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Peter Schilling | |
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 Schilling in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Pierre Michael Schilling (1956-01-28)28 January 1956 (age 70) |
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| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | WEA |
Peter Schilling (bornPierre Michael Schilling; 28 January 1956) is a Germansynthpop musician whose songs often feature science-fiction themes like aliens, astronauts and catastrophes. He is best-known for his 1983 hit single "Major Tom (Coming Home)" which was an international success, reaching the top positions on billboards worldwide.
Schilling was born inStuttgart, Germany.[1] His 1983 album,Error in the System, generated his only international hit single, "Major Tom (Coming Home)", a retelling ofDavid Bowie's classic 1969 song "Space Oddity".[1] Although the song was originally recorded in German, the international hit version was sung in English. In 1984 and 1985, Schilling released the albums120 Grad and120 Grad's English-language version, 1985'sThings to Come. From 1986 to 1989, Schilling released non-album singles and put out his 1988 compilationThe Different Story.[2] In 1990, Schilling suffered fromburnout and the following year he took a break. In 1994, he married his girlfriend Catyana. They divorced in 2003. He has been married to his second wife since 2012.
In the late '90s, Schilling formed a side project called Space Pilots,[1] which appeared on the first issue of the popular dance music compilationDancemania series.[3] The band included Catyana Schilling, J. Feifel, and P. Magnet. They have recorded only one song, titled "Trip to Orion". It was released on vinyl and CD in 1995, and appears on the Japanese dance compilation CDDancemania 1. The song is based on and includes vocal samples from the German science-fiction TV showRaumpatrouille Orion.
At the beginning of the 2000s he formed a new band and currently plays live concerts with his band, touring Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Since 2018, Tessloff Verlag has published the children's book seriesDer kleine Major Tom in cooperation with theGerman Aerospace Center (DLR) and Bernd Flessner, as well as illustrations by Stefan Lohr. In the radio plays based on the books, Peter Schilling himself voices the great Major Tom. At the International Astronautical Congress 2018 in Bremen there was a world premiere ofMajor Tom by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in a purpose-made classical arrangement by Oliver Groenewald.Major Tom can also be heard in the official DLR soundtrack and trailer for Mission Horizons. The songsAlles an Dir and the English-language counterpartAll the things you are are the musical inspiration for official DLR videos for the Cosmic kiss space mission with the German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.
Since 2020, Schilling has experienced something of a revival due to the success of his older songs, both the originals and new live versions and his newest album ‘Vis Viva’ on his YouTube channel.[4]
On 24 March 2024, a petition was initiated[5] to make "Major Tom" the new anthem for the German national football team for the2024 UEFA European Football Championship.
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