Tin Machine – Live in Hamburg – Oct. 24, 1991 – WDR
Early 90s David Bowie this morning. His short-lived group effort with the Sales Brothers, Tin Machine was a much-needed shot in the arm for Bowie, who was going through a phase of musical doldrums. The effort, which became Tin Machine was an inspiration for Bowie and two well-received albums were the result.
Tin Machine formed in 1988. The band consisted of English singer-songwriter David Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass and vocals; and Hunt Sales on drums and vocals. The Sales brothers had previously performed with Bowie and Iggy Pop during the 1977 tour for The Idiot. Kevin Armstrong played additional guitar and keyboards on the band’s first and second studio albums and first tour, and American guitarist Eric Schermerhorn played on the second tour and live album Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby (1992).
Hunt Sales said that the band’s name “reflects the sound of the band”, and Bowie stated that he and his band members joined up “to make the kind of music that we enjoyed listening to”, and to rejuvenate himself artistically.
The band recorded two studio albums and one live album before dissolving in 1992, after which Bowie returned to his solo career. By the end of 2012, they had sold two million albums. Bowie said Tin Machine helped revitalise his career.
Although very popular at the time, the tenure of Tin Machine was only 4 years – just enough to leave a mark and move on.
As a reminder of that, here (with hat-tip to colleague Pat Dallas) is a concert they performed in Hamburg on October 24, 1991, and preserved for posterity by WDR.
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