• Writer: David Bowie
• Producer: David Bowie and Ken Scott
• Recorded: November 1971 at Trident Studios, London
• Released: June 1972
• Players:
  David Bowie — vocals, guitar
  Mick Ronson — guitar
  Trevor Bolder — bass
  Mick “Woody” Woodmansey — drums
• Album: The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (RCA, 1972)
• Also On:
  Changesonebowie (RCA, 1976)
  Stage (RCA, 1978)
  Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture (RCA, 1982)
  Sound + Vision (Rykodisc, 1989)
  Changesbowie (Rykodisc, 1990)
  The Singles 1969 To 1993 (Rykodisc, 1993)
  The Best Of David Bowie: 1969-1974 (Capitol, 1997)
  Bowie At The Beeb: The Best Of The BBC Radio Sessions 68-72 (EMI, 2000)
  and other compilations
• After several years of David Bowie slogging through the pop scene and scoring only minor hits, the Ziggy Stardust album established him as an international star. It’s a loose concept album about a fictional rock star and his band, discussing the perks and pitfalls of the music business and stardom.
• Bowie also adopted Ziggy as a persona, which he would slip into and out of during interviews and concerts.
• Ziggy Stardust also provided the parameters for the first of Bowie’s lavish and theatrical stage shows.
• Of the album, Bowie said, “I wasn’t at all surprised that Ziggy Stardust made my career. I packaged a totally credible plastic rock star — much better than any sort of Monkees fabrication. My plastic rocker was much more plastic than anybody’s.”
• “Ziggy Stardust” features several references to Bowie fave Jimi Hendrix. Like Hendrix, Ziggy “played it (the guitar) left-hand.” And the lyric, “When the kids had killed the man/I had to break up the band,” is a reference to fans who provided Hendrix with the drugs that would eventually kill him.
• Though it’s one of the most played radio tracks in Bowie’s catalog, “Ziggy Stardust” was never released as a single.

FAST FORWARD:

• Bowie has continued to record and perform, with occasional forays into acting.
• Bowie married the fashion model Iman on April 24th, 1992.
• He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 but did not attend the ceremony.
• In 1997, Bowie offered “shares” — or “Bowie Bonds,” as they came to be known — backed by his projected future income for past projects. The move, which was the first of its kind in rock, was a huge success.
• In 1998, Bowie launched his own Internet service provider, a move other rock acts rushed to copy.
• Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott and lead guitarist Phil Collen and Spiders From Mars bandmates Trevor Bolder (bass) and Mick “Woody” Woodmansey (drums) released a Bowie covers album in 2001 under the name the Cybernauts.
• Bowie’s latest album, called Reality, came out in 2003, and he toured the world to support it.

He had to cancel the last couple of shows on the tour after having an emergency angioplasty to repair a blocked artery. However, a source told the U.K. tabloid The Sun that Bowie actually had a heart attack. He has reportedly made a complete recovery.