User:Zmbro/Ziggy Stardust Tour

The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by the English musician David Bowie during 1972–1973, to promote the studio albums Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and later Aladdin Sane. Bowie was accompanied by his backing group, the Spiders from Mars, and integrated choreography, costumes and make-up into the live shows to make them a wider entertainment package. The tour generated significant press coverage, drawing positive reviews and launching Bowie to stardom.

The tour lasted a year and a half and included three legs in the UK, two in the US and one in Japan. It moved from small pub and club gigs at the beginning, to highly publicised sold-out shows at the end. At the tour's last gig at the Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July 1973, Bowie shocked fans by announcing that it was the last show he would do with the Spiders from Mars.

Misc/background
Bowie's then-manager, Tony Defries, hired Stuey George as Bowie's bodyguard and photographer Mick Rock to document the experiences.

Sets and costume design
Buckley: 1972 shows supporting Ziggy were "rocky, punky and brash; not without theatricality, but still very much part of the accepted way of framing a rock gig"

Three days before Bowie's "I'm gay" interview was published in Melody Maker, he told journalist George Tremlett to expect "quiet outrageous [and] very theatrical" staging, stating that "it's going to be costumed and choreographed, quite different to anything anyone else has tried to do before". Unlike the stage shows of Alice Cooper, whom Bowie felt utilised outlandish and exaggerated performances for shock value, Bowie intended to fully become the Ziggy Stardust character for the tour. At Bowie's instruction, the rest of the band grew their hair long, experimented with makeup and donned attire designed by Freddie Buretti, Bowie later explained he "wanted the music to look like it sounded". The original costumes took direct influence from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, which opened on 13 January. The film also influenced the music; the show's opened with a synthesised arrangement of "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's ninth symphony, the same one that accompanied Alex's brainwashing scene in the film.

Unlike typical rock concerts at the time, the shows featured a theatrical element with a rough storyline, and several make-up and costume changes. Bowie wanted the shows to be entertainment and to be outrageous, which the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had been at one time, and collaborated with mime artist Lindsay Kemp with the on-stage choreography. Looking for a change of image, Bowie asked local hairdresser Suzi Fussey to cut his long blond hair, later dyeing it red. Some group members were unsure about the stage clothes Bowie asked them to wear, but quickly changed their minds after they realised the attention it gave them with female fans.

Woodmansey was resistant to the costumes at first

Rainbow gig
For The Ziggy Stardust Show gigs on 19 and 20 August 1972, Bowie devised a multi-level set with ladders and catwalks to perform songs from different heights, which he utilised for later tours. Kemp also littered the stage with sawdust, a technique that Bowie explained allowed dragged feet to "produced a trail indicating movement caught, so to speak, in the spotlight". These shows were also "illuminated by slide projections against the backdrop": before Bowie entered, the screens displayed photos taken by Rock of the Transformer sessions alongside shots of rock icons such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard. Bowie stated this was done "to give a semblance of continuity to the Ziggy theme, as though he was already one of them".

During the opener "Lady Stardust", Marc Bolan's face was projected onto the screen while Kemp's dancers (remember to re-specify) twirled around the stage in dry-ice wearing identical Bowie masks. For "Starman", Kemp hung from the rafters dressed like an angel. In "The Width of a Circle", Bowie embarked on an elaborate mime routine that remained for the rest of the tour. The gigs also saw new costumes worn, including bomber-jackets selected by Angie Bowie and David's first costume designed by Kansai Yamamoto: a "tight-fitting red one-piece" Bowie later described as "the impossibly silly 'bunny' costume".

