Or Ziggy Goes To America…Bowie and the Spiders toured extensively from the release of “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”, including 3 spins around the UK, Japan and two tours of the USA. For the first US tour between September and December 1972 pianist Mike Garson was added to the Spiders line up and he would play a big part on Bowie’s next record. Many of the songs for the record were written on the road and with a lot of that time being spent in America the country had an influence on the record, notably songs concerning drive-ins and Detroit. The second US tour wound up in Hollywood in March 1973, just a month before the release of “Aladdin Sane”.

Most of the album was recorded at Trident Studios in London between December 1972 and January 1973, squeezed in between US tours and after the band finished playing 8 shows around the UK from London up to Glasgow. However the first song recorded for the album was “The Jean Genie” in October 1972, recorded in NYC and mixed a week later in Nashville. A couple of weeks later “Drive-In Saturday” was also recorded in New York and the band reconvened after the UK shows to finish recordings before heading back to the US for the 2nd leg of what had become known as The Ziggy Stardust tour.

In here we find two absolutely classic singles (“Drive-In Saturday” and “The Jean Genie” which was so good The Sweet lifted most of it and called it “Blockbuster” !), two very under-valued Bowie songs (the title track where Mike Garson is allowed absolutely free rein, and “Lady Grinning Soul” which is, to my ears, one of the greatest songs Bowie ever wrote and Mike Garson’s playing is beautiful), a re-recorded oldie (“The Prettiest Star” previously a single in early 1970, then featuring Marc Bolan but now re-invigorated by Mick Ronson), another stinker of a cover version (The Stones “Let’s Spend The Night Together” why, just why ?) and some good old glam rocking (“Watch That Man”, “Panic In Detroit” and “Cracked Actor” which was to become one of Bowie’s great set piece live songs for years to come). Also let’s not forget “Time” if only for the amount of sniggering it has engendered in school age boys across the years.

But if you mention “Aladdin Sane” then one thing comes to mind, the cover (apparently the most expensive album cover made at the time), not even the cover but Bowie’s face and not even Bowie’s face but that red and blue lightning bolt, drawn in lipstick across his face by makeup artist Pierre La Roche. It has come to represent Bowie, when you see it in isolation you immediately think BOWIE, you can buy all kinds of merchandise from earrings to socks featuring the lightning bolt, it now lives a life of its own without even needing Bowie’s face for you to know what it is and what it represents.

This was the last time the Spiders From Mars would all record together. Mike Garson would go on to work with Bowie right up until the end. Ronno, Woody and Trevor were destined for other things and Bowie was about to make some of the greatest music of his career.

Lady Grinning Soul - https://youtu.be/18d_pLKgMoY

I’d love to claim that as an ultra switched on 9 year old I was watching Top Of the Pops in July 1972 when Bowie (or was it Ziggy?) sang the line “I had to phone someone so I picked on you” and has he sang the word YOU stared straight into and pointed down the camera lens, and I was struck by that feeling of “he means me” that so many others I’ve heard it from were taken by. Truth be told I had not-a-clue and didn’t really discover this wonderful record until the early 80’s ! Since I discovered it it has tho’ held a permanent place in my top 5 favourite albums of all time.

“The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” was already recorded and ready to go before its predecessor, “Hunky Dory”, had been released. Bowie was not a star at this point but his management, Tony De Fries and Mainman, came up with the strategy that if you pretend you are a Rock star, turn up everywhere in a limousine with an entourage, stay at all the best hotels etc., then people will believe you are a Rock star and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. So that’s what they did. Fortunately he had the record to back up the artifice.

“Five Years” is a classic Bowie apocalyptic, dystopian tale (there will be many more). The news had just come (the same news the Young Dudes were carrying Bowie later admitted) that “Earth was really dying” and as a result people were collectively losing their minds. We encounter crying newsmen, a soldier just staring, cops kneeling to kiss priests feet and violent young girls freaking out at the thought of the end of the world. I guess it felt at times in the early 70’s like the world was about to end so the song fits the mood of the times well. Woody Woodmansey said he was trying to put “hopelessness into a drum beat”.

