David Bowie agrees for his songs to be used in Heroes musical

David Bowie has agreed for the first time to allow his songs to be used in a musical, paving the way for Ziggy Stardust to follow in the footsteps of Queen, Abba and Madness onto the stage.

Bowie has given his permission for his famously avant-garde songs to be turned into a full-scale musical that will be based on the story of Major Tom, the starman and a young man called David.

The show, called Heroes: The Musical, has been described as a futuristic fantasy that does not hearken back to Bowie's glory days but instead celebrates the timelessness of his lyrics.

"We could not really believe it when they gave us permission," Deep Singh, who wrote the musical, told the Observer.

"His people had warned us that it was very unlikely that he would be interested and that he had been asked many times before.

"We did not want Mr Bowie to think it was going to be a tribute show, and that seems to have had an effect.