David Bowie - "Heroes" [12", LP]

Today it's been exactly four months since DAVID BOWIE passed away.

"HEROES" is of course a classic. While Low is actually my favourite album from his so-called Berlin trilogy, i chose "Heroes" for this month's Bowie album feature. Because i've just come back from a few days in Berlin, and with songs like Neuköln, V-2 Schneider and of course the title track with its references to the Berlin wall, it now seemed the most obvious Bowie vinyl release in my collection for me to put in the spotlight this month.
Unfortunately i didn't have the time to see if i could book a guided tour to be shown around inside, so i just walked past the Hansa Studios where this great album was recorded. Also Low was recorded here, but not Lodger however (the third album of the "Berlin trilogy" was recorded in France and NY). Here's how the entrance hall looks (picture taken through the window) and the doorbells of the various studio rooms.

Other classic albums that were recorded at Hansa, are for example Night Time by Killing Joke, Misplaced Childhood by Marillion, Bossanova by the Pixies, Achtung Baby by U2 and of course Lust For Life and The Idiot by Iggy Pop.

Bowie shared an appartment with Iggy at Hauptstrasse 155. Obviously i had to check that out as well while i was in the area anyway. 

A few doors away from where they lived, was one of their favourite hangouts: café Anderes Ufer. Nowadays it's called Neues Ufer. Unfortunately it was closed when i was there, but apparently it's still regulary visited by many Bowie fans from all over the world. There was a Blackstar in the window, as you can see on the picture below, and looking through the window i saw a Bowie poster from his 1974 TopPop appareance (with pirate's eye patch).

Even though my Berlin visit was by no means intended as a Bowie pilgrimage, it was interesting to see at least these places where he spent a lot of time during 1976-1978. And when i got back home, "Heroes" was the first album that made its way to my recordplayer.

Oh by the way: Neuköln is a district of Berlin, and should actually be spelled with two L's.

Label: RCA

Cat.nr.: NL-13857

Year of release: 1977 (this particular pressing is from 1980 however)

SIDE A:

01. Beauty And The Beast

02. Joe The Lion

03. "Heroes"

04. Sons Of The Silent Age

05. Blackout

SIDE B:

01. V-2 Schneider

02. Sense Of Doubt

03. Moss Garden

04. Neuköln

05. The Secret Life Of Arabia

Iggy & Ziggy - Sister Midnight Live At The Agora [12", 2LP, Unofficial]

Today it's been exactly two months since DAVID BOWIE passed away.

This particular double live LP SISTER MIDNIGHT LIVE AT THE AGORA captures an IGGY POP show from 1977. March 21st, Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio to be exact. Bowie fans will know this, but other people might not: Bowie was part of Iggy's band for the Idiot Tour, a one-and-half month tour in the UK, USA and Canada during March and April 1977. He didn't do any solo stuff, but just wanted to be a band member, playing keyboards and doing some occasional backing vocals. The other band members were Tony and Hunt Sales, who helped record The Idiot album (and who'd both be with Bowie in Tin Machine just over a decade later - a band in which Bowie also wanted to be just one of the guys), and Ricky Gardiner. Ricky had worked with Bowie on the Low album, as well as The Idiot. 

The recording of this bootleg is pretty good. There are quite a few other versions released of this show over the years. Wild Animal on the French Revenge label is probably the most wellknown. Also on the official RCA album from 1978 TV Eye Live 1977 there are a few songs from this show. Although the tour was to promote The Idiot, there are mostly songs from The Stooges present here. Turn Blue, Sister Midnight and Funtime are therefore almost the only ones on which you clearly hear Bowie's backing vocals. Besides that, he does some fine repetitive keyboards on I Wanna Be Your Dog. I would've loved to see one of the shows on this tour. Quite a package, Iggy and Ziggy on the same stage.

Label: The Vinyl Countdown / Store For Music

Cat.nr.: SFMVC1206

Year of release: 2012

SIDE A:

01. Raw Power

02. 1969

03. Turn Blue

SIDE B:

01. Sister Midnight

02. I Need Somebody

03. Search And Destroy

SIDE C:

01. TV Eye

02. Dirt

03. Funtime

SIDE D:

01. Gimme Danger

02. No Fun

03. I Wanna Be Your Dog

David Bowie - Heroes / Helden / Héros [12"]

This 12" is a nice score from the recent Utrecht record fair. I was already on my way out, when i spotted this DAVID BOWIE maxi in the crates of a stand that was selling everything for half-price. And since it was very reasonably priced already in the first place, i now got it for a real bargain. The only reason i was actually interested in it, was that it contains the French version of the song HEROES: HÉROS. HELDEN, the German version is much more common. I already had that on a compilation album called Rare, for example. And while the German version is already quite horrible when it comes to David's foreign language skills, the French one is even worse :) Nevertheless a great find and a very welcome addition to my Bowie collection.

Label: RCA
Cat.nr.: PC 9821
Year of release: 1977

SIDE A:
01. Heroes/Helden

SIDE B:
01. Heroes/Héros

David Bowie - Beauty And The Beast [7"]

This is a peculiar version of DAVID BOWIE's single of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. I came across it in a secondhand store where they had a couple of other similar singles from the same source where this 7" came from. It originates from the archive of Dutch national radio, apparently. It's modified in a way that they've put it in a generic sleeve with the Dutch Top 40 Foundation logo on it ("Stichting Nederlandse Top 40"), and put an address stamp and a numbered sticker on the centre label. The disc looks like it has almost never been played. And if this single was only meant for airplay on the Top 40, that could very well be the case: it failed to chart in Holland and never made it any further than #21 in the so-called Tip Parade. So this single was very likely only played a handful of times around the time it came out in Holland - and when it was, it'd be broadcasted nationwide. Quite a unique copy.

Label: RCA
Cat.nr.: PB 1190
Year of release: 1977

SIDE A:
01. Beauty And The Beast

SIDE B:
01. Sense Of Doubt