meaning that it was an ever-present part of Bowie's day-to-day life during the late 1970's. Bowie
found himself in a space where he could sit uncomfortably close to the front line. It was this
view of the wall from the control room that had inspired him to write his seminal track Heroes.
In which everything gravitates towards the wall, fuelled by a longing to see "what's on the other
side” 22 . The song can often be read as a comment upon the disposable consumerist culture that
was rapidly rising in West Germany throughout the 1970’s and often toys with the notion that
“Heroes” in the historical sense are no longer needed. This idea that we can all be “Heroes just
for one day" 23 highlights an anxiety present during the 1970’s regarding how consumer culture
will replace all of our ingrained notions on political ideologies. This longing to see “what’s on
the other side” 24 can be read as a longing to end the division of both Germany and Berlin.
Both sides were governed by completely different ideologies, but both identified as German.
This longing for reunification is something that is omnipresent throughout Heroes and the rest
of the trilogy – not just lyrically but sonically too in the fusion of Eastern and Western sounds.
Bowie sole focus is not conflict, I feel that the sound of the more traditional form of the
distorted electric guitar that cuts through the new experimental sound of Eno’s synthesizer
further reflects a longing for change, but also for a longing for a past in which there was no
physical division.
In November 1977 Bowie released his single Heroes as tensions built between the Soviet
Ambassador in East Berlin and the mayor of West Berlin who was to declare that West Berlin
22
David Bowie, "David Bowie Lyrics - "Heroes", Azlyrics.Com , 2018 [10 February
2018].
23
David Bowie, "David Bowie Lyrics - "Heroes", Azlyrics.Com , 2018 [10 February
2018].
24
David Bowie, "David Bowie Lyrics - "Heroes", Azlyrics.Com , 2018 [10 February
2018].