By Georgina Littlejohn

Last updated at 4:15 PM on 24th February 2012

It was one of David Bowie's most iconic personas, the Starman with the flame-red hair and striking costume.

And this year marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of Ziggy Stardust and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars album.

To commemorate the anniversary, he will be immortalised with his own plaque which will be unveiled on Heddon Street in London, just off Regent's Street.

And the reason for this is, unless you're a die hard David Bowie fan, it's a little known fact that this is where the front cover of the album was taken.

In 1972, Bowie is seen as Ziggy on a cold and damp January evening, his foot resting on a step outside 23 Heddon Street - which is now used for offices.

But at the time, the late photographer Brian Ward, had rented a space upstairs in the building as a makeshift photographic studio, and had already shot 17 pictures when he persuaded Bowie to step outside onto Heddon Street.

According to him at the time, the other band members decided it was too cold and left Bowie to take the picture on his own.

Wearing the green jumpsuit that he later wore on the BBC 2 TV show 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', Bowie posed for the photograph.

Bowie recalled: 'It was cold and it rained and I felt like an actor. We did the photographs outside on a rainy night and then upstairs in the studio we did the Clockwork Orange look-a-likes that became the inner album sleeve.'

However, the Heddon Street today looks completely different because of the re-development of Regent Street and its surrounding areas.