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Peter Schilling

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Peter Schilling, really Pierre Michael Schilling, is a German synth-pop singer and composer, born in Stuttgart in 1956. He is counted among the Neue Deutsche Welle, the wave of German-language new wave and pop around 1980. His songs are often about science fiction: aliens, astronauts and disasters.

Music and breakthrough

His breakthrough was Major Tom (völlig losgelöst) in 1982, which reached number 1 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The song builds on Space Oddity (1969) by David Bowie, about the astronaut Major Tom floating through space, cut off from the earth. The album Fehler im System followed. The English-language version, Error in the System (1983), produced his only international hit: Major Tom (Coming Home), which reached number 1 in Canada and number 14 in the United States. In 1983 Die Wüste lebt also reached the top 10 in Germany, and in 1984 the album 120 Grad followed.

Influence

In 1990 Schilling suffered burnout and took a break. In his book Völlig losgelöst (2013) he describes how he came back from it. Since the 2000s he has been touring again with a band through Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and since 2018 he has voiced Major Tom in a radio play series for children. His old songs have received new attention since 2020, partly thanks to his YouTube channel. Major Tom shows how a German artist took up a British pop story and wrote a sequel to it in his own language.

Listening

Listening tip. In Major Tom (völlig losgelöst), listen to the synthesizers and the tight electronic beat, typical of the Neue Deutsche Welle. Then compare the story with Space Oddity by David Bowie: what happens to Major Tom in each song?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists