Just two days before his 60th birthday, Radio 2 celebrates the phenomenal impact of David Bowie , whose style and pop and rock gravitas have illuminated the careers of scores of major artists. Bowie-influenced interviewees include Deborah Harry, Marc Almond, Boy George, Peter Hook, Brett Anderson, Jarvis Cocker, Guy Garvey, Moby, Ian McCulloch, Neil Hannon, Richard Hawley, Annie Lennox and Ricky Gervais. Plus archive input from John Lennon. Producer John Sugar

It seems like only yesterday that a flame-haired vision called David Bowie (above) appeared on Top of the Pops with his arm slung provocatively around the guitarist's shoulder and had my dad choking on his tea. But this week Bowie celebrates his 60th birthday. In this programme, introduced by Mark Radcliffe, the great and the good (including Deborah Harry, Boy George and Ricky Gervais) pay tribute to Bowie's (mostly) illustrious 40-year career. And never has the word tribute been more apt. Camping it up with Jagger for Live Aid and the debacle that was Tin Machine quickly forgiven, this is a warm and enthusiastic appreciation of rock's great chameleon in all his guises. His fearless decisions to change musical direction, his song-writing, and work as a producer for Lou Reed and Iggy Pop are being justly recognised as major contributions to popular music. (Tony Peters)