1973/74: Stooges Again, Unions
The Raw Power
Iggy and The Stooges entered at the Wessex Sound Studios, advised by David Bowie. They wanted to produce their second album after the comeback with
I Got a Right!. Locked inside of the studios as the same time as Bowie and Kevin Ayers were, the group finished the recordings in less than one month (almost at the same time as Bowie & Ayers), and started a short tour in the United Kingdom. When Ayers and Bowie had finished their recordings, both groups decided to tour, with The Stooges plus Mick Ronson supporting the duo, and Iggy Pop as guest vocals in the prelude,
When Your Parents Go to Sleep. The tour ended in December.
1974
David Gilmour and David Bowie during "Projection's" The Union Tour, 1974.
Here we are, 1974, and finally, the members of Projection were absolutely famous in the entire world, but not so much by their albums, but by their parallel works outside Projection. While Pink Floyd Sound was enjoying their royalties of the successful Dark Side of the Moon, Bowie & Ayers were still promoting their masterpiece on the United States. Besides of it, we had Robert Wyatt, recovering from his eventual accident. "
After that accident I became an antithesis on the group. I retired from the drums, despite I played it sometimes though. So I became a bit more interested and focused on piano, as Rick [Wright] was.", recalls Wyatt. In 1974 also saw the increasing political interest of Robert Wyatt on left-wing ideologies, a thorn in Bowie's side during the times he introduced the
Thin White Duke.
In the same year, both supergroup reunited on the possibility of a worldwide tour. And indeed was! Both groups were going to perform their albums, and Bowie & Ayers would be accompanied by partially The Echoes Crew (w/Mike Oldfield and John Marshall), former Caravan's keyboardist, Dave Sinclair, and bassist Archie Legget. Karl Jenkins declined the invitation to tour, and resolved to start a solo career, this way, departing from his
old band.
The Union Tour
Promoting: Dark Side of the Moon & Ziggy Stardust
Groups: Pink Floyd Sound, Bowie & Ayers, and Projection (w/John Marshall)
Dates: February-May 1974 (US); November-December 1974 (UK/Europe)
Pink Floyd Sound's setlist and encore
1. "Speak to Me/Breathe (In the Air)" (Nick Mason/Roger Waters, David Gilmour)
2. "Travel's Interlude" (Waters, Gilmour, Richard Wright, Mason)
3. "Time" (Waters, Gilmour, Wright, Mason)
4. "Home Again" (Waters, Gilmour)
5. "The Great Gig in the Sky" (Wright)
6. "Money" (Waters, Gilmour)
7. "Us and Them" (Waters, Wright)
8. "Any Colour You Like" (Gilmour, Wright, Mason)
9. "The Dark Side of the Moon" (Waters)
a. "One of These Days" (Waters, Gilmour, Wright, Mason)
b. "Cymbaline" (Waters, Gilmour)
c. "Fat Old Sun" (Gilmour)
Bowie & Ayers' setlist
1. "When Your Parents Go to Sleep" (Kevin Ayers)
2. "Five Years" (David Bowie)
3. "Soul Love" (Bowie)
4. "Hymn" (Ayers)
5. "Moonage Daydream" (Bowie)
6. "Take Me to Haiti" (Ayers)
7. "Starman" (Bowie)
8. "Beware of the Dog" (Ayers)
9. "Velvet Goldmine" (Bowie)
10. "Interview" (Ayers)
11. "Lady Stardust" (Bowie)
12. "Don't Let it Get You Down" (Ayers)
13. "Star" (Bowie)
14. "Hang Onto Yourself" (Bowie)
15. "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" (Ayers)
16. "Ziggy Stardust" (Bowie)
17. "Decadence" (Ayers)
18. "Suffragette City" (Bowie)
19. "Rock'n'Roll Suicide" (Bowie)
Projection's encore
1. "Space Oddity" (Bowie)
2a. "Childhood's End" (Gilmour) (
replaced by Wish You Were Here in the American leg, promoting their future album)
2b. "Wish You Were Here" (Waters, Gilmour)
3. "Life on Mars" (Bowie)
4a. "The Return of the Son on Nothing" (Wright, Bowie, Ayers, Wyatt, Gilmour, Waters) (
replaced by Shine on You Crazy Diamond in the American leg, promoting their future album)
4b. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (Wright, Bowie, Gilmour, Waters)
a. "The Sea Song" (Wyatt)
(performed by Robert Wyatt at the Royal Albert Hall in 28-30 November 1974)
b. "I'm a Believer" (Neil Diamond)
(performed by Robert Wyatt at the Royal Albert Hall in 28-30 November 1974)
Blue Skies from Pain
Robert Wyatt and Nick Mason during the performance of I'm a Believer at the Top of the Pops, 1974.
