Duff McKagan releases unexpected cover of David Bowie's "Heroes"

Duff McKagan headshot
(Image credit: Charles Peterson)

Duff McKagan has released a surprise single ahead of the upcoming European leg of his Lighthouse tour, which kicks off in Dublin, Ireland, on September 30. The single, which is available on streaming platforms now, includes a cover of David Bowie's 1977 classic "Heroes", backed by a new song, True To The Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad.

"We thought it was good idea to put out a couple of fresh songs right here on the eve of the Lighthouse tour," says Guns N' Roses man McKagan. "Choosing David Bowie’s "Heroes" seemed to be a natural subject matter for me (I am of course, a massive history nerd)… star-crossed lovers in the shadow of the mid-’70s cold-war era Berlin Wall.

“To try and compliment this era, I chose a sort of 70s glam-rock song that I wrote some time last year, True To The Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad, another lyric where love and lust and time are the central figures. We hope you dig this ‘single’ and thank you all for just being you!"

McKagan's European tour wraps up on October 22 in Stockholm, Sweden, before US dates begin on November 4 in Boston. The final show of the tour is in Seattle on November 20. Full dates below. 

Duff McKagan - Heroes - Official Visualizer - YouTube Duff McKagan - Heroes - Official Visualizer - YouTube
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True To The Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad - YouTube True To The Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad - YouTube
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Duff McKagan: Lighthouse Tour 2024

Sep 30: Dublin Academy, Ireland
Oct 02: Glasgow Oran Mor, UK
Oct 03: Manchester Academy 2, UK
Oct 05: London Islington Assembly Hall, UK
Oct 07: Utrecht TivoliVredenburg, Netherlands
Oct 08: Cologne Kantine, Germany
Oct 09: Munich Freiheitshalle, Germany
Oct 11: Brno Sono Centrum Czech Republic
Oct 13: Warsaw Stodola, Poland
Oct 14: Berlin Heimathafen, Germany
Oct 16: Milan Magazzini Generali, Italy
Oct 17: Solothurn Kofmehl, Switzerland
Oct 19: Liege OM, Belgium
Oct 20: Paris Trianon, France
Oct 22: Stockholm Nalen, Sweden

Nov 04: Boston Paradise, MA
Nov 06: New York Le Poisson Rouge, NY
Nov 08: Chicago Outset, IL
Nov 10: Denver Bluebird Theater, CO
Nov 13: Los Angeles El Rey, CA
Nov 18: Portland Aladdin Theater, OR
Nov 20: Seattle Showbox, WA

Tickets are on sale now

Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.