{"id":2662,"date":"2026-06-12T10:52:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=2662"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:52:59","slug":"inside-david-bowies-scrapped-1984-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/inside-david-bowies-scrapped-1984-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside David Bowie\u2019s Scrapped \u20181984\u2019 Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four<\/em> remains one of his most famous works. And its relevance continues to resonate with readers decades after its debut. By the 1970s, plenty of musicians were referencing it in their work. It also caught the attention of David Bowie, who viewed the material as perfect fodder for a musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1973, Bowie was saying goodbye to the character of Ziggy Stardust and looking ahead to his next project. In a 1974 Rolling Stone<\/em> interview with William Burroughs<\/a>, Bowie indicated he was working on a musical based on the novel. Not long after, Bowie premiered his new medley “1984\/Dodo” during a broadcast of The 1980 Floor Show<\/em>. The two songs were just a sampling of the 20 written for the musical. Although Bowie did not have a full script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orwell’s Widow Wasn’t Interested<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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