“Soul Love” feels like an anti love song…it feels warm and fuzzy and quite funky but the lyrics tell a different story of how love is careless. As “Soul Love” fades to nothing a perfectly timed edit brings us 

 DRAAANG…DRANG…I’m an alligator…

the crunching opening chords of Mick Ronson’s 2nd great performance, “Moonage Daydream”…but, but, but <<< rewind a little…

One thing that has always bugged me about the start of “…Ziggy Stardust…” is this…”Five Years” and “Soul Love” share very similar drum patterns alongside very similar chord structures, why did no-one think to have Woody segue out of “Five Years” into the opening beat of “Soul Love” (that’s the way I always hear it in my head) and you create an opening to Side 1 that doesn’t let up from the start until the end of “Moonage Daydream”.

Anyway, back to the song in hand…Ronson really does freak out as the lyric suggests and the lyric basically encapsulates the entire album in one song, a grand introduction for a fake rock star, whether that be Arnold Corns (aka Freddie Buretti, for whom it was originally written) or Ziggy Stardust. This is, tho’, Mick Ronson’s showcase, although let’s not forget Trevor Bolder who anchors the whole thing while Ronno is creating stardust with that guitar solo. A solo for which Bowie drew a diagram for how it should sound, Ronson went off and hid in a corner somewhere and came back with an exact match for the diagram (watch him get into it at the final Hammersmith show below). You want a theme tune for Ziggy Stardust ? “Moonage Daydream” is it.

And if that 3 song opening salvo didn’t floor you then you get “Starman”. Books and essays have been written, documentaries filmed and podcasts recorded and in many of them David Bowie has been described as a/the Starman. Bowie has forever been viewed as an alien presence and it all comes back to this album, to the character Ziggy Stardust and to this song. It was the albums lead single in April 1972. THAT TOTP performance in July 1972 has gone down in lore as the moment many people “got” Bowie. Draping his arm around Ronno’s shoulder was scandalous at the time, Trevor Bolder and his incredible side-ies nervously laughing as they did that told you as much. The outfits were incredible along with the hair and that moment, “I had to phone someone so I picked on you”…suddenly Bowie WAS a star, and we haven’t reached the end of side one yet !

Although we do reach the end of side one with more of a whimper than bang. “It Ain’t Easy” was a cover of a song from Louisiana songwriter Ron Davies 1970 album “Silent Song Through The Land”. Now, apart from “Waiting For The Man” I don’t think Bowie was ever really that hot at picking covers. It has been claimed that Mick Ronson had introduced this one to Bowie as he’d played it with his band The Rats. Whatever, it’s the albums low point and it’s astonishing to think that this made it while “Velvet Goldmine” was left in the tape vault.

Side 2 is where it all happens. When you think of Ziggy you think of Bowie’s look at the time, flame red hair, bright sparkly jump suits. “Lady Stardust” tells of someone with “long black hair” and “the boy in the bright blue jeans”. Not how we think of Ziggy Stardust looking. Whatever, we’re being introduced to the phenomenon here. I love the verse:

Femme fatales emerged from shadows

To watch this creature fair

Boys stood upon their chairs

To make their point(s)of view

The beautiful people have emerged but the boys at the back of the room are still, drinking and shouting their heads off.

“Star” (it’s almost an admission of the pretence of being a star Bowie and his entourage were playing out) and “Hang On To Yourself” (the song that opened many shows on the Ziggy tours) show us the mania and the excitement Ziggy was stirring up “We can't dance, we don't talk much, we just ball and play, But then we move like tigers on Vaseline”

Then Ziggy’s song, telling, from the POV of one of the Spiders, of the rise and fall of the alien rock star. Hung off one the greatest guitar riffs ever played Bowie tells us of the well hung nazz, who played left handed and took it all to far. “Suffragette City” feels like Ziggy’s comedown “wham bam thank you m’am”. It was apparently offered to Mott The Hoople before “All The Young Dudes” but they turned it down. It and “Hang Onto Yourself” must have been huge influences on Punk…proto-punk ?

