I leaned back on my radio
Some cat was layin’ down
some rock ‘n’ roll ‘lotta soul, he said
Then the loud sound did seem to fade
Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase
That weren’t no D.J.
that was hazy cosmic jive. 

– Starman

Ziggy the glam androgynous alien messiah fell to Earth, he changed Bowie from a prodigy to a superstar who transformed  music forever. His impact still lingers after 42 years and will continue to do so as long as there is music. No less.

My favourite Bowie album is Hunky Dory, but Ziggy sure comes close.

Ziggy Stardust – Dunstable June 21, 1972:

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (often shortened to Ziggy Stardust) is a 1972 concept album by David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a fictional rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music Charts. A concert film of the same name directed by D.A. Pennebaker was released in 1973.

The songwriting, the singing and Mick Ronson’s guitar playing are all factors that makes  this record a true classic. Here is an incredibly good documentary from BBC, telling the story of Ziggy Stardust:

• In 1987, as part of their 20th anniversary, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #6 on “The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years.”
• In 1997, Ziggy Stardust was named the 20th greatest album of all time in a Music of the Millennium poll conducted in the United Kingdom by HMV Group, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM.
• In 1998, Q magazine readers placed it at number 24 and
• Virgin All-time Top 1000 Albums ranked it at number 11
• in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 48.
• It was named the 35th best album ever made by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
• In 2000 Q placed it at number 25 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
• In 2004 it was placed at number 81 in Pitchfork Media’s Top 100 Albums of the 1970s.
• In his 1995 book, “The Alternative Music Almanac”, Alan Cross placed the album in the #3 spot on the list of ’10 Classic Alternative Albums’.
• In 2006, the album was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time.

David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust live 1973:

Set list
1. Hang on to yourself
2. Ziggy Stardust
3.Wathch that man
4. Wild eyed boy from Freeclou-All the young dudes-Oh you pretty thing
5.Moonage daydream
6. Space oddity
7. My death
8. Time
9. The width of a circle
10. Changes
12. Sufragette city
13. White light, white heat
14. Rock´n roll suicide

Starman:

Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars

– Hallgeir