Bowie Is Back In Scotland: This V&A Dundee Exhibition Is One Not To Miss

Masayoshi Sukita photographed David Bowie across four decades, from their 1972 meeting to later portraits, books and the 1977 “Heroes” cover.

From Ziggy Stardust's extraordinary costumes to handwritten lyrics and previously unseen photographs, V&A Dundee's new David Bowie exhibition offers a fascinating look inside the mind of one of music's greatest creative talents. By Nicola Campbell

It's funny how I came to David Bowie rather late.

Back in the eighties, my sister was a massive Duran Duran fan. And by massive, I mean the sort of devotion that only teenage girls in the eighties could muster. So when David Bowie's Let's Dance knocked Is There Something I Should Know? off the number one spot in 1983, Bowie became public enemy number one in our house.

Well, for a while anyway.

Because somewhere between my teenage years and adulthood, I began to appreciate what an extraordinary artist he was. The music, obviously. I mean, are there actually any bad Bowie songs? But it was more than that.

The sheer dedication to his art. The constant reinvention. His ability to move between music, fashion, film and performance, approaching everything with the same creative curiosity. Bowie didn't simply write songs and put on a fabulous outfit. Every detail, from the album artwork to the stage set, was part of a much bigger vision.

And the clothes! Nobody understood the relationship between music and fashion quite like Bowie.

My one regret is that I never saw him perform live.

Which is why I'm particularly excited about David Bowie: On Tour, the new exhibition opening at V&A Dundee on 4th November. Bringing together more than 100 objects from his personal archive, it's probably the closest many of us will get to experiencing the extraordinary world he created.

The clothes were every bit as extraordinary as the music. Bowie's flamboyant stage costumes, including his striking blue lightning-bolt outfit, take centre stage at V&A Dundee.

Inside Bowie's Extraordinary World

Dundee is the first stop on a UK-wide tour of the V&A's David Bowie archive, and the exhibition promises something rather more interesting than a straightforward celebration of his greatest hits. Instead, it explores how Bowie thought, worked and created, tracing the development of his ever-changing identity through original costumes, photographs, instruments, handwritten lyrics and personal possessions.

Some of the objects have never been displayed publicly before.

For fashion lovers, the costumes alone should be worth the trip.

Among the highlights is a spectacular metallic blue outfit designed by Freddie Burretti and worn during the final leg of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust tour in 1973. More than half a century later, it still looks astonishingly modern. There's also the costume from his 1980 Ashes to Ashes video, alongside original storyboard sketches that reveal how carefully Bowie considered the visual world surrounding his music.

Then there's the photography.

Images by Terry O'Neill, Mick Rock, Masayoshi Sukita and Brian Ward chart his transformations, reminding us that Bowie understood the power of an image long before the age of Instagram.

But it's the smaller, more personal objects that I find particularly fascinating.

The keys to his Berlin apartment. Handwritten lyrics from Let's Dance. A stopwatch he used while songwriting. Notes, sketches and plans for projects that never quite came to fruition.

I love the idea of seeing these everyday objects alongside the extraordinary costumes. Behind all that glamour was someone constantly working, experimenting and questioning what he might do next.

From theatrical stage costumes to striking imagery, David Bowie: On Tour at V&A Dundee celebrates the musician's extraordinary creative vision.

More Than A Musician

The exhibition also explores Bowie's work in film and television, including costume fittings for his role as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the 1986 film Labyrinth.

There are photographs from his 1980 Broadway appearance in The Elephant Man, alongside material from his music videos and later creative projects. It's easy to forget just how many different artistic worlds Bowie inhabited.

From the theatrical spectacle of Ziggy Stardust to the experimentation of his Berlin years, the commercial success of Let's Dance and the haunting creativity of his final album, Blackstar, he continually challenged expectations.

And rather wonderfully, the exhibition doesn't stop at the familiar moments. There are handwritten ideas, unrealised scripts and working notes that offer an insight into the creative process itself.

For anyone interested in fashion, music, photography or simply what makes a brilliant creative mind tick, there's plenty here to explore.

A piece of Scottish music history: an original £1.10 ticket from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust tour at Dundee's Caird Hall on 17th May 1973.

Bowie's Dundee Connection

There's also a particularly Scottish reason why Dundee makes such a fitting first stop.

Bowie performed in the city twice, first in 1966 and again in May 1973, when he brought his Ziggy Stardust tour to the Caird Hall. More than 50 years later, that concert has its own place in the exhibition.

Original photographs, colourful Polaroids, tickets and memorabilia help tell the story of a night that clearly stayed with those lucky enough to be there.

Among the contributors is lifelong fan and former Dundee United footballer John Reilly, who saw Bowie perform an astonishing 49 times. Ironically, Dundee was the concert he missed. He turned up as a teenager without a ticket but couldn't get inside.

Now, some of the memorabilia he has collected over the decades forms part of the exhibition.

It's a lovely connection between Bowie and the city, and a reminder of the lasting impression a single artist can make.

The Man Who Never Stopped Creating

One of the most poignant parts of the exhibition explores Bowie's final creative years, including material from The Next Day and Blackstar. There are handwritten lyrics, performance notes and pieces associated with the Lazarus music video, offering a glimpse into the work he was producing towards the end of his life.

Bowie died in January 2016, just two days after the release of Blackstar, his 25th studio album.

Ten years later, his influence is still everywhere, from the fashion collections that reference his androgynous style to the musicians who continue to draw inspiration from his willingness to experiment.

And perhaps that's what I admire most about him. Bowie never seemed particularly interested in repeating himself or giving people what they expected. He kept moving forward.

I may have been a little late to the party, but I've certainly made up for lost time.

And while I'll always wish I'd had the chance to see him on stage, a trip to Dundee feels like a pretty wonderful consolation. Sorry, Duran Duran.

David Bowie: On Tour – What You Need To Know

Where: V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee

When: 4th November 2026 – 15th February 2027

Tickets: £6–£11. Free for V&A members and under-18s, with advance booking required.

Opening hours: Daily, 10am–5pm, excluding selected festive dates.