- published: 25 Nov 2015
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Coordinates: 51°45′18″N 0°20′10″W / 51.755°N 0.336°W / 51.755; -0.336
St Albans /sɨnt ˈɔːlbənz/ is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles (35 km) north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans.
It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt. Property prices are notoriously high within the district, which is one of the most expensive in the UK.
St Albans has two official demonyms: Verulamian and Old Albanian. St Albans was a settlement of pre-Roman origin named Verlamion (or Verulam) by the Ancient British, Catuvellauni tribe. It became the first major town on the old Roman road of Watling Street for travellers heading north and became the Roman city of Verulamium.
Saint Alban, the first British Christian martyr, was beheaded in AD 308 by Maximian on the orders of Emperor Diocletian, who denounced the Christian faith and had ordered the deaths of all subjects and allies of the Roman Empire who refused to give up the faith. Saint Alban consequently gave the town its modern name.
David Bowie ( /ˈboʊ.i/ BOH-ee; born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. He is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth and eclecticism of his work.
Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when his song "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie's impact at that time, as described by biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture." The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention, musical innovation and striking visual presentation.