History Music / TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars

* FaceOnTheCover: Bowie, shown from a distance.

* IntercourseWithYou: It's hard to imagine any other explanation for the "Aaaaawww ''wham bam thank you ma'am!''" in "Suffragette City.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre and YouAreNotAlone: The points of "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide".

->''There's a starman waiting in the sky\\
He'd like to come and meet us \\
But he thinks he'd blow our minds \\
There's a starman waiting in the sky \\
He's told us not to blow it \\
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile \\
He told me \\
Let the children lose it \\
Let the children use it \\
Let all the children boogie''
-->'''"Starman"'''

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Let the children boogie!"'']]

''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'' or even just ''Ziggy'') is the fifth studio album by Music/DavidBowie, released in 1972. It is his most famous, most popular and generally most critically lauded album. "Ziggy Stardust", "Starman", "Suffragette City" and "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide" were big international hits at the time.

* StudioChatter: Bowie says "one, two" at the start of "Hang On to Yourself".

'''''The''''' GlamRock album.

Conceived after the songs were already finished, the ambiguous story of this ConceptAlbum revolves around Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual rock star (either from space or TouchedByVorlons) who rises to stardom in a time when Earth is on its last legs and its people need hope. But he succumbs to the hedonistic lifestyle that comes with fame, and it's his own fans who are responsible for his death. Ironically Bowie himself nearly fell into the same trap, as "Ziggy Stardust" became such a global phenomenon that he did everything to distance himself from the "Ziggy" character, in essence reinventing himself each album. He succeeded, but still Ziggy Stardust remains the persona he is closest identified with among the general public.

Upon release, the album was downright rapturously received by critics, who praised its songwriting and blend of Bowie's theatrical leanings with rock accessibility. Its stature has only grown since: Magazine/TimeMagazine included ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums 2006 list of 100 timeless and essential albums]], and it was listed at No. 35 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]], No. 23 on Magazine/{{NME}}'s [[UsefulNotes/NME500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime same-named list]], and No. 16 on Website/AcclaimedMusic's [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums 2018 list of their All Time Top 3,000 albums]].

The album was also a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States despite favorable critical reviews, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there that Bowie would ride to later mainstream success in that country in the middle of the decade, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.

Conceived after the songs were already finished, the ambiguous story of this ConceptAlbum revolves around Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual rock star (either from space or TouchedByVorlons) who rises to stardom in a time when Earth is on its last legs and its people need hope. But he succumbs to the hedonistic lifestyle that comes with fame, and it's his own fans who are responsible for his death.

The album was a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States despite favorable critical reviews, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there that Bowie would ride to later mainstream success in that country in the middle of the decade, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.

'''''The''''' GlamRock album.

Conceived after the songs were already finished, the ambiguous story of this ConceptAlbum revolves around Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual rock star (either from space or TouchedByVorlons) who rises to stardom in a time when Earth is on its last legs and its people need hope. But he succumbs to the hedonistic lifestyle that comes with fame, and it's his own fans who are responsible for his death. Ironically Bowie himself nearly fell into the same trap, as "Ziggy Stardust" became such a global phenomenon that he did everything to distance himself from the "Ziggy" character, in essence reinventing himself each album. He succeeded, but still Ziggy Stardust remains the persona he is closest identified with among the general public.

Upon release, the album was downright rapturously received by critics, who praised its songwriting and blend of Bowie's theatrical leanings with rock accessibility. Its stature has only grown since: Magazine/TimeMagazine included ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums 2006 list of 100 timeless and essential albums]], and it was listed at No. 35 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]], No. 23 on Magazine/{{NME}}'s [[UsefulNotes/NME500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime same-named list]], and No. 16 on Website/AcclaimedMusic's [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums 2018 list of their All Time Top 3,000 albums]].

The album was also a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States despite favorable critical reviews, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there that Bowie would ride to later mainstream success in that country in the middle of the decade, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Let all the children boogie!"'']]

* OneManSong: "Starman".

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Since, 2012, reissues of the album feature a label design patterned after the original RCA design from the 1970s, but with a stylized "Bowie" in place of the RCA logo. Parlophone's reissues go a step further and use the actual font that RCA used for their logotype. This would occur again with ''Music/AladdinSane'' in 2013, and would become standard for Parlophone's reissues of the Bowie back-catalog from 2015 onwards (with modifications to match each album's respective LP label). Perhaps not coincidentally, ''Ziggy Stardust'' and ''Aladdin Sane'' are the only two albums that Parlophone never remastered during their gradual reissuing campaign, instead choosing to recycle EMI's 40th anniversary remasters for both.

* BittersweetEnding: "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", despite its title, is actually one of the album's most uplifting songs.

** "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" quotes "Jef" ("No, Love, You're Not Alone") by Music/JacquesBrel. Bowie was a noted fan of Brel's songs.

