Duran Duran – “Five Years” (David Bowie Cover)
David Bowie was born 74 years ago today, on Jan. 8, 1947. He died five years ago this Sunday, on Jan. 10, 2016, just two days after releasing Blackstar. To celebrate the late music icon, a bunch of his peers and admirers will be performing a livestreamed tribute show tonight called A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! Among the names attached to the event: Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, Macy Gray, Gail Ann Dorsey, Tony Visconti, Rick Wakeman, Andra Day, Yungblud, Gavin Rossdale, Gary Oldman(?), and many more. It will probably honor Bowie’s legacy better than Stardust.
Also on board for the show are Duran Duran, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band this year. (They have some summer tour dates lined up throughout Europe and the British Isles; cross your fingers that the pandemic will be under control by then!) Ahead of the Bowie tribute, Duran Duran have shared a new cover of “Five Years,” the opening track from 1972’s iconic The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. The song choice feels especially appropriate given how much time has passed since Bowie’s death.
Simon LeBon also shared a statement about Bowie’s impact on his life:
My life as a teenager was all about David Bowie. He is the reason why I started writing songs. Part of me still can’t believe in his death five years ago, but maybe that’s because there’s a part of me where he’s still alive and always will be.
When we got the Ziggy Stardust LP and put the needle in the groove, our first taste of its perfection was the song Five Years. I can’t begin to explain how honored I feel for Duran Duran to be given the opportunity to perform this icon, and to place our name alongside Bowie’s for this commemoration of his music.
Hear the “Five Years” cover below.
A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! begins tonight at 9PM ET/6P PT. Tickets are available here.