New David Bowie exhibition in London: Everything you need to know

Enter the mind of one of music’s most visionary artists as rare footage, iconic songs and personal insights combine in Lightroom’s latest immersive show, David Bowie: You’re Not Alone.

Taking over the 360-degree audio-visual screening room that has made Lightroom one of London's most exciting experiences, the creative genius behind Ziggy Stardust is brought into focus using the artist's own voice and material spanning decades.

What to expect from the immersive David Bowie experience in London

Revisit legendary performances that made Bowie one of the 20th century’s most influential musicians, explore his dynamic style that won over global audiences, discover rarely seen material across film and photography and gain rare insights from personal notes and audio recordings.

Highlights include archival footage from iconic performances, from Space Oddity to Heroes, as well as clips from an infamous interview with Russell Harty in 1975, in which Bowie cleverly takes control. You're also treated to the set of the Diamond Dogs tour appearing in front of your eyes.

What are the key themes of the show?

Having worked closely with the David Bowie Estate, the creatives behind the show reveal they want to highlight Bowie the person, not just the mystique generated by his androgynous appearance and other worldly alter egos, Ziggy Stardust, Thin White Duke and Aladdin Sane.

The show’s writer and director, Mark Grimmer, explains: "Rather than undermining his mystique, we designed a show to celebrate Bowie as a champion of human creativity – focusing on the message he expressed time and again: that art, in all its forms, is our best hope for understanding what it means to be alive."

David Sabel, Executive Producer at Lightroom, adds that the space lends itself to telling the story of the star man: "Lightroom offers an incredible opportunity to step inside an artist's imagination and creative universe – weaving film, photography, animation, text and music into a story that can only be experienced in this space," he says. "I cannot think of an artist more suited to this than David Bowie."

Through its wide-ranging material, the show delves into Bowie’s perspective on the themes that were most important to him, from songwriting to spirituality.

David Bowie: You're Not Alone – what not to miss

I’ve seen other Lightroom shows, which were visually stunning but, for me, this experience is the most immersive yet – this is mostly thanks to Bowie’s incredible songs, but also the creativity and diversity of the audio as a whole. Interview recordings and famous performances are weaved in alongside visuals to chart the artist’s career and delve into his personality, while clever graphics – such as a dressing room table with a smoking ashtray, makeup, glitter and ticket stubs – really add to the overall immersion.

There are then captivating moments when iconic songs are given the full stage, and rightly so. We linger on the likes of a 1972 rendition of Starman, before a moving mashup of Space Oddity performances over the years, and a few minutes of the iconic Heroes. But what really sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end is Let’s Dance – played at full volume, I feel I’m right there in the crowd, back in the day.

True Bowie enthusiasts will love the chance to glimpse never-before-seen footage of the 1978 Earl’s Court gig, unique camera angles of performances across the years and insights straight from Bowie’s mouth, as he discusses his curiosity, influences and spirituality in rarely heard audio clips.

Where to sit at Lightroom’s Bowie exhibition

As with other Lightroom shows, the view is good from anywhere. But, given you have no time limit, I’d suggest staying on for longer once the show has finished its full loop to try out different spots. Head to the balcony to get a sense of scale of the space or sit on the floor where the screens almost envelop you.

However, I’d recommend spending most of the time sitting in one of the benches in the middle of the floor area. From here, you can enjoy full immersion, particularly during footage from the 1972 concert at the Rainbow Theatre, where you view the performance across a sea of heads in front of you, like a real gig. It’s also ideal when the visuals pan out during certain parts of the show, making you feel as though you’re moving backwards – I especially love the way this plays out through the corridors of Bowie’s childhood home, with photos of his family on the wall, before emerging out through the front door.

Ask the expert: Q&A with David Sabel, Executive Producer at Lightroom

I caught up with Lightroom’s Executive Producer, David Sabel, at the launch of Bowie: You’re Not Alone, to get the lowdown on how the show was put together.

What can fans discover that they might not have seen before?

“We spent so many months going through the archives... All of the concert elements, we’ve gone back through the original camera work, so there are a lot of angles, even if you’ve sometimes already seen an edited form of the concert in film, we’ve gone back and recreated it for a 360 experience.

“But there’s also some footage that’s never been seen… The performance of Stay from Vancouver in 1976, on the Isolar tour, which was a rehearsal that we constructed as a concert moment, because actually there isn’t much footage of the concert itself – so we used photography and rehearsal footage to put together in a new way. There’s a bit of Heroes from Earl’s Court in 1978, that we’ve used different angles. There’s photography and we’ve also used handwritten lyrics and artwork of his own drawings, a lot of which hasn’t been seen in public before.”

How did you select what to include?

“We were led by David [Bowie]... We went through over 500 hours of radio and broadcast interviews, really looking for the words and themes that kept coming up… what were the ideas and questions that preoccupied him throughout his life, his passions, and influences… so we let David speak for himself.

“We knew we didn’t want it to be chronological or a traditional biopic, but it was about finding the stories and themes that bubbled up, which allowed us to shape the story around it. Then, there’s the time-travelling moments, where you go back to 1976 or the Hurricane concert and Glastonbury in 2000 and you have these moments when you’re time travelling back to these great concerts.”

What are your own highlights?

“I love the Diamond Dogs section because, again, there’s not amazing footage of it, but what we’ve been able to do through the set design, drawings and whole concept of the very theatrical performance is to reconstruct that set in a way that the animation in Lightroom can do. So, I feel that’s quite unique, as you couldn’t do that in a traditional documentary or an exhibition.

“I love the Characters chapter, because there’s such iconic photography… there’s this sense of his constant changing personality and what he was experimenting with. I’m very touched, I find when he talks about his spirituality and his place in the universe and life, his sense of getting older and looking back on his life and legacy gives you a sense of his lived life.”

Where is the David Bowie exhibition in London?

David Bowie: You're Not Alone is showing at Lightroom, 12 Lewis Cubitt Square, in King's Cross.

This experience is the latest in a series of immersive audio-visual shows by Lightroom. Recent shows have included David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away), Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks, Vogue: Inventing the Runway, and Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs.

How long is the David Bowie Lightroom show?

The David Bowie immersive experience lasts for around one hour – the show is on a loop, so you can stay to rewatch parts you may have missed during your allotted timeslot.

When is the David Bowie exhibition in London at Lightroom?

David Bowie: You’re Not Alone is currently booking at Lightroom until 10 October 2026.

Also keep an eye out for Bowie Nights events, spanning live performances, talks by creatives and collaborators who worked with Bowie, plus extended Friday opening hours at Lightroom.

Find more music inspiration – including the shooting location of the Ziggy Stardust album cover – with our guide to musical heritage. Make sure to also explore Bowie’s birthplace, Brixton, where you can discover a mural dedicated to the singer.