Your last chance to catch the hit David Bowie show is coming soon... as his three-year touring exhibition reaches its final stop in Holland

  • Fans can see the singer’s costumes, designs, photos and instruments
  • Seeing his exhibition took on added poignancy after his untimely death
  • Showcase, which is now in Holland, will come to an end for good in March

The David Bowie exhibition at London’s V&A Museum enthralled hundreds of thousands of the pop star’s fans during a sellout run before being taken on a three-year world tour.

Following Bowie’s untimely death earlier this month, catching a glimpse of the singer’s costumes, designs, photographs and instruments – all from his personal collection – has taken on an added poignancy. 

But you’ll have to hurry, because the exhibition has reached its final stop in Holland and comes to an end in March.

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The exhibition, which allows fans to catch a glimpse of the singer’s costumes, designs, photographs and instruments, has reached Holland - where it will come to an end in March

The exhibition, which allows fans to catch a glimpse of the singer’s costumes, designs, photographs and instruments, has reached Holland - where it will come to an end in March

David Bowie remained musically active until his death on 10 January, two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar

David Bowie remained musically active until his death on 10 January, two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar

For a generation of youngsters, July 6, 1972 was the moment that changed pop music for ever. 

An extraordinary orange-haired creature strumming a bright blue acoustic guitar burst on to our TV screens, like a visitor from another planet. It was Bowie performing Starman on Top Of The Pops, and the singer’s look transfixed the nation.

Bowie wore red patent leather boots and a colourful silk jumpsuit – the costume is one of the key components of the exhibition.

The singer had a tiny 26in waist at the time and called the outfit ‘ultra-violence in Liberty fabrics’ – a reference to Stanley Kubrick’s film A Clockwork Orange.

The final stop for the show is the funky-looking Groninger Museum in Groningen – the northern Dutch city is just a short hop on a Flybe flight from Southend Airport.

Bowie-mania starts before you even get into the city. At Groningen airport, there’s a shuttle bus to take you to the exhibition. 

On my bus, some wag called out to the driver ‘Check ignition and may God’s love be with you’ – a line from Bowie’s Space Oddity. 

Actually, the bus is one of the few motorised vehicles you’ll see in Groningen – it is said that 60 per cent of all journeys here are taken by bike.

There are heated cycle paths to prevent riders skidding on frosty mornings, and traffic lights are even fitted with rain sensors so that cyclists are not kept waiting too long on wet days.

The city was badly damaged during the Second World War but has since been rebuilt, and the large university ensures it is a young, lively place with lots of quirky shops and bars. 

The final stop for the show is the funky-looking Groninger Museum in Groningen – the northern Dutch city is just a short hop on a Flybe flight from Southend Airport

The final stop for the show is the funky-looking Groninger Museum in Groningen – the northern Dutch city is just a short hop on a Flybe flight from Southend Airport

This being Holland, there are canals aplenty, and the main square, the Vismarkt – for years a car park – has now reverted to its historical function as a market place.

At the exhibition, in addition to Bowie’s Starman costume you’ll find the striped bodysuit Kansai Yamamoto made for the 1973 Aladdin Sane tour, and the Union Jack coat designed by Alexander McQueen for the Earthling album cover. 

The show highlights Bowie’s changing personas, from Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, complete with lightning flash, to the The Thin White Duke and bequiffed, blue-eyed soul boy for his 1975 album Young Americans.

There are excerpts from his films, including The Man Who Fell To Earth, and the video for Ashes To Ashes is shown on a loop beside the Pierrot clown costume worn by Bowie. All the exhibits are fascinating. 

But don’t forget to take a peek at your fellow visitors, predominantly greying, balding, middle-aged men – you’ll seldom see so many midlife males swinging their hips from side to side. Boys keep swinging, as Bowie would have said.

TRAVEL FACTS 

Flybe (flybe.com) offers direct flights from Southend to Groningen with one-way flights from £30pp. 

The exhibition, called David Bowie Is, runs until March 13. Visit groningermuseum.nl and toerisme.groningen.nl/en

 

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