Composite image inspired by the cover photograph of the Ziggy Stardust album by David Bowie, the very first pop album I bought, back in 1972. I was fascinated by the cover photographs by Brian Ward, and the similarity of Heddon St London with streets in Manchester city centre. Here I have captured and combined two Manchester streets into one - St James Square off John Dalton St and Hilton St off Dale St in the Northern Quarter.

This is just a first draft - subsequent versions to follow. This image doesn't come up to the quality and mystique of the original but that's not the point. I am trying to recreate 'my' version of how I visualised the album cover using the streets of my home city. To find out more about the Ziggy Stardust album cover go to the fascinating website www.5 years.com by New Zealand-based Michael Harvey.

See also my 'Magic of Manchester' article about growing up with music in Manchester, in Eyewitness in Manchester on the Manchester Online server.

About the photos

This image is from the portfolio of Aidan O'Rourke photographer writer website publisher. Most images are copyright Aidan O'Rourke and may be available as prints or high resolution files. Some images are by other artists, and are published with their approval, or are included in reviews of their work.

The portfolio contains a wide range of themes and image formats. The images are used to illustrate articles on this site, and to provide information about the subjects depicted.

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Keywords: Manchester, music, David Bowie, streets, (bw), tinted, London