I suppose for me as an artist it wasn't always just about expressing my work; I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute in some way to the culture that I was living in. It just seemed like a challenge to move it a little bit towards the way I thought it might be interesting to go.

Bowie portrayed physicist Nikola Tesla in the Christopher Nolan film The Prestige (2006) which was about the bitter rivalry between two magicians in the late 19th century. This he refused to do and his interview went ahead. Featuring a starkly lit set the Isolar – 1976 Tour highlighted songs from the album including the dramatic and lengthy title track the ballads "Wild Is the Wind" and "Word on a Wing" and the funkier "TVC 15" and "Stay".

" The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention musical innovation and striking visual presentation. Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 140 million albums. Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969 when his song "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart.