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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?

1 hour

Last on

Thu 13 Apr 2023 02:00

Music Played

  • Iggy Pop

    The Passenger

  • David Bowie

    Where Are We Now?

  • David Bowie

    Let's Dance

  • Pink Floyd

    The Wall

  • Michael Jackson

    Man In The Mirror

  • David Bowie

    Sound And Vision

  • Iggy Pop

    Nightclubbing

  • Iggy Pop

    Lust For Life

  • David Bowie

    'Heroes'

  • Fad Gadget

    Collapsing New People

    • Berlin Mix.
  • They Might Be Giants

    Road Movie To Berlin

  • Depeche Mode

    Somebody

  • Depeche Mode

    Stripped

  • Depeche Mode

    Master And Servant

  • Depeche Mode

    Everything Counts

  • Depeche Mode

    Black Celebration

  • Nick Cave

    From Her To Eternity

  • Robots in Disguise

    I Live In Berlin

  • Art Brut

    Emily Kane

  • Art Brut

    Moving To LA

  • Art Brut

    Formed A Band

  • Goldie Lookin Chain

    Welcome To Germany

  • Can

    I Want More

  • Nena

    99 Luftballons

  • Tocotronic

    Unter Der Schnellstrasse

  • Falco

    Rock Me Amadeus

  • The Beatles

    Love Me Do

  • Jonas Seltsam

    Im Schnee

  • Minimal Techno

    Berlin Sound

  • Puhdys

    Vorn Ist Das Licht

  • The Sisters of Mercy

    This Corrosion

  • Paul van Dyk

    Lost In Berlin

  • The Smiths - Panic

  • Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

    Enola Gay

  • Rational Youth

    Dancing On The Berlin Wall

  • Die Toten Hosen

    Hofgarten

    • 91热爆 Session 30/06/1984.
  • Die Toten Hosen

    Reisefiber

    • 91热爆 Session 30/06/1984.
  • Psyche

    Unveiling The Secret

  • Alphaville

    Forever Young

  • Mark Broom

    M28

    • Advanced Human Dub.
  • Paul van Dyk

    For An Angel E-Wek Club Mix)

  • Oh Bauer

    Jeans Team

  • Lotte Werkmeister

    Das Ist Der Berliner Luft

  • Marlene Dietrich

    Falling In Love Again

  • Joel Grey

    Wilkommen

  • Iggy Pop

    Nightclubbing

  • Noblesse Oblige

    Runaway

  • John Kander

    Cabaret

    Performer: Liza Minnelli. Lyricist: Fred Ebb.
  • The 69 Eyes

    Feel Berlin

  • Noblesse Oblige

    Tanz Memphisto

  • Tangerine Dream

    Love On A Real Train

  • Eko Fresh

    Koln Kalk Ehrenmord

  • Prinz Pi

    Der Neue Igod

  • Vanilla Ice

    Ice Ice Baby

  • The Sugarhill Gang

    Rapper's Delight

  • Peaches

    Operate

  • Peaches

    Kick It

  • Claire Waldoff

    Nach Meine Beene Is Janz Berlin Verruckt

  • Laserkraft 3D

    Nein Mann

  • Ideal - Ich Steh Auf Berlin

    Ideal

  • Nina Hagen

    Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo

  • David Bowie

    'Heroes'

Broadcasts

  • Sun 31 Mar 2013 12:00
  • Sun 7 Apr 2013 02:00
  • Wed 6 Jan 2021 03:00
  • Thu 6 Jan 2022 02:00
  • Thu 13 Apr 2023 02:00