The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (often shortened to Ziggy Stardust) is the fifth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 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, composed of Mick Ronson (guitar), Trevor Bolder (bass) and Mick Woodmansey (drums). It was recorded from November 1971 to February 1972 at Trident Studios in London.
Described as a loose concept album and rock opera, Ziggy Stardust focuses on 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 the 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 Vince Taylor. Most of the album's concept was developed after the songs were recorded. The glam rock and proto-punk musical styles were influenced by Marc Bolan, Iggy Pop and the Velvet Underground.The lyrics explore the artificiality of rock music, political issues, drug use, sexuality and stardom. The album cover, photographed in monochrome and recoloured, was taken on Heddon Street in London, outside the home of furriers "K. West".
Preceded by the single "Starman", Ziggy Stardust reached top five of the UK Albums Chart. Critics responded favourably; some praised the musicality and concept while others struggled 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, performances from which have appeared on live albums and a 1979 concert film. Bowie described the follow-up album, Aladdin Sane (1973), as "Ziggy goes to America".
In later decades, Ziggy Stardust came to be regarded as Bowie's masterpiece, appearing on numerous professional 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 by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Background After his promotional tour of the United States in February 1971, David Bowie returned to Haddon Hall in England and began writing songs, many of which were inspired by the diverse musical genres that were present in America. He wrote over three dozen songs, many of which would appear on his fourth studio album Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust; among these were "Moonage Daydream" and "Hang On to Yourself", which he recorded with his short-lived band Arnold Corns in February 1971, and subsequently reworked for Ziggy Stardust.
Hunky Dory was recorded in the middle of 1971 at Trident Studios in London, with Ken Scott producing. The sessions featured the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars – Mick Ronson (guitar), Trevor Bolder (bass), and Mick Woodmansey (drums). According to Woodmansey, Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust were almost recorded back-to-back, but the Spiders realised that most of the songs on Hunky Dory were not suitable live material, so they needed a follow-up album with material they could use on tour.
After Bowie's manager Tony Defries ended his contract with Mercury Records, Defries presented the album to multiple labels in the US, including New York City's RCA Records. The head of the label, Dennis Katz, heard the tapes and saw the potential of the piano-based songs, signing Bowie to a three-album deal in September 1971; RCA became Bowie's label for the rest of the decade. Hunky Dory was released in December to very positive reviews from critics but sold poorly.
Recording and production
The first song to be properly recorded for Ziggy Stardust was the Ron Davies cover "It Ain't Easy", on 9 July 1971. Originally slated for release on Hunky Dory, the song was passed for inclusion on that album and subsequently placed on Ziggy Stardust. With Hunky Dory being readied for release, the sessions for Ziggy Stardust officially began at Trident on 8November 1971, using the same personnel as Hunky Dory minus Wakeman. In 2012, Scott said that "95 percent of the vocals on the four albums I did with him as producer, they were first takes." According to the biographer Nicholas Pegg, Bowie's "sense of purpose" during the sessions was "decisive and absolute"; he knew exactly what he wanted for each individual track. Since most of the tracks were recorded almost entirely live, Bowie recalled that at some points, he had to hum Ronson's solos to him. Due to Bowie's generally dismissive attitude during the sessions for The Man Who Sold the World (1970), Ronson had to craft his solos individually and had very little guidance. Bowie had a much better attitude when recording Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, and gave Ronson guidance on what he was looking for. For the album, Ronson used an electric guitar plugged to a 100-watt Marshall amplifier and a wah-wah pedal; Bowie played acoustic rhythm guitar.
