David Bowie Archive to Tour UK

Fans of David Bowie will soon have the chance to explore one of the most extensive collections of memorabilia ever assembled, as the Victoria and Albert Museum has announced the first-ever national tour of Bowie's archive.

Titled "David Bowie: On Tour", the exhibition will feature more than 100 carefully selected items from the V&A's collection of over 90,000 Bowie artefacts, many of which have never been displayed publicly before.

Among the highlights are Bowie's childhood saxophone, the keys to his Berlin apartment, handwritten lyrics, original notebooks, rare photographs, stage costumes created by Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto, and memorabilia spanning his remarkable five-decade career. Visitors will also see storyboards, film props and even a rejected script Bowie wrote for The Simpsons.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, exploring Bowie's changing public image, his music and live performances, his work in film and television, and his creative process away from the spotlight. Curators say the aim is to reveal the man behind the iconic personas of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and the Thin White Duke.

The tour begins at V&A Dundee in November 2026 before traveling to:

* Blackpool

* County Durham

* Hull

* Bristol

Further venues are expected to be announced. Each location has a connection to Bowie's life or career, from Ziggy Stardust tour performances to the hometown of his legendary backing band, the Spiders from Mars.

The announcement follows the opening of the permanent David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse in London, where thousands of items from the archive are preserved for future generations.