The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (often shortened to Ziggy Stardust) is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16 June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott and features Bowie’s backing band the Spiders from Mars, comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. Most of the songs were written around the same time as Bowie’s previous album Hunky Dory (1971). After that album was completed, recording for Ziggy Stardust commenced in November 1971 at Trident Studios in London, with further sessions in early February 1972.

Described as a loose concept album and rock opera, Ziggy Stardust concerns Bowie’s titular alter ego Ziggy Stardust, a fictional androgynous and bisexual rock star who is sent to Earth as a saviour before an impending apocalyptic disaster. In its story, Ziggy wins the hearts of fans but suffers a fall from grace after succumbing to his own ego. The character was inspired by numerous musicians, including singers Vince Taylor and Iggy Pop. Most of the album’s concept was developed after the songs were recorded. The glam rock and proto-punk musical styles were influenced by Pop, the Velvet Underground, and Marc Bolan of T. Rex, while the lyrics discuss the artificiality of rock music, political issues, drug use, sexual orientation and stardom. The album cover, photographed in monochrome and recoloured, was taken in London, outside the home of furriers “K. West”.

Preceded by the single “Starman”, Ziggy Stardust peaked at number 5 in the UK and number 75 in the United States. It initially received favourable reviews from music critics; some praised the musicality and concept while others were unable to comprehend it. Shortly after its release, Bowie performed “Starman” on Britain’s Top of the Pops in early July 1972, which propelled him to stardom. The Ziggy character was retained for the subsequent Ziggy Stardust Tour, leaving Bowie unable to differentiate between Ziggy and himself. Not wanting Ziggy to define him, Bowie created a new character for his next album Aladdin Sane (1973), which Bowie described as “Ziggy goes to America”. Performances from the tour were later released on a concert film of the same name with an accompanying live album (1983) and Live Santa Monica ’72 (2008).

Retrospectively, Ziggy Stardust is considered one of Bowie’s best works and has appeared on numerous lists of the greatest albums of all time. Bowie had ideas for a musical based on the album, although this project never came to fruition; ideas were later used for Diamond Dogs (1974). Ziggy Stardust has been reissued several times and was remastered in 2012 for its 40th anniversary. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry, being deemed “culturally, historically, or artistically significant” by the Library of Congress.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars is about a bisexual alien rock superstar named Ziggy Stardust.[27][28] It was not initially conceived as a concept album; much of the story was written after the album was recorded.[29][30] Tracks rewritten for the narrative included “Star” (originally titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”),[30] “Moonage Daydream”,[31] and “Hang On to Yourself”.[32] Some reviewers have categorised the record as a rock opera,[33][34][35] although Paul Trynka argues that it is less an opera and more a “collection of snapshots thrown together and later edited into a sequence that makes sense.”[36] The characters were androgynous. Mick Woodmansey said the clothes they had worn had “femininity and sheer outrageousness”, and that the characters’ looks “definitely appealed to our rebellious artistic instincts”.[37] Nenad Georgievski of All About Jazz said the record was presented with “high-heeled boots, multicolored dresses, extravagant makeup and outrageous sexuality”.[38] Bowie had already developed an androgynous appearance, which was approved by critics, but received mixed reactions from audiences.[39]

The album’s lyrics discuss the artificiality of rock music in general, political issues, drug use, sexual orientation and stardom.[40][20] Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the lyrics as “fractured, paranoid” and “evocative of a decadent, decaying future”.[28] Apart from the narrative, “Star” reflects Bowie’s idealisations of becoming a star himself and shows his frustrations at not having fulfilled his potential.[41] On the other hand, “It Ain’t Easy” has nothing to do with the overarching narrative.[30][42] The outtakes “Velvet Goldmine” and “Sweet Head” did fit the narrative, but both contained provocative lyrics, which likely contributed to their exclusions.[43][44] Meanwhile, “Suffragette City” contains a false ending, followed by the phrase “wham bam, thank you, ma’am!”[45][46] Bowie uses American slang and pronunciations throughout, such as “news guy”, “cop” and “TV” (instead of “newsreader”, “policeman” and “telly”, respectively).[47][48] Richard Cromelin of Rolling Stone called Bowie’s imagery and storytelling in the track some of his most “adventuresome” up to that point,[46] while James Parker of The Atlantic called Bowie “one of the most potent lyricists in rock history”.[34]