On 8November 1971, the band recorded initial versions of "Star" (then titled "Rock 'n' Roll Star") and "Hang On to Yourself", both of which were deemed unsuccessful. Both songs were rerecorded three days later on 11November, along with "Ziggy Stardust", "Looking For a Friend", "Velvet Goldmine", and "Sweet Head". The next day the band recorded two takes of "Moonage Daydream", one of "Soul Love", two of "Lady Stardust", and two of a new version of The Man Who Sold the World track "The Supermen". Three days later on 15November, the band recorded "Five Years" as well as unfinished versions of "It's Gonna Rain Again" and "Shadow Man". Woodmansey described the recording process as very fast-paced. He said they would record the songs, listen to them, and if they did not capture the sound they were looking for, record them again. On that day a running order was created, which included the Chuck Berry cover "Around and Around" (titled "Round and Round"), the Jacques Brel cover "Amsterdam", a new recording of "Holy Holy", and "Velvet Goldmine". "It Ain't Easy" was absent from the list. According to Pegg, the album was to be titled Round and Round as late as 15December.
After the 15November session the group took a break for the holiday season. Reconvening on 4January 1972, the band held rehearsals for three days at Will Palin's Underhill Studios in Blackheath, London, in preparation for the final recording sessions. After recording some of the new songs for radio presenter Bob Harris's Sounds of the 70s as the newly dubbed Spiders from Mars in January 1972, the band returned to Trident that month to begin work on "Suffragette City" and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide". After receiving a complaint from the RCA executive Dennis Katz that the album did not contain a single, Bowie wrote "Starman", which replaced "Round and Round" on the track listing at the last minute. According to biographer Kevin Cann, the replacement occurred on 2February. Two days later, the band recorded "Starman", "Suffragette City", and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" bringing the sessions to a close.
Concept and themes Overview
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars is about a bisexual alien rock superstar named Ziggy Stardust. It was not initially conceived as a concept album; much of the story was written after the album was recorded. Tracks rewritten for the narrative included "Star" (originally titled "Rock 'n' Roll Star"), "Moonage Daydream", and "Hang On to Yourself". Some reviewers have categorised the record as being a rock opera, 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." The characters were androgynous. Mick Woodmansey said the clothes they had worn had "femininity and sheer outrageousness". He also said that the characters' looks "definitely appealed to our rebellious artistic instincts". Nenad Georgievski of All About Jazz said the record was presented with "high-heeled boots, multicolored dresses, extravagant makeup and outrageous sexuality". Bowie had already developed an androgynous appearance, which was approved by critics, but received mixed reactions from audiences.
The album's lyrics discuss the artificiality of rock music in general, political issues, drug use, sexual orientation, and stardom. Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the lyrics as "fractured, paranoid" and "evocative of a decadent, decaying future". Apart from the narrative, "Star" reflects Bowie's idealisations of becoming a star himself and shows his frustrations at not having fulfilled his potential. On the other hand, "It Ain't Easy" has nothing to do with the overarching narrative. The outtakes "Velvet Goldmine" and "Sweet Head" did fit the narrative, but both contained provocative lyrics, which likely contributed to their exclusions. Meanwhile "Suffragette City" contains a false ending, followed by the phrase "wham bam, thank you, ma'am!" Bowie uses American slang and pronunciations throughout, such as "news guy", "cop" and "TV" (instead of "newsreader", "policeman", and "telly" respectively). Richard Cromelin of Rolling Stone called Bowie's imagery and storytelling in the track some of his most "adventuresome" up to that point, while James Parker of The Atlantic wrote that Bowie is "one of the most potent lyricists in rock history".
Inspirations
One of the main inspirations for Ziggy Stardust was the 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. Iggy Pop, the singer of the proto-punk band the Stooges, 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. Other influences for the character included Bowie's earlier album The Man Who Sold the World, Lou Reed, the singer and guitarist of the Velvet Underground; Marc Bolan, the singer and guitarist of the glam rock band T. Rex; and the cult musician Legendary Stardust Cowboy. 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 Reed, producing "the ultimate pop idol". Woodmansey also cited the guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix and the progressive rock band King Crimson as being influences.
Sources for the Ziggy Stardust name included the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, the song "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael, and Bowie's fascination with glitter. 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". 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." In: He later asserted that Ziggy Stardust was born out of a desire to move away from the denim and hippies of the 1960s.