"Heroes" (David Bowie song)
| "'Heroes'" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of the German editions | ||||||||||
| Single by David Bowie | ||||||||||
| from the album "Heroes" | ||||||||||
| B-side | "V-2 Schneider" | |||||||||
| Released | 23 September 1977 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" single | |||||||||
| Recorded | Hansa Studio by the Wall, Berlin July–August 1977 | |||||||||
| Genre | Rock | |||||||||
| Length |
3:32 (single edit) 6:07 (full-length album version) | |||||||||
| Label | RCA | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | ||||||||||
| Producer(s) |
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| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"'Heroes'"[1] is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977. Produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, it was released both as a single and as the title track of the album "Heroes". A product of Bowie's fertile "Berlin" period, life in the city was crystallized into a tale of two lovers who come together in the shadow of the "Wall of Shame" (though here "the shame was on the other side"). While not a huge hit in the UK or US at the time, "'Heroes'" has gone on to become one of Bowie's signature songs and is well known today for its appearance in numerous advertisements. It has been cited as Bowie's second most covered song after "Rebel Rebel".[2]
It was the lead track on Peter Gabriel's 2010 covers album, Scratch My Back. Among other notable covers, the Wallflowers recorded a version of the song for the soundtrack to the 1998 film Godzilla. This version peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1998, as well as number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, and number 23 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream charts.[3] In the UK, the final sixteen acts from the seventh series of The X Factor released a cover version of the song on 21 November 2010 which topped the UK singles chart.
Inspiration and recording
The title of the song is a reference to the 1975 track "Hero" by the German band Neu!,[4] whom Bowie and Eno admired. It was one of the early tracks recorded during the album sessions, but remained an instrumental until towards the end of production.[2] The quotation marks in the title of the song, a deliberate affectation, were designed to impart an ironic quality on the otherwise highly romantic, even triumphant, words and music.[5][6][7][8] Producer Tony Visconti took credit for inspiring the image of the lovers kissing "by the wall", when he and backing vocalist Antonia Maaß embraced in front of Bowie as he looked out of the Hansa Studio window.[9] Bowie's habit in the period following the song's release was to say that the protagonists were based on an anonymous young couple but Visconti, who was married to Mary Hopkin at the time, contends that Bowie was protecting him and his affair with Maaß. Bowie confirmed this in 2003.[2]
The music, co-written by Bowie and Eno, has been likened to a Wall of Sound production, an undulating juggernaut of guitars, percussion and synthesizers.[9] Eno has said that musically the piece always "sounded grand and heroic" and that he had "that very word – heroes – in my mind" even before Bowie wrote the lyrics.[2] The basic backing track on the recording consists of a conventional arrangement of piano, bass guitar, rhythm guitar and drums. However the remaining instrumental additions are highly distinctive. These largely consist of synthesizer parts by Eno using an EMS VCS3 to produce detuned low-frequency drones, with the beat frequencies from the three oscillators producing a juddering effect. In addition, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp generated an unusual sustained sound by allowing his guitar to feed back and sitting at different positions in the room to alter the pitch of the feedback (pitched feedback). Tony Visconti rigged up a system, a creative misuse of gating that may be termed "multi-latch gating",[10] of three microphones to capture the epic vocal, with one microphone nine inches from Bowie, one 20 feet away and one 50 feet away. Only the first was opened for the quieter vocals at the start of the song, with the first and second opening on the louder passages, and all three on the loudest parts, creating progressively more reverb and ambience the louder the vocals became.[11] Each microphone is muted as the next one is triggered. "Bowie's performance thus grows in intensity precisely as ever more ambience infuses his delivery until, by the final verse, he has to shout just to be heard....The more Bowie shouts just to be heard, in fact, the further back in the mix Visconti's multi-latch system pushes his vocal tracks, creating a stark metaphor for the situation of Bowie's doomed lovers".[12]
Release and aftermath
"'Heroes'" was released in a variety of languages and lengths ("a collector's wet dream" in the words of NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray[5]). In contrast to the bewildering audio situation, the video (directed by Stanley Dorfman)[13] was a stark and simple affair, the singer captured performing the song in what appeared to be a single take with multiple cameras, swaying in front of a spotlight that created a monotone and near-silhouette effect. Despite a large promotional push, including Bowie's first live Top of the Pops appearance since 1973,[9] "'Heroes'" only reached number 24 in the UK charts, and failed to make the US Billboard Hot 100. In Italy, the song was certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.[14]
In February 1999, Q Magazine listed "'Heroes'" as one of the 100 greatest singles of all time as voted by the readers. In March 2005, the same magazine placed it at number 56 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2004, Rolling Stone rated "'Heroes'" number 46 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was included in 2008's The Pitchfork Media 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present. John J. Miller of National Review rated "'Heroes'" number 21 on a list of "the 50 greatest conservative rock songs".[15] Uncut placed "'Heroes'" as number 1 in its 30 greatest Bowie songs in 2008.
