Five Years (David Bowie song)
| "Five Years" | |
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"Five Years" is a song written by David Bowie and released in 1972. It was the opening track on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
The song tells of an Earth doomed to destruction in five years and the aftermath of this knowledge. Bowie is rumored to have chosen the length of time, five years, as a result of a dream in which his deceased father told him he must never fly again and would die in five years.
Live versions
- Bowie played the song at the BBC show In Concert: John Peel on June 3, 1971. This was broadcast on June 20 1971 and released in 2000 on the album Bowie at the Beeb.
- A version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72.
- Another version recorded on the "Heroes" tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum on April 28 or April 29, 1978, was released on Stage.
- Bowie performed the song live on Old Grey Whistle Test. It is included on the DVD version of Best of Bowie.
- The track was performed by Bowie with The Arcade Fire at the 2005 Fashion Rocks concert in New York as well as "Life On Mars?" and the The Arcade Fire's own song "Wake Up". These recordings were made available on the iTunes Music Store in a virtual live EP.
- The track was to be the closing number of David's 1985 Live Aid set at London's Wembley Stadium but was dropped the day before the concert to allow time for the broadcast of the famous appeal video featuring "Drive" by The Cars as its soundtrack.
Other releases
Cover versions
- Aslan - CD Single (1998)
- Cyclefly - "Blockbuster: A Glitter Glam Rock Experience" (2000).
- Endless - "The Dark Side Of David Bowie: A Tribute To David Bowie" (1997)
- Fish - "Songs From The Mirror" (1993)
- Seu Jorge recorded a Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. (2004)
- Marian Gold – (United) (1999)
- Golden Smog - Live Recording 16 April, 1996
- Low Max - Live Recording
- The Outcasts - 5-track mini-LP, "Seven Deadly Sins", "Blood and Thunder" & "Seven Deadly Sins" CD (1997)
- Frank Sidebottom - "Frank's Firm Favourites"
- The Polyphonic Spree - the track was made available on the band's website. They occasionally played it while supporting Bowie on his Reality tour.
- Brian Molko - Live on France2 (2004)
- Uncredited live performance included as a "bonus track" on the tribute album ".2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie" (2006)
- The Enemy - Live Recording 12 March, 2007
