Courtesy of The Royal MailToday is the day that the Royal Mail, the U.K.’s postal agency, released a series of 10 commemorative stamps honoring the late David Bowie. To mark the occasion, the postal service has had 52 limited-edition “First Day Covers” sets of the stamps sent into space and has launched a special contest offering people a chance to win those stamps.
The promotion celebrates Bowie’s famous role as an alien in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Fans who correctly guess where the stamp sets “fell to earth” will win. Hints about the location of the stamps will be posted every two days at RoyalMail.com and the services social media sites. A winner will be announced on April 10.
The number of sets launched into space, 52, represents the number of years David’s recording career spanned. The limited-edition stamps have been marked with a red lightning bolt like the one painted on Bowie’s face on the cover of his 1973 album Aladdin Sane.
Six of the 10 Bowie stamps feature covers of select albums by the influential singer while four show him performing on tour during different periods of his career. The album covers appearing on the stamps are 1971’s Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, 1977’s “Heroes”, 1983’s Let’s Dance, 1997’s Earthling and Bowie’s last studio effort, 2016’s Blackstar.
The four other stamps feature images of Bowie on his 1972 Ziggy Stardust Tour, his 1978 Stage Trek, his 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour and his 2004 A Reality Tour.
The collection marks the first time that the Royal Mail has honored an individual musician with an official stamp series. The Bowie stamps can be ordered online at RoyalMail.com/DavidBowie, and are available at many post offices throughout the U.K.
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