Moby has claimed that "'Heroes'" is one of his favourite songs ever written, calling it "inevitable" that his music would be influenced by the song,[16] and Dave Gahan, lead singer for Depeche Mode, was hired into the band when band founder Vince Clarke heard him singing "'Heroes'" at a jam session.[17]
Bowie has regularly performed the song in concert since its release. Two years after its release, the song was used in Chris Petit's film Radio On. The song has become a mainstay of advertising in recent years, gracing efforts by Microsoft, Kodak, CGU Insurance, HBO Olé (HBO Latin America) and various sporting promoters throughout the world. It was also used as the intro to the video game NHL 99, released in 1998. "'Heroes'" also appears as downloadable content in the music video game series Rock Band in a 3-song pack along with other David Bowie songs "Moonage Daydream" and "Queen Bitch". The Australian television mockumentary We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year (title outside Australia: The Nominees) took its title from "'Heroes'". A cover of the single was used as ITV's theme song for its coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The song was played during the party scene in the 2001 film Antitrust. In 2009, the song was played over the closing credits of both the documentary The Cove, and What Goes Up, and also featured in that film, important to the plot's message.
In May 2010, the song was played over the extended closing credits of the final episode of Ashes to Ashes, in keeping with the various David Bowie allusions throughout that series (and its predecessor Life on Mars).
In 2012 the track was played as athletes from Great Britain entered the Olympic Stadium during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and after medal ceremonies during the Olympics.[18] It was then also used as the Great Britain Paralympic team entered the stadium during the opening ceremony on 29 August 2012.
In 2012, the song was featured in the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower. First heard on a pick-up truck radio by the main characters, the song is important to both "flying through the tunnel" scenes and played over the closing credits.
In 2014, the song was featured in the premiere trailer for the Brazilian film Praia do Futuro.[19]
In 2014, the song was played in "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee", an episode of The Simpsons as Lisa is trying to figure out how to make Homer into a hero for a speech contest at school.
Track listing
7": RCA / PB 11121 (US)
- "'Heroes'" (David Bowie, Brian Eno) – 3:38
- "V-2 Schneider" (Bowie) – 3:10
7": RCA / 20629 (Australia)
- "'Heroes'" (English version) (single edit) – 3:29
- "'Héros'" (French version) – 3:31
- "'Helden'" (German version) – 3:32
- "V-2 Schneider" – 3:10
12": RCA / JD-11151 (US)
- "'Heroes'" (album version) – 6:07
- "'Heroes'" (single edit) – 3:29
- US promo
12": RCA / PC-9821 (GER)
- "'Heroes'"/"'Helden'" (English/German version) – 6:09
- "'Heroes'"/"'Héros'" (English/French version) – 6:09
- Super Sound Single 33 rpm restamped to 45 rpm "Disco-Remix"
The Thunderpuss 2000 Remixes:
- Radio Mix (04:14)
- X-tended Mix (07:45)
- Superdub (06:01)
- Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix (08:22)
- The Beats of Thunderpuss (05:15)
Production credits
- Producers:
- Musicians:
- David Bowie: Vocals, guitar, saxophone, keyboards
- Robert Fripp: Lead guitar
- Carlos Alomar: Rhythm guitar
- George Murray: bass
- Dennis Davis: Drums
- Brian Eno: Synthesizer
Live versions
- Prior to the single release of "'Heroes'", Bowie first performed the song on the final episode of friend Marc Bolan's Granada Television series Marc (filmed 7 September 1977, broadcast 20 September 1977 – after Bolan's funeral). This particular version has an alternate backing track that was recorded with Bolan and the T.Rex line up of Dino Dines on keyboards, and the rhythm section of Herbie Flowers on bass and Tony Newman on drums. Coincidentally, prior to joining T.Rex, Flowers and Newman were a part of Bowie's rhythm section on the Diamond Dogs album and its tour, documented on the live album David Live.
