David Bowie and Cher's electric chemistry while singing forgotten duet of 'Can You Hear Me' is sensational

8 December 2020, 12:40 | Updated: 22 February 2023, 16:21

David Bowie was appearing on Cher's TV show in 1975 when the pair sang a spectacular chemistry-filled duet of 'Can You Hear Me' from Bowie's Young Americans album.

A collaboration between David Bowie and Cher may come as a surprise to many, but the pair's forgotten duet of 'Can You Hear Me' is superb.

Bowie was invited to appear of Cher's hugely successful TV series Cher where the duo filmed a live duet that would be aired on November 23, 1975.

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Ziggy Stardust and the 'I Got You Babe' singer took to the stage for their third recorded duet of the day; the pair had sung Bowie's 'Fame' and a medley from the Young Americans album, but it's the tenderness of the 'Can Your Hear Me' that really stands out.

See more: David Bowie and Freddie Mercury's a cappella 'Under Pressure' will give you goosebumps

Recorded at the Fairfax studios in L.A., Bowie's appearance on the wholesome Cher show seemed at odds with his rocker persona, but the soaring voice of Cher, in contrast his gravelly tone, worked exceedingly well together.

However, despite his calm demeanour Bowie would later admit he recalls little of his duet with Cher, as he was in the throes of advanced substance abuse at the time.

See more: Watch the trailer for the new David Bowie biopic Stardust

“I was probably this crazed anorexic figure walking in," he said. "I’m sure she didn’t know what to make of me.”

Bowie's November 1975 performance of 'Can You Hear Me' wasn't the first time he had collaborated on the track with a female star.

See more: Remembering the time Cher performed a hilarious medley with the Jackson 5

David Bowie & Cher – Can You Hear Me - Live on the Cher Show – 1975 - Remastered

The year before in March 1974, the singer recorded the original version of the song with Lulu and later told an interviewer the underrated Scottish singer had terrific talent.

See more: Queen, David Bowie and Annie Lennox's powerful 'Under Pressure' performance in tribute to Freddie Mercury

"Lulu's got this terrific voice, and it's been misdirected all this time, all these years," he said in 1974.

"People laugh now, but they won't in two years time, you see! I produced a single with her – 'Can You Hear Me' – and that's more the way she's going. She's got a real soul voice, she can get the feel of Aretha, but it's been so misdirected."

See more: Relive Cher, Tina Turner and Elton John's breathtaking live performance of 'Proud Mary'

Ricky Gervais on his hero and friend David Bowie

The intensely romantic track 'Can You Hear Me' was written about a real person, yet the notoriously private David Bowie, unsurprisingly, always kept tight-lipped about his inspiration.

See more: David Bowie mimics Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and more in brilliant clip from 1985

In August 1975, however, he did let slip just how real his emotions in the song really were.

Speaking to Andrew O'Grady for an interview with New Musical Express, David Bowie confided: "'Can You Hear Me' was written for somebody but I'm not telling you who it is. That is a real love song. I kid you not."

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