Hairdresser Suzi Fussey designed Ziggy's hairstyle, which Bowie said was inspired by a model with a Yamamoto haircut he saw in "a slightly girly magazine like Honey, not Vogue"; acted as hairdresser and costume assistant for the entire tour

UK Tour
Rehearsals for the tour began in January 1972 at the Tottenham Ballroom and the Theatre Royal in Stratford East. The band were joined by former New Seekers and then-Milkwood member Laurie Heath, at the time assigned to Bowie's publisher Gem Productions. A costume was created for Heath before he was let go. Bolder explained: "He was a good-looking lad and a good singer. I think the worry was he may have detracted from David, so he went."

his backing group the Spiders from Mars—guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick Woodmansey—

An early preview show of the tour occurred on 29 January 1972 at the Borough Assembly Hall in Aylesbury, where Bowie was billed as "the Most Beautiful Person in the World". The show was attended by future Queen members Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, who recalled "We were blown away. It was so fantastic, and like nothing else that was happening, and so far ahead of its time." The band performed on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 7 February.

Audio engineer Robin Mayhew had started working on the PA and sound equipment since the end of the previous year, and was the principal sound engineer for the entire tour. light operator for the first shows, as well as the costume organizer and caterer


 * Beginning in "small to medium-sized halls", the Ziggy shows were "intimate" and responded with hysteria from audiences

The tour proper began on 10 February at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth, where Bowie unveiled his "Ziggy Stardust" persona for the first time in front of an audience of around 60. The band were joined by former Tucky Buzzard keyboardist Nicky Graham, who continued to play with the Spiders until July. The show was Bowie's final pub gig; his former Buzz bandmates Dek Fearnley and John Eager were in attendance and called the show "very good [and] tight". Throughout February, Bowie attempted tried to tailor each show based on the previous night's. During one show at Imperial College, the singer fell to the floor in an attempt to mimic Iggy Pop; he successfully stage-dived during one show in March. By March, Defries began handing out free photographs and posters after the shows to ensure fans had Bowie on their bedroom walls. Bowie revealed Ziggy's deep red-dyed hair in Newcastle on 24 March before taking a three-week break, during which he wrote "All the Young Dudes" for Mott the Hoople and attended one of their shows on 9 April.

Promotion and audiences increased following the release of the "Starman" single in April. The 20 April show at the Manchester Free Trade Hall was only attended by a few hundred people, but by the end of the show, Bowie was carried out into the audience by fans. Defries invited numerous journalists to the 6 May show at Kingston Polytechnic. During the same month, Bowie recorded "All the Young Dudes" with Mott the Hoople and taped three BBC radio sessions with the Spiders, while the tour itself began attracting larger venues and audiences. Press attention also increased. Following the show in Newcastle, the local paper described Bowie as a "supreme showman" and described the audiences "welcom[ing] every number with wild enthusiasm". Future Pet Shop Boys member Neil Tennant was in attendance and later called the show the best of his life.

Following the release of the Ziggy Stardust album in June, ticket sales in the UK greatly increased. Bowie's profile raised significantly when a photograph of him simulating fellatio on Ronson's guitar was published on the front cover of Melody Maker. Taken by Mick Rock at the 17 June show at Oxford Town Hall, the planned stunt was reportedly done to cause "a stir" in the press. Pegg argues it became "one of the abiding images of rock", rivaling Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar or Iggy Pop jumping into crowds. Nevertheless, Ronson's family were briefly targeted with hate crimes. On 21 June, Bowie and the Spiders performed "Starman" on Lift-Off with Ayshea. Four days later at the Greyhound in Croydon, Bowie was supported by Roxy Music and Trapeze, while one thousand fans were turned away.

In early July, Bowie and the Spiders' performance of "Starman" of Top of the Pops brought them national recognition, and a subsequent "Save the Whale" gig at London's Royal Festival Hall three days later earned critical praise. After the set, the band were joined in the encores by Lou Reed, performing Velvet Underground covers. The show also attracted the attention of Japanese fashion photographer Masayoshi Sukita, who would capture some of Bowie's most famous Ziggy-era photos. The 15 July show at the Friars Aylesbury included several US music journalists in the audience, including Dave Marsh and Lillian Roxon. Bowie's management spent $25,000 to fly them, along with US representatives of their record label RCA Records, to showcase the artist's live show. According to author Paul Trynka, the show was the moment Bowie and Defries knew the former had successfully become a star. After the gig, the tour took a one-month break, during which Bowie and Ronson produced Reed's album Transformer (1972).

