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Cover of Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst) (All Versions) by Peter Schilling
Cover: Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst) (All Versions)

Song · Peter Schilling

“Major Tom (Coming Home)” by Peter Schilling

From the EP Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst) (All Versions) (1982)

“Major Tom (Coming Home)” by Peter Schilling appears on 38 radio countdowns from 16 stations between 1983 and 2026. It was first released in 1982 on the EP Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst) (All Versions). Its best result is #8 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #26 alternative song of 1983, #534 alternative song of all time and #158 of the '80s.

38countdowns
16stations
#8best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1983–2026years charted

Watch

Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Coming Home) (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (Peter Schilling). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Major Tom (Coming Home)" is West German songwriter Peter Schilling's unofficial sequel to David Bowie's 1969 "Space Oddity", borrowing Bowie's astronaut and sending him further out. It first surfaced in German as "Major Tom (völlig losgelöst)" in November 1982, then crossed the Atlantic in English in September 1983 as the lead single from Error in the System.

Schilling wrote, sang and arranged it and co-produced with guitarist Armin Sabol, with Curt Cress on drums, Günther Gebauer on bass and Gonzo Bishop on keyboards. It's pure Neue Deutsche Welle, all cool, mechanical sheen and a pulse like a launch countdown, yet the chorus soars anyway. The story follows its spaceman lifting off and drifting away as the radio link to ground control crackles out, and Schilling never tells you whether he makes it home.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1983 8 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 107
1983 58 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 96 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 456 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 448 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1989 63 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1991 145 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1992 117 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 285 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 84 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 459 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 155 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 131 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 98 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 86 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 169 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 63 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 55 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 468 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 290 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 309 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1038 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 565 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1038 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1037 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1037 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 272 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1022 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 111 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1022 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1023 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2006 165 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2021 104 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 135 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 623 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 277 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2026 460 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 83 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) 499

Also listed as: Major Tom; Major TOm (I'm Coming Home); Major Tom (I'm Coming Home); Major Tom (coming Home).

Charting alongside it in 1983

Best songs of 1983 →
  1. 1New Year's DayU2
  2. 2Let's DanceDavid Bowie
  3. 3The LovecatsThe Cure
  4. 4Every Breath You TakeThe Police
  5. 5Rebel YellBilly Idol
  6. 6In a Big CountryBig Country

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