David Bowie: Berlin Wall Highlight

The Iconic "'Heroes'" Photoshoot from Masayoshi Sukita

So obviously this isn't my first "'Heroes'" highlight on the blog, but today it's especially important to take note and listen to this iconic song!

Today marks the fact that the Berlin Wall has now been "down" longer than it was "up" (28 years, two months and 27 days), and a new period of history for Germany: the post-post-wall era!


(Top of the Pops 1977 performance - perhaps my all-time favourite of Bowie's many renditions of this song, as it showcases his gorgeous vocals)

In celebration of this monumental point in history, you should listen to Bowie's excellent song inspired by the Wall and Berlin as a whole! (One of his favourite anecdotes was about a party he went to with Iggy Pop in which a club destroyed an effigy of the wall in a frenzied rage of energy and passion).

Bowie's iconic song (and album) is in many ways the poster child for his infamous "Berlin Period" during the mid-to-late 1970s where he went to clean up his drug addiction and leave his American lifestyle behind.  It was a period of major creative reformation and energy for Bowie, in which he produced his near-perfect albums "Low", "'Heroes'", and "Lodger" (although some could argue that Iggy Pop's "The Idiot" also belongs in the group as a sort of prologue to the trio).  In many ways, it was the crowning achievement and a fitting end to his massively influential (if not a bit turbulent) work that was the 1970s (both musically and culturally).  This is even referenced by Bowie himself on his 2013 song "Where Are We Now?", which reminiscences on and pays homage to his "Berlin era".

My "'Heroes'" tribute post covers more of my personal thoughts on the song, but for now celebrate with this Spotify Playlist which groups all the different official releases of the song in one place: