David Bowie really got a good thing going with some hazy cosmic jive and made a transformation into his most memorable persona as the androgynous alien of this apocalyptic science fiction glam rock fantasy. 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' was recorded at Trident Studios in London with Ken Scott engineering and co-producing with Bowie. David Bowie sang lead vocals, and played acoustic guitar, saxophone, piano, harpsichord, and did arrangements; Mick Ronson handled guitars, piano, backing vocals, and string arrangements; while the rhythm section of Trevor Bolder on bass and Mick Woodmansey on drums rounded out the lineup. The heavy rock sound is balanced with theatrical pop balladry that ties the concept together beautifully as the songs flow seamlessly into one another in one of Bowie's most cohesive albums.
Bowie developed the character of Ziggy Stardust from an amalgam of Vince Taylor, Kansai Yamamoto, and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, as well as from the novels 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess and 'Nova Express' by William S. Burroughs. In an interview with Burroughs, Bowie explained his vision: "The time is five years to go before the end of the earth. It has been announced that the world will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock-and-roll band and the kids no longer want rock-and-roll. There's no electricity to play it. Ziggy's adviser tells him to collect news and sing it, 'cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news. 'All the young dudes' is a song about this news. It is no hymn to the youth as people thought. It is completely the opposite...This does not cause the end of the world for Ziggy. The end comes when the infinites arrive. They really are a black hole, but I've made them people because it would be very hard to explain a black hole on stage...Ziggy is advised in a dream by the infinites to write the coming of a starman, so he writes 'Starman', which is the first news of hope that the people have heard. So they latch on to it immediately. The starmen that he is talking about are called the infinites, and they are black-hole jumpers. Ziggy has been talking about this amazing spaceman who will be coming down to save the earth. They arrive somewhere in Greenwich Village. They don't have a care in the world and are of no possible use to us. They just happened to stumble into our universe by black-hole jumping. Their whole life is travelling from universe to universe. In the stage show, one of them resembles Brando, another one is a Black New Yorker. I even have one called Queenie the Infinite Fox. Now Ziggy starts to believe in all this himself and thinks himself a prophet of the future starman. He takes himself up to incredible spiritual heights and is kept alive by his disciples. When the infinites arrive, they take bits of Ziggy to make themselves real because in their original state they are anti-matter and cannot exist in our world. And they tear him to pieces on stage during the song 'Rock 'n' roll suicide'. As soon as Ziggy dies on stage the infinites take his elements and make themselves visible. "
'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' became the soundtrack for a new generation of misfits and outcasts, going to number seventy-five in the US, twenty-seven in Norway, seven in Australia, and peaked at number five in the UK. It was certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US.
'Five Years'
'Starman' was the only single released from the album. It went to sixty-five in the US, seventeen in Ireland, and number ten in the UK.
'Ziggy Stardust'
'Suffragette City'
'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'
full album:
All tracks written by David Bowie, except where noted.
Side one
1. "Five Years" 4:42
2. "Soul Love" 3:34
3. "Moonage Daydream" 4:40
4. "Starman" 4:10
5. "It Ain't Easy" (Ron Davies) 2:58
Side two
6. "Lady Stardust" 3:22
7. "Star" 2:47
8. "Hang On to Yourself" 2:40
9. "Ziggy Stardust" 3:13
10. "Suffragette City" 3:25
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" 2:58
'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' became the soundtrack for a new generation of misfits and outcasts, going to number seventy-five in the US, twenty-seven in Norway, seven in Australia, and peaked at number five in the UK. It was certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US.
'Five Years'
Pushing through the market square,
So many mothers sighing
News had just come over,
We had five years left to cry in
News guy wept and told us,
Earth was really dying
Cried so much his face was wet,
Then I knew he was not lying
I heard telephones, opera house, favorite melodies
I saw boys, toys, electric irons and T.V.'s
My brain hurt like a warehouse, it had no room to spare
I had to cram so many things to store everything in there
And all the fat-skinny people, and all the tall-short people
And all the nobody people, and all the somebody people
I never thought I'd need so many people
A girl my age went off her head,
Hit some tiny children
If the black hadn't a-pulled her off,
I think she would have killed them
A soldier with a broken arm,
Fixed his stare to the wheels of a Cadillac
A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest,
And a queer threw up at the sight of that
I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlor,
Drinking milk shakes cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine,
Don't think you knew you were in this song
And it was cold and it rained so I felt like an actor
And I thought of Ma and I wanted to get back there
Your face, your race, the way that you talk
I kiss you, you're beautiful, I want you to walk
We've got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got
We've got five years, what a surprise
Five years, stuck on my eyes
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got
We've got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got
We've got five years, what a surprise
Five years, stuck on my eyes
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got
Five years
Five years
Five years
Five years
'Starman' was the only single released from the album. It went to sixty-five in the US, seventeen in Ireland, and number ten in the UK.
Didn't know what time it was and the lights were low
I leaned back on my radio
Some cat was layin' down some rock 'n' roll 'lotta soul, he said
Then the loud sound did seem to fade
Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase
That weren't no D.J. that was hazy cosmic jive
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
I had to phone someone so I picked on you
Hey, that's far out so you heard him too
Switch on the TV we may pick him up on Channel Two
Look out your window I can see his light
If we can sparkle he may land tonight
Don't tell your poppa or he'll get us locked up in fright
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
Starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
'Ziggy Stardust'
Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly
And the spiders from Mars. He played it left hand
But made it too far
Became the special man, then we were Ziggy's band
Now Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo
Like some cat from Japan, he could lick 'em by smiling
He could leave 'em to hang
'Came on so loaded man, well hung and snow white tan
So where were the spiders, while the fly tried to break our balls
With just the beer light to guide us
So we bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands?
Ziggy played for time, jiving us that we were voodoo
The kid was just crass, he was the nazz
With God given ass
He took it all too far but boy could he play guitar
Making love with his ego Ziggy sucked up into his mind
Like a leper messiah
When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band
Ziggy played guitar
'Suffragette City'
Hey man, oh leave me alone you know
Hey man, oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta
Hey man, I gotta straighten my face
This mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place
Hey man, my schooldays insane
Hey man, my work's down the drain
Hey man, well she's a total blam-blam
She said she had to squeeze it but she then she
Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
'Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight she's all right
Hey man, oh Henry, don't be unkind, go away
Hey man, I can't take you this time, no way
Hey man, droogie don't crash here
There's only room for one and here she comes, here she comes
Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
'Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight she's all right
Oh hit me
Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
'Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Don't lean on me man ''cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight she's all right
A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City
I'm back on Suffragette City, I'm back on Suffragette City
Ooo, Sufraggete city, ooo, Suffragette City
Oooh-how, Sufragette City, oooh-how, Sufragette City
Ohhh, wham bam thank you ma'am
A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City
Quite all right
A Suffragette City
Too fine
A Suffragette City, ooh, a Sufragette City
Oh, my Sufragette City, oh my Suffragette City
Oh, Suffragette
Suffragette
'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'
full album:
All tracks written by David Bowie, except where noted.
Side one
1. "Five Years" 4:42
2. "Soul Love" 3:34
3. "Moonage Daydream" 4:40
4. "Starman" 4:10
5. "It Ain't Easy" (Ron Davies) 2:58
Side two
6. "Lady Stardust" 3:22
7. "Star" 2:47
8. "Hang On to Yourself" 2:40
9. "Ziggy Stardust" 3:13
10. "Suffragette City" 3:25
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" 2:58
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