Heroes - Covers of a Great David Bowie Song

Introduction - Why I Decided To Write This

I was going to listen to my David Bowie Platinum Collection while I was working and as I took the CD box out another CD slipped out, an Uncut compilation of David Bowie covers. There were some interesting ones closing with Mercury Rev’s cover of the coda from “Memory of a Free Festival” which was taken by Dario G as the uplifting dance song “Sunchyme / SunMachine”.

The penultimate song was a fast, upbeat take on “Heroes” by Nico and I played this several times and have been most impressed with it. This made me think of other covers of this wonderful song.

It was written by Bowie and Brian Eno as the title track of the second album in his Berlin Trilogy, the first being “Low” and the final being “Lodger”. Bowie also sang it partially on German on the soundtrack of the film “Christian F”.

For me one of the most striking parts of the song is Robert Fripp’s beautifully elongated four note guitar sequence.

The song is quite slow but full of hope and beauty, and may be regarded as one of Bowie's best and is many fans' favourite Bowie song.

It was recorded overlooking the Berlin Wall in the seventies and refers to that physical border in the song.

So here are a few artists who have covered this wonderful song.

Nico

Heroes is a four minute song but Nico’s version speeds up the music turning it to almost punk and extending it to over eight minutes with Nico’s Germanic vocals over the top of this and the amazing thing to me is that this actually works.

King Crimson

Bob Fripp played the wonderful guitar on the original recording and is also the leader of King Crimson, so it is no surprise that this song found it's way into the set list when the band played in Berlin in 2016.

Motorhead

Probably one of the most unexpected covers, but whether it is the song or the band, Ian Kilmister and company produce a wonderful take of this iconic David Bowie song.

Peter Gabriel

This is a very subdued orchestral take on the song, resulting from his "Scratch My Back Sessions". It has it's own beauty and stays with you long after it has finished. The crowd loved this performance.

Depeche Mode

A sparse electronic take on the song but Dave Gahan's voice is perfect in this particular universe. The dynamics are similar to the original, and Depeche Mode have given us an absolute beauty. Again the song is so good, if it is touched by great musicians, it becomes close to perfection even though it still has its own identity.

Moby with Mindy Jones

This is is similar to the Peter Gabriel take and Mindy Jones's voice is beautiful set against Herman Melville's descendant's perfect orchestral and piano backing.

Blondie

Going back to 1980 Debbie Harry and Blondie keep faithfully to the original song, maybe slightly more upbeat. This is probably one of the lesser covers but it is still wonderful. You wouldn't ever think of skipping this song.

Miley Cyrus

An interesting take on the song, interspersed with quotes from the real heroes of the Coronavirus pandemic. Absolutely wonderful take, Bowie would have been proud of Miley Cyrus for this wonderful production.

Postmodern Jukebox ft. Nicole Atkins

I really was worried about this one but it is just another absolute beauty, showing total respect to the original, with the piano replacing Fripp's guitar, and a stunning final cover in my list for you to enjoy.