Peter Gabriel gave an impassioned performance yesterday (November 9) in Germany, performing David Bowie's "Heroes" to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. The "In Your Eyes" singer went with an arrangement for the song similar to the one he used on 2010's Scratch My Back.
Bowie, Ultimate Classic Rock points out, wrote the 1977 single while living in Berlin. The song actually tells the story of two lovers meeting at the Wall, which came down in 1989. "I, I can remember," the song goes. "Standing, by the wall/And the guns shot above our heads/And we kissed, as though nothing could fall/And the shame was on the other side."
Gabriel performed at one of the Wall's old crossings, the Brandenburg Gate, backed by an orchestra. Watch the powerful performance below.
Ryan Book of Music Times recently wrote about some of the historic concerts that occurred at the Berlin Wall. Roger Waters was joined by Van Morrison and others in 1990 after the barrier fell for a huge performance at the site. U2 also visited Berlin in 2009 as part of the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Gabriel recently lent a rare tune, "Across the River," to a Gaza relief compilation album titled 2 Unite All.
"Although I am sure both the Palestinian and Israeli people would benefit enormously from a just and fair two-state agreement based around the '67 borders, we have watched the Palestinians subjected to more and more suffering for far too long, especially in Gaza," he said in a press release. "Meanwhile their long held land is repeatedly stolen by force for illegal settlements. I am not and have never been anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic; I am anti-Israeli government policy, anti-injustice, anti-oppression and anti-occupation."
