We went to the press viewing for the new David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse. Here’s 10 things we learned there… warning: contains spoilers!
We went to the press viewing for the new David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse. Here’s 10 things we learned there… warning: contains spoilers!
1 From Apple to the end, Bowie kept everything
The archive contains 90,000 objects. These date back to Bowie teens, including his July 1968 rejection letter from Apple, signed by Peter Asher (“As we told you on the phone, Apple is not interested in signing David Bowie… we don’t feel he is what we are looking for at the moment”). A more recent revelation are the copious notes, written on coloured stickies, for a proposed play called The Spectator that Bowie was working on before his death. This would have been set in London in the 1700s and included characters such as criminal Jack Sheppard, William Hogarth and the Mohocks, an eighteenth-century street gang. “Many sex scenes” promises Bowie, zesty to the end.
2 We now know Major Tom’s surname
There is an entire section devoted to Bowie’s unrealised projects. As well as The Spectator, we learn more about Eno and Bowie’s proposed Leon In India concert through illustrations and an action plan (“meeting of art dudes – Oct 15”). There’s also Bowie’s handwritten treatment for a Young American film. This was to be set in 1932 and featured a character called Major Tom Brough. And have you ever heard of Catastrophy Cabinet? Or All The Emperor’s Horses? The answers lie within.
3 Thin White Duke wasn’t kidding
The costumes on display confirm that Bowie’s waist remained snake-like throughout his life. So you can directly compare the waist size of one-legged Ziggy catsuit with his Earlhling distressed Union Flag frockcoat. From the ceiling hang suit carriers containing another 20 iconic costumes, from Freddie Burretti’s Ziggy outfits to suits from the 2003 Reality tour. There’s also a selection of Bowie’s gorgeous shoes – the first things you see on entering the space after one of Bowie’s old 12-string guitar.
4 Touch that dial
Plan ahead and you use the V&A’s Order An Object service, which allows anybody to pick up to five items from the collection and make an appointment to see them in person. There have already been more than 500 appointments booked but if you move fast, you could get your hands on the ARP synth from Heroes, the Japanese koto from “Moss Garden” or the pipe he smoked on Saturday Night Live as soon as October 1.
5 Never eat with goblins
To give a flavour of the Order An Object service, facsimiles of some items have been collated in Topic Boxes covering different subjects including Lyrics, Music Making and Costumes. This are well worth browsing. Not only can you find Bowie’s Indonesian lyrics for an unrecorded 1991 song called “Amlapura”, but there’s also a letter about the challenges of making Labyrinth. “I could see the potential of adding humour to this strange little rubber world,” he writes but the goblins “were terrible company at lunch break”. This was one of many examples of Bowie’s thorough preparation before interviews. Included are his notes ahead of a conversation with Jeremy Paxman about the future of music that includes soundbites he plans to use.
6 Chicken cocktails all round!
Bowie even kept his menu from Berlin’s Schlosshotel Gehrus, which he visited with Iggy Pop and Tony Visconti. All three men noted what they had ordered. While Bowie went for the bird’s nest soup (4.25DM) and Visconti the french onion (4.50DM), all three plumped for the odd sounding chicken cocktail at 10DM.
7 Rhyme time
Fascinating insight into Bowie’s lyric-writing process comes in one of the Topic Boxes on Music Making, showing his search for rhymes. He starts with the sentence “this one will never go down”, followed by other sentences containing words thar rhyme with the above – “hiss soon spill feather blow town”, “abyss shun kill sever bow brown” and “crevice undone refill blather mow gown”. It’s a different slant on the cut-up technique.
8 Like Bowie, there will be ch.ch.changes
Three of the David Bowie Centre’s themed cabinets will change every six months. For the opening, these three include a look at the influence of drum n bass on Bowie in the 1990s, a cabinet devoted to Gail Ann Dorsey, and one featuring objects by two guest curators – Nile Rogers and the Last Dinner Party. Dr Madeleine Haddon, the David Bowie Centre’s curator, says this will change to ensure the centre is “in conversation with contemporary conversation”.
9 Use the guide
In keeping with the show-don’t-tell philosophy of the V&A Storehouse, there is very little in the way of signage on each cabinet. So if you want to know more about the handwritten lyrics for “Win”, get a handle on the various items of fan art (Bowie kept everything he was sent) or locate Bowie’s unused idea for the Low cover, you will need to get hold of one of the official free-to-use guides that help visitors navigate the centre. We recommend this highly to get the most out of the space.
10 Fancy a souvenir?
Ah, but there isn’t a shop. However, from the museum café you can browse the online shop and pick up some £2,700 Terry O’Neill prints. Or if you are feeling less rich, an exclusive V&A Ziggy tote bag for £15.
David Bowie Centre at the V&A Storehouse opens on Saturday September 13.
Access to the David Bowie Centre is free. Tickets are released here every six weeks.
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