David Bowie | Heroes (1977)
"Heroes" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was recorded in mid-1977 at Hansa Studio 2 in West Berlin and released by RCA Records on 23 September 1977 as the lead single from his 12th studio album of the same name.
1977-09-23 19:00:00 - David Bowie
It was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. Using a G–D chord progression, the backing track was recorded fully before lyrics were written; Bowie and Eno added synthesiser overdubs while Robert Fripp contributed guitar.
To record the vocal, Visconti devised a "multi-latch" system, wherein three microphones were placed at different distances from Bowie and would open when he sang loud enough. Like other album tracks, he improvised lyrics while standing at the microphone.
An art rock song that builds throughout its runtime, "'Heroes'" concerns two lovers, one from East and West Berlin. Under constant fear of death, they dream they are free, swimming with dolphins.
Bowie placed the title in quotation marks as an expression of irony on the otherwise romantic or triumphant words and music.
Directly inspired by Bowie's witnessing of a kiss between Visconti and singer Antonia Maass next to the Berlin Wall, other inspirations included Otto Mueller's Lovers Between Garden Walls (1916) and Alberto Denti di Pirajno's A Grave for a Dolphin (1956).
Bowie also used events in his own life, such as his then-marital issues and alcoholism, which convey dark undertones.
Released in edited form and promoted with a music video directed by Nick Ferguson, Bowie sang the song on numerous television programmes throughout September and October 1977, including Marc Bolan's Marc and Bing Crosby's Christmas special.
Bowie also released German and French-language versions of the track, titled "'Helden'" and "'Héros'", respectively.
Despite its large promotion, the single only peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart and failed to chart at all on the US Billboard Hot 100. Initial reviews for the song were mostly positive, with some welcoming it as a classic addition to the artist's catalogue.
Over time, the song's reputation has grown substantially and is now seen as one of Bowie's best songs, with some considering it one of the greatest songs of all time.
However, his biographers pan the single edit for diminishing the song's power. Following Bowie's death in 2016, the song reached a new peak of number 12 in the UK.
The song remained a staple throughout his concert tours and live performances.
Bowie's second-most covered song after 1974's "Rebel Rebel", a version by the Wallflowers charted in the US and Canada in 1998, while a version by the finalists of The X Factor was a UK number one in 2010.
The song has also been used predominantly in advertising over the years and has appeared in several television series and films.