David Bowie's 1977 art-rock single from his Brian Eno, Berlin influenced period is a highly coveted 12" promo. But who'd have thought that it would have lent itself so well to the Italo Disco makeover it was given in 1983 by The Big Ben Tribe?
Well given that it was mixed by Italo Disco Mastermind Tony Carrasco the genius behind Klein M.B.O. and many other Italo Disco classics would be reason enough to give it a serious listen. The breezy, light and accessible disco sound and the highly capable and enjoyable female vocals gave Heroes a new life. Kudos to the Big Ben Tribe for having the audacity to give a David Bowie song a whirl.
Many Hi NrG covers of standards and rock songs are total crap compared to the super high quality production Heroes was given in 1983. Unfortunately Big Ben Tribe was sort of a one hit wonder act. Though they did have several other releases including Hot Love and Tarzan Loves the Summer Nights they did not equal the Italo Disco magic of Heroes again.
BIG BEN ZIP
The group followed Heroes up in 1984 with the campy Italo Disco tune Tarzan Loves the Summer Nights. It's a super collectible hard to find twelve inch from the seminal italo disco label Gong. I've included it in my zip of Heroes.
