Error in the System
''Error in the System'' is the first English album by German singer Peter Schilling, and is the English counterpart to the German album ''Fehler im System''. The English and German version have been combined and sold as a single box set in severa ...
''. With a character unofficially related to " Major Tom", the protagonist of David Bowie's 1969 song " Space Oddity", the song is about the character breaking off contact with ground control and traveling off into space.
The song was originally recorded in German and released in West Germany on 3 January 1983. It reached No. 1 in West Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The English version was first released in the United States on 24 September 1983. It reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 4 in South Africa and peaked at No. 14 on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Hot 100 Singles chart the week of 24 December 1983. The English-language version of the song also reached No. 2 on the dance chart in the US.
In 1994, Schilling made and released a remixed version along with Boom-Bastic, titled "Major Tom 94". Other remixes were released in 2000, titled "Major Tom 2000", and in 2003, titled "Major Tom 2003".
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
cover of the song in 1983 from the album '' Chat va?...Et toi?''.
*English singer-songwriter Jonathan King released a mashup of "Major Tom (Coming Home)" together with David Bowie's " Space Oddity" titled "Space Oddity / Major Tom (Coming Home)". This release reached No. 77 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1984.
*A cover version by Shiny Toy Guns, was released in 2009; an advertising commercial for the Lincoln MKZ, featured this cover.
*Actor William Shatner released a cover in 2011 on the space-themed album Seeking Major Tom.
*
Apoptygma Berzerk
Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synth-pop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselve ...
released an EP in 2013 titled Major Tom that contains a cover and several remixes.
*In 2016,
Jay Del Alma
Pachanga is a reggaeton and Latin group from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The name of the duo comes from the pachanga genre of music.outsider artist
also covered the song on the 2013 release "Major Tom/Radar Love".
*Another remix was published in 2020 by Spinnin' Records alongside Austrian DJ LUM!X and German DJ duo Hyperclap.
In popular media
*The song was used as the theme song for the TV show series '' Deutschland 83''.
*The song was used in AMC's ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'', in a scene where Hank Schrader, Walter White, and Walter Jr. watch a video of the drug chemist
Gale Boetticher
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
singing the song at a karaoke bar on a vacation to Thailand.
*In season 2, episode 5 of the Netflix original series ''The Umbrella Academy'', the song was used when Pogo, the chimpanzee character on the show, was traveling into outer space and back to earth.
*The song was used in the Car Escape scene in '' Atomic Blonde'' (2017) when Lorraine Broughton, played by Charlize Theron, fights off would be assailants inside an Audi V8 D1 Typ 4C after arriving in Berlin.
*It was also used in the 4th season of the show '' The Americans''.
*An instrumental version of the song was used during the 1980s as the introduction music of the
San Diego Sockers (1978-1996) San Diego Sockers may refer to:
* San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League
* San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League
* San Dieg ...
.
*The German version was used the series '' The Blacklist'' Season 2 Episode 14 T Earl King VI https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwsuHWBDBZ9y4DihQniEznerHq0wCeeH6