David Bowie is exhibition becomes Victoria & Albert Museum's fastest-selling event
An exhibition celebrating David Bowie's career has become the Victoria & Albert Museum's fastest-selling event.
More than 300 objects spanning his 50 years in showbusiness have been brought together for the first time, including hand-written lyrics, costumes, photographs, film, music videos, set designs and album artwork.
Organised by theme rather than chronologically, it features Bowie's own hand-written lyrics of his songs including Starman (1972), Oh! You Pretty Things (1971), and Five Years (1971'>The 'David Bowie is' exhibition features 60 stage costumes, including Kansai Yamamoto).
At the opening of the exhibition last night artists, actors and musicians turned out to see the Bowie exhibition.
David Bowie was born David Jones in post-war Brixton, south London.
He began what has become a glittering career in the R&B boom, playing with bands including the Mannish Boys and the Lower Third in the early Sixties.
It was not until 1969 that Bowie exploded on to the scene, with Space Oddity peaking at number five in the charts.
A string of albums followed, including The Man Who Sold The World (1970) and Hunky Dory (1971), before 1972's The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars propelled him to fame.
A landmark appearance on Top Of The Pops in July 1972 brought him into national view.
Bowie's alien rockstar alter-ego Ziggy Stardust and the subsequent tour cemented his status as a leading rock figure, as his popularity spread to America.
With The Next Day released this month, Bowie scored his first number one album in 20 years.