During the tour, two new songs were presented. They were proposed to be part of the new ambitious project by Pink Floyd Sound, with the working name of
Shine On (You Crazy Diamond). Anyway, but the interest of David Bowie and Kevin Ayers about the new concept aroused, wanting to reunite Projection to write some songs to the new concept conceived by Roger. "
I remembered about Syd's situation of reclusion, and then suddenly came all the things that happened to him to become like that. I was glad that he was okay at the moment, but sometimes I wanted him to talk back to us.", clarifies Roger Waters.
During the American leg, the Projection's encore would have been replaced with the two new songs, the experimental
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, and the acoustic
Wish You Were Here. In November 1974, at the Royal Albert Hall, instead of the normal encore with Space Oddity and Life on Mars, Robert Wyatt made his historic return singing his new song with a delighted audience,
The Sea Song, and a Monkees' cover of
I'm a Believer, with Nick Mason on drums. "
Nick helped me a lot with that return, and I wanted to him to play the drums as a retribution.", Wyatt. At the time of recovering, Wyatt was also producing his debut solo album,
Rock Bottom.
The drug issues
In the same year, during the tour mainly, some members were introduced to drugs by Bowie. With the exception of Robert Wyatt, Roger Waters and Nick Mason, all the other members other members became addicted to cocaine and/or heroin. "
I remember some moments of this tour because it was a bit traumatic to me. Uh, Roger and Nick stood with the joint, so I could talk to them normally, since they've refused completely Bowie's offerings.", Robert Wyatt. Besides of being not able to perform due to his condition in the entire year, Wyatt toured with the entire group, and during the show, being backstage. "
That tour was the same time that my relation with Kevin started to decline. Those times with Bowie were very dark, mainly to me.", completes Wyatt.
The Velvet reunion... (?)
Abruptly, Lou Reed and John Cale wanted to reform their old band, The Velvet Underground. Calling up all members, only Sterling Morrison appeared, but Maureen Tucker somehow refused. Reed called up Pentti Glan to assume the drum roles. After the end of the first leg of the tour, Richard Wright appeared, and his friendship with John Cale ended up making him take over the keyboards. "
Rick was a nice guy, and without any compromise after that tour with Pink Floyd Sound, Bowie and Ayers, after that concert with Nico, Kevin [Ayers] and [Brian] Eno, I asked if he wanted to collaborate in the album and he said, 'Oh, okay'".
Hiring Bob Ezrin, the reformed group started to record at the Abbey Road studios, but due to Reed's uncomfortable times at London, they've relocated to New York. So the band started to record at the Electric Lady studios. As it was affecting Projection, the drug issues were also affecting the newly-reformed Velvet Underground. "There wasn't good times. Cale and I used heavily the cocaine, Reed had his problems with alcohol...", recalls Rick Wright.
The Velvet Underground had finished their album in two months. Richard Wright took some vacations in Greece, as always, Kevin Ayers released his solo album, The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories, a hit in the United Kingdom and Europe, Bowie recorded Diamond Dogs, Nick Mason and Roger Waters dedicated their times on produce other people albums, such as The Stooges' Head On, while David Gilmour was interested on his future wife, Ginger Hasenbein.