Details of David Bowie’s famous Major Tom from Space Oddity and Ashes to Ashes have been unearthed in a treasure-trove of 90,000 objects from the late Starman singer’s archive
This is Ground Control to Major Tom….just who are you exactly? David Bowie’s fictional astronaut may be part of rock folklore but we’ve never known his surname….until now.
Amid a treasure trove of 90,000 objects from the late Starman singer’s archive now housed in V&A’s new East Storehouse, a handwritten synopsis for a film called Young Amercians sheds new light on his identity.
The two-sheets of A4 paper tell the story of “British jet-ace…..Major Tom Brough” who is involved in a ruse to fake the Moon landings. Bowie appears to reference his famous lyric in 1969’s Space Oddity at one point by writing: “Ground Control are tense and alert as Tom descends his ladder.”
The proposed film – which is unrelated to the 1975 album of the same name – was never made. In Space Oddity, Major Tom’s doomed space exploration ends with him drifting around in space after losing control with Ground Control. Bowie sings at the end: “Here am I floating ‘round my tin can, far above the moon. Planet Earth is blue, and there’s nothing I can do.”
The character makes a reapperance in 1980 in Ashes to Ashes in which Major Tom has succumbed to drug addiction and is drifting in space. Bowie is said to have partially based the lyrics on his own experiences with drug addiction in the 1970s.
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In 2015, Major Tom appears for the final time in Bowie’s Blackstar video, as a corpse in an astronaut suit.The fascinating new document will be available to view by anyone when the archive becomes open to the public on September 13.
Items in the archive include Bowie’s first ever instrument, a saxophone brought for him by his father in the early 1960s, Jim Henson-designed life-size puppets of Bowie’s many personas for a music video that was never released, and one of his final Ziggy Stardust ensembles, never seen before in the UK.
Fans can request to look at any item in the huge archive for free. The centre has already had more than 150 requests for items related to the Ziggy Stardust period alone. “There have been many new discoveries, and we have an entire section specifically about unrealised projects of Bowie’s, many of which have never been seen before,” Dr Madeleine Haddon, the curator at V&A East said.
This includes the musician’s notepad, index cards, and a series of sticky notes, used to prepare The Spectator, a musical set in 18th century London, which was discovered in Bowie’s office after his death in 2016. The musical would open with the dramatic real-life public execution of the notorious criminal, Jack Sheppard, on 16 November 1724.
Some of Bowie’s famous looks can be discovered by fans including Bowie’s 1992 Thierry Mugler wedding suit, and his outfit for his Bowie’s 50th birthday concert in 1997.Also available to order is the clapperboard used for the 1976 film The Man Who Fell To Earth and Bowie’s original cover designs for albums Hours and Lodger, among others.
Items relating to the creation of Bowie’s final albums, The Next Day and Blackstar are also available to book, including costumes, posters and props for The Next Day such as the origami birds Bowie made for his October 2013 NME cover shoot.
Blackstar items include Bowie’s own sketches, a costume Bowie decorated by hand for the 2016 ‘Lazurus’ music video referencing an 1975 photoshoot shot by Steve Schapiro, alongside Bowie’s own artwork and awards.
Dr Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “One of the greatest performers, musicians, artists and innovators of all time, David Bowie’s impact continues to reverberate nearly a decade after his death – while his influence on design and visual culture and his inspiration on creatives today is unmatched. We are thrilled to care for Bowie’s incredible archive, revealing new insights into his creativity and legacy, and open it up for everyone at V&A East Storehouse, in dialogue with the V&A’s collection spanning 5,000 years of art, design, and performance.”
Bowie died aged 69 of cancer in 2016