These were David Bowie's favourite songs, according to a note found while amassing his new V&A archive

A hand-written list purporting to show David Bowie's favourite songs has been discovered while organisers were amassing the huge collection of Bowie belongings, memorabilia and souvenirs that are on show at the V&A museum in London.

The exhibition, which opens to the public this month, features tens of thousands of items including personal possessions, Bowie's own notes and drawings, some of his most famous stage costumes and the iconic Union Jack coat that was designed by Bowie and famed fashion designer Alexander McQueen for the cover of Bowie's 1997 album, Earthling.

Now, it has been revealed that a list of Bowie's personal favourite songs, seemingly jotted down by the man himself for a radio show he was due to appear on, has been unearthed for the exhibition. Titled Memo for radio show - list of favourite records, it features cuts from the likes of Miles Davis, Jeff Beck, Little Richard, The Beatles, Ronnie Spector, Roxy Music and Sonic Youth.

See the full list of songs picked by Bowie below.

David Bowie's favourite song list

Ralph Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Richard Strauss – Four Last Songs
Alan Freed and His Rock ’N’ Roll Band – Right Now Right Now
Little Richard – True Fine Mama
The Hollywood Argyles – Sho Know a Lot About Love
Miles Davis – Some Day My Prince Will Come
Charles Mingus – Ecclusiastics
Jeff Beck – Beck’s Bolero
Legendary Stardust Cowboy – I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship
The Beatles – Across the Universe
Ronnie Spector – Try Some, Buy Some
Roxy Music – Mother of Pearl
Edgar Froese – Epsilon in Malaysian Pale
The Walker Brothers – The Electrician
Sonic Youth – Tom Violence

Speaking about the exhibition, V&A director Tristram Hunt said: “David Bowie was one of the greatest musicians and performers of all time. The V&A is thrilled to become custodians of his incredible archive, and to be able to open it up for the public. Bowie’s radical innovations across music, theatre, film, fashion, and style – from Berlin to Tokyo to London – continue to influence design and visual culture and inspire creatives from Janelle Monáe to Lady Gaga to Tilda Swinton and Raf Simons.

“Our new collections centre, V&A East Storehouse, is the ideal place to put Bowie’s work in dialogue with the V&A’s collection spanning 5,000 years of art, design, and performance. My deepest thanks go to the David Bowie Estate, Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group for helping make this a reality and for providing a new sourcebook for the Bowies of tomorrow.”

For more information on the exhibition, head to the official V&A website.