David Bowie was a chameleon throughout his career, particularly through the 1970s, when he tried on a number of different personas. Among the most famous was Ziggy Stardust, but Ziggy was more than just a character Bowie played onstage\u2014he was a crucial part of a larger story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Bowie went into the studio in 1971 to record his fifth album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars<\/em>, he didn’t intend for it to be a concept album. The loose plot about rock-star alien Ziggy was pieced together after most of the album had been recorded. Opening track “Five Years” explains Earth has depleted its resources and is dying, and Ziggy has been sent by beings called the Infinites to warn humanity they have just five years left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ziggy is described in detail in “Ziggy Stardust” as having “screwed-up eyes and screwed-down hairdo.” The character was inspired by a number of sources\u2014the name Ziggy came from a tailor’s shop, while “Stardust” was taken from an artist called Legendary Stardust Cowboy. As for Ziggy’s persona, including his ultimate downfall, that was modeled after 1960s rock star Vince Taylor, who believed himself to be an alien god and who Bowie saw as “an example of what can happen in rock \u2019n\u2019 roll.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n