - coupled with his renewed acquaintance with Iggy Pop, it saw them both make a return to recording to produce such 'up' albums as 'Heroes' and 'Lust For Life'. Both were recorded in France and Germany and are very positive in their outlook but were produced at the cost of much soul-searching and retrospection in the cases of their immediate predecessors the 'Low' and 'Idiot' albums. The infamous 'fascism' quotes which originated in Stockholm in April 1976 were to bring Bowie more attention than he would have liked - for the wrong reasons. Indirectly they may have taught him a lesson that made him into the more socially aware person he has become since - namely his song-writing on the 'Lodger' and 'Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)' albums, his involvement in 'Live-Aid' in 1985 and his assistance for several charities. At the time his remarks and those of Eric Clapton were a trigger for other artists to create the 'Rock Against Racism' movement in the late 1970s in Britain. More directly they brought him a lot of unwanted publicity when he arrived in Britain a few days later at Victoria station and was photographed giving what appeared to be a right-arm salute.
Strong denials were issued at the time and many more later : "I can only say I've made two or three glib, theatrical statements on English society and the only thing I can now counter with is to state that I'm not a fascist. I'm apolitical." The atmosphere of the short series of concerts that Bowie gave in Europe in April and May 1976 was uneasy with Bowie himself often being totally out of control - missing lines and mumbling incoherently throughout. On one occasion he introduced his drummer three times and on another he imagined himself to be in a hospital when onstage, talking about 'very good brandy'. This is a far cry from the highly-organised and efficient tours he has made since. Perhaps we can assume that he was extremely nervous about his impending return to England. When he appeared in a live satellite link on the Russell Harty show on November 28th 1975, he announced "I'm touring. I'm coming back to England to play some shows... and to be English again." Also he showed a film of himself performing 'Golden Years' on the American TV show 'Soul Train' which he admitted he'd sung while drunk. The plan for the tour which he was announcing was that his band should go to Jamaica over Christmas and the New Year to rehearse for the tour which was due to start in Vancouver on February 2nd 1976.
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