From 31st March- 16th September 2023, Kingston Museum hosted the Bowie and Beyond: Ziggy Stardust exhibition in collaboration with The Community Brain, telling the story of Bowie when he first became Ziggy Stardust and his connections to Kingston’s music scene.
Starting with the pivotal moment in Bowie’s career when he launched his Ziggy persona at Tolworth’s Toby Jug in February 1972, the exhibition explored how he later returned for a gig at Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University) on 7 May 1972.
The exhibition was story told through music, artworks and memorabilia sourced from local people, and interviews those who were inspired by Bowie and have influenced national and international music and arts trends since.
Following the exhibition, the museum made a new acquisition of a rare, two volume vinyl LP capturing a bootleg recording of David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars, live from their 1972 gig at ‘The Poly’. It is now on display as part of their permanent collection.
