Music
14 Jan 25

On this day in 1977: David Bowie released Low

On this day in 1977: David Bowie released <i>Low</i>

David Bowie - Low

On January 14, 1977, David Bowie released his 11th studio album – and the first instalment in his Berlin Trilogy – Low. Produced with Tony Visconti, the album has come to be regarded as one of Bowie's greatest works. To mark the anniversary of Low, we're delving into the Hot Press archives – and sharing some special reflections on this iconic period in Bowie's career...

David Bowie, on the song he was 'most proud of':

"'Warszawa' from Low, partly because it was the first instrumental I ever recorded. I remember hearing the finished result and thinking, 'What a beautiful piece of music.' That's not a pop song, that isn't!"

(Hot Press, 1999)

Tony Visconti:

"What’s really great about the so-called Berlin Trilogy (only Heroes was recorded in Berlin and Lodger was recorded in Switzerland) was that David did not want to chase the Top 10. It was at times chaotic and some of the songs were constructed by chopping out big pieces of a jam, a process like carving a piece of wood until a recognisable form appears. The rhythm section, Carlos, Dennis and George, were key to that.

"They would jam in tight formation, so something was immediately there from the start. It’s amazing how an evening starts with absolutely nothing, then 'Heroes' and 'Joe The Lion' exist by the end of the night. I only had this kind of freedom with David. Most other artists I’ve worked with actually wrote their songs before they stepped into the studio – and they rehearsed beforehand. David wouldn’t do such things for Low, Heroes and Lodger – well, maybe one song was a finished song, but the rest were cerebral jams!

(Hot Press, 2019)