Deep Dive: David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust

David Bowie created concept albums on another level.  Not only did he craft the music and themes for the records, but he reinvented himself regularly.  Bowie’s persona as Ziggy Stardust extended beyond the album and film, through his entire promotion during that era.

David Bowie created Ziggy Stardust as a bisexual, androgynous rock superstar character.  Many reviewers report that the album did not start as a concept, but was applied thematically after the fact.  Bowie wisely never let the truth get in the way of a good story.  Perhaps due to his deep relationship with hard drugs at the time, Bowie lost himself in the persona.

Bowie tired of his Ziggy Stardust persona.  In typically dramatic Bowie fashion, just before performing “Rock & Roll Suicide,” during the 1973 filming of the concert at Hammersmith Odeon in London, Bowie announced it was his last one —  ambiguously meaning the last of Ziggy Stardust.  The film was delayed until the end of the decade, though.  Whether he wanted to extend the character or not, the film ushered in revived and new fans.

The video above is from the Old Grey Whistle Test, a legendary British music TV show.  You should binge watch sometime. –Sloane