There’s A First Time For Everything: David Bowie, Stryper, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Robyn Hitchcock

David Bowie, Soundtrack from Christiane F. (wir kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo)

If you were to ask anyone who knows me to any degree, one of the first things they would say to describe me would be “Bowie fan.” In fact they might say that if Bowie passed gas I probably have a tape of it, and they wouldn’t be that far off; I’m a massive collector. But there was a first album, and it was one of the least known of the official releases. It was the soundtrack of a 1981 German film about a teenage girl in mid-70s Berlin who gets lost in a world of drugs and prostitution. The girl is a Bowie fan and so his music forms the backdrop of the movie which is just as cheery as it sounds.

I bought the album in 1983 at a record store in Chester, New Jersey, and I can only assume that the small store had an even smaller selection of Bowie’s catalog. Either that or the record was greatly discounted so as to be an attractive choice for a 15-year-old with limited funds. I do recall debating for a while before making my selection, so I lean towards the financial reason. Let’s Dance was just out, and I wanted to know a little more about this guy with the storied past.

It’s an odd choice for a first Bowie record, especially at the time that his most popular album was in stores. It’s made up of songs from the mid-70s, the period when he was recording in Berlin with Brian Eno, and there are very few well-known hits on it. It starts off with the near-instrumental “V-2 Schneider,” a nod to the German band Kraftwerk, and I can’t believe that this track alone didn’t turn me around to get my money back. I was certainly not into that kind of music, though to be fair I was not especially attached to any particular style of music at the time. Two other instrumentals, “Sense of Doubt” and “Warszawa,” are also included. The most famous track is “Heroes” but the included version is sung half in English, half in German.

I listened to this album constantly, usually on Side Two, which begins with a 1978 performance of “Station to Station,” a sprawling pastiche of a song which I count as one of my favorites. This is immediately followed by “Look Back In Anger” and “Stay,” which are both fast and technically thrilling. I didn’t have a Walkman yet, but I would keep these songs in my head at all times. I distinctly recall going windsurfing with my father and singing to myself as I floated on the water, waiting for a breeze. The album was not released on CD until 2001, so I held on to the vinyl LP for nearly 20 years before I acquired a new copy, and in fact I still have it today as a memento of that important beginning.

Click to read about. . .

David Bowie, Soundtrack from Christiane F.
Stryper, The Yellow and Black Attack
Siouxsie & The Banshees, Hyæna
Robyn Hitchcock, Fegmania!

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