The legendary musician's final project, the album &34;Blackstar,&34; was released days before his death in January 2016. David Bowie's secret final project befo

The legendary musician's final project, the album "Blackstar," was released days before his death in January 2016.

David Bowie's secret final project before his death revealed

The legendary musician's final project, the album "Blackstar," was released days before his death in January 2016.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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on September 8, 2025 5:48 p.m. ET

David Bowie left the world with one last gift before he died in January 2016: the album *Blackstar*, released just days before.

That indefinable opus and sobering reckoning with his own mortality provided meaningful closure to the icon's millions of fans around the globe, but it turns out that Bowie himself didn't see it as his last work. London's Victoria and Albert Museum, which keeps a Bowie archive in its East Storehouse, recently announced that it acquired notes related to another project the polymath was working on before his death.

The project, simply referred to as "18th Century Musical" in his notes, was to be called *The Spectator*, and envisioned as a period musical designed for the stage, per BBC. A series of Post-it notes and a steno pad with the word "SPECTATOR" written on the front were donated to the Bowie archive at the V&A, which is gearing up to begin displaying them at the David Bowie Centre when it opens in September.

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The "Space Oddity" singer's secret project appears to have focused on a London-based newspaper, from which it borrows its own title, *The Spectator*. Bowie's notes show that he immersed himself in the publication's output, which lasted from only 1711 to 1712. Pages in the notebook labeled "SPECTATOR" display a log of what appear to be summaries of various articles, followed by scores out of 10 and notes relating to their potential relevance for the musical.

"An analogy of greed versus monarchy," read one, which Bowie gave a 5 out of 10. Other notes reveal he was considering the cult figure of prolific petty thief Jack Sheppard and Jonathan Wild, the corrupt vigilante whose efforts led to Sheppard's arrest and execution, as potential protagonists.

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David Bowie at the Valentine Pop Awards in 1970.

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Though Bowie directed the overwhelming majority of his creative energy during his lifetime into music and occasional screen roles, he was no stranger to the theater.

He made his last public appearance at the off-Broadway opening of jukebox musical *Lazarus*, which featured his songs. Bowie served as a co-producer of the show, starring Michael C. Hall and Cristin Milioti. He also starred in a 1981 Broadway production of Bernard Pomerance's *The Elephant Man*. But *The Spectator *would have been something fresh for the music legend: a new musical based entirely on his original ideas.

The *Spectator *materials and the entire collection will be available to view beginning Sept. 13 at the David Bowie Centre at the Victoria and Albert Museum's East Storehouse in London.

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Source: "AOL Theater"

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Source: VOGUE MAG

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