Major Tom (Coming Home)

"Major Tom (Coming Home)"
Single by Peter Schilling
from the album Error in the System
B-side
  • "Völlig Losgelöst" (NA)
  • "The Noah Plan" (UK)
Released24 March 1983
Recorded1982[discuss]
Genre
Length
  • 4:33 (German edit)
  • 5:00 (English version)
  • 8:02 (extended version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Peter Schilling
Producer(s)
Peter Schilling singles chronology
"Fehler Im System"
(1982) 		"Major Tom (Coming Home)"
(1983) 		"Terra Titanic"
(1984)

"Major Tom (Coming Home)" (German: Major Tom [völlig losgelöst], 'Major Tom [completely detached]') is a new wave song written and sung by German musician Peter Schilling, released as the lead single from his album Error in the System. Featuring the story of a character unofficially related to "Major Tom", an astronaut depicted in British musician David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity" and other releases, Schilling's track describes a protagonist who leaves Earth and begins drifting out into outer space as radio contact breaks off with his ground control team.

The song is one of multiple singles by various artists with a pop music related style influenced by the cultural roboticism associated with Berlin, Germany.[3] It is specifically a part of the "Neue Deutsche Welle" (NDW), a social movement in the arts within German society, and is one of its pieces that crossed over into the popular culture of other nations. Versions in both the English language and in Schilling's native German have earned critical and commercial acclaim over multiple decades.

  1. ^ Wide, Steve (September 22, 2020). "Honourable Mentions: New Wave 'One-Hit Wonders'". A Field Guide to Post-Punk and New Wave. Smith Street Books. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-925811-76-6.
  2. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "A Flock of Seagulls". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 154. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gavin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).