Outrageous costumes and hand-scrawled lyrics are among hundreds of items going on show in a major London retrospective tracing David Bowie's relentless self-reinventions over five decades. Charting the British singer's rise to fame and his reincarnations as Ziggy Stardust and other outlandish alter egos, the "David Bowie Is" exhibition has become the fastest-selling show in the Victoria and Albert Museum's history ahead of its launch on Saturday.

British rock icon David Bowie on Sunday reconquered his home charts by scoring his first number one album in 20 years with "The Next Day". Bowie surprised the music world by breaking a decade-long musical silence in January when he unveiled a new single entitled "Where Are We Now?" to coincide with his 66th birthday -- his first release since the 2003 studio album "Reality". The single was taken off "The Next Day", which this week became Britain's fastest selling album of 2013, the Official Charts Company announced Sunday.

* First Bowie album in decade hits UK, US stores next week * Acclaimed "The Next Day" seen topping some charts * Bowie's low profile builds anticipation, mystique By Mike Collett-White LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - He caught the music world napping in January with his first new song in a decade and soon had critics searching for superlatives to describe his new album "The Next Day".

British rock icon David Bowie released his first album in a decade Thursday, streaming the comeback record exclusively on iTunes. The highly anticipated surprise release -- coming more than a week before its commercial launch on March 12 -- will be streamed on Apple's media player until the album is formally made available in stores. On his official Facebook page, Bowie said that fans would have a chance in the coming days to win signed "deluxe" copies of the album if they indicate their favorite tracks. "Spread the word children," he said.