Ziggy Stardust: 50 years of Bowie's alien revolution in contemporary culture

A filepic of the "Starman" costume from David Bowie's appearance on "Top of the Pops" in 1972 on display at the "David Bowie Is" exhibition at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum in central London in 2013. Photo: AFP

It is half a century since Ziggy Stardust - a character that turned David Bowie into an intergalactic star and revolutionised sexual politics in the process - crashed onto Earth.

The London singer had spent a decade trying to refine his stage persona, but despite a couple of hits - 1969's Space Oddity and Changes two years later - he had yet to achieve the stardom he craved.