Peter Schilling

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, on January 28, 1956, Peter Schilling became an international chart-topper in 1983, when "Major Tom (Coming Home)" — a synth-pop single that reimagined the narrative of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" — climbed to Number 1 in West Germany, Austria, Canada, and Switzerland. The song's accompanying album, Error in the System, was recorded in English as well as German, and released worldwide that same year. Schilling continued recording New Wave material in both languages through the end of the 1980s, and earned a Top 10 hit in Sweden with the techno-inspired title track of his third record, The Different Story (World of Lust and Crime). He focused on his native market during the '90s and beyond, releasing a string of remixes and new material in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.