A strictly limited, hand-finished reproduction of an exceptionally rare David Bowie gig poster advertising his scheduled appearance at Cleopatra’s in Derby on Friday 4 February 1972.
The concert never took place!
Cleopatra’s was intended to be one of the earliest dates connected to the launch of Bowie’s historic Ziggy Stardust tour. However, the Derby performance, together with scheduled appearances in Coventry and Southampton, became one of three early dates later described as “non-starters.”
The tour officially opened six days later at the Toby Jug in Tolworth on 10 February 1972, before gaining momentum with the first full Ziggy and the Spiders performance at Imperial College in London on 12 February.
That makes this poster much more than an advertisement for an old concert. It is a rare surviving record of a Bowie performance that was planned, printed and promoted, but ultimately never happened — a physical fragment from the uncertain days immediately before Ziggy Stardust took to the stage and changed popular culture.
This is not a loose interpretation, tribute design or modern reimagining. The poster has been carefully recreated to reproduce the surviving original as closely as possible. It retains the same wording, typefaces, typography, composition, spacing, proportions and overall layout.
Every line of text has been positioned to follow the original design. Nothing has been modernised, redesigned or deliberately improved. The unusual spacing, direct typography and simple black-on-pink composition are all essential parts of its character.
The result is a faithful reproduction of the original poster rather than a newly designed Bowie print.
A completely clean digital reproduction would lose much of what makes the surviving poster so compelling.
Each copy is printed at A2 (420mm x 594mm) size on carefully selected old ‘found’ paper and individually distressed by hand. Photographs of the original poster have been used as a guide when creating the folds, creases, marks and worn surfaces.
Every poster is physically folded, softened, marked and aged to recreate the character of a piece of printed ephemera that has survived since 1972.
The folds, surface marks, softened edges and irregularities are intentional. These are not simply identical printed distress effects. The ageing, wear and damage is created by hand on the finished poster.
As a result, no two copies will be exactly alike.
Early 1972 was a moment of extraordinary transition. Hunky Dory had been released only weeks earlier, while The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars would not appear until June.
The Cleopatra’s concert was advertised during those brief weeks when Bowie was preparing to introduce Ziggy Stardust to the world, but before audiences fully understood what was coming.
The planned Derby appearance became one of three early “non-starters”:
3 February 1972 — Lanchester Polytechnic Arts Festival, Coventry
4 February 1972 — Cleopatra’s, Derby
7 February 1972 — Guild Hall, Southampton
The official opening of the tour followed at the Toby Jug in Tolworth on 10 February.
The surviving original Cleopatra’s poster is currently included in an exhibition in London, where it is being shown as a rare piece of Bowie history and an important example of early-1970s British gig-poster ephemera.
Its survival gives the poster particular historical importance. It preserves evidence of an early route the Ziggy Stardust tour was intended to take — before plans changed and these performances disappeared from the schedule.
It is a poster for a concert that was announced, designed, printed and promoted, but never happened.
Each poster will be:
Faithfully recreated from the surviving original
Printed at A2 size (420mm x 594mm)
Printed on old ‘found’ paper
Individually folded, aged and distressed by hand
Stamped
Individually numbered
Unique in its pattern of marks and wear
Supplied unframed
Once all 25 numbered copies have sold, this edition will not be repeated.
Original advertised date: Friday 4 February 1972
Venue: Cleopatra’s, Derby
Edition: 25 copies only
Size: A2
Paper: Old ‘Found’ paper
Design: Faithful reproduction of the original typography, typefaces and layout
Finish: Individually folded, aged and distressed by hand
Numbering: Stamped and individually numbered
Presentation: Supplied unframed
A rare reproduction of a poster for a Bowie concert that never happened — created for one of the abandoned opening dates of the Ziggy Stardust tour and preserved here as an individually hand-distressed edition of only 25.
A strictly limited, hand-finished reproduction of an exceptionally rare David Bowie gig poster advertising his scheduled appearance at Cleopatra’s in Derby on Friday 4 February 1972.
The concert never took place!
Cleopatra’s was intended to be one of the earliest dates connected to the launch of Bowie’s historic Ziggy Stardust tour. However, the Derby performance, together with scheduled appearances in Coventry and Southampton, became one of three early dates later described as “non-starters.”
The tour officially opened six days later at the Toby Jug in Tolworth on 10 February 1972, before gaining momentum with the first full Ziggy and the Spiders performance at Imperial College in London on 12 February.
That makes this poster much more than an advertisement for an old concert. It is a rare surviving record of a Bowie performance that was planned, printed and promoted, but ultimately never happened — a physical fragment from the uncertain days immediately before Ziggy Stardust took to the stage and changed popular culture.
This is not a loose interpretation, tribute design or modern reimagining. The poster has been carefully recreated to reproduce the surviving original as closely as possible. It retains the same wording, typefaces, typography, composition, spacing, proportions and overall layout.
Every line of text has been positioned to follow the original design. Nothing has been modernised, redesigned or deliberately improved. The unusual spacing, direct typography and simple black-on-pink composition are all essential parts of its character.
The result is a faithful reproduction of the original poster rather than a newly designed Bowie print.
A completely clean digital reproduction would lose much of what makes the surviving poster so compelling.
Each copy is printed at A2 (420mm x 594mm) size on carefully selected old ‘found’ paper and individually distressed by hand. Photographs of the original poster have been used as a guide when creating the folds, creases, marks and worn surfaces.
Every poster is physically folded, softened, marked and aged to recreate the character of a piece of printed ephemera that has survived since 1972.
The folds, surface marks, softened edges and irregularities are intentional. These are not simply identical printed distress effects. The ageing, wear and damage is created by hand on the finished poster.
As a result, no two copies will be exactly alike.
Early 1972 was a moment of extraordinary transition. Hunky Dory had been released only weeks earlier, while The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars would not appear until June.
The Cleopatra’s concert was advertised during those brief weeks when Bowie was preparing to introduce Ziggy Stardust to the world, but before audiences fully understood what was coming.
The planned Derby appearance became one of three early “non-starters”:
3 February 1972 — Lanchester Polytechnic Arts Festival, Coventry
4 February 1972 — Cleopatra’s, Derby
7 February 1972 — Guild Hall, Southampton
The official opening of the tour followed at the Toby Jug in Tolworth on 10 February.
The surviving original Cleopatra’s poster is currently included in an exhibition in London, where it is being shown as a rare piece of Bowie history and an important example of early-1970s British gig-poster ephemera.
Its survival gives the poster particular historical importance. It preserves evidence of an early route the Ziggy Stardust tour was intended to take — before plans changed and these performances disappeared from the schedule.
It is a poster for a concert that was announced, designed, printed and promoted, but never happened.
Each poster will be:
Faithfully recreated from the surviving original
Printed at A2 size (420mm x 594mm)
Printed on old ‘found’ paper
Individually folded, aged and distressed by hand
Stamped
Individually numbered
Unique in its pattern of marks and wear
Supplied unframed
Once all 25 numbered copies have sold, this edition will not be repeated.
Original advertised date: Friday 4 February 1972
Venue: Cleopatra’s, Derby
Edition: 25 copies only
Size: A2
Paper: Old ‘Found’ paper
Design: Faithful reproduction of the original typography, typefaces and layout
Finish: Individually folded, aged and distressed by hand
Numbering: Stamped and individually numbered
Presentation: Supplied unframed
A rare reproduction of a poster for a Bowie concert that never happened — created for one of the abandoned opening dates of the Ziggy Stardust tour and preserved here as an individually hand-distressed edition of only 25.
