Guess What? David Bowe’s Final Rehab Stint Was Called The Berlin Era
Guess what? Did you know that David Bowie escaped Los Angeles and America after his biggest worldwide hit, Young Americans, because he was essentially killing himself with cocaine and living on a subsistence diet of warm milk and peppers? If you’ve ever taken cocaine, or known someone who has, one gram a day is a lot. According to Glenn Hughes, Deep Purple’s singer and David Bowie’s LA roommate, Bowie was doing seven grams a day.
So Bowie pulled his buddy Iggy Pop out of rehab in LA (for a heroin habit), and headed to Berlin, the heroin capital of Europe, to clean up together and get off drugs. Incredibly, this sketchy plan actually worked. Sort of. As Iggy said, “There’s seven days in a week: two for bingeing, two for recovery, and three more for any other activity…”
That activity has become known as The Berlin Era, and included work on some of the most iconic music in either artists’ history: Bowie’s Low, “Heroes” and Lodger, and Iggy Pop’s The Idiot and Lust for Life. Not to mention Bowie collaborated with Bing Crosby, starred in the film “Just a Gigolo” (my 32 Elvis movies contained in one”), played keyboards on tour with Iggy Pop, fired his manager, released a greatest hit album, toured the world, grew a mustache, started wearing overalls and moved into a flat above an auto repair shop in the Turkish neighborhood of Berlin. And pretty much quit drugs.
On Friday, January 12, 2018 at Cleveland’s BOP STOP at 7:30PM, Thomas Anonymous from Vanity Crash will be presenting “David Bowie: The Berlin Era” at 7:30PM, with more fun details about Bowie’s Berlin era, plus an exciting live music set from Cleveland glam heroes Vanity Crash.
On Saturday, January 13, 2018 at the same location, Thomas will present “An Evening With(out) David Bowie” telling the story of Bowie’s entire life from birth to his final album Blackstar and his New York stage musical Lazarus. Part 1 begins at 7:30PM and runs through Young Americans, and Part 2 starts at 9:30PM with the Berlin Era and runs to the very end of his life and beyond. Both sets are followed by live music showcases by Vanity Crash.
The live music segments by Vanity Crash feature Bowie favorites, period classics and originals from their 2017 release Phantasmagoria, which includes a track with piano contributed by Mike Garson, Bowie’s longtime pianist. Join rare video, needle drops, trivia contests, Q&A, and some visual arts exhibitions on David Bowie.
More information check out http://www.BowieShows.com
