2.

“It was one of the most emotional performances I’ve ever done. I was in tears. They’d backed up the stage to [the Berlin Wall] itself so that the wall was acting as our backdrop. We kind of heard that a few of the East Berliners might actually get a chance to hear the thing, but we didn’t realize in what numbers they would. And there were thousands on the other side that had come close to the wall…. And we would hear them cheering and singing along from the other side. God, even now I get choked up. It was breaking my heart. I’d never done anything like that in my life, and I guess I never will again. When we did ‘Heroes’ it really felt anthemic, almost like a prayer.” 2

—David Bowie in 2003, recalling his 1987 performance at Platz der Republik in West Berlin, next to the wall that had divided the city for almost thirty years.