As one of pop music's biggest and most influential stars,Bowie has been responsible for setting trends and standards that haveinfluenced musical stars and audiences around the world. Since his first major hit single, Space Oddity, in 1969, andhis album The Man Who Sold The World, the following year, Bowie'smany successful albums have included Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fallof Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (which also launchedthe hit single Starman) Aladdin Sane, Station to Station,"Heroes, Let's Dance and Tonight."

Bowie made his motion picture debut in 1975 as the star of Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth and his films since thenhave included Just A Gigolo, The Hunger, Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence, Into The Night (a brief guest role), and Absolute Beginners. In 1980, he starred in the title role of The ElephantMan on the Broadway stage and, during 1983, undertook his successful Serious Moonlight Tour, covering Europe, the United States, Japan,and Australia.