Inspirations
A black and white photo of singer Vince Taylor in front of a microphone
Singer Vince Taylor (pictured in 1963), one of the main inspirations for the character Ziggy Stardust.
One of the main inspirations for Ziggy Stardust was English singer Vince Taylor, whom Bowie met after Taylor had a mental breakdown and believed himself to be a cross between a god and an alien.[49] Iggy Pop, singer of the proto-punk band the Stooges,[50] provided another main inspiration. Bowie had recently become infatuated with the singer and took influence from him for his next record, both musically and lyrically.[51] Other influences for the character included Bowie’s earlier album The Man Who Sold the World,[50] Lou Reed, singer and guitarist of the Velvet Underground,[50] Marc Bolan, singer and guitarist of glam rock band T. Rex,[18][28] and the cult musician Legendary Stardust Cowboy.[52] An alternative theory is that, during a tour, Bowie developed the concept of Ziggy as a melding of the persona of Iggy Pop with the music of Lou Reed, producing “the ultimate pop idol”.[39][18] Woodmansey also cited guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix and the progressive rock band King Crimson as influences.[53]

Sources for the Ziggy Stardust name included the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, the song “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael, and Bowie’s fascination with glitter.[36] A girlfriend recalled Bowie “scrawling notes on a cocktail napkin about a crazy rock star named Iggy or Ziggy”, and on his return to England he declared his intention to create a character “who looks like he’s landed from Mars”.[39] In 1990, Bowie explained that the “Ziggy” part came from a tailor’s shop called Ziggy’s that he passed on a train. He liked it because it had “that Iggy [Pop] connotation but it was a tailor’s shop, and I thought, Well, this whole thing is gonna be about clothes, so it was my own little joke calling him Ziggy. So Ziggy Stardust was a real compilation of things.”[54][55] He later asserted that Ziggy Stardust was born out of a desire to move away from the denim and hippies of the 1960s.[56]

In 2015, Tanja Stark proposed that due to Bowie’s well-known fascination with esoterica and his self-identification as ‘Jungian’, the Ziggy character may be a neologism influenced by Carl Jung, Greek and Gnostic concepts of Syzygy with their connotations of androgyny, the conjunction of male and female, and union of celestial bodies “hinting perhaps, at ‘Syzygy’ Stardust as futuristic alchemical theatre…foreshadow[ing] the double-headed mannequin of ‘Where Are We Now?’ (2013)”.[57]

Story
The album begins with “Five Years”, in which a news network reveals that the Earth only has five years left before it gets destroyed by an impending apocalyptic disaster.[47][58] The first two verses are from the point of view of a child, who hears this news for the first time and goes numb as it sinks in. By the third verse, the listener is addressed directly, while the character of Ziggy Stardust is introduced indirectly.[59] Afterwards, the listener hears the point of view of numerous characters dealing with love before the impending disaster (“Soul Love”).[60] Biographer Marc Spitz notes the sense of “pre-apocalypse frustration” in the track.[59] Doggett notes that following the “panoramic vision” of “Five Years”, “Soul Love” offers a more “optimistic” landscape, with bongos and acoustic guitar indicating “mellow fruitfulness.”[61] Ziggy directly introduces himself in “Moonage Daydream”, where he proclaims himself “an alligator” (strong and remorseless), “a mama-papa” (non-gender specific), “the space invader” (alien and phallic), “a rock’n’rollin’ bitch” and a “pink-monkey-bird” (gay slang for a recipient of anal sex).[62][63]

“Starman” sees Ziggy bringing a message of hope to Earth’s youth through the radio, salvation by an alien ‘Starman’, told from the point of view of one of the youths who hears Ziggy.[30] “Lady Stardust” presents an unfinished tale with what Doggett states as “no hint at a denouement beyond a vague air of melancholy”.[64] Ziggy is recalled by the audience using both ‘he’ and ‘she’ pronouns, showing a lack of gender distinction.[30][64] In “Hang On to Yourself”, Ziggy is put in front of the crowd. The track emphasises the metaphor that rock music goes from sex to fulfilment and back to sex again; Ziggy plans to abandon the sexual climax for a chance at stardom, which ultimately leads to his downfall.[30][32] Ziggy then looks at himself through a mirror, pondering what it would be like to make it “as a rock’n’roll star” and if it would all be “worthwhile” (“Star”).[30][41]

“Ziggy Stardust” is the central piece of the narrative, presenting a complete “birth-to-death chronology” of Ziggy.[64] He is described as a “well-hung, snow white-tanned, left-hand guitar-playing man” who rises to fame with his backing band the Spiders from Mars. However, he lets his ego take control of him, effectively alienating his fans and losing his bandmates.[65] Unlike “Lady Stardust”, “Ziggy Stardust” shows the character’s rise and fall in a very human manner.[66] O’Leary notes that the song’s narrator is not definitive: it could be an audience member retrospectively discussing Ziggy, it could be one of the Spiders or even the “dissociated memories” of Ziggy himself.[30] Following his fall from grace, Ziggy is described by Pegg as “a hollow figure caught in the headlights of braking cars as he stumbles across the road.”[67] Rather than dying in blood, Ziggy cries to the audience (“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”), requesting they “give him their hands” because they are “wonderful,” before perishing on stage.[65][67]