HEROES This song tells the story of a German couple who are so determined to be together that they meet every day under a gun turret on The Berlin Wall. Bowie, who was living in Berlin at the time, was inspired by an affair between his producer Tony Visconti and backup singer Antonia Maass, who would kiss "by the wall". Bowie played this song at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, England in 1985, and also at the Berlin Wall in 1987. Regarding the later performance, Bowie said in his Performing Songwriter interview: "I'll never forget that. It was one of the most emotional performances I've ever done. I was in tears. They'd backed up the stage to the wall itself so that the wall was acting as our backdrop. We kind of heard that a few of the East Berliners might actually get the chance to hear the thing, but we didn't realize in what numbers they would. And there were thousands on the other side that had come close to the wall. So it was like a double concert where the wall was the division. And we would hear them cheering and singing along from the other side. God, even now I get choked up. It was breaking my heart. I'd never done anything like that in my life, and I guess I never will again. When we did 'Heroes' it really felt anthemic, almost like a prayer(‌)
THE SONG’S LYRICS
I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing will drive them away We can beat them, just for one day We can be Heroes, just for one day And you, you can be mean And I, I'll drink all the time 'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact Yes we're lovers, and that is that Though nothing, will keep us together We could steal time, just for one day We can be Heroes, for ever and ever What d'you say? I, I wish you could swim Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim Though nothing, nothing will keep us together We can beat them, for ever and ever Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing will drive them away
We can be Heroes, just for one day We can be us, just for one day I, I can remember (I remember) Standing, by the wall (by the wall) And the guns shot above our heads (over our heads) And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall) And the shame was on the other side Oh we can beat them, for ever and ever Then we could be Heroes, just for one day We can be Heroes We can be Heroes We can be Heroes Just for one day We can be Heroes We're nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer, just for one day Oh-oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-oh-ohh, just for one day
DAVID BOWIE’s BIOGRAPHY David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known as David Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, painter and actor. Born and raised in south London, Bowie developed an interest in music while at school. When he left school he studied art, music and design, and became fluent on the saxophone, forming his first band, that year, at the age of 15. He embarked on a professional career as a musician in 1963, and received his first management contract shortly afterwards. "Space Oddity" became his first top five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a three-year period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the GLAM ROCK era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by his single "Starman" and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved to be one facet of a career marked by reinvention, musical innovation and visual presentation. Music reviewer Brad Filicky wrote that, over the decades, Bowie was "a musical chameleon, changing and dictating trends as much as he has altered his style to fit them.". Throughout his career, he sold an estimated 140 million records worldwide. In the UK, he was awarded nine Platinum album certifications, eleven Gold and eight Silver, and in the US, received five Platinum and seven Gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Bowie stopped concert touring after 2004, and last performed live at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, he returned from a decade-long recording hiatus, remaining musically active until his death from liver cancer three years later. Blackstar was released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday, and was met with critical acclaim. Following his death on 10 January, producer Tony Visconti revealed that Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death.
David Bowie's own words, spoken to graduating music students at Berklee College, Massachusetts, in 1999: Music has given me over 40 years of extraordinary experiences. I can't say that life's pains or more tragic episodes have been diminished because of it. It's been both my doorway of perception and the house that I live in. I only hope that it embraces you with the same lusty life force that it graciously offered me.