Heroes - David Bowie - 1977
It's not unusual for artists to be inspired by others, but seldom does such inspiration become an anthem of a generation. In this case, David Bowie drew inspiration from an iconic film that marked a crucial time in the history of humanity.
In 1968, a very young David Bowie, whose career had had a rough start, went to see a movie, not knowing that those two and a half hours would change his life forever. Bowie was in a rough place personally, and this sci-fi movie really resonated with him, inspiring him to write the song that kickstarted his career. How David Bowie Was Inspired by Stanley Kubrick In 1968, Stanley Kubrick released his legendary movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the next year, man walked on the moon. This science fiction movie made a huge impact on fans all over the world, particularly on a young man from England. David Bowie was 21 when he first saw this movie, and then he kept going to see it again a few times because he couldn't believe how amazing it was."I was very stoned when I went to see it, several times," Bowie admitted, which may have contributed to how impactful it was to him."It was really a revelation to me. It got the song flowing." Shortly after seeing it, ideas started to form.From watching the movie, he created a character, the now-iconic Major Tom, the protagonist of his second, self-titled studio album from 1969. Before that, he'd had a string of underwhelming, unsuccessful singles, but Bowie broke that strike with the first single of his second album, the first one featuring the beloved Major Tom:"Space Oddity." The word game is very clear there, but that doesn't make it any less brilliant. While the single wasn't about the space race, it was very fitting for its time, and Bowie's record company rushed to release it so that it would come out just days before the moon landing. For decades, people were sure Bowie had written"Space Oddity" about the Apollo 11 mission, but its inspiration, although clearly related to the space race in many ways, was a lot more about the plot of the Kubrick movie and the universal feelings of longing and uncertainty it inspired in him. Nothing can make a person feel so lonely as staring into the void of space. Especially if, like Bowie, they've consumed some mind-altering substances. The Other Inspirations Behind Major Tom Kubrick's Space Odyssey was undoubtedly the main source of inspiration for Bowie's second, conceptual album. But it's not a coincidence that it was the"sense of isolation" in the movie that spoke to him the most. At the time he was writing David Bowie, he was also going through a devastating breakup with actress Hermione Farthingale. And believe it or not, she was the inspiration for Major Tom."It was Hermione who got me writing for and on a specific person," he explained. His heartbreak is clear throughout the album, and as well as using her as inspiration for Major Tom, he dedicated her a few songs, including"An Occasional Dream," and of course,"Letters to Hermione." Even two years later, in 1971, when he released Hunky Dory, he referred to her as"the girl with the mousy hair" in the song"Life on Mars?" The claims that Bowie drew inspiration from the space race have some truth to them, of course. The singer wanted to draw a parallel between Major Tom and the desperation to win the space race, or really, with any kind of ruthless ambition without a clear goal."When I originally wrote about Major Tom, I thought I knew all about the great American dream and where it started and where it should stop. Here was the great blast of American technological know-how shoving this guy up into space, but once he gets there he’s not quite sure why he’s there. And that’s where I left him." The song was complex and intriguing even before knowing its background, but the many layers of inspiration are truly breathtaking. On the surface, it's a fascinating chronicle of the time in history Bowie was living in. Behind it, of course, is the other work of art that inspired it, Kubrick's film. But underneath it all is the most human experience in the universe: heartbreak.
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