January 14th, 2016

 

David Bowie in Berlin

David Bowie’s death this week came unexpectedly and has left many music fans and others shocked, because no one knew he had actually been ill. Even the German government has paid tribute to David Bowie, thanking the late singer for ‘helping to bring down the Berlin Wall’ while David Cameron, the British PM related how Bowie’s music had influenced him in his youth.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/david-bowie-death-german-government-thanks-late-singer-for-helping-to-bring-down-the-berlin-wall-a6805931.html

Where did Bowie live in Berlin?

Many people know that Bowie had lived in Berlin for a time, but not many know where exactly in Berlin. He had moved from Switzerland to West Berlin in late 1976 and lived in an  apartment on the Hauptstrasse 155 in Schöneberg. He did his recording work at the nearby ‘Hansa Tonstudio’ in Kreuzberg, close to the Berlin Wall.http://www.dw.com/en/a-trip-through-bowies-berlin/a-16606407

At that particular time, the East Berlin areas like Berlin Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain -which are now the most popular areas for young people and families -were then not easily accessible, mainly for political reasons.

‘Tempelhof-Schöneberg’  remains popular, but Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg are the new Berlin ‘in’ areas

The locality and area of Schöneberg -which is now officially called ‘Berlin-Tempelhof-Schöneberg’ -remains today, as it indeed was in the mid 1970’s, an affluent residential area where real estate prices for Berlin properties have remained steady. It has boulevards, street cafes, outdoor markets, an inordinate amount of park space, all kinds of bars and clubs and a thriving gay and trans gender community.

While it may be that Berlin is trying to claim David Bowie as a ‘part-time’ Berliner, he has actually spent most of his later years in New York.