The Royal Mail has released a set of postage stamps commemorating the life and career of recording icon David Bowie.
The ten stamp series feature some of Bowie’s classic album covers, along with his defining world tours, and marks the first time Royal Mail has devoted an entire series to an individual music artist or cultural figure.
"For five decades David Bowie was at the forefront of contemporary culture, and has influenced successive generations of musicians, artists, designers and writers," said Philip Parker, Royal Mail stamp Strategy Manager.
"Royal Mail’s stamp issue celebrates this unique figure and some of his many celebrated personas."
Six of the stamps represent some of Bowie’s most iconic album covers: Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, ‘Heroes’, Let’s Dance, Earthling and Blackstar.
Four further stamps capture moments from Bowie’s legendary live performances across four decades: The Ziggy Stardust Tour in 1972, The Stage Tour in 1978, The Serious Moonlight Tour in 1983, and the A Reality Tour in 2004.
To celebrate the release, Royal Mail has gone where no other postal service has gone before, by blasting Bowie into space.
Fifty two first-day covers, each bearing a full set of the stamps and a special red thunderbolt hand-stamp, have been launched into the stratosphere using helium balloons.
Having reached a height of 34,100m, the balloons will burst and the covers will begin their descent back to Earth.
Collectors will then have the chance to win one of these limited-edition covers by guessing where in the world they landed.
The stamps go on sale across the U.K on March 14.
