Peter Schilling

Peter Schilling
Background information
Birth name	Pierre Michael Schilling
Born	(1956-01-28) January 28, 1956
Origin	Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Genres	NDW, New Wave
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, author
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Elektra Records, DA Music
Website	Official site

Peter Schilling (born Pierre Michael Schilling; January 28, 1956) is a German synthpop musician whose songs often feature science-fiction themes (aliens, astronauts, nuclear holocaust, etc.).

Schilling was born in Stuttgart, Germany. His 1983 album, Error in the System, generated his only international hit single, "Major Tom (Coming Home)", a retelling of David Bowie's classic 1969 song "Space Oddity". Although the song was originally recorded in German, the international hit version was sung in English. In 1984 and 1985, Schilling released the albums 120 Grad and 120 Grad's English language version, 1985's Things to Come. From 1986 to 1989, Schilling released non-album singles and put out his 1988 compilation The Different Story. In 1990, Schilling suffered from burnout and the following year he took a break. In 1994, he married his girlfriend Catyana.

In the late 90s, Schilling formed a side project called Space Pilots, which appeared on the first issue of the popular dance music compilation Dancemania series. The band included Catyana Schilling, J. Feifel, and P. Magnet. They have recorded only one song, titled "Trip to Orion". It was released on vinyl and CD in 1995, and appears on the Japanese dance compilation CD Dancemania 1. The song is based on and includes vocal samples from the German science-fiction TV show Raumpatrouille Orion.

Discography

Albums and compilations

• Fehler im System, WEA 24.0026.1, 1982 [No. 1 Germany, No. 4 Austria]
• Error in the System, Elektra 60265-1, 1983 [No. 61 US, No. 1 Canada]
• 120 Grad, 1984
• Things to Come, Elektra 604404-1, 1985
• 1.000 Augen, 1986 (album was never released)
• The Different Story (World of Lust and Crime), 1989 (released in Germany in 1992)
• Geheime Macht, 1993
• Major Tom 94, 1994
• Sonne, Mond Und Sterne, 1994
• Von anfangan...bis jetzt, 1999
• Raumnot, 2003
• Retrospektive, 2004
• Zeitsprung, 2004
• Delight Factor Wellness, 2005
• Das Prinzip Mensch, 2006
• Tauch Mit Mir...In Eine Neue Zeit...Das Beste Von 2003-2006, 2006
• Emotionen sind männlich, 2007
• Neu & Live 2010, 2010

Singles

• "Träume sind mehr als nur Illusionen"/"Sag nie Good-Bye", 1976 (as Pierre Schilling)
• "Gib her das Ding/Frei sein ist schön", 1979 (As Pierre Schilling)
• "Heut ist was los auf der Autobahn"/"Sweet Sixteen", 1980 (As Pierre Schilling)
• "Lied An Dich"/"Lampenfieber", 1981 (As Pierre Schilling)
• "Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)", 1982 [No. 1 Germany, No. 1 Switzerland, No. 1 Austria, No. 2 Netherlands]
• "Die Wüste Lebt", 1983 [No. 5 Austria, No. 10 Switzerland, No. 7 Germany]
• "Fehler Im System", 1983
• "Major Tom (Coming Home)", Elektra 7-69811, 1983 [No. 14 US, No. 1 Canada, No. 42 UK, No. 4 South Africa]
• "Major Tom (Coming Home)" (12" single), Elektra 0-66995, 1983
• "Terra Titanic", 1984 [No. 26 Germany]
• "Terra Titanic" (12" single), WEA 249 415-0, 1984
• "Hitze Der Nacht", 1984 [No. 46 Germany]
• "Hitze Der Nacht" (Special Remix), 1984
• "Region 804", 1985
• "Chill of the Night" (promo), 1985
• "Ich Vermisse Dich"/"Für immer jung", 1986 [No. 32 Germany]
• "All The Love I Need"/"In My Youth", 1986
• "Alles Endet Bei Dir"/"Wonderful World", 1986
• "The Different Story (World Of Lust And Crime)", 1988 [No. 10 Sweden, No. 61 US]
• "Zug Um Zug", 1992
• "Bild Der Dunkelheit", 1992
• "Viel Zu Heiss", 1993
• "Major Tom 94", 1994 (released in both English and German) [No. 29 Germany]
• "Sonne, Mond Und Sterne", 1994
• "Terra Titanic", 1995 (1995 remixes)
• "Trip to Orion", 1996 (with the Space Pilots)
• "Kingdom of Rain", 2000 (as M*Period)
• "Major Tom 2000" (Ground Control vs. Major Tom) [No. 83 Germany]
• "Terra Titanic 2003", 2003
• "Raumnot", 2003
• "Sonne, Mond Und Sterne 2003", 2003
• "Major Tom 2003", 2003
• "Experiment Erde", 2004
• "Weit Weg", 2005
• "Der Menschliche Faktor" (Remixes), 2005
• "Es Gibt Keine Sehnsucht", 2006

Books

• Lust Faktor Wellness, 2005
• Emotionen sind männlich, 2007
• Völlig Losgelöst: Mein langer Weg zum Selbstwert - vom Burnout zurück ins Leben, 2013

See also

• Major Tom

External links

• Official site (in German)
• Interview (in German)
• Interview about his 2005 book (in German)
• Article about voiceover work
• Second article about voiceover work
• Article about album "Das Prinzip Mensch"
• Another interview (in German)
• Audio recording of interview in German (click "Datei herunterladen" to download)
• Video interview from 2004 (in German)
• Video interview from 2006
• English translations