The video
A promotional video for ‘New Killer Star’ was released alongside the single. It was David Bowie’s first full video since 1999’s ‘Survive’.
It was directed by Brumby Boylston of the production company National Television. Unusually, it did not feature Bowie, but contained a series of 1950s-style images presented in a lenticular style, including a slumbering astronaut whose last-minute wakening averted a collision with Earth.
Promotional appearances
Bowie made a number of promotional appearances in support of the single. He performed ‘New Killer Star’ on shows including the BBC’s Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 11 September 2003.
The following week he sang the song on a series of US TV shows, including Last Call with Carson Daly on 17 September, The Today Show on 18 September, The Late Show with David Letterman on 22 September, and an AOL Session the following day.
On 17 October he sang ‘New Killer Star’ on the German TV programme Die Harald Schmidt Show, and on 24 February 2004 on the Australian show Rove Live.
In concert
The first live performance of ‘New Killer Star’ was on 19 August 2003 at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York.
The song was played throughout Bowie’s A Reality Tour in 2003 and 2004. The tour kicked off on 7 October 2003 at the Forum København in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it was the opening song.
‘New Killer Star’ retained this place for the first seven nights of the tour, before being moved to second place behind ‘Rebel Rebel’ for many of the subsequent dates.
It was the fifth song performed at David Bowie’s final full-length show, at the Hurricane Festival in Eichenring, Scheeßel, Germany, on 25 June 2004.
A recording from the Point Depot in Dublin from November 2003 was included on the October 2004 DVD A Reality Tour, and in January 2010 on the live album of the same name.
