Bowie and Beyond: A Music Fan's Guide to Berlin
Danny Robins follows in Bowie and Iggy's footsteps, on a guided tour with former recording engineer Thilo Schmied, around some of the pair's old haunts and legendary Hansa studios
Here writer and broadcaster Danny Robins looks at what has made the German capital into a rock n roll mecca, exploring the cultural and social forces that have shaped the city's rich musical history from Weimar times, via the Bowie years, to the techno revolution of the 90s and the still vibrant present day music scene.
Danny follows in Bowie and Iggy's footsteps, on a guided tour with former recording engineer Thilo Schmied, who takes him around some of the pair's old haunts and shows him round the legendary Hansa studios where they recorded, in the shadow of the wall and within shooting range of the East German border guards. Bowie and Iggy inspired a creative influx of bands and singers in subsequent decades. Danny meets producer Gareth Jones, who worked with Depeche Mode and Nick Cave at Hansa, and Mute Records founder Daniel Miller, still a resident of Berlin.
Danny meets more recent musical immigrants too, like Eddie Argos from indie band Art Brut, now resident in hipster suburb Neuk枚lln, and the queen of sextronic rock n roll, Peaches, who takes Danny on a tour along the remains of the Berlin Wall and gives him her suggested Berlin playlist.
Danny also meets German artists, including Die Toten Hosen, indie band Tocotronic and rising star of German Hip Hop, Prinz Pi. Interestingly, German is the second biggest market for hip hop outside the states, but does rap really sound good in German? And DJ Paul Van Dyk tells Danny about his days growing up in East Germany, smuggling records in over the border. Through these meetings with musical residents of Berlin past and present, Danny builds up a picture of not only the influences that have shaped the city's unique soundscape but also the reasons it has been and continues to be such a rich and fertile place for musicians to base themselves. Every band needs a Berlin period - but is there such a thing as a Sound of Berlin?
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David Bowie and Iggy Pop's Berlin Adventures
Duration: 10:28
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Iggy Pop
The Passenger
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David Bowie
Where Are We Now?
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David Bowie
Let's Dance
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Pink Floyd
The Wall
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Michael Jackson
Man In The Mirror
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David Bowie
Sound And Vision
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Iggy Pop
Nightclubbing
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Iggy Pop
Lust For Life
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David Bowie
'Heroes'
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Fad Gadget
Collapsing New People
- Berlin Mix.
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They Might Be Giants
Road Movie To Berlin
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Depeche Mode
Somebody
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Depeche Mode
Stripped
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Depeche Mode
Master And Servant
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Depeche Mode
Everything Counts
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Depeche Mode
Black Celebration
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Nick Cave
From Her To Eternity
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Robots in Disguise
I Live In Berlin
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Art Brut
Emily Kane
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Art Brut
Moving To LA
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Art Brut
Formed A Band
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Goldie Lookin Chain
Welcome To Germany
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Can
I Want More
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Nena
99 Luftballons
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Tocotronic
Unter Der Schnellstrasse
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Falco
Rock Me Amadeus
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The Beatles
Love Me Do
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Jonas Seltsam
Im Schnee
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Minimal Techno
Berlin Sound
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Puhdys
Vorn Ist Das Licht
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The Sisters of Mercy
This Corrosion
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Paul van Dyk
Lost In Berlin
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The Smiths - Panic
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Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Enola Gay
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Rational Youth
Dancing On The Berlin Wall
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Die Toten Hosen
Hofgarten
- 麻豆社 Session 30/06/1984.
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Die Toten Hosen
Reisefiber
- 麻豆社 Session 30/06/1984.
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Psyche
Unveiling The Secret
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Alphaville
Forever Young
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Mark Broom
M28
- Advanced Human Dub.
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Paul van Dyk
For An Angel E-Wek Club Mix)
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Oh Bauer
Jeans Team
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Lotte Werkmeister
Das Ist Der Berliner Luft
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Marlene Dietrich
Falling In Love Again
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Joel Grey
Wilkommen
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Iggy Pop
Nightclubbing
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Noblesse Oblige
Runaway
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John Kander
Cabaret
Performer: Liza Minnelli. Lyricist: Fred Ebb. -
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The 69 Eyes
Feel Berlin
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Noblesse Oblige
Tanz Memphisto
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Tangerine Dream
Love On A Real Train
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Eko Fresh
Koln Kalk Ehrenmord
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Prinz Pi
Der Neue Igod
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Vanilla Ice
Ice Ice Baby
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The Sugarhill Gang
Rapper's Delight
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Peaches
Operate
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Peaches
Kick It
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Claire Waldoff
Nach Meine Beene Is Janz Berlin Verruckt
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Laserkraft 3D
Nein Mann
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Ideal - Ich Steh Auf Berlin
Ideal
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Nina Hagen
Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo
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David Bowie
'Heroes'
Broadcasts
- Sun 31 Mar 2013 12:00麻豆社 Radio 6 Music
- Sun 7 Apr 2013 02:00麻豆社 Radio 6 Music
- Wed 6 Jan 2021 03:00麻豆社 Radio 6 Music
- Thu 6 Jan 2022 02:00麻豆社 Radio 6 Music
- Thu 13 Apr 2023 02:00麻豆社 Radio 6 Music