Masayoshi Sukita’s memorable cover photo was inspired by German artist Erich Heckel’s Roquairol
Though Low’s later instrumentals referenced various facets of Bowie’s newly adopted home of Berlin, as a whole, it was a much more internalised affair which, for at least half its running time, served as an exercise in self-reflection through music. “Heroes”, released in October 1977, would be a much more comprehensive study of the city that had given him succour, and Berlin had certainly done that for Bowie: socially culturally and musically. Bowie regarded Berlin as “the centre of everything that is happening and will happen in Europe over the next few years”, a sentiment he shared with Vogue in 1978. For him, Berlin wasn’tjust an environment on this record. It was a character in its own right, brought to life as vividly as Ziggy, Aladdin Sane or the Thin White Duke.
Bowie’s life in West Berlin consisted of living with Iggy Pop, frequenting bars, consuming art, culture and creating music, and was constantly and quite literally overshadowed by the presence of the wall: a looming totem of oppression that underlined the tense Cold War paranoia of the time. Bowie injected many of the album’s tracks with the feel of unease he experienced in his new home, although primarily from a more personalised perspective.