Song for Berlin
For ten years nothing was heard of David Bowie. Now he has dedicated his new single to the years he spent in Berlin.
THE SONG that fell to earth – out of the blue. In mid-January a new song by David Bowie appeared, as if from nowhere. For ten years nothing had been heard of the musical chameleon (“Heroes”). Then, overnight, a video featuring a new song entitled “Where are we now?” appeared on his website – and shot to the top of the iTunes chart. The song tells of the most productive phase of Bowie’s life, the years from 1976 to 1978 when he lived in the West Berlin district of Schöneberg. Bowie sings about the Potsdamer Platz, the legendary Dschungel discotheque and the department store Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe). It’s a foray into his past – and a homage to Berlin’s mutability.