Major_Tom_(Coming_Home)

Major Tom (Coming Home)

Major Tom (Coming Home)

1983 single by Peter Schilling

"Major Tom (Coming Home)" (German: Major Tom [völlig losgelöst], 'Major Tom [completely detached]') is a song by Peter Schilling from his album Error in the System. With a character unofficially related to "Major Tom", the protagonist of David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity", the song is about the character breaking off contact with ground control and traveling off into space.[1]

Quick Facts Single by Peter Schilling, from the album Error in the System ...

The song was originally recorded in German and released in West Germany on 3 January 1983. It reached No. 1 in West Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The English version was first released in the United States on 24 September 1983. It reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 4 in South Africa and peaked at No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart the week of 24 December 1983.[2] The English-language version of the song also reached No. 2 on the dance chart in the US. In 1994, Schilling made and released a remixed version along with Boom-Bastic, titled "Major Tom 94". Other remixes were released in 2000, titled "Major Tom 2000", and in 2003, titled "Major Tom 2003".

On March 24, 2024, a petition was initiated to make "Major Tom" the new anthem for the German national football team for the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship.

Charts

More information Chart (1983–1984), Peak position ...
More information Year-end chart (1983), Rank ...
More information Year-end chart (1984), Rank ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

Cover versions

  • The song was used as the theme song for the TV show series Deutschland 83.
  • The song was used in AMC's Breaking Bad, in a scene where Hank Schrader, Walter White, and Walter Jr. watch a video of the drug chemist Gale Boetticher singing the song at a karaoke bar on a vacation to Thailand.[26]
  • In season 2, episode 5 of the Netflix original series The Umbrella Academy, the song was used when Pogo, the chimpanzee character on the show, was traveling into outer space and back to earth.[27]
  • The song was used in the Car Escape scene in Atomic Blonde (2017) when Lorraine Broughton, played by Charlize Theron, fights off would be assailants inside an Audi V8 D1 Typ 4C after arriving in Berlin.[28]
  • It was also used in the 4th season of the show The Americans.
  • An instrumental version of the song was used during the 1980s as the introduction music of the San Diego Sockers (1978-1996).
  • The German version was used in the series The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 14 T Earl King VI.[29][30]
  • Was a part of supposed communication with aliens in Season 1 of the Invasion - an original series by Apple.
  • The English version was used in season 1, episode 2 of the 2023 Netflix original series Wrestlers

References

  1. [1]
    Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst) lyrics
  2. [2]
    "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling (Hot 100) – Billboard.
  3. [3]
    Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. [4]
    "Charts". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  5. [5]
    "Collectionscanada.gc.ca". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  6. [6]
    Top 40 Hit dossier 1956-2001 ISBN 90-257-3349-2
  7. [7]
    "charts.nz Peter Schilling "Major Tom (Coming Home)"" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Canciones más populares en Bolivia". La Opinión (in Spanish). 16 June 1984. p. 11.
  9. [9]
    "OfficialCharts.com". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  10. [10]
    Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 228.
  11. [11]
    "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JANUARY 14, 1984". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 2017-08-20.. Cash Box magazine.
  12. [12]
    "Jahreshitparade Singles 1983" (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  13. [13]
    "Jaaroverzichten 1983". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  14. [14]
    "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1983" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  15. [15]
    "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  16. [16]
    "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1983" (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  17. [17]
    "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.
  18. [18]
    "Canadian single certifications – Peter Schilling – Major Tom". Music Canada. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  19. [19]
    "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Peter Schilling; 'Major Tom')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Major Tom by Plastic Bertrand - Samples, Covers, Remixes". Whosampled.com. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  21. [21]
    "Space Oddity/Major Tom (Coming Home) | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  22. [22]
    Archived January 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  23. [23]
    Major Tom EP on Discogs
  24. [24]
    Major Tom/Radar Love single on Discogs
  25. [25]
    TNT Productions - Jay Del Alma feat. Peter Schilling - "Vuela (Major Tom)" (in German)
  26. [26]
    Breaking Bad S4- Gale (Major Tom) on YouTube. Access date, Jan 31, 2021
  27. [27]
    The Umbrella Academy Season Two’s Most Ridiculous Soundtrack Choices, Ranked - Meslow, Scott. Aug 6, 2020
  28. [28]
    Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Atomic Blonde (2017) - Car Escape Scene (1/10) | Movieclips" – via YouTube.
  29. [29]
    "Every song from S2E14 - the Blacklist, "T Earl King VI"".
  30. [30]
    "The Blacklist - Season 2 Soundtrack".
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