The group recorded two studio albums and a live album before dissolving in 1992, when Bowie returned to his solo career. The group was generally reviled, often receiving scathing critical reviews.
David Bowie’s Never Let Me Down album (already a move into slightly "harder" rock territory) and subsequent "Glass Spider Tour" had been savaged by critics, and the singer was aware of his low stock. Eager to return to making music for himself rather than the mainstream audience he had acquired following the Let's Dance album, Bowie began collaborating with Reeves Gabrels (who pushed the singer to rediscover his experimental side and went on to work closely with Bowie for much of the next decade) and multi-instrumentalist Erdal Kizilcay on new material in 1988. The first fruits of this came with a new version of Bowie’s 1979 song "Look Back in Anger", performed at the "Intruders At The Palace" benefit concert on 1 July 1988. They then began to plan a concept album based on Steven Berkoff's play East as a Bowie solo album, but this idea was scrapped. Bowie and Gabrels began working with producer Tim Palmer on new material. Bowie then recruited brothers Hunt Sales and Tony Sales (the sons of comedian Soupy Sales) as a rhythm section. Bowie had worked with them on Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life album and ran into them at a party in Los Angeles around this time.
The Sales brothers moved the tone of the sessions in Nassau away from art-rock and more towards hard rock, and Bowie looked to one of his favorite bands at the time, Pixies, for inspiration. The Sales brothers heckled Bowie into greater spontaneity, with most songs recorded in one take, and lyrics left unpolished, thus giving the band a ragged, punk rock edge similar to the Pixies.
The group chose the name Tin Machine after one of the songs they had written (Gabrels would later credit the Sales brothers with this choice). The group set up allowed Bowie a certain level of anonymity, much needed after his 1980s overexposure, and he was happy to let the rest of the band (notably Hunt Sales) take the lead in interviews.
The band’s self-titled first album (Tin Machine) produced mixed but generally positive reviews on release in May 1989, picking up favorable comparisons with Bowie’s three more recent solo albums. However, many critics were scornful of Bowie’s latest attempt to reinvent himself as a bearded band-member. Commercially, the album initially sold well, reaching #3 in the UK charts, but sales quickly tailed off. The band undertook a low-key tour in small venues between 14 June and 3 July 1989, before further recording sessions in Sydney, Australia. During these sessions Tin Machine contributed to a surfing compilation album called Beyond the Beach, with a new instrumental song titled "Needles on the Beach.
The group then went on hiatus while Bowie conducted his solo "Sound+Vision Tour." In December 1990, Bowie split from EMI. Both parties stated that the split was amicable, although it is believed EMI refused to release another Tin Machine album in an exasperated attempt to secure another album similar to Let's Dance. In March 1991, the group signed to Victory Music, a new label launched by JVC and distributed worldwide by London Records and Polygram, and recorded more new material. This was combined with tracks from the Sydney sessions to form Tin Machine II album. This time the commercial success was even more fleeting, and Bowie was already tired of being shackled to a group set-up. From 5 October 1991 to 17 February 1992, the group undertook a larger tour, known as the "It's My Life Tour". The band was joined on this tour by guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, who would go on to play with Bowie's friend Iggy Pop.
Tracks from this tour were released on the July 1992 album Tin Machine Live - Oy Vey, Baby. Shortly afterwards, Bowie returned to solo recording with his single “Real Cool World” and the band dissolved.
Bowie promised Tin Machine III or at the very least a boxed-set of unreleased material in the mid-1990s, but his solo career had taken precedence, making him reluctant to dedicate energy to an old project. He continued to work with Gabrels, spanning four albums after Tin Machine: Black Tie White Noise (Gabrels contributed to only one track), Outside, Earthling, and Hours. After the last album, Gabrels felt that Bowie was moving in a softer, gentler direction that he did not want to travel in, so the two parted ways professionally. In some interviews he has also indicated his disappointment in the retrospective projects Bowie was planning at the time (the Toy album, which never surfaced, as well as the Ziggy 2002 project) played a part in his parting with Bowie.
Working Class Hero
Tin Machine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if your clever and they despise a fool
Till you`re so fucking crazy you can`t fallow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
When they`ve tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
Ah then they expect you to pick a career
When you can`t really function you`re so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped wit religion and sex and TV
And you think you`re so clever and classless and free
But you`re still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
There`s room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must smile as you kill
But if you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
Just follow me
The song "Working Class Hero" by Tin Machine is a powerful commentary on the way society can crush the spirit of the working class, making them feel small and powerless. The first verse speaks to the way individuals are given no time to develop themselves as unique individuals, instead being told what to do and how to behave from a young age. This can lead to a sense of emotional numbness and disassociation that is reflected in the line "till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all." However, the song is also a call to action, asserting that being a working class hero is something to be proud of. Despite the hardships and oppression that working class people may face, their resilience and determination make them heroic.
The second verse speaks to the ways in which institutions like schools and governments can contribute to the oppression of the working class. Teachers may resent clever students, and those who don't fit in or don't conform may be punished or ostracized. This can lead to feelings of insanity or disconnection from the world, represented by the line "till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules." The third verse addresses the ways in which society tries to distract working class people from their oppression through religion, sex, and entertainment. The line "you think you're so clever and classless and free / but you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see" highlights the fact that no matter how much people may believe themselves to be above the working class, they are still subject to the same forces of exploitation.