- Bowie performed the song when he appeared on Bing Crosby's 1977 Christmas TV special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas.
- A concert performance recorded in the spring of 1978 was released on the live album Stage.
- David Bowie performed "'Heroes'" live in Germany in 1978.[20]
- A live performance filmed on 12 September 1983 is featured on Serious Moonlight (1983 film).
- The rendition at Live Aid in 1985 has been described as "the best version of '"Heroes"' [Bowie] had ever sung".[21] This performance featured Thomas Dolby on keyboards.
- Bowie performed the song live during his 1987 Glass Spider Tour, released on video in 1988 and video and audio on a 2007 special edition re-release.
- The song was performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 by Bowie, Mick Ronson and John Deacon, Roger Taylor, and Brian May – the surviving members of Queen.
- An acoustic version of the song was played in 1996 at The Bridge School Benefit Concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, and later released on The Bridge School Benefit Concert album.
- The song was performed by Bowie at The Concert for New York City on 20 October 2001.
- Bowie performed the song live during his 2003 Reality Tour, and a performance from November of that year was released on the A Reality Tour DVD in 2004, and included on the A Reality Tour album, released in 2010.
Other releases
- The edited 7-inch single, running at 3:32 mins and backed with "V-2 Schneider", was released separately in English, French ("'Héros'") and German ("'Helden'"). All three of these cuts plus "V-2 Schneider" were released together as an Australian 4-track 7-inch.
- The complete English version as it appeared on the album was released as a Spanish 12-inch single.
- A version featuring the German single edit spliced into the second half of the full-length English track ("'Heroes'"/"'Helden'") appeared on the German pressing of the LP and is also available on Bowie's soundtrack to the film Christiane F. and on the Rare album.
- The song has appeared, almost invariably in single edit form, on numerous Bowie compilations:
- Chameleon (Australia and New Zealand 1979)
- The Best of Bowie (1980)
- Fame and Fashion (1984) – album version
- Sound and Vision (1989) – "'Helden'"
- Changesbowie (1990)
- Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
- The Singles Collection (1993)
- The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 (1998)
- Best of Bowie (2002)
- The Platinum Collection (2005/2006)
- Nothing Has Changed (2014)
- It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.
The X Factor 2010 finalists version
| "Heroes" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The X Factor finalists 2010 | ||||||||||
| Released | 21 November 2010 | |||||||||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop | |||||||||
| Length | 4:22 | |||||||||
| Label | Syco | |||||||||
| The X Factor finalists chronology | ||||||||||
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The final sixteen acts from the seventh series of The X Factor, including Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson and One Direction, released a cover version of the song on 21 November 2010 in aid of Help for Heroes.[22] All sixteen of the acts returned to The X Factor to perform the single live. The title of this version omitted the quotation marks.
Background
The finalists premiered the song live on 21 November 2010 on The X Factor; the single was available for digital download that day and a physical release followed the day after. The release of the song follows a similar occurrence in the previous two years. The series 5 finalists released a cover version of Mariah Carey's "Hero" in aid of Help for Heroes, and the series 6 finalists covered Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone".[23]
The song, said to have been recorded in the week beginning 18 October 2010, was released as a charity single in aid of Help for Heroes, a charity which supports injured servicemen and women.[24] The video for the single was filmed on 2 November 2010[25] at Three Mills Studios.[26] All sixteen finalists performed the song on 20 November's results show. It is the third year in a row that finalists have released a charity record.
