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David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust
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Both albums start, predictably, with some selections from albums Bowie was promoting at the time-- Diamond Dogs and Heroes, respectively, before launching into a great big chunk of Ziggy Stardust. Interestingly enough, there are no overlaps here (name another '70s rock act that produced two 22-song concert sets in four years without repeating a single number), but an almost-complete live version of Ziggy can be put together by combining the two, if desired. In the battle of the openers, Stage wins-- the damp gloom of "Warszawa" easily trumps the glam doom of "1984".
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Bowie himself didn't have much input in the packaging for the Ziggy reissue because the artist was busy with his new album Heathen, which was released in June on his own label ISO Records, distributed by Sony's Columbia Records. Meanwhile, EMI retains the rights to the back catalog through 2013, noted Reeve, who has worked at EMI for 17 years.
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The Ziggy Stardust character became the basis for Bowie's first large-scale tour beginning in 1972, where he donned his famous flaming red hair and wild outfits. The tour featured a three-piece band representing the "Spiders from Mars": Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The album made #5 in the UK on the strength of the #10 placing of the single "Starman". Their success made Bowie a star, and soon the six-month-old Hunky Dory eclipsed Ziggy Stardust, when it peaked at #3 on the UK chart. At the same time the non-album single "John, I’m Only Dancing" (not released in the U.S. until 1979) peaked at UK #12, and "All the Young Dudes", a song he had given to, and produced for, Mott the Hoople, made UK #3.
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Ziggy Stardust became David Bowie's second personality (alter ego). For a press-conference he would show up as Ziggy. Bowie let Ziggy Stardust come to an end during a liveconcert in the Hammersmith Odeon theatre (London) on July 3, 1973. In 1983 this show was released as movie and soundtrack (Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture).
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RCA was the next label to sign Bowie, and after a trip to America to complete the legalities, he returned to London to record two albums nearly back to back. Hunky Dory was built from a six-song demo that had enticed the label to sign him and features "Changes" and "Life On Mars." Almost immediately, it was followed up by the instant classic, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars.
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David and George are to this day still life-long friends. George played in early Bowie groups and eventually became a commercial artist. He was involved in the design of the album sleeves for Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars (1972) albums/posters/flyers, graphics for The 1980 Floor Show and The Man Who Fell To Earth book cover.
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Ziggy Stardust