David Bowie: On Tour at Dundee’s V&A marks the first time highlights from David Bowie’s archive have been shared on this scale outside London, bringing Bowie’s story and creative imagination to audiences in Scotland before touring to venues across the UK.
Before I tell you a bit more about my visit to the City of Discovery, I must confess that I am a huge Bowie fan. I was brought up listening to his music and was one of the people who bought Blackstar from my local record store on the Friday, two days before he died in January 2016. Earlier this year, on a short city break to Berlin, I also visited Hauptstraße 155 in the Schöneberg district of the city and Hansa Studios.
I know some people may not be happy that this type of exhibition isn’t in Glasgow or Edinburgh, but Dundee can easily be reached by train from both cities in less than an hour and a half, with the train station being less than a five-minute walk away.
This was my first time visiting the V&A Dundee, and I was totally taken aback at how impressive the building is both inside and out. After being signed in and listening to some introductory speeches, it was then time for me to explore the new exhibition which runs until February and includes more than 100 items from David Bowie’s archive.
The exhibition is divided across four sections, taking audiences behind the scenes into Bowie’s creative process and exploring how he created his ever-evolving image, music and screen work.
I first took a walk around ‘Bowie Through a Lens’ which explores how photography shaped Bowie’s image and identity and features photographs by Masayoshi Sukita, Terry O’Neill and Brian Ward.
In 2012, Bowie was photographed in front of another photograph taken in 1973, of himself with the Beat writer William Burroughs. The duality of this image perhaps symbolises Bowie’s transition from the ‘Glitter Mainman’, as Rolling Stone labelled him in 1974, into the artistic ‘godfather’ that Burroughs had been to him.
The second section, ‘All The Somebody People’, focuses on Bowie onstage and in the studio. Being able to be up close to handwritten lyrics written by the great man himself was a real thrill, as well as getting to see the hand-painted jumper worn by Bowie as the Somnambulist figure for the Lazarus music video.
The third section, ‘Hooked to the Silver Screen’, recalls Bowie’s groundbreaking performances on screen. My highlight in this section was being able to see Bowie’s costume for his ‘Ashes to Ashes’ music video which was released in 1980.
The final section, ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’, reveals some of the personal possessions Bowie chose to keep in his archive including Bowie’s first instrument, the Grafton Alto saxophone bought for him by his father in 1961. I loved the fact that his archive team even went as far as to buy back some of his possessions on eBay.
Overall, David Bowie: On Tour is a fantastic exhibition and an absolute must-see for any Bowie fan. However, you don’t need to be a lifelong admirer of his music to appreciate the creativity, imagination and influence of one of Britain’s most iconic artists. From the iconic photographs and stage costumes to the handwritten lyrics and personal belongings, the exhibition offers a fascinating insight into the man behind the music and the many different characters he brought to life throughout his career.
I left feeling both inspired and a little emotional, and would thoroughly recommend making the trip to Dundee to experience it for yourself. The City of Discovery is certainly the perfect place to celebrate an artist who was always looking to discover something new and reinvent himself.
David Bowie: On Tour at V&A Dundee is open from 4 November 2026 to 15 February 2027.