David Bowie Cover of the Week: Hollywood Vampires cover “Heroes”

I’m featuring this (apparent) bootleg video more as a curiosity than anything else. Well, that’s not exactly fair. The Hollywood Vampires’ cover of “Heroes” is well done for sure, but there are several aspects of this particular video that I usually tend to avoid in selecting a cover of the week. That said, the curiosity part is who, or what, the band is.

Maybe everyone already knew that the Hollywood Vampires exist. They’re touring and have a new live album documenting their performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival all the way back in 2018 (which also includes “Heroes”). I don’t think I knew that. So what’s so unusual? Well, the band is made up of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, Tommy Henriksen, Alice Cooper, and Johnny Depp. I don’t know, that composition just strikes me as worth noting.

So, what’s not to like? The reasons I normally wouldn’t post a video like this have nothing to do with the performance. To begin with, though, I disfavor bootlegs, especially of the sort taken in the audience from an iPhone. I am not 100% sure that’s what this is, in part because it looks and sounds better than most such videos, but I normally prefer videos that are authorized by the artists themselves and are either professionally produced or are at least recorded with the performers’ participation.

My other major problem is… it’s “Heroes.” You have no idea how many “Heroes” covers are posted every week. Big name bands, cover bands, bands with local followings, guys in their basement with a guitar. Based on the frequency of covers, you’d think David Bowie wrote “Heroes,” “Space Oddity,” and “The Man Who Sold the World.” Actually, “The Man Who Sold the World” is sometimes misidentified as a Nirvana cover, so scratch that from the list. Don’t get me wrong, “Heroes” is a great song, but come on, folks, Bowie wrote about 400 other ones to choose from!

Anyway, if you want to see more about the Hollywood Vampires, where they are touring, how to get their album, etc., visit their website here:
https://www.hollywoodvampires.com/