Overall, "Working Class Hero" is a powerful statement on the relationship between power and oppression, and the ways in which ordinary people can assert their own dignity and heroism in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
As soon as you`re born they make you feel small
From the moment you are born, society makes you feel insignificant and unimportant.
By giving you no time instead of it all
Instead of nurturing, loving, and spending time with you, society ignores you.
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
Eventually, this mistreatment is so overwhelming that you become numb to it.
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
This mistreatment follows you to your home life and your education.
They hate you if your clever and they despise a fool
People are judged no matter their intelligence, with the intelligent being disliked and the less intelligent being looked down upon.
Till you`re so fucking crazy you can`t fallow their rules
This can lead to a sense of insanity in which the established societal rules cannot be followed.
When they`ve tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
Over the course of two decades, people are tortured and scared into fitting into societal expectations.
Ah then they expect you to pick a career
After 20 years of this, society still expects you to make a decision for your future.
When you can`t really function you`re so full of fear
Despite this, the fear from the torture inflicted upon you makes it difficult to even function.
Keep you doped wit religion and sex and TV
Society uses distractions like religion, sex, and television to keep the masses subdued and unaware of their own oppression.
And you think you`re so clever and classless and free
These distractions lead many to believe that they are intelligent, free-thinking, and without social class, though this is not the reality.
But you`re still fucking peasants as far as I can see
However, in reality, people remain peasant-like and unimportant in society's eyes.
There`s room at the top they are telling you still
Despite all of this, society falsely claims there is still opportunity at the top for those who work hard.
But first you must smile as you kill
In order to reach the top, people must conform and suppress parts of themselves to succeed, essentially killing who they were before.
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
If someone truly desires to be like those at the top of society.
A working class hero is something to be
Being a working class hero is something to aspire to, despite society's efforts to suppress and oppress the working class.
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
The artist beckons listeners to follow them if they want to become heroes that resist the oppressions of societal expectations.
Just follow me
The singer further urges listeners to follow them to achieve the status of a working-class hero.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Winston Lennon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pedro Sánchez
Tin Machine - David Bowie!!!
1989! Hace un tiempo aprendí
Juega duro la vida es corta
Disfruta hoy como si fuera tu último día!
Aprende cómo si la vida fuera eterna!
Hace un tiempo aprendi
Rompe las reglas, perdona rápido, besa lento, ama de verdad, y nunca dejes de sonreír!
Juega duro la vida es corta
Hace un tiempo aprendí
El hombre es mortal por sus temores e inmortal por sus deseos!
Sólo sé, que no sé nada.
Salud - Suerte 🌬️🍷🍇🍷
15-11-2020 Rock and Rock
Thank you 💪🏼✌🏽👏🏿
Stephen Huerta
This John Lennon cover is pure metal genius. Tin Machine, such an underrated, under appreciated ROCK band. It’s so puzzling how people and the critics brushed off Tin Machine, it boggles the brain. The whole album is amazing , it’s loud , it rocks and probably the heaviest David Bowie ever sounded.....brilliant!! I was fortunate enough to see Tin Machine at the Hollywood Palladium with my best friend, Perro. I’ll always remember when David came out and started playing his saxophone, I was blown away. Did anyone see Tin Machine on the Arsenio Hall show? It was excellent, and the interview was heartfelt and personal. I loved it when Arsenio looked at Hunt and Tony Sales and asked, “How’s dad”, there dad being Soupy Sales, David loved it. David, I love you my brother, RIP.
Tim McCue
I saw Tim Machine in Dallas. It was on a Monday night, and the Cowboys were playing on Monday night football. Right before the set, Bowie brought out a tv, put it on a chair in the middle of the stage and turned it on. They were interviewing Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys coach, and the sound was being pumped through the sound system. Bowie was surely behind this, but the sound started being distorted. It was comical how Jimmy Johnson’s voice sounded. It was the art of the moment. And every moment of his life was art. One of the best concert moments for me sitting third row center for that show. I think all of his fans miss him so. He filled that creative part of our brains for us, and did it better than anyone!
jrugburn
❤️❤️❤️🙏🏼🤠
Christopher Luxford
I knew this version years before I ever heard the Lennon original. Tin Machine was a hugely under rated album, and a superb live experience.
ssp
Christopher Luxford both of their albums are great.
Brendan Tyson
Christopher Luxford I saw Tin Machine at the Kilburn Ballroom
F**king Mental GIG
Theodorus Rex
+Christopher Luxford Me too... In fact, I have only recently heard the original... lol
susan Mead
Tin Machine was an amazing band!!
PAUL JACKSON
Great version of a Lennon classic.Bowie and Lennon worked together on the brilliant Fame.David also covered Across The Universe.
Clay Tall Stories
Those of you, who like me, grew up with him will be feeling that something special that shaped your life or in some way touched it has now passed on. Sorrow. Fame...Those of you too young or too old who have missed David Bowie's greatness simply just missed out on a little bit of life's magic. He was a story teller, an actor, a band leader, a writer and an amazing singer. We now have lift off Major Tom.