The ambiguous story of this ConceptAlbum revolves around Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual rock star (either from space or TouchedByVorlons) who rises to stardom in a time when Earth is on its last legs and its people need hope. But he succumbs to the hedonistic lifestyle that comes with fame, and it's his own fans who are responsible for his death. Ironically Bowie himself nearly fell into the same trap, as "Ziggy Stardust" became such a global phenomenon that he did everything to distance himself from the "Ziggy" character, in essence reinventing himself each album. He succeeded, but still Ziggy Stardust remains the persona he is closest identified with among the general public.

!! "Freak out in a tropeage daydream, oh yeah":

* AlbumTitleDrop: "Ziggy Stardust" name-drops some words from the title, but never the entire title.

* BrieferThanTheyThink: The Ziggy Stardust stage persona (and Aladdin Sane {{Expy}}) lasted less than two years and only covers two albums, one tour, and the ''1980 Floor Show'' TV special. The Ziggy ''look'' persisted into early 1974, as can be seen on the cover of ''Music/DiamondDogs'', but by the time he toured for that album it was gone too.

-->The time is five years to go before the end of the earth. It has been announced that the world will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock-and-roll band and the kids no longer want rock-and-roll. There's no electricity to play it. Ziggy's adviser tells him to collect news and sing it, 'cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news. "All The Young Dudes" is a song about this news. It's no hymn to the youth as people thought. It is completely the opposite...The end comes when the infinites arrive. They really are a black hole, but I've made them people because it would be very hard to explain a black hole on stage...Ziggy is advised in a dream by the infinites to write the coming of a Starman, so he writes "Starman", which is the first news of hope that the people have heard. So they latch onto it immediately...The starmen that he is talking about are called the infinites, and they are black-hole jumpers. Ziggy has been talking about this amazing spaceman who will be coming down to save the earth. They arrive somewhere in Greenwich Village. They don't have a care in the world and are of no possible use to us. They just happened to stumble into our universe by black hole jumping. Their whole life is travelling from universe to universe. In the stage show, one of them resembles Brando, another one is a Black New Yorker. I even have one called Queenie, the Infinite Fox...Now Ziggy starts to believe in all this himself and thinks himself a prophet of the future starmen. He takes himself up to the incredible spiritual heights and is kept alive by his disciples. When the infinites arrive, they take bits of Ziggy to make them real because in their original state they are anti-matter and cannot exist in our world. And they tear him to pieces on stage during the song "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide". As soon as Ziggy dies on stage the infinites take his elements and make themselves visible.

* RearrangeTheSong: "Moonage Daydream" and "Hang On to Yourself" were originally released by [=B&C=] Records as two sides of a 1971 non-album single with the Arnold Corns, made while Bowie was weaseling his way out of his contract with Philips and Creator/MercuryRecords following a feud with executives regarding the cover art to ''Music/TheManWhoSoldTheWorld''. For this album, Bowie re-recorded both songs from the ground up with the Spiders from Mars. Following the success of this album, [=B&C=] [[RereleaseTheSong reissued the original single]] with the sides switched around.

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Since, 2012, reissues of the album feature a label design patterned after the original RCA design from the 1970s, but with a stylized "Bowie" in place of the RCA logo. Parlophone's reissues go a step further and use the actual font that RCA used for their logotype. This would occur again with ''Music/AladdinSane'' in 2013, and would become standard for Parlophone's reissues of the Bowie back-catalog (with modifications to match each album's respective LP label).

* FakeBand: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
* FanDumb: [[invoked]]Ziggy's fans love him so much that they accidentally lynch him.

* ShoutOut

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Music/AladdinSane'' (which is about a Ziggy expy touring the U.S.).

* TouchedByVorlons: Maybe.

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Parlophone reissues of the album feature a label design patterned after the original RCA design from the 1970s, but with a stylized "Bowie" in place of the RCA logo.

* SerialNumbersFiledOff: Parlophone reissues of the album feature a label design patterned after the original RCA design from the 1970s, but with a stylized "Bowie" in place of the RCA logo.

** Ziggy playing guitar left-handed is likely a reference to Music/JimiHendrix.

The album was also a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there that Bowie would ride to later mainstream success in that country in the middle of the decade, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.

And a queer threw up at the sight of that

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie!"'']]

The album was also a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there that Bowie would ride to later mainstream success in that country, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.

The album was also a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.

The album was also a major commercial success in Bowie's native UK, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry and marking Bowie's true BreakthroughHit in the British mainstream. While the album was less successful in the United States, peaking at a much more modest No. 75 on the Billboard 200, it did help establish a cult following there, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two years after its release; the album was also certified gold in Italy. It did however see belated success among the American mainstream following Bowie's death in 2016, peaking two years later at both No. 3 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums charts and No. 21 on the mainline 200.