Maps of Music

"Heroes" (1977)

Where the lyrics of "Heroes" take you, and where it was really made.

The only Berlin Trilogy album recorded entirely in Berlin was made in a former concert hall about 500 yards from the Berlin Wall.

Key places

Hansa Studio 2, the former concert hall by the Wall (1977)

Recording site Hansa Studios — Bowie, Visconti and Eno regrouped at this studio in West Berlin to record the album. The room was a former concert hall, converted into a recording studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Final mixes at Mountain Studios, Montreux (1977)

Recording site Mountain Studios — The final mixes of the album were done at this studio in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio later became one of Bowie's mainstays. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo shot at Harajuku Studios, Tokyo (1977)

Album cover Harajuku Studios — The cover photo was taken at this studio in Tokyo in April 1977 by Masayoshi Sukita. The cover echoes Erich Heckel's painting Roquairol. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• "Heroes": twelfth studio album by David Bowie
• Released 14 October 1977 on RCA Records
• Recorded with Brian Eno, produced with Tony Visconti
• Second release of the Berlin Trilogy, after Low (January 1977)
• The only Trilogy album recorded wholly in Berlin
• Title track chosen as lead single, released 23 September 1977

Background

• In the second half of 1976, Bowie and Iggy Pop moved to the Château d'Hérouville in France to escape the drug culture of Los Angeles
• Bowie produced Pop's The Idiot there and recorded Low
• Low was released in January 1977 with little promotion; Bowie toured as Pop's keyboardist
• Bowie and Pop recorded Lust for Life at Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin, May to June 1977
• Sessions for "Heroes" took place in mid-1977, after Bowie finished Lust for Life
• Bowie wanted to begin the next record once Lust for Life was finished, and spent a few weeks with Eno devising concepts before Visconti joined

Recording

• Most of the album used the same personnel as Low: Carlos Alomar, George Murray and Dennis Davis as the core band
• Robert Fripp joined on lead guitar, recruited at Eno's suggestion
• Fripp recorded all his guitar parts in three days
• Most tracks were composed on the spot in the studio
• Lyrics were not written until Bowie stood in front of the microphone
• Eno was credited as co-author on four of the ten songs
• Eno's Oblique Strategies cards were used on the instrumentals
• Final mixes were done at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland

Cover

• Photo by Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita at Harajuku Studios in Tokyo, April 1977
• Cover nods to Erich Heckel's painting Roquairol, as Iggy Pop's The Idiot did

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in Brixton, London.
• Studied art, music and design; took up saxophone in 1961.
• Adopted the stage name David Bowie in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees.

Career

• Breakthrough with "Space Oddity" in 1969, reaching the UK top five.
• Glam rock success in 1972 with the Ziggy Stardust persona and album.
• Berlin Trilogy (Low, "Heroes", Lodger) with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti in the late 1970s.
• Greatest commercial success with Let's Dance in 1983.
• Fronted the hard rock band Tin Machine from 1988 to 1992 before resuming a solo career.
• Final studio album Blackstar was released two days before his death in 2016.

Legacy

• Sold over 100 million records worldwide.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
• Widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Melody Maker: Allan Jones described it and its predecessor as among the most challenging records released
• NME: Angus MacKinnon called it Bowie's most moving performance in years, praising the growing maturity of the artist
• Record Mirror: Tim Lott called the album disjointed and a disappointment apart from the title track
• Billboard: a reviewer called it an extension of Bowie's cosmic rock vision and of Low
• Los Angeles Times: Robert Hilburn called it one of the artist's least arresting turns
• Creem: Trixie A. Balm liked side one but dismissed side two

Reappraisal

• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the growing artistic maturity compared to its predecessor and the addition of Fripp's guitar
• Pitchfork: Ryan Dombal named it the album that showed the most artistic growth for Bowie
• Rolling Stone: in a 2013 readers' poll it was voted Bowie's eighth best album
• Consequence of Sound: ranked it Bowie's fifth-greatest album

Records

• UK Albums Chart: peaked at number 3, on the chart for 33 weeks
• US Billboard Top LPs & Tape: peaked at number 35, on the chart for 19 weeks
• NME and Melody Maker each named it album of the year for 1977
• Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll: finished 21st for 1977's top album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Visconti kept a two-track tape running at all times during sessions, so ideas were not lost
• Visconti described the Berlin Wall setting as provocative, stimulating and frightening, and said the band played with great energy
• Bowie promoted the album extensively with television appearances and interviews, unlike Low
• RCA's slogan for the album was "There's Old Wave. There's New Wave. And there's David Bowie ..."
• "V-2 Schneider" is named after Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider, and Bowie plays an off-beat saxophone part on it

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact