David Bowie Vault Highlights Zachary Alfred Era

The journeyman drummer, who powered Bowie’s mid/late-’90s work, is featured on limited-edition Brilliant Live Adventures releases

Look at the Moon!, Part 4 of the Brilliant Live Adventures series of David Bowie concert albums being released by Parlophone Records, features the rock icon’s show at the Phoenix Festival in Long Marston, England, on July 20, 1997. Bowie’s band at the time featured Zachary Alford on drums; Gail Ann Dorsey on bass, vocals, and keyboards; Reeves Gabrels on guitar, synth, and vocals; and Mike Garson on piano, keyboards, and synths.

Zachary Alford grew up in New York City, playing clubs from the age of fourteen. His first tours were with artists coming out of the influential mid-’80s New York avant-garde funk scene, including bassist Melvin Gibbs (Ronald Shannon Jackson, Rollins Band) and guitarist Vernon Reid (Living Colour). In 1989 Alford did the B-52’s’ Cosmic Tour, promoting their smash hit “Love Shack.” (He appears in the song’s video while Charley Drayton plays on the recording.) During 1992 and 1993 Alford joined Bruce Springsteen for the world tour promoting his Human Touch and Lucky Town albums and recorded Billy Joel’s River of Dreams, giving the drummer the distinction of, by certain measures, replacing Max Weinberg and Liberty DeVitto, respectively. Alford joined David Bowie for his Outside tour in 1995, recorded Bowie’s next album, Earthlings, in 1997, and returned to track his 2013 album, The Next Day. Alford has also worked with Gwen Stefani, Japanese pop/rock artist Hotei Tomoyasu, Italian singer-songwriter Zucchero Fornaciari, Curtis Stigers, and They Might Be Giants, among others.

Look at the Moon! comes out February 12 on double CD and triple vinyl, and like all the releases in the series will be a one-run-only pressing available exclusively via the David Bowie official store and the Rhino.com store.