Taking aim at our preconceptions

David Bowie fan Suzanne Harrington was blown away by a sneak preview of the incredible new exhibition dedicated to him at the V&A Museum in London

I AM standing in front of a screen of a gigantic David Bowie performing the night he killed off Ziggy Stardust in 1973. Tears are pouring down my face as I listen to ‘Rock‘n’Roll Suicide’ and its eternal emotion: “You’re wonderful / Give me your hands.” I can’t even blame nostalgia — I was five in 1973.

It’s a bit embarrassing, weeping, because this is the busiest press preview I have ever been to, but at least it’s dark inside London’s V&A museum. There are camera crews, hacks, photographers, broadcasters and presenters tripping over each other filming, interviewing, recording, snapping. All around us are images, costumes, projections, memorabilia, against a backdrop of Bowie’s music. It is utterly overwhelming. I am not alone in my adoration; David Bowie Is is the V&A’s most successful show ever — it has already sold 47,000 advance tickets.