PICTURE GALLERY: See the Royal Mail's new David Bowie stamps

It’s the first time Royal Mail has dedicated an entire stamp issue to an individual music artist or cultural figure.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: ‘The stamps are issued in the year of what would have been his 70th birthday, and 50 years since his first album release.

‘Endlessly innovative and pioneering, he is widely regarded as having elevated his music to an art form.

‘Six of the stamps showcase Bowie’s changing musical styles and personas across the decades and feature images of some of his most admired and defining album covers: Hunky Dory; Aladdin Sane; “Heroes”; Let’s Dance; Earthling and ★. The arc of the vinyl album protrudes from the right hand side of each stamp.

‘Completing the set, four stamps show Bowie in action performing live on tours across four decades; The Ziggy Stardust Tour, 1972; The Stage Tour, 1978; The Serious Moonlight Tour, 1983; and A Reality Tour, 2004.

‘The stamps and a range of limited edition souvenirs are available to pre-order from today at www.royalmail.com/davidbowie and will be on sale from 14 March 2017.

‘Bowie’s 1972 album cover for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was featured in the Classic Album Covers stamp set issued in January 2010.

‘The only other music artists to have been honoured with a dedicated stamp issue are groups; The Beatles (2010) and Pink Floyd (2015).

‘A year-long poll undertaken by New Musical Express magazine in 2000 canvassed opinion from musicians worldwide as to the most influential artist. The result of this poll placed Bowie at Number One.’