On February 28th 2003 Bowie took a break from the Reality sessions to make his third annual appearance at the Tibet House Benefit concert at Carnegie Hall, alongside such artists as Laurie Anderson, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright and Ray Davies. In keeping with previous years his choice of songs was both unusual and revealing, opening with a delicate acoustic rendering of "Loving The Alien" for which he was backed only by Gerry Leonard on guitar. It was the first time he had performed the number since the Glass Spider tour and, given the mood of the western world in February 2003, as millions marched in protest while a US-led coalition prepared to invade Iraq, it was a timely and provocative revival. This was followed by a similarly pared-down acoustic reading of "Heathen (The Rays)", supported by a beautiful string arrangement orchestrated by Tony Visconti and played by the Scorchio Quartet, with support from Leonard on acoustic guitar and Visconti on bass. There followed Bowie's duet with the legendary Ray Davies on The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset", for which the pair were backed by Lenny Kay and members of the Patti Smith Band, and at the end of the concert Bowie joined in a mass rendition of Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up".
Soon afterward Bowie recorded a cover Waterloo sunset at first slotted for Reality and ultimately issued as a bonus track.
"Waterloo Sunset" is a song by British rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by The Kinks. Composed and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "Waterloo Sunset" is one of the band's best known and most acclaimed songs in most territories, later being ranked number 42 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It is also their first single that is available in true stereo.
The record reached number 2 on the British charts in mid 1967 (it failed to dislodge the Tremeloes' "Silence Is Golden" from the number 1 position). It was also a top 10 hit in Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe. In North America, "Waterloo Sunset" was released as a single but it failed to chart.
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