During the break, Bowie re-rehearsed the live show to include greater theatrics and costume changes, with choreography by his old mime tutor Lindsay Kemp and Andy Warhol-style screen projections. Rehearsals took place for a week simultaneously with the Transformer sessions. The revamped tour commenced with two sold-out concerts at the Rainbow Theatre on 19 and 20 August, where Bowie was simply billed as "Ziggy Stardust". For these shows, Graham was replaced by former Procol Harum keyboardist Matthew Fisher, while Roxy Music performed as the supporting act. The shows were attended by Reed, Warhol, Mick Jagger, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart and Elton John. The success of the gigs led to ten additional UK gigs in late August and early September in smaller venues. For these shows, keyboardist Robin Lumley replaced Fisher and the theatrics were toned down due to high costs. The shows were successful; Kemp remembered: "When I saw how he captured an audience of thousands and knew exactly what to do. It was absolutely electric—I was numb from beginning to end."

US Tour
The popularity of the UK tour encouraged RCA to fund an American leg, which commenced in September 1972. Bowie travelled to New York City by boat as he did not like flying. At the suggestion of RCA executive Ken Glancey and singer Annette Peacock, Bowie hired Brooklyn jazz pianist Mike Garson for the US leg. The first show took place at the Cleveland Music Hall on 22 September, with Lindisfarne as the supporting act. The sold-out concert was attended by Bowie's Cleveland fan club organiser Brian Kinchy and Chrissie Hynde, future member of the Pretenders. The Memphis show two days later drew mixed press reviews but enthusiastic audiences.

On 28 September, Bowie played a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall. The concerts drew rave reviews from the press and led to the tour being extended for a further two months. The tour continued on to Boston before Bowie and the band returned to New York on 6 October to record a new song, "The Jean Genie", which debuted live in Chicago the following day. Subsequent shows in Detroit, St. Louis and Kansas City drew lesser audiences; the Kansas gig attracted only 250 people. The smaller audiences was attributed by Trynka to RCA, who viewed Bowie as a lesser artist on the label. Bowie was reportedly upset with the poor attendances, but maintained a professional composure.

As the tour continued Bowie's entourage grew to include groupies, such as Sable Starr and Lori Maddox. A concert on 20 October at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was broadcast on radio, and heavily bootlegged before finally being released in 1994. The promotional video for "The Jean Genie" was shot in San Francisco a week later. The tour was initially scheduled to end in California before Defries added more dates. The Seattle and San Francisco gigs drew small audiences while others were cancelled due to poor sales. He unveiled a new song, "Drive-In Saturday", at Dania, Florida on 17 November. Back in Cleveland, there were two sold-out performances at the large Public Auditorium. On 29 November, Bowie joined Mott the Hoople during their show in Philadelphia before playing four consecutive nights there to end the US leg. The press coverage of the tour turned Bowie into a star in the US and he was featured on the front cover of Rolling Stone.

Christmas shows
The year ended with a short UK leg, which carried over into the start of 1973. Bowie played two shows at the Rainbow just before Christmas, and asked the audience to bring toys along to the concert that could be redistributed to children. The mid-show acoustic set that had been part of all the gigs until then was discarded, and Bowie with the Spiders played just an electric set. The sessions for Aladdin Sane and a Top of the Pops performance of "The Jean Genie" took place around the same time. Bowie later described the Christmas shows as "probably one of the best, highest energy jaunts of our short eighteen-month life".

