David Bowie fans will soon be able to reflect their admiration for the Music icon with the purchase of a set of stamps showing the star in action throughout his varied career. The Royal Mail have taken the unprecedented step of dedicating an entire issue in honour of a single music artist, a fitting reflection of the Brixton-born musician’s talent and popularity after his untimely death at the age of 69 last year.
Changing persona reflected
With ten stamps in total included in the issue – expected to go on sale on March 14th – there is plenty of scope to reflect what proved to be the constantly changing persona that typified Bowie.
Admirers will no doubt have their own personal favourites, whether it be from his Space Oddity days or maybe even his brief Thin White Duke period during the mid-1970s, as the Starman sought out fresh sounds and moved with the times.
Images from Bowie’s touring days
Reflecting his priceless ability to entertain and engage with the audience, four of the stamps will feature Bowie in live action from his touring days, including The Ziggy Stardust Tour from the early 1970s.Other familiar images featured include his distinctive album covers such as Aladdin Sane and Hunky Dory.
Royal Mail tribute
The Royal Mail’s Philip Parker echoed those sentiments as news of the launch of the visually appealing stamps was made earlier this week, saying that “David Bowie was at the forefront of contemporary culture” throughout his life.
He added that the celebrated singer and actor had “influenced successive generations of musicians, artists, designers and writers.” High praise indeed but indicative of the feelings of the generations that appreciated his work and continue to do so.
Embracing the changing music scene
His musical legacy has already been cemented thanks to the quality of the back catalogue he left behind, with his final album Blackstar proving that even close to death he continued to be hugely creative.
Bowie embraced the new Romantic era of the 1980s, attracting yet more listeners thanks to the classy Let’s Dance album, a huge commercial success that went platinum in both the UK and US.
Recent EP release
Fans of the Bowie sound will no doubt have appreciated the recent release of an EP, No Plan, earlier this month to mark what would have been the singer’s 70th birthday. Featured on the EP were three tracks that failed to make it on to the Blackstar album but do feature on the soundtrack for the musical Lazarus, one of the musician’s final projects during his life.