Heroes: ours & Bowie's..
We clapped for our NHS again recently and it got me thinking about the notion of heroes and conversely... of villains. People don't like villains, they never have. Well not really. Yes of course they're always exciting in sci-fi or fantasy film setting but in reality it's not something to preach about or sell. 'Bad boys' in the modern sense yes to a degree but never villains, the traditional term never gets a mention. When The Beach Boys released "Heroes and Villains" in 1967, it largely sunk without trace and never got stuck in the public consciousness like Bowie's "Heroes" did, who's anthemic call - "just for one day" - had become part of last summer's BBC Radio wide singalong and entered the British psyche, just like Captain Sir Tom Moore did, a gentleman, decorated war hero and astonishing philanthropist who single handedly raised a staggering £29m for the NHS.
"Heroes" incidentally wasn't even a huge hit when it was released 1977, landing at a lowly 24 in the UK charts; it was about having an affair. However the grandiose setting of Berlin "where the war never really ended" and the sincere sentiment, meant that that was lost amidst the hugely anthemic chords over which Bowie sang at his most affectingly. BBC's choice to use it last summer was a fitting testament to the song, a song Mojo Magazine eloquently described as a cross between Kraftwerk and Shirley Bassey. Funnily enough it's flip-side "V-2 Schneider" a largely instrumental track, was Bowie's tribute to his own hero Kraftwerk's co-founder Florian Schneider who passed away last April and whom I really should have written about at the time but alas my 'blog' had only just got off the ground.
Florian Schneider (see above, first left) was a founding member of the German music group - who pioneered electronic music. Releasing their self-titled debut in 1970, they really starting changing the landscape with 1974's classic Autobahn, before mainstream success came, particularly with 1978's The Man-Machine and their biggest hit "The Model". Their influence on modern music is unparalleled, as Allmusic wrote, their music "resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century". From Disco, to the New Romantics, High-NRG, House and all forms of Dance music thereafter, the influence is far and wide. At their onset, for an idea of just how far ahead of the curve Florian and his German pals were check out this astonishing footage:
Florian Schneider (see above, first left) was a founding member of the German music group - who pioneered electronic music. Releasing their self-titled debut in 1970, they really starting changing the landscape with 1974's classic Autobahn, before mainstream success came, particularly with 1978's The Man-Machine and their biggest hit "The Model". Their influence on modern music is unparalleled, as Allmusic wrote, their music "resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century". From Disco, to the New Romantics, High-NRG, House and all forms of Dance music thereafter, the influence is far and wide. At their onset, for an idea of just how far ahead of the curve Florian and his German pals were check out this astonishing footage:
It looks like an excerpt from Tomorrow's World but was in the fact from 1970, the same year as The Beatles' Let It Be and the rock festival Altamont. Whilst The Beatles were infighting and singing "909" and The Rolling Stones were lambasting Hells Angels for their over the top security, our friends across in mainland Europe were quietly getting on with making new sounds and creating a musical revolution.
All things must pass but heroes live on through the impact of what they left. RIP Captain Sir Tom Moore and belatedly Florain Schneider, both giants amongst men.
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