I, I can remember…
David Bowie’s sublime 1977 title track from his “Heroes” album is the focus of the first part of a new BBC Radio 2 series, Classic Singles, which will endeavour to “explore in detail the most popular and influential singles ever released”.
The show is presented by Debbie Harry, who is more than qualified to do the job, seeing as how she released a live cover of the song on the B-side of Blondie‘s 1980 #1 UK hit Atomic. This live version even included a guest appearance by Robert Fripp, who was responsible for the famous guitar line on the original Bowie/Eno composition.
The “Heroes” single was released 28 years ago yesterday. But, despite heavy promotion at the time, (various different and brilliant performances of the song were recorded for TV shows, including, TOTPs, Marc and Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas) it only managed to get to #24 on the UK singles chart…incredible when one considers just how widely appreciated the song is now.
Anyway, here’s a bit about the Classic Singles radio show from the BBC:
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Classic Singles – 10.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 2
Debbie Harry examines David Bowie?s “Heroes” in the first of a new series exploring in detail the most popular and influential singles ever released.
This is not a countdown but an in-depth examination of the most important music of our time. Each programme highlights the social, musical and historical importance of a classic pop song, explaining why that song generated such passion and excitement and why it still has relevance and resonance today.
The opening programme includes interviews with Bowie and his producer, Tony Visconti, describing how they recorded the track in the famous Hansa studios in Berlin.
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David’s interviews are most likely to be culled from the archives as he hasn’t done anything specifically for the programme, though it’s possible that TV‘s contributions are recent.
The thirty minute broadcast takes place on Wednesday 5th October at 22:00 to 22:30 GMT, and you can listen online to the show
While you’re over at the BBC site, you may want to check out the