Why Marianne Faithfull called ‘Heroes’ her favourite David Bowie song: “To really give people things to be happy about is very hard”
Despite being most associated with the glam rock boom of the 1970s, to those in the know, David Bowie was a scene mainstay in the heart of London in the 1960s. Then known by his birth name of David Jones, he formed his first band at the age of 15 in 1962 and let his parents know of his intention to devote his life to pop music not soon after. Inspired by The Beatles, he acquired a manager while still a teenager and set to work becoming the pop sensation he always knew he could be. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
Even being in the heart of ‘60s London couldn’t help the young Bowie go from wannabe to the legend he felt destined to be. Even his name, Davy Jones, became an albatross around his neck when the Monkees arrived, fronted by a mop-top moppet of the same name.
However, what was making it worse was his proximity to many of the pop heroes of the day. Billy Fury covered a song of his in the late 1960s. He supported Marc Bolan in his short-lived career as a mime, and also played on the same bill as arguably the face of the ‘Swingin’ ’60s’, Marianne Faithful.
Despite playing on the very bottom of the bill to her headline act, the young Bowie made an impression on Faithfull even then. By the time Bowie broke out, she was going to the bat for him as a huge fan of his work. When asked by The Guardian about her favourite Bowie song, she has a plethora of favourites to choose from. She said “I love ‘Golden Years’; I love the Spiders from Mars, though… it was a little bit vulgar. The most sophisticated record he made was Young Americans.”
However, her favourite Bowie song comes not from his glam heyday or from the 1960s she made her name during. Instead, she chooses arguably his crowning moment, the title track from his 1977 masterpiece Heroes. Of the song, she says, “It makes people feel better, feel good. ‘We can be heroes, just for one day’ – it’s a wonderful sentiment. He was very giving and very generous with his work. The dark side is much easier; to really give people things to be happy about is very hard.”
She’s absolutely right, too. Bowie’s work took in human nature in its entirety, and not only was it one of his most joyous moments, but it was joyous without flinching from the world at its most real. This is an album made in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, telling the story of lovers staying together in the face of hardship and their own personal imperfections. Perfectly befitting for an artist like Faithfull, who saw the best and worst of some of the most legendary periods of rock history.
The interview was given in the aftermath of Bowie’s sudden passing in 2016, so it ends on a note that is heartbreakingly relevant at the time of writing. When asked about her feelings toward him, she says, “My feelings are: go well, Dave. I don’t see that death is so terrible, really. It’s terrible for everyone else – but look what he left behind, and how much he gave.” A grace we can extend to her and her memory today.
