He was so intelligent, perceptive and articulate in those interviews. He could also do uncanny impersonations of other well known people. Obviously, he was an astute observer who soaked up influences around him like a sponge and was amazingly fluid.
Found this brief clip on youtube, not the full performance but may be part of Bowie's 1983 US Festival appearance?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdk1Tpgh-Hg
Fleetwood Mac had apparently played there as a group the year before and were the closing act? And then Stevie performed by herself in 83.
Set list for Monday May 30 1983 (rock day)
Los Lobos (on a side stage only)
Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul
Berlin
Quarterflash
Missing Persons
U2
The Pretenders
Joe Walsh
Stevie Nicks
David Bowie
The Joe Walsh performance is on youtube. What a line up eh? Bowie was apparently a late addition but the organizer really wanted him on the bill despite little room left, and he was paid handsomely.
From the biography
'Starman' by Paul Trynka:
'After accompanying David for a fortnight, [Geeling Ng] caught a plane back to New Zealand and a normal life, just as David and band flew over to San Bernardino to play a one-off show at the US festival for the widely publicised fee of $1 million.
'Headlining on an evening that included U2, The Pretenders and Stevie Nicks to a 300,000-strong crowd, they walked out onto a stage that had been completely cleared, at eleven o'clock to a stunned, rapturous reception: 'like Jesus walking on water', says Simms. The festival was a disaster for its sponsor, Apple's Steve Wozniak: losing over $7 million according to the New York Times, with one audience member murdered in a drug deal, another dead of an overdose. But for David it was a triumph; the date hugely raised his commercial profile, and helped bring more US promoters on board. But with stories of the $1 million price tag came reports that David considered the tour his 'pension plan' - a sentiment guaranteed to inflame his detractors, who started to speculate that the tour was more about money than music.'
By the time Peter Frampton joined him for the 'Glass Spider' tour, the critics really had the knives out. That show was so panned. I do think he may have become more conscious about money. He was heading to middle age, had a son to support, and had nearly gone bankrupt in the 1970s due to poor management of finances. Many people thought he had lost his creative direction and stopped taking risks. I can't say I took much notice of him in the 80s.
Also around the time of the 'Glass Spider' tour a woman accused him of assaulting her and exposing her to AIDS. The whole story seemed so ridiculous but it's been rehashed again in recent weeks. The case was dismissed, and from what I gather, they did have an encounter but the rest was made up. She tried to cash in her cheque with the tabloids but it was so long ago I don't remember much.