And then it’s the end game. Side 2 has flown by and it’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”. The kids have killed the man and the Spiders have broken up but “you’re not alone, gimme your hands” and it ends on orchestral strings…what a rush.

“The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” is important cos it gave the world the greatest rock star of my lifetime. I was late to this party, but from that first hearing to listening for the nth time just now, I don’t think I’ve ever been anything less than enthralled by this wonderful record.

Moonage Daydream - https://youtu.be/BL9Aur-G1yc

The gang’s all here…for the recording of “Hunky Dory” Mick Ronson and Woody Woodmansey introduced their boss to bass player Trevor Bolder, also from Hull, putting together the band than in just a few months would become known to the world as The Spiders From Mars. Tony Visconti’s producers chair has been filled by TMWSTW engineer Ken Scott. So for his 4th album David Bowie produced his first classic.

You’d not know that back in 1971 tho’. The album and accompanying single “Changes”, despite receiving glowing reviews, failed to chart on release. RCA didn’t put much effort into promoting either as they knew a drastic change of image and style was imminent. It’s incredible to think that as Bowie was preparing to release “Hunky Dory” his next album was already recorded and ready to go, the long haired be-flared singer/songwriter pictured on this record sleeve was about to transition into a flame haired, jump suit clad, rock ‘n’ roll alien.

“Hunky Dory” opens with 2 bona fide Bowie gems. “Changes” is as much a metaphor for what the writer is about to do as it is a warning to us all that change is inevitable. The jaunty “Oh! You Pretty Things” was successfully covered by Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits fame, giving the writer his 2nd hit.

“Eight Line Poem” leads us to the astonishing “Life On Mars ?”. Now this is not just a Bowie classic but, flat out, one of the greatest songs written by anybody, anywhere, ever. Where did the guy who just 18 months ago was writing about splitting up with his girlfriend like a lovesick teenager drag this one from? The song is magnificent, Mick Ronson’s arrangement and orchestration frame it perfectly and Rick Wakeman’s piano elicits from me just about the only good thing I have to say about Rick Wakeman. If the world didn’t already know it this was Bowie serving notice that he was something special.

That is followed by “Kooks” a lovely if slightly silly nursery rhyme to his son Zowie/Joe/Duncan. “Quicksand” closes out Side 1, a beautiful song with references to Buddhism, Nietzsche, Himmler, Churchill, Nazis and not a lot of hope, “Don't believe in yourself, don't deceive with belief, Knowledge comes with death's release” as the lyric goes, cheery huh ?

Biff Rose’s “Fill Your Heart” is a throwaway cover version and then we reach what can be viewed as 3 tribute songs in a row. Bowie had developed a fixation with Andy Warhol, the Factory scene and the Velvet Underground since being presented with an acetate of “Andy Warhol Presents The Velvet Underground and Nico” by former manager Ken Pitt. He’d added “Waiting For The Man” to his live set before it had been released in the UK. Here he writes a tribute to Mr Warhol, “Andy Warhol”, it’s been said Andy hated it.

“Song For Bob Dylan” is exactly that, another tribute to a hero. This is followed by another nod to an influence and a pointer to the next album. “Queen Bitch” is practically a rewrite of “Waiting For The Man”, a backhanded compliment to Lou Reed. It would also have sat very comfortably on Bowie’s next album, the pointer.

“The Bewlay Brothers”, said Bowie, was a song for the American market. Americans love to overthink things, looking for clues in lyrics and on record sleeves that aren’t there, so he wrote a purposefullly cryptic song for America.

“Hunky Dory” is regarded as a classic in hindsight, it almost got lost due to a lack of attention from both artist (Bowie didn’t tour the album) and record company. The next step was ready, Bowie was about to be unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

Quicksand - https://youtu.be/9PrnGo-lOVA (a later live version that not even Reeves Gabrels manages to ruin!).