David Bowie notched up his first top 10 single in two decades with his surprise new release.

David Bowie notched up his first top 10 single in two decades with his surprise new release.

Launched without warning on Bowie’s 66th birthday, the single “Where Are We Now?” caused widespread media interest, and charted in sixth place despite only having been available for five days.

It was his first new song in almost a decade and produced his best chart performance since 1986, when he reached number two with “Absolute Beginners”, the Official Charts Company said.

David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy

Low Released 1977 Includes Sound and Vision and Breaking Glass

The album was made in France and mixed in west Berlin. Co-producer Tony Visconti said the title was a reference to Bowie’s low moods at the time, having moved to the city to kick his cocaine habit. It was Influenced by German bands Kraftwerk and Neu!. it was not universally well received, although it was acclaimed for its originality and considered by many to be ahead of its time.

“Heroes” Released 1977 Includes “Heroes”

The second instalment of the trilogy on which Brian Eno perfromed and co-wrote with Bowie, this was released only 10 months after Low. It was wholly recorded in Berlin, and the title track remains one of his best known hits, telling the story of young lovers meeting in the shadow of the Berlin Wall – although it was initially conceived as an instrumental. It was named NME album of the year.

Lodger Released 1979 Includes Boys Keep Swinging

Now considered one of Bowie’s most underrated albums, the final part of the trilogy was not, by his standards, a major commercial success. It was recorded in Switzerland during breaks from touring in 1979, and there were reported tensions between Bowie’s band and Eno over his techniques. Bandmate Adrian Belew observed that Eno’s and Bowie’s working relationship was breaking down.

Bowie’s Berlin: ‘A time of Sturm und Drang in the shadow of the Wall’

After the surprise release of the singer’s first single in more than a decade we walk in his footsteps around the city landmarks that inspired three great albums of the 1970s – as well as his latest elegy to the German capital.