Chart performance
The single shot to number one on the Irish Singles Chart on 25 November 2010, and charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart three days later. It was the third consecutive year in which The X Factor finalists' charity single has topped UK and Irish single charts.[27][28]
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[29] | 1 |
| Scotland (Official Charts Company)[30] | 1 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31] | 1 |
Chart succession
| Preceded by "Love You More" by JLS |
UK Singles Chart number-one single 28 November 2010 – 12 December 2010 |
Succeeded by "The Time (Dirty Bit)" by The Black Eyed Peas |
| Preceded by "Only Girl (In the World)" by Rihanna |
Irish Singles Chart number-one single 26 November 2010 – 17 December 2010 |
Succeeded by "When We Collide" by Matt Cardle |
Other cover versions
- On 2 April 2014 Janelle Monáe released a cover of the song as part of a Pepsi global campaign "Now Is What You Make It".[32] It was sent to US hot adult contemporary radio on 2 June 2014.[33]
- In 2012, Spanish band Amaral included the song in a performance of their song "Revolución" on tour promoting their album Hacia Lo Salvaje.[34]
- Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik performed the song on stage together as a duet on the first season finale of The X Factor USA.
- German singer Nena released a cover of the German version on her album Cover Me (2007).
- Finnish cello rock band Apocalyptica recorded and released the German version of the song, "'Helden'", on their 2007 album Worlds Collide, with Till Lindemann of Rammstein on vocals.
- ITV used a version recorded by Kasabian during the opening sequence of their 2006 FIFA World Cup coverage, the song was made available to download for free off the ITV Sport website.
- American new wave band Blondie performed the song frequently in 1980,[35] and then played it again in 2010. On 12 January 1980, it was recorded and then released officially as a single in Germany,[36] as well as a bonus track on the 2001 remaster of Eat To The Beat as well as the Blonde and Beyond compilation album.
- Chord Overstreet and Darren Criss performed this song as their characters in the Glee episode "Dynamic Duets".
- TV On The Radio covered the song on the 2009 charity album War Child Presents Heroes. In keeping with the concept of the album, Bowie himself chose "'Heroes'", and chose TVOTR to cover the song. This version was used in the trailer for the fifth season of Game of Thrones.
- A portion of the song is featured in "Elephant Love Medley," performed by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge! and featured on the film's soundtrack.
- In 1981, Nico released a version of the song on her album Drama of Exile.
- Electronic rock band Tangerine Dream covered this song as well as Bowie's "Space Oddity" on their 2010 cover album "Under Cover – Chapter One". [37]
- A cover performed by Marc Bonilla and Font 48 was included in the final scene of the movie The Replacements (2000), starred by Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman.
- On their 2000 tour King Crimson, whose guitarist Robert Fripp played in the original recording of the song, covered "'Heroes'". A recorded version of this exists on several King Crimson Collectors Club releases as well as the commercial release Heavy ConstruKction.
- In 2012, the song was used by Coca-Cola in Latin America for an advertising campaign called Héroes (in English: Heroes), featuring children and adults costumed as DC Comics superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Batgirl and Supergirl.
- The 1985 post-punk band Fricción from Argentina includes its own version "'Héroes'" in the 1987 album "Para Terminar", released through Interdisc.
- The Wallflowers, a band formed in 1992 by Jakob Dylan (Bob Dylan's son), recorded the version included in Roland Emmerich's Godzilla (1998). Ironically, the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) uses the David Bowie version.
- Oasis recorded a cover of this song and released as a b-side of the D'You Know What I Mean? single.
- Gianluigi Cavallo (former Litfiba singer) recorded a version of this song (after a 7-year hiatus).[38]
- Garbage's lead singer Shirley Manson's first band Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie recorded a cover of "'Heroes'" for the b-side of their "Love Child" single. Manson herself has performed "'Heroes'", and a number of other Bowie numbers, at various charity and tribute events.
