From unrealised films to stage musicals, Bowie’s archives reveal a boundless artist whose creativity transcended music.
When David Bowie died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 69, the world mourned a talented singer, musician and songwriter.
But, as a trove of his unrealised projects has just emerged from his archives, it is clear he was so much more than just an entertainer.
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has acquired 90 000 items from Bowie’s estate, including handwritten notes for a movie in which Major Tom, the fictional astronaut “sitting in a tin can far above the world” in Bowie’s song Space Oddity, is sent to “a disgruntled America.”
Bowie also planned to produce a stage musical about, of all things, an 18th-century London outlaw.
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In all his endeavours, he was an artist, concerned about the human condition and how to express it, not only through music but on other platforms.
He had a voracious appetite for culture of all stripes and his musical work was so diverse and eclectic that one would be hard-pushed to put in a particular rhythmic box.
Fortunately for posterity, he was a dedicated archivist, collecting everything from his manuscripts to his to-do lists and stage outfits and guitars.
We won’t have to run for the shadows as we enjoy your golden years, David…
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