Set design

 * costuming became "far more elaborate and garnish"; Japanese culture defined the Aladdin Sane era
 * use of kabuki theatre was intended to act as "alien" to Western society


 * Yamamoto's costumes featured heavily on the 1973 leg
 * Bowie's onstage demeanor became more aggressively sexual in comparison to the shyer persona of the previous year's shows. Pegg believes this was possibly a reaction to the rawer, more aggressive Aladdin Sane material.
 * the 1973 leg adopted the conventions of kabuki theatre, wherein mask and costume changes symbolised mood and personality changes; mime and masks were used to portray the "schizoid" Aladdin Sane character
 * five to seven costume changes per show, including a quilted one-piece that was torn away to expose a white judo suit; there were heavy experiments in hair and make-up, directed by Pierre Laroche; who devised the Aladdin Sane lightning bolt and the "mystical astral sphere" donned throughout the 1973 shows
 * Bowie's look also changed; his shaggy Ziggy hairstyle was dyed darker red and glossed over, and he began wearing silver lipstick, thick eyeliner and a white symbol in the centre of his forehead
 * Additional Yamamoto costumes during the Japanese leg were more flamboyant and included a white robe embroidered with the name "David Bowie" in Japanese, a silver leotard with glass beads, a "candy-striped spandex bodystocking" and a multi-coloured kimono to be stripped away to reveal a red jockstrap. Bowie: "They were everything that I wanted them to be and more. Heavily inspired in equal parts by kabuki and Samurai, they were outrageous, provocative and unbelievably hot to wear under the stage lights." Bolder tied his hair in a Samurai-style topknot during the Japanese shows

The final UK leg featured adjustments to the set design, including the addition of two large banners boasting a red zig-zag similar to the Aladdin Sane lightning bolt that were lit by strobe lights. The banners were painted by Chris Difford, future founding member of the band Squeeze. The zig-zag design bore similarity to the Nazi SS symbol and went largely unnoticed at the time. Bowie later explained that the design was taken from the "high voltage" sign that appeared on electrical boxes.

US
As the Aladdin Sane sessions concluded in London on 24 January 1973, Bowie sailed back to the US for another American leg. Due to the high costs of the 1972 leg, RCA elected to save costs by playing multiple dates in only seven cities. The tour was then scheduled to travel to Japan, Britain and Europe, and back to the US by autumn. Pegg and Buckley refer to this portion of the tour as the Aladdin Sane Tour.

For this portion of the tour, the live band was expanded to include Aladdin Sane two saxophonists, Ken Fordham and Brian Wilshaw, and Bowie's old friend Geoffrey MacCormack for extra percussion and backing vocals. John Hutchinson, Bowie's colleague from the Buzz and Feathers, was also recruited as an additional rhythm guitarist so Bowie could focus on costume changes and more acrobatic performances. The setlist was refined to include more Aladdin Sane numbers, while Bowie's became more sexual in his onstage demeanor.

The second US leg began with a sell-out show in New York at the Radio City Music Hall on 14 February. The theatrical concert was greeted with audience frenzy. Bowie fainted while performing the final encore after a man from the crowd rushed the stage and kissed him on the cheek. During the short intermissions after "My Death", a 2001-type sequence of stars and galaxies was projected onto the backdrop, accompanied by science-fiction sound effects. Members of the first night's audience included Andy Warhol, Bette Midler, Allen Ginsberg and Salvador Dalí, while the second featured Todd Rundgren, Johnny Winter and Truman Capote. In New York, Bowie also met his future backup singer and girlfriend Ava Cherry.

The remaining US dates were supported by the British band Fumble, whom Bowie saw on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The seven Philadelphia concerts were sold-out, while press in Nashville and Memphis acknowledged the homophobic element of Bowie's stage behavior. The final US show took place at the Hollywood Palladium.

Japan
The Japanese leg took place in April and featured more flamboyant costumes by Yamamoto. In Japan, where Bowie's singles were performing well, all nine shows were sold-out and crowd frenzy was high. The Japan Times hailed the singer as, theatrically, "perhaps the most interesting performer ever in the pop music genre". While in Japan, Bowie became fascinated with Japanese culture and visited several moss gardens, kabuki and Noh theatre performances; the culture later provided a huge influence on Bowie's songwriting and lifestyle. The leg started and ended in Tokyo, with additional performances in Nagoya, Hiroshima, Kobe and Osaka. At the final gig on 20 April, the crowd stormed the stage, leading to the collapse of a group of seats, with no injuries. At the tour's end, Bowie travelled 600 miles by boat to Vladivostok before boarding the 6,000-mile Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow. MacCormack accompanied him on the week-long trip, with Leee Black Childers and American journalist Bob Musel. Bowie performed impromptu acoustic concerts for the passengers on the boat and train.