- The Peter Gabriel version is played at the end of the 2013 movie Lone Survivor as pictures of the fallen soldiers from that real-life mission are shown on the screen.
- Lyrics from the song are used in the 2014 single "Heroes (We Could Be)" by Swedish DJ/producer Alesso and Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo.
- Jessica Lange sings "Heroes" in the American Horror Story: Freak Show season finale, "Curtain Call".
Notes
- ↑ The scare quotes are part of the title.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: pp.90-92
- ↑ Alternative Songs|Billboard.com. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ Mat Snow (2007). "Making Heroes", MOJO 60 Years of Bowie: p.69
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: pp.90-92
- ↑ Robert Matthew-Walker David Bowie, theatre of music 1985 p46 "The use of quotation marks possibly implies that the 'Heroes' are not to be taken too seriously."
- ↑ Chris Welch David Bowie: changes, 1970-1980 1999 p116 "The use of quotation marks around the title meant that Bowie felt there was something ironic about being a rock 'n' roll hero to his fans, while he kept his own emotional life as far distant and remote and private as possible."
- ↑ NME interview in 1977 with Charles Shaar Murray. Retrieved from Bowie: Golden Years 20 February 2007.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story: pp.323-326
- ↑ Hodgson, Jay (2010). Understanding, p.88. ISBN 978-1-4411-5607-5.
- ↑ Richard Buskin (October 2004). "Classic Tracks: Heroes", Sound on Sound. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- ↑ Hodgson (2010), p.89.
- ↑ Gallo, Phil (12 November 2008). "Bowie Videos Play MoMA". Variety.com: The Set List (Reed Elsevier). Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ↑ "Certificazione Singoli Digitali dalla settimana 1 del 2009 alla settimana 2 del 2014" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ↑ John J. Miller (26 May 2006). "Rockin' the Right", National Review Online. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- ↑ Gordinier, Jeff (31 May 2002), "Loving the Aliens", Entertainment Weekly (656): 26–34
- ↑ Shaw, William (April 1993), "In The Mode", Details magazine: 90–95, 168
- ↑ Sarah Lyall (27 July 2012). "A Five-Ring Opening Circus, Weirdly and Unabashedly British". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- ↑ "Berlin Film Review: ‘Praia do Futuro’". Variety. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ↑ David Bowie – Heroes (Live Germany 1978) at youtube.com
- ↑ David Buckley (1999). Op Cit: p.424
- ↑ BBC Newsbeat
- ↑ Routledge, Rebecca (25 October 2009). "'X Factor' stars record charity single". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ↑ "X Factor: finalists cover David Bowie for charity". Newsbeat (BBC). 15 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ↑ Nissim, Mayer (3 November 2010). "Katie 'could be asked to leave X Factor'". Digital Spy (London). Retrieved 3 November 2010.
- ↑ "The making of 'Heroes'" (VIDEO). The X Factor. itv.com. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ↑ "Top 50 singles, week ending 25 November 2010". Chart-Track. GFK. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ↑ "Top 40 Official UK Singles archive – 4th December 2010". The Official Charts Company. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 47, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-12-04". Scottish Singles Top 40.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-12-04" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6029547/janelle-monae-covers-heroes-in-pepsis-global-futbol-campaign-talks-her-love
- ↑ "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014.
- ↑ Amaral – Revolución+Héroes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM8Rnz2mrvY
- ↑ THE DEBORAH HARRY & BLONDIE SETLIST DATABASE – 12 January 1980
- ↑ Deborah-Harry [Dot] Com | Collections | Heroes [Single]
- ↑ Tangerine Dream – Under Cover – Chapter One (CD, Album) at Discogs
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TvK0D9EjaIM
References
- Buckley, David (2000) [1999]. Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story. London: Virgin. ISBN 0-7535-0457-X.
- Carr, Roy; Murray, Charles Shaar (1981). David Bowie: An Illustrated Record. New York: Avon. ISBN 0-380-77966-8.
- Pegg, Nicholas (2004) [2000]. The Complete David Bowie. London: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1-903111-14-5.
External links
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