Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Music Giants II: David Bowie - 14 March 2017


Royal Mail have announced that this year's Music Giants stamp issue will be a tribute to David Bowie, who died last year aged 69; he was one of the most influential music and cultural figures of all time.
 
Bowie made his commercial breakthrough with the 1969 album “Space Oddity” with its single of the same title. In 1972 he recorded The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, featuring the hit “Starman”, and toured to promote the album with an elaborate stage act as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. This established him as a leader of glam-rock in the mid-1970s.

His 1975 album Young Americans began his “plastic soul” period, and in the 1980s he established a more elegant rock presence with hits like “Under Pressure” (with the band Queen) and “Let’s Dance” (from his 1983 album of the same name). Bowie also had hit records in collaboration with, Lou Reed, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Mott the Hoople and Brian Eno.

He also acted in films, notably in The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976), The Hunger (1983), Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Labyrinth (1986) and The Prestige (2006). He also took the title role in The Elephant Man in an American stage production (1980-81).
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Set of 6 stamps showing David Bowie Album Covers. 
  1st class - Hunky Dory (1971), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Heroes (1977).
£1.52 - Let's Dance (1983), Earthling (1997), and Blackstar (2016)
David Bowie 'Live' stamp Miniature sheet. 

The stamps on the miniature sheet show the Ziggy Stardust (1972) and Serious Moonlight (1983) Tours (1st class), and
The Stage Tour (1978) and A Reality Tour (2004) (£1.52). 
The background image is of the Glass Spider Tour (1987)
  David Bowie retail stamp booklet.



See Royal Mail's website for the special editions



Background - as provided by Royal Mail

1st Class Hunky Dory: his fourth album and released in December 1971. Time magazine chose it as part of their "100 best albums of all time" list in January 2010.

1st Class Aladdin Sane: his sixth album and released in April 1973. The album was among six Bowie entries in Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

1st Class "Heroes": his twelfth studio album and released in October 1977. This was the second instalment of his "Berlin Trilogy" recorded with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. The title track remains one of Bowie's best known and acclaimed songs.

£1.52 Let’s Dance: his fifteenth studio album and released in April 1983. Coproduced by Nile Rodgers, and featured three of his most successful singles "Let's Dance", "Modern Love" and "China Girl". Let's Dance is Bowie's bestselling album.

£1.52 Earthling: his twentieth studio album and released in February 1997 and was the first album Bowie had self-produced since Diamond Dogs.

£1.52 Blackstar: Bowie’s final studio album, released on 8th January 2016 to coincide with his 69th birthday. Bowie died two days after its release.

Technical details:
The 34 x 32 mm stamps deisgned by Royal Mail using an original design by Studio Dempsey, responsible for the original Album Covers stamps in 2010.  Printed by International Security Printers in gravure in sheets of 50 self-adhesive stamps.
The 115 x 89 mm Miniature Sheet was designed by Royal Mail.  Contains 35 mm square stamps on gummed paper, perforated 14.5, and printed by International Security Printers in Lithography. 
The booklet should be printed by ISP (Walsall) in gravure with deep scarlet Machin definitives coded MCIL M17L: these will be the same as in the Windsor Castle boooklet.

Acknowledgements: Hunky Dory, Let’s Dance, Earthling and Blackstar album covers © Jones Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC; Aladdin Sane album cover © Jones Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC and Duffy Archive Limited; “Heroes” album cover © Jones Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC and Masayoshi Sukita; photography of album covers by John Ross.  The Ziggy Stardust Tour, 1973, London © Ilpo Musto/REX/ Shutterstock; The Stage Tour, 1978, Frankfurt © Hans H Kirmer/DPA/PA Images; The Serious Moonlight Tour, 1983, Brussels © Andre Csillag/REX/Shutterstock; A Reality Tour, 2004, Isle of Wight, photo by Mark Shenley © Camera Press London; miniature sheet border image of The Glass Spider Tour, 1987, Mendig © DPA/Alamy Stock Photo
All stamp images © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2017

Products available from Royal Mail - we will not be stocking these, but will be making some maximum cards.   

Set of 6 stamps, miniature sheet.  retail booklet, Presentation Pack containing set and miniature sheet 

Set of 11 stamp cards  Two First Day Covers  Numerous special edition items aimed at non-philatelic collectors, including 'Fan Sheets' of album artwork, souvenir covers, framed products,

Special first day of issue postmarks will be shown on Royal Mail's website.


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This page created 26 January 2017.

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