David Bowie stamps sent into space by Royal Mail

The Bowie stamp in space

A set of stamps featuring the late David Bowie have been launched into space by the UK’s Royal Mail.

The stamps featuring images from Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Heroes, Let’s Dance, Earthling and Blackstar were fixed to helium balloons and fired into the stratosphere in honour of Bowie’s 1976 film The Man Who Fell To Earth.

Once the balloons burst, the stamps will fall to Earth, with fans able to collect prizes should they find the them back on terra firma.

The Royal Mail have set up a dedicated website where fans can follow the path of the stamps and pinpoint where they think they’ll land. There’s also a video on the site showing one of the stamps being released.

Last month it was reported that a crowdfunding campaign to raise a permanent memorial to Bowie in his birthplace of Brixton, London, had been launched.

Organisers said: ““In a 50 year career he blazed a trail that brought joy to millions, changing lives and opening minds. Many of us would not be the people we are, were it not for Bowie. When David Bowie died, Brixton also lost a son.

“Now, in consultation with David Bowie’s team in New York and London, the Brixton community is building a permanent memorial in the place of his birth.”

The campaign now has just four days to go and has so far raised close to £50,000.

Bowie, who died in January last year after battling cancer for 18 months, posthumously won two Brit awards in February for Album Of The Year for Blackstar and British Male Solo Artist.

Rick Wakeman and Chris Hadfield cover Bowie's Space Oddity

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.