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Fans thought the rock star’s 1973 Top of the Pops performance of Jean Genie would never be seen again after the BBC wiped its copy.

But it will be screened on a BBC2 Top of the Pops special after retired TotP cameraman John Henshall found the clip in a dusty box in a cupboard at home.

Mr Henshall, 69, said: “I didn’t realise that it had been wiped by the BBC or that anyone was seeking it.

“I initially got permission to keep a copy of Bowie’s performance for my showreel, as I used my own effects in the clip.”

John first revealed its existence on a radio show and BBC bosses contacted him so they could fit the four-minute clip into tonight’s show, with a special screening quickly arranged for 100 Bowie fans last weekend.

John, of Stanford-in-the-Vale, Oxfordshire, added: ­“Apparently, it’s something that Bowie people have been trying to find for years.

“When I first saw it again, the hairs came up on the back of my neck and there were gasps around the room. It hadn’t been viewed since it was recorded but it was broadcast quality. Amazing.

“One guy said he’d been looking for it for more than 12 years.”

The song features on Bowie’s hit Aladdin Sane album and fan Mark Adams, who was at the screening, described the archive footage as “the holy grail” of Bowie performances.

The clip shows the star and his band The Spiders from Mars performing the hit live, all in full glam rock regalia.

Mark Cooper, executive producer of Top of the Pops 2, said: “Bowie singing Jean Genie is electric and it brings back how brilliant the show could be.”

* Top of the Pops Christmas Special, BBC2, tonight at 7.30pm.