David Bowie was constantly reinventing himself as an artist, from his experimentation with his sound to the onstage personas and characters he explored in his songs. And while all are iconic in their own right, perhaps none were as famous as Ziggy Stardust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bowie first created his onstage personas so he didn’t have to perform as himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I didn\u2019t particularly feel comfortable performing as a straight-ahead singer on stage,” Bowie explained in a 1990 intervi<\/a>e<\/a>w<\/a>. “My interest had always been in one of the better word multimedia-type situations. I liked the idea of combining theatre, music, and the whole atmosphere of creating for the stage.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ziggy Stardust was Bowie’s first fully realized persona. He began developing the character while on tour in early 1971, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources. Ziggy’s name, for instance, was taken from a tailor Bowie passed one day. Bowie liked its similarity to Iggy Pop’s name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bowie introduced Ziggy Stardust to the world on his fifth album, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars<\/em>. The lyrics describe Ziggy as a bisexual alien rock star sent to warn the people of Earth of the coming apocalypse while also offering a message of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bowie performed as Ziggy while on tour through 1972, backed by The Spiders From Mars. He had a distinct look featuring a red mullet and tight jumpsuits. When the tour ended in 1973, Bowie retired Ziggy Stardust and introduced Aladdin Sane, an extension of Ziggy but with a slightly different look. Bowie described Aladdin Sane as “Ziggy goes to America.” His name was a play on the words “a lad insane.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nBowie and His Many Personas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n