In 1976 David Bowie left Los Angeles and the success of his celebrated albums Young Americans and Station to Station and settled in Berlin, where he would work on his ‘Berlin Triptych’, the albums Low, ‘Heroes’, and Lodger, which are now considered some of the most critically acclaimed and innovative of the late twentieth century. But Bowie’s time in Berlin was about more than producing new music. As explained in this fascinating account of the Berlin years, Bowie moved to that city – the capital of his childhood dreams and the home of Expressionist art – to repair his body and mind from the devastation of drug addiction, delusions and mania. In the course of this rehabilitiation he became an artist of extraordinary brilliance and originality.Tobias Rüther describes Bowie’s friendships and collaborations with Iggy Pop, Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, and paints a vivid picture of his life in the city’s Schöneberg area. Here Bowie started to paint again, and would cycle to the Die Brücke museum as well as explore the nightlife of the city – its wild side and gay scene. He also became close friends with Romy Haag. At Hansa Studios, a stone’s throw from the Berlin Wall, Bowie recorded his groundbreaking song ‘Heroes’. He even landed the part of a Prussian aristocrat in Just a Gigolo, starring alongside Marlene Dietrich.Berlin was then a divided city at a turning-point: at that time West Berlin began to redefine itself as a cultural metropolis, establishing its new role in Germany and the world. Neutralized politically due to the Cold War, Berlin turned to the arts to start its history anew. This book is the story of an artist and a city – the story of the music of the future arising from the spirit of the past.

In 1976, David Bowie left Los Angeles and the success of his celebrated albums Diamond Dogs and Young Americans for Europe. The rocker settled in Berlin, where he would make his "e;Berlin Trilogy"e;-the albums Low, Heroes, and Lodger, which are now considered some of the most critically acclaimed and innovative of the late twentieth century. But Bowie's time in Berlin was about more than producing new music. As Tobias Ruther describes in this fascinating tale of Bowie's Berlin years, the musician traveled to West Berlin-the capital of his childhood dreams and the city of Expressionism-to repair his body and mind from the devastation of drug addiction, delusions, and mania. Painting a vivid picture of Bowie's life in the Schneberg area of the city, Rther describes the artist's friendships and collaborations with his roommate, Iggy Pop, as well as Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. Rther illustrates Bowie's return to painting, days cycling to the Die Brcke museum, and his exploration of the city's nightlife, both the wild side and the gay scene. In West Berlin, Bowie also met singer and actress Romy Haag; came to know Hansa Studios, where he would record Low and Heroes; and even landed the part of a Prussian aristocrat in Just a Gigolo, starring alongside Marlene Dietrich. Eventually Rther uses Bowie and his explorations of the cultural and historical undercurrents of West Berlin to examine the city itself: divided, caught in the Cold War, and how it began to redefine itself as a cultural metropolis, turning to the arts to start a new history.Tying in with an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, in September, 2014, Heroes tells the fascinating story of how the music of the future arose from the spirit of the past. It is an unforgettable look at one of the world's most renowned musicians in one of its most inspiring cities.