Bowie exhibition charts life of pop’s ultimate Starman | CNN

A history of David Bowie in 15 objects —

David Bowie's electric performance of "Starman" on the BBC program "Top of the Pops" in July 1972 wearing this vivid outfit cemented his status in Britain. DJ Marc Riley said it "lit the touchpaper for thousands of kids," thanked in no small measure by Bowie's homoerotic stage play with guitarist Mick Ronson.

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Photographs, 1947 —

David Bowie, pictured here as a 10-month old baby, was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, south London in 1947. He moved to Bromley in 1953, where he attended school and met rock guitarist Peter Frampton.

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Musical instrument, 1961 —

In his early teens Bowie became keen on the jazz of John Coltrane. For Christmas 1961 his father bought him this white acrylic Grafton alto sax. It used new plastics technology, and cost £55, about half the cost of a brass instrument.

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Musical instrument, 1969 —

With the popularity of guitar bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones, Bowie soon took up the guitar. He played this 12-string Harptone acoustic on his first breakthrough hit, "Space Oddity" in 1969.

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Song lyrics, 1972 —

These lyrics for "Ziggy Stardust" introduce Bowie's most famous character to the world. He explained why he enjoyed performing as his creation: "Offstage I'm a robot. Onstage I achieve emotion. It's probably why I prefer dressing up as Ziggy to being David." But the role threatened to overwhelm him: "My whole personality was affected. It became very dangerous. I really did have doubts about my sanity."

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Suit, 1972 —

Bowie wore this ice blue suit by Freddie Burretti for the 1972 "Life on Mars" promotional film with Japanese eyeshadow applied by make-up artist Pierre Laroche. "For weeks my stage persona went all geisha," the singer said.

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Costume, 1973 —

This costume was made for Bowie on the 1973 "Aladdin Sane" tour by Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto. Bowie said the designs were "everything I wanted ... outrageous, provocative and unbelievably hot to wear under the lights."

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Sketches and notes, 1973/4 —

Bowie made these character sketches and notes in 1973/4 for a film set in "Hunger City." The inspiration was George Orwell's dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four," which Bowie wanted to adapt for the stage. Although the film and stage show were never performed, much of the material formed the basis of his next album, "Diamond Dogs."

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Drugs paraphernalia, 1974 —

Bowie's cocaine addiction damaged his physical and mental health but failed to dampen his creative output. He kept this cocaine spoon in his pocket while recording the "Diamond Dogs" album in Los Angeles.

Self-portrait, 1976 —

David Bowie moved to Berlin in 1976 in an attempt to overcome his cocaine addiction. Working with musician-producer Brian Eno, and sharing an apartment with singer Iggy Pop, Bowie began to focus on the minimalist, ambient music that appeared on the album trilogy, "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger." Bowie's design for the cover of the second album were inspired by German expressionist Erich Heckel.

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Portrait, 1976/7 —

Bowie lived with Pop at 155 Hauptstrasse in Berlin where they embarked on 14 months of intense musical and artistic creativity. He painted this portrait as the pair sought to clean up from drug addiction.

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Musical instrument, 1974 —

This AKS synthesizer was used while recording "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger" and was an important part of the electronic sound on those albums. Eno gave it to Bowie in 1999 with a letter, which read: "Look after it. Patch it up in strange ways -- it's surprising that it can still make noises that nothing else can make."

Peter Wilkinson/CNN

Costume, 1980 —

For the remarkable "Ashes to Ashes" video of 1980, in which he walked ahead of a bulldozer, Bowie asked designer Natasha Korniloff to create a Pierrot costume for "the most beautiful clown in the circus." The video cost £250,000 to make, and was at the time the most expensive made.

Peter Wilkinson/CNN

Costume, 1980 —

Wearing this costume by Julie Weiss, Bowie played the role of John Merrick for seven months in "The Elephant Man" in Denver, Chicago and on Broadway during 1980. He portrayed Merrick's disabilities through control of movement using his mime training rather than through prosthetics.

Peter Wilkinson/CNN

Coat, 1997 —

Bowie wears this Union Jack coat he co-designed with Alexander McQueen -- then a relatively unknown designer -- for the "Earthling" album of 1997. He faces away from the camera in the photo, in contrast to all his other album covers, although his Ziggy-style haircut is still recognizable.

Peter Wilkinson/CNN

A history of David Bowie in 15 objects

Story highlights

Doors to open on exhibition of life of David Bowie at V&A museum in London

His 27th studio album, "The Next Day," is riding high at the top of UK charts

"David Bowie Is" chronicles Bowie's long career as singer, musician and actor

Exhibition features for the first time more than 300 objects from Bowie's life

London CNN —

David Bowie always did have impeccable timing. He released his song about a doomed astronaut, “Space Oddity,” just days before the 1969 Moon landing. Four years later he killed off his most famous creation, the other-worldly “Ziggy Stardust,” just at the point it threatened to overwhelm him.

More than 130 million record sales later, Bowie is back after a relatively quiet decade (he underwent emergency heart surgery in 2004). He celebrated his 66th birthday in January by releasing “Where Are We Now,” his first song for more than 10 years, without any warning. His 27th studio album, “The Next Day,” is riding high at the top of UK charts, earning critical acclaim.

This weekend the doors will open on an extraordinary exhibition of Bowie’s life and career at the V&A Museum in London.

“David Bowie Is” chronicles the rise of an unknown singer called David Jones from the south London suburbs through his “Ziggy Stardust” heyday and his later ground-breaking years spent holed up in Berlin. It also takes in his many acting roles and acclaimed fashion designs over the years.

Read why Bowie is back to his mysterious best

The exhibition’s curators, Geoffrey Marsh and Victoria Broackes, have had full access to the star’s archives, which means they have almost everything worth having. “Most bands go bust or split up,” says Marsh, “so to find a collection in one place which represents 40 or 50 years is pretty rare.

“There’s a whole generation which has grown up with him and although they find the idea of him in a museum a bit strange I think the fact that he can do that and produce a successful new album at the same time actually shows what a remarkable person he is.”

The exhibition features for the first time more than 300 objects from Bowie’s life, from amazing stage outfits to rare photographs from the early years, videos of outstanding live performances screened in a thunderously loud surround-sound cinema, Bowie’s own musical instruments, record cover designs and paintings.

“When you see the costumes close up it is really thrilling,” says Broackes. “Nothing beats it really in this age – when you can do so many things in other ways – actually seeing the real thing. You might have seen it on TV, you might have seen it on stage or on film, but to see for example the ‘Ashes to Ashes’ costume close up it’s pretty fantastic. We’ve also got the Ziggy costumes and they’re amazing.”

The exhibition is creating almost as much of a buzz as Bowie’s new music, reflecting the unique position he holds in the British arts and music landscape. As Broackes says: “Bowie’s permeated every area of our culture. He is no ordinary pop star.”

“David Bowie Is” at the V&A in central London, and runs from March 23 until August 11.