UK
Upon Bowie's arrival back in London in early May, Aladdin Sane was at number one and "Drive-In Saturday" was at number three. He was greeted by hundreds of fans and paparazzi. Most of the leg's 50 dates had already sold-out, so Defries convinced Bowie and the band to play two gigs per day at several venues. According to Pegg, the band were playing 22 concerts in 16 days by late June.

The opening concert at Earls Court Arena on 12 May suffered from poor sound systems and seating arrangements. By the show's halfway point, a stampede and fights broke out amongst the crowd, causing Bowie and the band to leave the stage until order was restored. The sound and lighting also failed during "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", leading Hutchinson to fall off his podium. Mick and Bianca Jagger attended the show. The faulty performance led to headlines such as "Aladdin Distress" from the NME. Buckley calls the gig one of the entire tour's "few real failures". Bowie was enraged and demanded Defries cancel the final night at the same venue in favour of two nights at the Hammersmith Odeon.

The remaining UK dates were successful and caused a frenzy among fans similar to Beatlemania that tabloids dubbed "Bowiemania"; Bowie was banned from the Brighton Dome after fans ripped up the venue's seats. In late May, BBC reporter Bernard Falk briefly joined the tour entourage and published an 11-minute report of his experiences for Nationwide. Future Soft Cell singer Marc Almond attended the concert at the Liverpool Empire on 10 June. Three days later, Bowie and Rock shot a promotional video for "Life on Mars?", which was released as a single a few days later and reached the UK top ten.

The tour's final dates were at the Hammersmith Odeon on 2 and 3 July 1973. Mick Jagger, Lou Reed and Ringo Starr attended the final night, which was filmed in its entirety by American filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker, previously known for the Bob Dylan documentary Dont Look Back and his coverage of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. RCA originally hired him to only shoot half of the show before the director "realized rapidly that we had to shoot the whole thing". Jeff Beck guested during the show, performing during the encores of "The Jean Genie" and "Round and Round", which was cut out from the film and accompanying live album. Woodmansey recalled the show was one of the best the band had played, because it was close to their London base and almost the end of an exhausting tour.

Before playing the final song, "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", Bowie made the surprise announcement that "not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do". Bowie had reportedly informed Charles Shaar Murray of the NME in advance, who had the magazine prepare headlines upon the announcement.

The planned American leg, due to commence in September, was quickly cancelled as Bowie proclaimed on 4 July: "I don't want to do live concerts again for a long, long time. Not for another two or three years at least." His absence from the stage was short-lived; three months later, he performed on The 1980 Floor Show and by June 1974, had commenced his Diamond Dogs Tour. Bowie's statement during the show was later understood to mean the retirement of his Ziggy Stardust persona.

Ronson had been told in advance by Bowie, while Bolder and Woodmansey had not.
 * last Spiders show

Bowie's costumes were designed by Kansai Yamamoto. During the end of set, he collapsed and had to be assisted. The tour subsequently moved to Japan. Bowie then travelled by ferry across the Sea of Japan to Vladivostok, and travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow in order to get back to Britain. During this time, the Spiders from Mars complained they were still on the same wages as when they had started playing with Bowie despite multiple sold-out shows. They re-negotiated their fees with Bowie's manager Tony Defries, but this caused a rift in the band.

The final leg of the tour covered the UK and began on 12 May 1973 with a concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in front of an audience of 18,000. Police forced the show to stop for 15 minutes while they battled with fans trying to storm the stage.

Controversies
Defries promoted Bowie in the States as a large superstar, ensuring the entourage had high budgets, resided in expensive hotels and received top-tier accommodations and amenities.


