Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Written by Peter Schilling. Produced by Peter Schilling and Armin Sabol.
Hailing from Stuttgart, Germany, Peter Schilling had a worldwide hit with the English language version of a catchy piece of German new wave music (NDW), "Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)".
Peter’s first album, “Fehler im System” went to #1 In Germany in 1982. The English language version, “Error In The System” reached #61 on the US album chart but went all the way to #1 in Canada. “Völlig Losgelöst” was released on 45 in Germany and went to #1, as it did in the other German speaking countries, Austria and Switzerland. The lyrics for the English language version, “Major Tom (Coming Home)” were written by David Lodge and that 45 reached #14 on the US Hot 100, #1 in Canada and #41 in the UK.
Despite many subsequent albums and singles in his native Germany, “Major Tom” was Peter Schilling’s only US hit; rendering him a true one-hit wonder artist.
Written by Peter Schilling. Produced by Peter Schilling and Armin Sabol.
Hailing from Stuttgart, Germany, Peter Schilling had a worldwide hit with the English language version of a catchy piece of German new wave music (NDW), "Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)".
Peter’s first album, “Fehler im System” went to #1 In Germany in 1982. The English language version, “Error In The System” reached #61 on the US album chart but went all the way to #1 in Canada. “Völlig Losgelöst” was released on 45 in Germany and went to #1, as it did in the other German speaking countries, Austria and Switzerland. The lyrics for the English language version, “Major Tom (Coming Home)” were written by David Lodge and that 45 reached #14 on the US Hot 100, #1 in Canada and #41 in the UK.
Despite many subsequent albums and singles in his native Germany, “Major Tom” was Peter Schilling’s only US hit; rendering him a true one-hit wonder artist.
