It’s no secret that David Bowie was a proud Londoner. Born in Brixton in 1947, the superstar musician spent his early years in the southern borough of Lambeth, before moving to Bromley when he was six years old. It was here, at 4 Plaistow Grove, that the boy became the David Bowie we know today, marking the start of his musical career and providing a sanctuary during his formative teenage years.
Today, Heritage of London Trust has announced Bowie’s Bromley home – where he lived from ages 8 to 20 (1955–1967) – will be restored and then opened to the public next year. Plans to transform the railway workers’ cottage back to its original early 1960s appearance have been curated by Geoffrey Marsh – who previously worked on the 2013 V&A David Bowie Is exhibition – and will feature pieces from a never-before-seen archive to recreate the interior layout exactly as it was when Bowie’s father commuted to work at charity Dr Barnado’s and his mother worked as a waitress.
The property marks the site where Bowie’s musical journey began; it was here that he wrote his breakthrough hit Space Oddity, which was released in 1969 and catapulted him to fame. Marsh says: “It was in this small house, particularly in his tiny bedroom, that Bowie evolved from an ordinary suburban schoolboy to the beginnings of an extraordinary international stardom – as he said ‘I spent so much time in my bedroom. It really was my entire world. I had books up there, my music up there, my record player. Going from my world upstairs out onto the street, I had to pass through this no-man’s-land of the living room.’”
While the project will pay homage to the singer, it will also host creative and skills workshops for young people. Designed to be a living continuation of Bowie’s legacy of ‘free creative experimentation’, and inspired by his 1969 Beckenham Arts Lab, the trust’s Proud Places and Proud Prospects programmes, together with the charitable Jones Day Foundation, will use the space to teach confidence and communication skills in the arts.
4 Plaistow Grove, Bromley
Dr Nicola Stacey, director of Heritage of London Trust, adds: “Even though his career took him all over the world, David Bowie always remembered where he came from and the community that supported him as he grew up. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it’s really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site.”
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