David Bowie's childhood home to open to public for first time offering 'immersive experience' for visitors

The two-up, two-down house in Bromley, south London, has been acquired by the Heritage of London Trust and will soon be put on display for Bowie fans.

The home will be restored to its 1960s appearance, with the interior layout returned to how it was when Bowie lived there, offering an “immersive experience” for visitors.

The Starman singer lived in the house from 1955 to 1968, between the ages of eight and 20. He penned his first big hit Space Oddity while living with his parents in the suburban home.

The upcoming exhibition will include never-before-seen archival items, as well as Bowie’s  9ft x 10ft bedroom where Bowie skyrocketed from an "ordinary suburban schoolboy" to the heights of "international stardom".

“I spent so much time in my bedroom, it really was my entire world, I had books up there, my music up there, my record player, going from my world upstairs out on to the street, I had to pass through this no-man's-land of the living room'," Bowie once said.

Geoffrey Marsh, who will curate the exhibition, said: “You think, someone who didn’t have any big advantages, who came from an ordinary family, went to an ordinary school – what was it that went on there which created this driving ambition to succeed, to want to be a star, and which took him right through to it?”

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It also comes ten years after the legend’s death in 2016, and coincides with the 10th anniversary of the release of Bowie's final album Blackstar. 

Mr Marsh, who co-curated the V&A’s David Bowie Is exhibition in 2013, added that living friends who passed through the house such as  musician George Underwood and actor Dana Gillespie have helped bring memories of the location back to life.“Dana remembers going there and being served tuna sandwiches… She came from kind of a posh upbringing, so I think she had quite a shock,” he said.

George Underwood said: "We spent so much time together, listening to and playing music. I've heard a lot of people say David's music saved them or changed their life."It's amazing that he could do that and even more amazing that it all started here, from such small beginnings, in this house. We were dreamers, and look what he became."

The work is being funded by a £500,000 grant from the Jones Day Foundation, a non-profit group funded by lawyers and staff with the Jones Day law firm.

A public fundraising campaign launching this month will also contribute.

Nicola Stacey, director of Heritage of London Trust, said: "David Bowie was a proud Londoner. Even though his career took him all over the world, he always remembered where he came from and the community that supported him as he grew up.

"It's wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it's really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site."

The property is set to open to the public late next year.

The curator has urged members of the public who may have bought items from Bowie's mother, Margeret Jones, when she moved out of the house.

"Mrs Jones gave away and sold items in 1970 when she left the house. So if anyone in Bromley, or indeed anywhere else, has got anything they know from the house, we’d be very interested,” said Mr Marsh.