June 6, 1972
David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on this date.
Ziggy Stardust is a character Bowie created with the help of his then-wife, Angela. The character’s name was inspired by the ‘60s psychobilly musician, Legendary Stardust Cowboy. Bowie performed under the Stardust persona for about a year. This specific song is about Stardust growing too conceited: “Making love with his ego, Ziggy sucked up into his mind.” Stardust’s band, The Spiders From Mars, consequently plan to get revenge on the egotistical front man: “So we bitched about his fans, and should we crush his sweet hands?” Bowie said that the song is “about the ultimate rock superstar destroyed by the fanaticism he creates.”
