Peter Schilling’s Major Tom: Best of New Wave Songs

Peter Schilling Major Tom

Photo: By JeanNeef (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Starting out our brand new series on the Best New Wave songs of the late 1970s to early 1980s is Peter Schilling’s classic “Major Tom.” Named after the character depicted in David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity,” song, Shilling’s “Major Tom,” was a huge hit back in 1983. The song was released on Peter Schilling’s album entitled Error in the System. The song “Major Tom,” became a huge hit in Europe at least six months before it became a hit in the  United States. In January of 1983, The song reached the No. 1 position on the West German music charts. It then sailed to the No. 1 position in Austria and Switzerland, In September of 1983, the song peaked at No 14 on the U.S. Billboard music charts.

As with so many of the popular New Wave songs of the early 1980s, the song is very much keyboard-dominated.  In the song’s verse, Peter Schilling sings up close to the microphone in a semi-soft voice. On the song’s chorus, Shilling explodes into a full voice echoing the style of David Bowie. It is a very powerful transition that worked brilliantly. The harmonies at the end of the song were wonderfully recorded and sung by Peter Schilling.

Peter Schilling was born in Stuttgart Germany in 1956. The songwriter has released multiple albums in Germany where he has had a very successful career in the music industry. The songwriter has never been able to repeat the success he had in the United States with “Major Tom,” in America. The song had been reissued in a re-recorded techno version ten years after its initial success. In 1994 the song became popular in U.S dance clubs.

Many of the artists who had hits during the New Wave era of the early 1980s were labeled as one-hit wonders. For many of them, that label was an accurate description. Although Peter Schilling only had one hit in the United States, his long successful career in his native home of Germany defined him as far from being a one-hit wonder as one can be defined.

Updated November 1, 2023

Peter Schilling’s Major Tom: Best of New Wave Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain Creative Commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.

DMCA.com Protection Status

Add Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Randy Newman Songs
Top 10 Randy Newman Songs
Dashboard Confessional Songs
Top 10 Dashboard Confessional Songs
Fountains of Wayne Songs
Top 10 Fountains of Wayne Songs
10 Best Rock Songs With The Word 'Red' In The Title
10 Best Rock Songs With The Word ‘Red’ In The Title
Eagles Albums
Picking Out Our Favorite Eagles Albums
George Harrison Albums
Our Favorite George Harrison Albums
Electric Light Orchestra Albums
10 Electric Light Orchestra Albums Everyone Should Own
Stevie Nicks Albums
Top 10 Stevie Nicks Albums
Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Five Review
Justin Hawkins of The Darkness Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Four Review
Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Four Review
M3 Rock Festival Is Back For 15th year! May 4 & 5 In Columbia, MD
Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Three Review
Russell Marsden Interview
An Interview With Russell Marsden of Band Of Skulls
Jeff Fabb of Black Label Society Interview
An Interview With Jeff Fabb of Black Label Society
Joey Vera of Armored Saint: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
Mel Gaynor Interview
An Interview With Mel Gaynor, Formerly Of Simple Minds
Ace Frehley Albums
Complete List of Ace Frehley Albums And Discography
Status Quo Albums
Complete List Of Status Quo Studio Albums And Discography
Phantom, Rocker & Slick Albums
Complete List Of Phantom, Rocker & Slick Albums
Paul Young Albums
Complete List Of Paul Young Albums And Discography
Music CDs Comeback
Why Music CDs Have No Chance Of Making A Comeback
Classic Rock Bands Still Together But Overdue For A New Album
Classic Rock Bands Still Together But Overdue For A New Album
When Glam Bands Went Grunge In The 1990s
When Glam Bands Went Grunge In The 1990s
25 Most Famous Female American Singers Now!
25 Most Famous Female American Singers Now!
11 Tracks Of Whack Album Review
Walter Becker – 11 Tracks of Whack Album Review
Sammy Hagar Album Review
Why Sammy Hagar’s 1977 ‘Sammy Hagar’ LP Was One Of His Best
Grand Funk On Time Album Review
Looking Back At Grand Funk Railroad’s Debut Album ‘On Time’
Ghost Writer Album Review
How ‘Ghost Writer’ Turned Us On To The Music Of Garland Jeffreys