David Bowie’s archive opens to the public. Fans can see and touch 1000s of his items

LONDON AP When David Bowie died in he left a vast musical legacy and a trove of unrealized projects Tantalizing details of those abandoned and unfinished ideas are revealed in Bowie s archive which opens to the citizens this week The items acquired from Bowie s estate by London s Victoria and Albert Museum include handwritten notes for a movie in which Major Tom the fictional astronaut floating in a tin can far above the world in Bowie s song Space Oddity is sent to a disgruntled America Curator Madeleine Haddon noted the never-made film titled Young Americans like Bowie s album of the same name is reflective on what it s like to be a Brit in the U S and thinking about international politics and their place in the world Other might-have-beens include The Spectator a stage musical about an th-century London outlaw that Bowie was working on shortly before his death from cancer in January at the age of It s about the relationship between art and politics in London at the cusp of modernity Haddon reported Wednesday at a preview of V A s David Bowie Centre I would love to see where he was going with that The center which opens Saturday is a treasure chest for Bowie fans and researchers holding everything from stage outfits and musical instruments a stringed Japanese koto Ziggy Stardust s acoustic guitar to letters lyrics photos to-do lists and idea-filled sticky notes The archive chronicles decades of restless creativity by the shape-shifting musician who was born plain old David Jones in the London suburbs in Bowie donned and shed personas as he moved through musical styles from glam rock to soul electronica and collaborations with British jungle and drum n bass musicians including A Guy Called Gerald and Goldie He also acted in movies and on Broadway collaborated on stage shows painted and embraced system setting up a s internet provision provider called BowieNet He was such a world-builder Haddon revealed Music was just one angle into the worlds he wished to build The archive occupies part of the V A East Storehouse a hybrid warehouse-museum that opened in June in east London s Olympic Park As with the storehouse as a whole visitors can book appointments to see any of the items for free and in a great number of cases handle them under supervision We want visitors to be inspired by Bowie to pursue their own creativity discover new stories and make unexpected connections between Bowie contemporary discussions and themselves Haddon revealed Since the bookings site opened this month the majority requested item is a distressed frock coat that Bowie created with British fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden in Bowie s impact on fashion is attested to by the costumes in the archive including Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto s knitted jumpsuit for Bowie s androgynous alien rock star persona Ziggy Stardust and the white suit Bowie wore on his Serious Moonlight tour The Alexander McQueen costumes and specific of the Ziggy costumes are proving particularly popular disclosed V A archivist Sabrina Offord About items are displayed in cabinets in the archive s main room a selection made in consultation with local - to -year-olds as part of a project to provide opportunities for local young people Multiple didn t know who he was or they had a lot of questions about why the V A wished to build an entire center dedicated to him Haddon commented By the end they were convinced Several of the items are iconic others delightfully mundane There s the key to the Berlin apartment Bowie shared with Iggy Pop in the s and his Rarotonga driver s license from a period filming the movie Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence on the South Pacific island Bowie also kept a great number of items sent to him by fans including drawings paintings and a handmade music box Almost a decade after his death Bowie is a musical icon whose influence on popular society endures But it wasn t reliably that way The archive includes a letter written by Bowie s father Haywood Stenton Jones trying to get teenage David then a struggling musician a job with a London company His son was a hard worker and a real trooper Jones stressed Next to it is displayed a brief rejection letter Bowie received from The Beatles record label in Apple Records is not interested in signing David Bowie it reads The reason is we don t feel he s what we re looking for at the moment Source