Aylesbury's David Bowie statue 'will sing on the hour'

David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust phase, a persona unveiled in Aylesbury

A planned statue of singer David Bowie as his Ziggy Stardust character will sing "on the hour every hour", supporters claim.

A crowdfunding appeal has begun to raise £100,000 for the statue in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire - the town where Ziggy was first performed.

Speakers above the coloured bronze will play one of 2,000 tracks every hour.

Bowie unveiled two albums and his Stardust persona during gigs at the Friars music venue in the early 1970s.

'Bring to life'

Leading campaigner for the effigy, David Stopps, said it was going to be a "stunning work of art" with audio that "brings it to life".

"We'll have 2,000 tracks but you just don't know what you'll get, you might get an obscure B side from 1972 or you might get one of the big hits," he said.

More on this and other stories from Buckinghamshire

The artwork, designed by sculptor Andrew Sinclair, will have Ziggy Stardust as the main figure, but behind that will be sculpted references to some of the other characters Bowie created including Aladdin Sane and Lazarus.

Sculptor Andrew Sinclair is using the mask taken from Bowie's face during the filming of The Man who Fell to Earth to create the likeness

Bowie first performed tracks from his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars in Aylesbury

It is due to stand under the arches in the Market Square which Bowie referenced in Five Years, the opening track of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders from Mars album.

Bowie played a gig at the Friars club in September 1971 where he gave the town the world debut of Hunky Dory and four months later he played the venue again where the majority of the set was made up of songs which turned out to be the Ziggy Stardust album.

The campaign to build a statue has the support of all the local authorities but none of the funds will come from council tax payers.

Organisers must raise the £150,000 needed through grants and the appeal.