 * MainMan business
 * Defries being a shitty manager
 * Garson a Scientologist and converting Woodmansey causing conflicts
 * Spiders not paid reasonable fees?

Setlists
At the start of the tour, the setlists were mostly based around the Ziggy Stardust album, opening with "Hang On to Yourself" and ending with "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide". Earlier material was also played; Pegg says his three-year-old hit "Space Oddity" received the "warmest" responses. Covers of Jacques Brel ("Amsterdam") and the Velvet Underground ("Waiting for the Man", "White Light/White Heat" and "Sweet Jane") were frequently performed, while other renditions of Cream's "I Feel Free" and the James Brown medley of "You Got to Have a Job" / "Hot Pants" were dropped early on. According to Pegg, the early shows lacked the theatrics of the later ones and instead primarily opened with hard rock electric numbers, followed by three acoustic numbers led only by Bowie and Ronson ("Space Oddity", "Andy Warhol" and "Amsterdam"), before returning to the electric numbers, ending with "Suffragette City" and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide".

The setlist was revamped following the release of the "Starman" single in April. Starting with the Rainbow gigs in August, "Lady Stardust" was added as the opening number, while "The Width of a Circle" returned from earlier shows. New additions included "Life on Mars?", "I Can't Explain" by the Who, "Round and Round" by Chuck Berry, the new single "John, I'm Only Dancing", a full-length version of "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" and the Beatles' "This Boy" on occasion. "Amsterdam" was also replaced by "My Death", another Brel cover. For the US leg, "Song for Bob Dylan" and "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" were dropped, followed by "Starman" and "Round and Round" after a few shows. These were soon replaced by tracks written on the road that formed the Aladdin Sane album. The Christmas shows opened with a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together", which later appeared on Aladdin Sane.

The completion of Aladdin Sane in January 1973 brought changes to setlist for the 1973 tour; every song on the album was played except for "Lady Grinning Soul". Others were rearranged as larger production numbers, including "Space Oddity". "Soul Love" from Ziggy Stardust was also performed for the first few gigs, featuring a saxophone solo from Bowie. "Starman" briefly returned for the Japanese leg before being dropped again for the UK one; "John, I'm Only Dancing" was also dropped. The songs were substituted by a new rendition of "White Light/White Heat" and a pair of medleys: the first included "Quicksand", "Life on Mars?" and "Memory of a Free Festival", while the second comprised "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud", "All the Young Dudes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things".

Critical reception

 * "Save the Whale" gig, July 1972; Melody Maker Ray Coleman stated that "Bowie is going to be an old-fashioned, charismatic idol, for his show is full of glitter, panache and pace. Record Mirror declared that "David Bowie will soon become the greatest entertainer that Britain has ever known... His talent seems unlimited and he looks certain to become the most important person in pop music on both sides of the Atlantic."
 * The Rainbow gigs were positively received. The NME Charles Shaar Murray, who later became one of Bowie's biggest supporters, called the show "perhaps the most consciously theatrical rock show ever staged" and a "thoroughly convincing demonstration of his ascendancy over any other soloist in rock today".

Recordings and film

 * A bootleg recording of the 6 May 1972 show at Kingston Polytechnic exists; the version of "I Feel Free" from this show was included on the RarestOneBowie compilation.
 * The gig at Dunstable in June 1972 was filmed by Rock and later incorporated into the video for the 1994 live "Ziggy Stardust" single from Santa Monica '72. Pegg says the clip "offers a valuable glimpse" into the Spiders' early shows.
 * Footage from the Rainbow concerts exists in Rock's video for "John, I'm Only Dancing", shot at the location on 25 August 1972
 * The Carnegie Hall show on 28 September was taped in its entirety by RCA for a proposed live album, which was ultimately scrapped. The recording of "My Death" was later included on RarestOneBowie and on a 2015 vinyl single.
 * The show in Boston was recorded, live tracks from which appeared on Sound + Vision Plus and the 2003 bonus disc of Aladdin Sane.
 * A gig at Santa Monica on 20 October was broadcast on KMET radio, and heavily bootlegged before finally being released in 1994 as Santa Monica '72; it received an official release as Live Santa Monica '72 in 2008. Trynka says that the bootleg acted as a "would be definitive rock-and-roll bootleg" for many years, influencing later English punk bands who "would admire its high-octane assault".
 * On 29 November 1972, Bowie joined Mott the Hoople during the encore of their show in Philadelphia, performing "All the Young Dudes" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women"; footage from the show appeared in the 2011 documentary The Ballad of Mott the Hoople.
 * 3 July, final show at the Hammersmith Odeon; Alongside filming the concert itself, Pennebaker also shot footage of Bowie in his dressing room and on the streets outside the venue. An edited version of the film was screened in the US in 1974 before it was released in 1983 as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Legacy

