Heroes
David Bowie and Berlin
Tobias RütherThe story of Bowie’s rebirth in Berlin, where a city’s revival shaped his most innovative work
In 1976, David Bowie fled the chaos of Los Angeles in search of renewal and found it in a divided Berlin, a city whose artistic legacy had captivated him since childhood. Over three transformative years, he created the groundbreaking ‘Berlin Trilogy’ – Low, ‘Heroes’ and Lodger – some of the most critically acclaimed and innovative albums of the late twentieth century. Tobias Rüther traces Bowie’s intense collaborations with Iggy Pop, Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, his immersion in the city’s streets and nightlife and his return to painting and performance. Set against Berlin’s reinvention as a cultural metropolis, this compelling portrait captures an artist and a city remaking themselves in tandem. It is a story of innovation sparked by ruin – and of futures forged from unlikely places.
The story of Bowie’s rebirth in Berlin, where a city’s revival shaped his most innovative work
In 1976, David Bowie fled the chaos of Los Angeles in search of renewal and found it in a divided Berlin, a city whose artistic legacy had captivated him since childhood. Over three transformative years, he created the groundbreaking ‘Berlin Trilogy’ – Low, ‘Heroes’ and Lodger – some of the most critically acclaimed and innovative albums of the late twentieth century. Tobias Rüther traces Bowie’s intense collaborations with Iggy Pop, Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, his immersion in the city’s streets and nightlife and his return to painting and performance. Set against Berlin’s reinvention as a cultural metropolis, this compelling portrait captures an artist and a city remaking themselves in tandem. It is a story of innovation sparked by ruin – and of futures forged from unlikely places.
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Engaging . . . puts Bowie in the context of heavyweights like Michel Foucault, Max Frisch and Erich Heckel, who inspired the cover art for ‘Heroes’.
'The Independent
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An accessible read which can stand proud in the sure-to-expand Bowie bibliography.
'RTÉ Entertainment
Introduction
1. The Man Who Came in from Hell
2. The Cabinet of Professor Bowie
3. Low, or a Superstar’s Medical Records
4. New Career, New Town
5. The Party on the Brink
6. Did You See David Bowie?
7. Heroes
8. Goodbye to Berlin
Coda: Where is He Now?
Sources and Background
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Tobias Rüther is editor of the culture section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in Berlin.