most notably, in 1976, david bowie came here. jim: have a seat. well, there we go, there we go. anthony: jim rakete is a celebrated photographer known for his intimate portraits. he began his career as a photojournalist, and in 76, captured the first moments of david bowie stepping off the train in west berlin a city he would live and work in for the next three years. bowie was exhausted and burned out and looking for a new way to live and to work. and the music he created during that time was something truly groundbreaking and new. the result was both a professional and personal rebirth, and some of the most powerful and influential recordings of all time.
hostile forces, be such a hot house for art, music and free expression? jim: west berlin was always very international. we had people that were flying in from all walks of life. artists from all genres were here, and we were surrounded by east. the wall was a solid resistance, and you need a strong enemy to build a strong muscle. and people who were living here had to improvise a lot. anthony: i mean, what is seen by many as a golden period, the weimar era, was in fact a hotbed of music and culture and art in between two really awful events. jim: yes. anthony: followed by the wartime years, followed by a long period, i mean, post-war berlin was in ruins. when were the good times?
jim: i have a very complex answer to that, and that is the best times are now. we have all the freedom that we want, you know? i think the best times are now.
and a funny thing is, when you have that sort of visionary pregnancy that you say, something s going to come, something s going to fall from the sky, it does. anthony: now back in the early 70s when david bowie arrived, a lot of people don t realize that berlin was surrounded, i mean it was essentially an island during much of that period. jim: yes. anthony: outside of whatever bowie was doing, what was it like in west berlin at that time? jim: it was like pressure cooking. you know, it was like pressure cooking. west berlin was surrounded by the wall, and there were just three roads leading to west berlin and they were controlled by the russians, basically. anthony: so, why would a walled city, surrounded by hostile forces, be such a hot
most notably, in 1976, david bowie came here. jim: have a seat. well, there we go, there we go. anthony: jim rakete is a celebrated photographer known for his intimate portraits. he began his career as a photojournalist, and in 76, captured the first moments of david bowie stepping off the train in west berlin a city he would live d work in for the next three years. bowie was exhausted and burned out and looking for a new way to live and to work. and the music he created during that time was something truly groundbreaking and new. the result was both a professional and personal rebirth, and some of the most powerful and influential recordings of all time. classics which i d love to play