Skip to main content
On Air Now
Listen Now

7am to 10am

Listen Now

6am to 10am

Going from Station to Station: David Bowie archive to tour UK with Ziggy Stardust costumes and rare memorabilia

The unique exhibition will begin at V&A Dundee from November 2026 before travelling across the country on tour

Share

Bowie As "Ziggy Stardust" In NY
David Bowie, the much-beloved British music legend, died ten years ago in 2016. Picture: Getty

By Georgia Bell

Over 100 items from David Bowie's personal archive are set to travel around the UK for the first time in an exclusive tour for the V&A, giving fans an up-close-and-personal view of the iconic superstar.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

David Bowie: On Tour will kick off at V&A Dundee in November before it heads to Blackpool, County Durham, Hull and Bristol over the course of the next two years.

Fans can expect highlights from Bowie's iconic Ziggy Stardust period, items designed by Freddie Burretti and Kansai Yamamoto, as well as sketches from the accompanying tour and the guitar used during the era.

Song chart used by David Bowie for rehearsals and the Earthling tour, dating from 1997
Song chart used by David Bowie for rehearsals and the Earthling tour, dating from 1997. Picture: Alamy

Other items in the archive include the keys to Bowie's apartment in Berlin, where he famously recorded the celebrated albums Low and Heroes.

The exhibition will also feature album cover artwork, the costume he wore in the Ashes To Ashes music video, a clapperboard from The Man Who Fell To Earth.

Read more: With a little help from his signature! Forgotten Paul McCartney autograph nets Oxfam £950

Read more: Lily Allen hits back after fans blast '£86 tickets for 50 minute' West End Girl show

A polaroid photograph of David Bowie's costume fittings for the character of Jareth in the 1986 film, Labyrinth
A polaroid photograph of David Bowie's costume fittings for the character of Jareth in the 1986 film, Labyrinth. Picture: Alamy
A costume designed by Freddie Burretti for The David Bowie Tour, dating from 1973, is prepared at V&A East Storehouse
A costume designed by Freddie Burretti for The David Bowie Tour, dating from 1973, is prepared at V&A East Storehouse. Picture: Alamy

Fans can even see the first instrument the musician ever owned, a Grafton Alto saxophone bought by his father in 1961.

The unique exhibition will begin at V&A Dundee from November 2026 until February 2027 before moving to Showtown in Blackpool, the Bowes Museum in County Durham, Ferens Art Gallery in Hull and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. More venues are expected to be announced.

Director of the V&A, Sir Tristram Hunt, said the exhibition will bring "highlights from David Bowie's extraordinary archive to audiences across the UK for the first time".

"We're opening up Bowie's story in the places connected to his life and legacy, ensuring people across the country can experience these remarkable objects where they live, and be inspired by his enduring creativity," he said.

David Bowie's storyboard sketch for 'Ashes to Ashes' music video, dating from 1980
David Bowie's storyboard sketch for 'Ashes to Ashes' music video, dating from 1980. Picture: Alamy

This comes after the opening of the David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse last year, which became the permanent home of the legendary musician's archive.

Widely recognised as one of the UK's most influential musicians, Bowie's career celebrated five UK number one singles and 11 number one albums.

As the star constantly reinvented himself - from the glam rock of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, to the experimental Berlin Trilogy.

The genre-bending talent also ventured into dance and jazz across his career, famously collaborating with Queen, Mick Jagger and Trent Reznor.

Bowie released his final album, Blackstar, on his 69th birthday, just two days before his death in 2016.