David Bowie – Old song, new documentary

CLICK HERE TO READ David Bowie Back In Berlin

David Bowie Back In Berlin is a piece from 2024 about the song Where are we now? which I am reposting.

Today is David Bowie‘s birthday, which we still remember although, in a couple of days, it will actually be 10 years since he passed away.

I suddenly remembered both of these events when I read something this morning announcing Bowie – The Final Act, a new documentary covering his career following the global success of Let’s Dance.

The end of the 1980s was a difficult time for Bowie, whose record company wanted him to make Let’s Dance volume 2 so they could keep on selling more product. He disagreed. He wasn’t one to repeat himself. That was never his thing.

True to form, David wanted to try something new instead, something different. Tired of being the man in the spotlight, he invited some unknown musicians into a band called Tin Machine in which he was simply the singer. They modestly toured and made two albums.

Bowie searched in different directions through the 1990s, kept making records which never quite matched the reception of his previous work. In commercial terms, it was his longest fallow period, and even his solo shows were only saved by often amazing new versions of old songs.

This carried on into 2003, where the mix of artistic frustrations and health issues nudged Bowie into what turned out to be a 10-year break from recording.

It was the song Where are we now? which revealed Bowie’s return when it was released as a single in 2013. It was the lead track for the album The Next Day which, along with Blackstar from 2016, would constitute his final creative apotheosis. He was back.

All this period is precisely the subject of the new documentary, Bowie – The Final Act.

Where are we now? revisits memories from David Bowiés life in Berlin back in the years when the wall was still standing.

The Berlin Wall is now just a memory, but I think this song still stands strong. See what you think.

CLICK HERE TO READ David Bowie Back In Berlin