The Serious Moonlight Tour conincided with Bowie's biggest album (Let's Dance) and his biggest ever concert audiences.

Commencing in Belgium in May, the national attendance records set particularly in New Zealand - and subsequently entered into the Guiness Book of World Records - makes this tour relevant in any reading of the nation's modern cultural history. In terms of Bowie's career and the perspective of rock music, it is a testament as to how big a cult artist can become.

During the course of 1983, Australia had become something of a focus for David Bowie - primarily due to the videos of his smash hits 'Lets Dance' and 'China Girl'. The European dates were also supported by Australian band Icehouse who have often been compared to Bowie.

As the tour kicked off, fans began to witness Bowie's most elaborate staging since 1974. This included four enormous translucent polythene columns, huge neoclassical lintels above, a giant hand located stage right and a glittering crescent moon stage left...

Commencing in Rotterdam in May, the Glass Spider tour featured an extravagant rock stage and partial theatre. It drew upon Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour - even sharing the same stage designer (Mark Ravitz) and choreographer (Toni Basil) although musically it echoed the 1980s phase of his career.

Incorporating a breathtakingly preposterous "Spider Environment", Glass Spider saw a network of scaffolding and catwalks, dwarfed by a 50-foot high spider whose glowing body and illuminated legs framed the split-level stage. When European dates were launched, it began with a longer script involving the stage actors and dancers. Some of this was pruned back by the time it reached Australia.

The Australasian leg was marked by 15 concert dates - considerably more than Bowie's previous occasions, however, the locations played were fewer and thus the cities of Adelaide, Perth, Wellington and Christchurch had to go without. Meanwhile, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne were treated to multiple shows.

In late 1989, David Bowie was living in - and recording in - Sydney. He also played a one off show with his band Tin Machine.

Commencing in September 2003, this was the longest running tour of Bowie's career - most fortunate for Australia and New Zealand who after missing seven consecutive world tours, were treated to their first Bowie concerts in 17 years.

The Reality Tour was extremely music focused, underlined by the fact that the band had rehearsed over 50 songs which would allow Bowie a rotating set list and the ability to make each show unique from the last.