David Bowie’s enduring ties to Scotland take center stage in a new exhibition opening at V&A Dundee, bringing items from the singer’s massive London archive to public view outside the capital for the first time (according to Yahoo Lifestyle Australia).
Archive Treasures Arrive in Dundee
Curated by Harriet Reed, David Bowie: On Tour features more than 100 highlights drawn from a sprawling collection of 90,000 items housed in London’s David Bowie Centre. V&A Dundee director Leonie Bell noted that the exhibition gives visitors the chance to encounter personal items revealing how the musician thought, worked, and reinvented himself.
First look inside V&A Dundee’s David Bowie exhibition that fans have waited years for https://t.co/tbHtrUQoKI
Reliving Legendary Scottish Performances
The exhibition traces Bowie’s history of Scottish concerts, including his 1973 Ziggy Stardust tour stop at Dundee’s Caird Hall and a famous June 1978 night at the Glasgow Apollo. For former Dundee United footballer John Reilly, who missed the 1973 Caird Hall show at age 11 because he thought he could sneak in behind his dad, the return of Bowie’s legacy to his home city represents an emotional homecoming.
The Roots of Theatricality in Edinburgh
The exhibition also nods to support acts from that era, including the 1960s folk rockers the JSD Band. After impressing Bowie at London’s Kingston Poly, the Celtic group supported him on a 20-date UK leg of the Ziggy Stardust tour. Drummer Colin Finn recalled that Bowie insisted they use his sound system and made sure they sounded good.
Tickets for David Bowie: On Tour are available on the V&A Dundee website, offering priority booking for museum members.