Here landed the Starman! Plaque marks London street where David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust 'touched down'

It is an iconic album cover from one of the most influential albums of the 1970s.

David Bowie, glammed up as his otherworldy alter ego Ziggy Stardust, stares back at the camera from a dimly-lit doorstep on a small side-street off Regent Street in London.

Forty years later, the spot where Ziggy first arrived - Number 23, Heddon Street - is part of a bustling pedestrian area of bars and restaurants.

Now, for the first time, the street's role in musical history has been highlighted with a plaque commemorating the meteoric launch of the Starman.

40 years on: From left, Spiders from Mars members Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey join Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp to unveil a plaque where Bowie's creation was once photographed in Heddon Street, London

The Crown Estate, which runs a £7billion property portfolio on behalf of the Queen and the public estate, installed the plaque today.

The honour of unveiling it fell to Spandau Ballet guitarist and Bowie superfan Gary Kemp, who discovered his idol when he saw him in Ziggy guise on Top of the Pops.

He described Bowie as 'a Messianic rock star' as he was joined by Spiders from Mars band members Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.



Moody streets: David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust perches on a rubbish bin with his guitar round his shoulders on a dark night in Heddon Street in London

Heddon Street, now redeveloped from the days of Ziggy, is now a bustling street of cafes and bars. Bowie stood at a doorway on the far-left of this image

As the plaque was not installed by either English Heritage or Westminster Council, it is black, rather than the blue or green used by the other organisations to commemorate famous landmarks and people.

In fact, it is one of only a couple of plaques given to fictional characters, such as one for the great detective Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street, and one for the explorer Lara Croft located on a block of flats in Derby.

Launch of a star: Bowie in classic Ziggy pose during a gig in 1972

When the album - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - was released in June 1972, Bowie was catapulted to international fame.

The famous album cover was captured by photographer Brian Ward on a cold and wet evening in January of that year.

After a photo shoot with Bowie and the Spiders from Mars inside a rented Heddon Street studio, Ward convinced Bowie to step out on to the street for the shot which eventually became the album cover.

The other band members decided it was too cold and left Bowie to take the picture on his own.



Bowie recalled: 'It was cold and it rained and I felt like an actor.



'We did the photographs outside on a rainy night and then upstairs in the studio we did the Clockwork Orange look-a-likes that became the inner album sleeve.'

The picture was taken in black-and-white, and then hand-coloured by artist Terry Pastor.



The fabrics which made up Ziggy's iconic look had all been purchased from Regent Street just a few yards away.

However, the Heddon Street today looks completely different because of the re-development of Regent Street and its surrounding areas.

David Shaw, head of the Regent Street Portfolio for the Crown Estate, told The Times that the plaque to Ziggy was an exceptional installation.

He said: 'This will be for the foreseeable future a one-off. It needs to be.

'We don't want to litter the place with plaques, that would demean what we are trying to do.'

From the Beatles to Oasis: The bands that used London as a 'fifth member'

Iconic London artwork: Berwick Street in Soho became integral to the 90s music scene on Oasis's album, and Abbey Road became one of the defining images of the Beatles London has played host to many great artists over the last 50 years, and as such has been the background to many seminal albums. The Beatles used an iconic shot of the North London street which their recording studio was based for their last album, Abbey Road in 1969, and devoted fans flock to the zebra crossing everyday to recreate the famous image - to the annoyance of drivers going about their business. Berwick Street in Soho was the background star of (What's the Story) Morning Glory, Oasis's second album, released in 1995. The album cover is one of the most recognised from the 1990s, and the album is often seen as the definition of 90's Indie and Britpop culture. Other famous albums making use of London as a backdrop include:

Blur's ‘Parklife’, with an image of Walthamstow dog track

The Rolling Stones' ‘Between The Buttons’, using Primrose Hill as a backdrop

Pink Floyd's ‘Animals’ used an image of Battersea Power Station

The Clash's self-titled ‘The Clash’ album used an image of Camden Market

Bowie performing as Ziggy Stardust:









