After collaborating with Iggy Pop on a series of recordings, David Bowie plays as a touring member of his band at a concert in 1978.
At the height of the Cold War between the communist East and the capitalist West, Germany was divided by a 27-mile barbed wire and concrete barrier. This looming manifestation of the ‘Iron Curtain’ cut right through the heart of Berlin, and served as a constant reminder of the ideological gulf and economic and social disparities that separated the two sides.
East Berlin became depressed as the Western side of the Berlin Wall became a symbol of civil liberty and freedom of expression. By the ’70s and ‘80s, West Berlin was seen as a sanctuary for creatives and musicians – and major artists like Iggy Pop and David Bowie soon arrived in the city to write and record new musical material.
A constant reminder of the ideological gulf and economic and social disparities that separated the two sides.
David Bowie performed for 70,000 West Berliners in front of Reichstag in June 1987. The concert was so loud that it could also be heard from the other side of the Berlin Wall.
In 1976, the latter pair would mix Iggy Pop’s debut solo album ‘The Idiot’ at Hansa Studios – an iconic recording space split across several sites, including one in the shadow of Potsdamer Platz and the Berlin Wall. The duo became enamoured with the city, and soon they were sharing an apartment in the vibrant gay neighbourhood of Schöneberg. They became patrons of legendary venue SO36 (sometimes described as Berlin’s version of New York’s CBGB), before returning to Hansa to record Iggy Pop’s second solo album ‘Lust For Life’ in 1977.
David Bowie at Hansa Tonstudio.
The studio – later utilised by Marshall-powered acts like U2, Pixies and Manic Street Preachers – would also house the recordings of two of Bowie’s ‘Berlin Trilogy’ of albums. Considered by many to be the zenith of Bowie's creative output, 'Low' and 'Heroes' utilised avant-garde writing processes and incorporated elements of German krautrock, ambient, and electronic music. The title track from the latter remains one of Bowie’s most essential and recognised works: a dynamic art-rock anthem about two lovers on either side of the Berlin Wall.
‘Warning! You are now leaving West Berlin’, reads a sign at the Brandenburg Gate.
Years later, in 1987, Bowie would return to West Berlin to perform for 70,000 fans in front of the Reichstag building. The performance was so loud that it could be heard over the Wall – where crowds of East Berliners had amassed to sing along. This historic moment would foreshadow the collapse of the border two years later, and when Bowie died in 2016 the German government officially thanked him for his part in re-unifying the country.
The performance was so loud that it could be heard over the wall.
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