Duran Duran will mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday by joining the star-studded tribute livestream “A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day”. In anticipation, the new wave legends have shared a new cover of Bowie’s 1972 classic “Five Years”.
“Five Years” wasn’t chosen at random. As the opening track to Bowie’s iconic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it provided a formative moment for DD frontman Simon Le Bon. In a statement, he called it “our first taste of its perfection,” explaining,
“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.”
Check out the cover of “Five Years” below.
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The livestream comes with a stacked roster of musicians, actors, and comedians. In addition to Trent Reznor and Billy Corgan, the three-hour event will feature Boy George, Taylor Momsen, Ricky Gervais, Dave Navarro, Corey Taylor, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Chaney, Gary Barlow, Gary Oldman, Gavin Rossdale, Perry Farrell, Joe Elliott, Macy Gray, Ian Astbury, Lzzy Hale, Gail Ann Dorsey, Bernard Fowler, Corey Glover, Lena Hall, Judith Hill, Charlie Sexton, Adam Lambert, YUNGBLUD, Andra Day, Michael C. Hall, Ian Hunter, Anna Calvi, Atticus Ross, Etty Lau Farrel, and Mariqueen Maandig Reznor. “A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day!” begins January 8th at 8 PM ET. Tickets are available here.
That won’t be the only party thrown on Bowie’s birthday; the Bowie musical Lazarus starring Michael C. Hall will also be streaming, and his estate has shared unreleased covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan. Yesterday, his widow Iman recalled their “beautiful, ordinary life” on the anniversary of his death.
