David Bowie - HEROES

David Bowie: The Pulse Returns to the Prodigal

In 1987, Bowie returned to West Berlin, where he once lived and recorded some of his best work. With his back to the Berlin Wall, he belted out “Heroes” with his band, crying out for liberty to the crowd in German. Thousands of East Berliners pressed up against the other side of the wall to hear him, and they subsequently began vigorously protesting against the Communist regime.

The riots got the attention of the West, and one week later Ronald Reaganstood near that same place and uttered the now unforgettable words: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” As he commented on the event some years later, it was clear the event moved Bowie, who remembered that “when we [played] ‘Heroes,’ it was really anthemic, almost like a prayer.”

On January 11, 2016, the German Foreign Office officially recognized Bowie’s contribution in helping bring down the wall.