Career: On graduating, Reed became a professional songwriter, but found it claustrophobic. He joined forces with John Cale, an equally disillusioned colleague, and friends Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker to form avant-garde rock band the Velvet Underground, who became part of Andy Warhol's artistic set. In 1970, just as they were on the brink of major success, Reed quit, went back to live with his parents, and then began a solo career. His first album wasn't a success but Transformer, released in 1972, was. He continued to record influential music in between various other projects, including a tour and live album with his Velvet Underground colleagues in 1993. In 2003, he released The Raven, an ambitious project inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. He died from liver disease on October 27, 2013 at the age of 71.

Career: Bowie's breakthrough came in 1969 when the BBC used his song Space Oddity for their coverage of the moon landing. Adopting the alter ego of Ziggy Stardust in 1972 made him a huge global star. Landmark albums Diamond Dogs, Young Americans and Low followed. He paired up with Queen for the 1981 chart hit Under Pressure and reached a commercial peak in 1983 with the single Let's Dance. Away from music, he had acted in a number of films, including The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983), and Labyrinth (1986), and as himself in the sitcom Extras. He released his 25th and final studio album, Blackstar, on January 8, 2016. Two days later, he died from cancer. He was 69. During his career, he sold more than 140 million records.