Angie Bowie has claimed the late David Bowie had to "present as heterosexual with bisexual tendencies" to make it in America.
The 'Starman' hitmaker's ex-wife - with whom she had 50-year-old son Duncan Jones - assisted in the creation of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie's androgynous alien stage persona, and she has recalled how in the 70s in the US, they had to carefully consider how Bowie's sexuality came across.
She said: "He had to basically present as heterosexual with bisexual tendencies to get by the American censors. " One way they could prove this was by having a child.
Angie - who gave birth to Duncan in May 1971 - continued: "I figured if I had a child they're not going to argue that he is hetero. "And David had such a good relationship with his father, I could tell he was going to have a great relationship with Zowie (Duncan). " The 72-year-old glam rock icon recalled how she always wanted David to dress like "a star" no matter what time of day it was.