Floria Sigismondi/Agence France-Presse â€" Getty Images David Bowie in the video for his single “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)†from the new album.LONDON â€" “David Bowie Is,†a major retrospective of the British singer’s career and cultural influence, which opens at the Victoria and Albert Museum on Saturday, has sold over 42,000 advance tickets, more than double the amount generated by any previous exhibition at the museum.
The exhibition, which displays more than 60 costumes worn by Bowie in performances, as well as photographs, documents, song lyrics, album sleeve artworks, music videos and stage sets, has generated considerable buzz, with rave advance reviews from the British papers. Interest has no doubt been further augmented by the singer’s surprise release last week of a new album, “The Next Day,†which almost immediately went to No. 1 one on the British charts, selling 94,000 copies in less than a week.
“No one believes us, but we had absolutely no idea about the album,†said Geoffrey Marsh, one of the curators of the Victoria and Albert exhibition.
Despite this raging success on all fronts, it seems unlikely that the intensely private Mr. Bowie will leave New York, where he lives, to attend the opening party on Wednesday night. “It’s not his style,†Mr. Marsh said.
