Artist · chart history · #296 in alternative artist polls

Peter Schilling

Solo artist Stuttgart Germany German synthpop musician

Peter Schilling is an artist from Stuttgart. Peter Schilling has 44 chart appearances on 42 radio countdowns from 16 stations on RockLists, spanning 1983–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Major Tom (Coming Home)”, which appears on 38 lists with a best position of #8. The station that charted Peter Schilling most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 9 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1983.

44appearances

42countdowns

2songs charted

16stations

0#1 finishes

1983–2026years

Peter Schilling, born in Stuttgart in 1956, is a German synth pop singer with his head in the stars: his songs keep returning to aliens, astronauts and catastrophes. In 1982 he put out Fehler im System, part of the Neue Deutsche Welle, and on it was "Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)", a space-age song set to pulsing synths and a chorus built for lift-off.

The English-language version, "Major Tom (Coming Home)", became an international hit, climbing to the top of charts around the world. It is chilly and exhilarating at once, the sound of new wave's fascination with machines meeting a very human loneliness. He took home the Goldene Stimmgabel in 1983. "The Different Story" gave him another turn on the countdowns, but it's Major Tom that listeners keep sending back into orbit.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Peter Schilling on radio countdowns

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Peak year
1	Major Tom (Coming Home)	2,086	38	#8	–	1983
2	The Different Story	275	5	#33	–	1988

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

1982Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst) (All Versions) EP1 charting song

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

83 88

Every countdown appearance

Year	#	Song	Countdown
2026	83	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026)
2026	460	Major Tom (Coming Home)	WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s
2023	623	Major Tom (Coming Home)	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s
2023	277	Major Tom (Coming Home)	The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places
2022	135	Major Tom (Coming Home)	X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time
2021	104	Major Tom (Coming Home)	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s
2006	165	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006)
2005	1023	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2004	1022	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2003	1022	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003	111	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2002	1037	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002	272	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2001	1037	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2000	1038	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
1999	468	Major Tom (Coming Home)	91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999)
1999	290	Major Tom (Coming Home)	WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	309	Major Tom (Coming Home)	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	1038	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	565	Major Tom (Coming Home)	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999	55	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999)
1998	63	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998)
1996	98	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996)
1996	86	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996)
1996	169	Major Tom (Coming Home)	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996)
1995	131	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995)
1994	84	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994)
1994	459	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994)
1994	155	Major Tom (Coming Home)	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994)
1992	117	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992)
1992	221	The Different Story	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992)
1992	285	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992)
1991	145	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991)
1991	166	The Different Story	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991)
1990	56	The Different Story	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990)
1989	63	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989)
1989	96	Artist ranking	Live 105 Top 105 Artists of All-Time (1989)
1988	50	The Different Story	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1988
1988	33	The Different Story	WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988
1988	456	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988)
1988	448	Major Tom (Coming Home)	Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988)
1983	8	Major Tom (Coming Home)	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983
1983	58	Major Tom (Coming Home)	91X Top 91 Songs of 1983
–	96	Major Tom (Coming Home)	WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s

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