David Bowie’s connections with Scotland are the focus of a new exhibition at V&A Dundee, where 100 objects from his personal archive trace his career and the performances that left a lasting impression on local fans. The museum stands close to the Palais de Dans, where Bowie and the Buzz played in 1966 in what was his first Scottish appearance under his new stage name.
“David Bowie: On Tour” is the first exhibition to present objects from the archive acquired by the V&A in London in 2023. The selected pieces come from a collection of 90,000 items housed at the David Bowie Centre, and many are being shown publicly for the first time.
The display includes Bowie’s first instrument, a saxophone his father gave him for Christmas in 1961, a stopwatch he used while songwriting, his 1988 passport and an advance copy of The Velvet Underground’s 1967 record “I’m Waiting for the Man.” It also features a letter from London neighbours in December 1973, addressed to “Mr Bowy,” asking him to turn down his music and stop playing at a reasonable hour.
V&A Dundee director Leonie Bell said the objects offer an intimate glimpse into how Bowie thought, worked and continually reinvented himself. The exhibition also explores how he preserved and organised material from his early career, later using his archive to revisit projects and fill gaps where personal items had been lost or given away.
A significant part of the show looks at Bowie’s Scottish concerts and their effect on fans. Among the performances recalled is his May 1973 appearance at Dundee’s Caird Hall as Ziggy Stardust. Images of Bowie in a Kansai Yamamoto bodysuit are displayed alongside Polaroids and memorabilia from the concert.
Dundee-born fan John Reilly was 11 when Bowie played the city, but did not get inside. He later saw the musician live 49 times before Bowie died in January 2016. Reilly said the exhibition would bring Bowie’s legacy back to his home city and recalled collecting magazine pictures, records, posters and tour programmes. He described the music as an “escape” and said the show would bring fans together.
The exhibition also revisits Bowie’s 1978 performance at Glasgow Apollo, which he described in an interview as one of his favourite venues, praising its excited audiences. His Scottish connections extended beyond concerts: in 1968 he appeared with choreographer Lindsay Kemp in “Pierrot in Turquoise,” a production first staged in Edinburgh. The show was later filmed at the city’s Gateway Theatre for Scottish Television as “The Looking Glass Murders.”
Curator Svetlana Panova said Bowie performed in Scotland several times and that local fans had held on to keepsakes from those events. Their memories and collections, she said, helped the exhibition tell the story of his 17 May 1973 Dundee performance during the Ziggy Stardust tour.
Sources: BBC News UK.