Kraftwerk Thank Bowie

German rockers Kraftwerk credit David Bowie with their success in Britain and America because without the eccentric rocker's championing, they would never have entered the mainstream arena.

Frontman RALF HUTTER is eternally grateful for the exposure the rock legend gave them because it meant their ideology reached a larger audience.

He says, "That (Bowie's support) was very important for us, because it linked what we were doing with the rock mainstream. Bowie used to tell everyone we were his favourite group, and in the mid 1970s the rock press used to hang on every word from his mouth.

"We met him when he played Dusseldorf (Germany) on one of his first European ours. He was travelling by Mercedes, listening to nothing but AUTOBAHN the whole time."

COLDPLAY singer Chris Martin is the latest star to voice his admiration for the 1970s group and recently admitted to sampling some of their tracks on his latest album X+Y.