‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ was the fifth studio album by David Bowie. Originally released in June 1972, it is a concept album that tells the story of a fictional rock star named Ziggy Stardust.
The album was a success, peaking at No. 5 in the United Kingdom and No. 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music Charts.
The album tells the story of Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust, a rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. Bowie created Ziggy Stardust while in New York City promoting ‘Hunky Dory’ and performed as him on a tour of the United Kingdom, Japan and North America. The album, and the character of Ziggy Stardust, was known for its glam rock influences and themes of sexual exploration and social commentary. These factors, coupled with the ambiguity surrounding Bowie’s sexuality and fuelled by a ground-breaking performance of “Starman” on Top of the Pops, led to the album being met with controversy and since hailed as a seminal work.
‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ has been consistently considered one of the greatest albums of all time, with Rolling Stone magazine ranking it the 35th greatest ever.
Track Listing
LP – SIDE A
- Five Years
- Soul Love
- Moonage Daydream
- Starman
- It Ain’t Easy
LP – SIDE B
- Lady Stardust
- Star
- Hang On To Yourself
- Ziggy Stardust
- Suffragette City
- Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide
