Ziggy stardust. Androgenous alien, as camp as a row of tents and twice as colourful. In 1972, David Bowie became this character defined in the album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". This was by no means Bowie's first attempt at breaking into the music scene. His previous albums however had achieved only a small cult following in his native land of England. Critics were for the most part rather brutal about his earlier works, calling him a flop and the like for some time.
By the time the Ziggy Stardust album came out however, Bowie shocked the entire populous of England, by undergoing a complete and total change in appearance and more importantly, style. From leftover hippie/dylan-esque singer songwriter to flashy, flamboyant rooster red haired star.
Though he began making the change from mod-esque clean hippie about 1971, it wasn't until '72 that he released the Album that turned his carreer around, and gave him all the Fame he could handle... and more. The 11 track Album was designed as a Concept Album, playing on the little explored ( at the time ) issues of rock, stardom, and the risks one takes between both, and Bowie's first attempt at a concept album ever, though being a fan of the Beatles in his earlier years he was well aware of their power. "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" was released under Tony DeFries management, by Mainman the company he can created to manage David.
Even before the Album's release Mainman and Tony DeFries had compiled funds enough to ferry Bowie about as if he WERE the million dollar star he was to become..before the fact. All a part of Defries' theory that to be a star, one must appear as one. "...-and I'd come on like a regular superstar." -Star Track #7
