Overview

• Archivists uncovered Bowie’s handwritten notes in 2016 in a study accessible only to him and his personal assistant, with additional pages found pinned in his New York office.
• The project is described in Bowie’s notes as an “18th Century musical” titled The Spectator, drawing on London satire, the print trade, the Gordon Riots, and figures such as Jack Sheppard and Jonathan Wild.
• Photos of the pages shared with the BBC highlight Bowie’s focus on 18th‑century art, criminal gangs, and the Mohocks, indicating a historically rooted narrative concept.
• The materials will go on public view when the David Bowie Centre opens at V&A East Storehouse in Hackney Wick on September 13, with broader access to the full archive by appointment.
• There is no indication the musical was completed, and the V&A acquisition—supported by the David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group—preserves roughly 90,000 items from his career.