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Nine years after his death, David Bowie can still surprise. Now his perhaps the last big secret has been revealed. David Bowie Center reveals David Bowie’s secret last project, which was found in his study after his death. It is a musical to play in the 18th century.
In 2016, a few days before his death, Bowie released his last album “Blackstar” – a work that deals with his own mortality. But then it became clear that this album was not the last work of the rock and pop icon.
Completely kept under lock
Instead, Bowie spent his last months working on a separate project, which he described in his notes as a “musical from the 18th century” entitled “The Spectator”. This reports “NME”. He kept the details secret. Even his closest employees knew nothing about his existence until the notes were found in his study in 2016 after his death.
Cataloged by archivists and donated to the museum
According to media reports, the room was always closed in Bowie’s recent days and weeks and only accessible to Bowie and his personal assistants. All of his handwritten notes remained unaffected – until archivists began to catalog his belongings. Now they were donated to the V&A Museum together with the rest of Bowie’s archive.
Fans can see the musical materials and everything else from the archive when the David Bowie Center opens on September 13th at V&A A East Storehouse in Hackney Wick. There, visitors can also enjoy special exhibitions, which are curated by The Last Dinner Party and Nile Rodgers.
A collection of thousands of objects
The collection consists of a total of 90,000 objects that are connected to the legendary artist. In doing so, she wants to trace Bowie’s “creative processes as a musical innovator, cultural icon and advocate of self -development and reinvention”, reports “NME”. It was therefore acquired by V&A to David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the Warner Music Group.
Media also reported Bowie’s interest in art and culture of the 18th century during his lifetime. In an interview in 2002, he spoke about his ambitions to write for the theater, and told John Wilson from BBC Radio 4: “I could also have simply had to write in my living room for the theater – but I think my goal was to reach a pretty large audience.”
David Bowie died on January 10, 2016 after a long fight with cancer in New York.