How did ziggy stardust die

Outlandish, confronting and musically gifted, the character of Ziggy Stardust signaled the arrival of David Bowie as a rock star capable of transcending musical genres and inverting the common perception of how a performer should look and behave. And that was what was needed at the time. Stardust was a bisexual rock star from another planet sent to Earth ahead of an impending apocalyptic disaster to deliver a message of hope, according to the album narrative.

Bowie sought inspiration for his creation in disparate sources, all the better to confront and defy convention. In a interview with the BBC Bowie said real-life failed rocker Vince Taylor played a part in his most iconic theatrical persona.

Ziggy stardust album

Quizzed about the genesis of his creation during a NPR Fresh Air interview, an amused Bowie cited a more general dissatisfaction with the then status quo. Bowie glamorized and subverted the notion of a rock star, becoming a different version of himself armed with a new look and new sound. It was a rock star as a changeling, adapting to and interpreting the evolving world, filtering then transforming his look and music into something new.

Was he the Thin White Duke? Hunky Dory? The side project Tin Machine? His last glorious piece of music [ Blackstar ]? But the imagery that Bowie created with every record, nobody else can touch that. He was the master of disguise. Bowie maintained a version of the character through his follow-up album Aladdin Sane before abruptly retiring the persona.

For all the adulation and accompanied success, being Ziggy Stardust had taken a mental and physical toll. Mick Jagger.