Heroes by donnica59

donnica59 - Heroes

donnica59

May 28, 2024 11:01am

<img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/ENFE/79cca06ada_RCU9_media.gif"> <img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/RUZV/666b1b3504_PAVU_media.gif"> May Edition........ <ul><li>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. </li><li>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" in front of Bowie as he looked out of the Hansa Studio window. </li><li> </li><li>Bowie didn't mention Visconti's role in inspiring this song until 2003, when he told Performing Songwriter magazine: "I'm allowed to talk about it now. I wasn't at the time.</li><li> I always said it was a couple of lovers by the Berlin Wall that prompted the idea. </li><li>Actually, it was Tony Visconti and his girlfriend. </li><li>Tony was married at the time.</li><li> And I could never say who it was (laughs). </li><li>But I can now say that the lovers were Tony and a German girl that he'd met whilst we were in Berlin. </li><li>I did ask his permission if I could say that. </li><li>I think possibly the marriage was in the last few months, and it was very touching because I could see that Tony was very much in love with this girl, and it was that relationship which sort of motivated the song." </li><li>Bowie moved to Berlin after burning out from touring and fame. </li><li>He rented a cheap apartment above an auto-repair shop, which is where he wrote this album</li><li> </li><li>Robert Fripp, formerly of King Crimson, played guitar on this track. </li><li>His band, King Crimson, performed the song at the Admiralspalast in Berlin on September 11, 2016 in celebration of Bowie. This version was released on an EP called Heroes in 2017.</li><li>Brian Eno, formerly of Roxy Music, helped Bowie write and produce this. Eno moved to Berlin with Bowie and worked on his albums Low, Heroes, and Lodger. </li><li>These albums were much more experimental and less commercial than Bowie's previous work, but they still sold well in England.</li><li>Co-writer Eno said of this in the April 2007 Q Magazine: "It's a beautiful song. But incredibly melancholy at the same time. We can be heroes, but actually we know that something's missing, something's lost."</li><li class="ql-align-center"> </li><li>Bowie released versions of this song in English, German, and French. The German version is called "Helden"; the French is "Héros."</li><li>Featured in this song are not only Brian Eno's synthesizer and Robert Fripp's guitar, but also producer Tony Visconti banging on a metal ashtray that was lying around the studio.</li><li>This song is featured in the films Christiane F (1981) and The Parole Officer (2001). </li><li>It also ended up as a Microsoft commercial theme.</li><li> </li><li>Bowie played this at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, England in 1985, and also at the Berlin Wall in 1987. </li><li>Regarding the later performance, Bowie said in his Performing Songwriter interview:</li><li> "I'll never forget that. </li><li>It was one of the most emotional performances I've ever done. </li><li>I was in tears. </li><li>They'd backed up the stage to the wall itself so that the wall was acting as our backdrop. </li><li>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. </li><li>And there were thousands on the other side that had come close to the wall. </li><li>So it was like a double concert where the wall was the division. </li><li>And we would hear them cheering and singing along from the other side. </li><li>God, even now I get choked up. </li><li>It was breaking my heart. </li><li>I'd never done anything like that in my life, and I guess I never will again. </li><li>When we did 'Heroes' it really felt anthemic, almost like a prayer. </li><li>However well we do it these days, it's almost like walking through it compared to that night, because it meant so much more. </li><li>That's the town where it was written, and that's the particular situation that it was written about. </li><li>It was just extraordinary. We did it in Berlin last year as well – 'Heroes' – and there's no other city I can do that song in now that comes close to how it's received. </li><li>This time, what was so fantastic is that the audience – it was the Max Schmeling Hall, which holds about 10-15,000 – half the audience h</li></ul>