 * Bowie's 18-month life as Ziggy Stardust remains his most well-known image
 * "his impact, particularly in the field of personal expression, continues to bewitch and enthrall in the 21st century"


 * Bowie intended to play Ziggy on stage but by 1973, both Bowie and fans were unable to differentiate between himself and the character; coupled by both his rigorous touring schedule and quick rise to stardom after years of little recording success
 * Bowie: "I was a character when I performed all those albums ... and I carried the character into interviews, newspapers, on stage, off stage – whenever there was media around I had to keep the characters concrete. The fabric of my work is using my body, my personality as well as my songs and stage performance ... rather like a canvas."


 * Throughout its run, the shows were attended by several English artists who would later become stars, including Holly Johnson (same gig as Almond), George O'Dowd (Boy George), Ian McCulloch, Pete Burns, Pete Shelley, Stephen Morrissey, Ian Curtis and Kate Bush ("Wuthering Heights" video? See Buckley).
 * Elton John and Bernie Taupin attended a show and walked out, the former believing there was too much mime and not enough music

Gary Numan said in 1998: "I looked at the way Bowie presented himself in that whole 72–73 period and I just though, and still do to this day, that it was the greatest rock'n'roll star image that there has ever been."

Personnel
According to biographer Nicholas Pegg:


 * David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) – vocals, guitar, harmonica

The Spiders from Mars
 * Mick Ronson – guitar, vocals
 * Trevor Bolder – bass
 * Mick "Woody" Woodmansey – drums

Other musicians
 * Robin Lumley – piano (27 August – 7 September 1972)
 * Nicky Graham – piano (10 February – 15 July 1972)
 * Matthew Fisher – keyboards (19–20 August 1972)
 * Mike Garson – piano, keyboards (September 1972 – end of tour)

Other musicians on the 1973 legs
 * John Hutchinson – rhythm guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar
 * Warren Peace – backing vocals, percussion
 * Ken Fordham – saxophone
 * Brian Wilshaw – saxophone, flute

Tour dates
According to Kevin Cann:

Songs
The tour's setlists varied throughout its duration. The following songs were performed according to biographer Nicholas Pegg:

From David Bowie (Space Oddity) From The Man Who Sold the World From Hunky Dory From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
 * "Space Oddity"
 * "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud"
 * "Memory of a Free Festival"
 * "The Width of a Circle"
 * "The Supermen"
 * "Changes"
 * "Oh! You Pretty Things"
 * "Life on Mars?"
 * "Quicksand"
 * "Andy Warhol"
 * "Song for Bob Dylan"
 * "Queen Bitch"
 * "Five Years"
 * "Soul Love"
 * "Moonage Daydream"
 * "Starman"
 * "Lady Stardust" (on rare occasions in 1972)
 * "Hang On to Yourself"
 * "Ziggy Stardust"
 * "Suffragette City"
 * "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"

From Aladdin Sane Other
 * "Watch That Man"
 * "Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)"
 * "Drive-In Saturday"
 * "Panic in Detroit"
 * "Cracked Actor"
 * "Time"
 * "The Prettiest Star"
 * "Let's Spend the Night Together" (The Rolling Stones cover)
 * "The Jean Genie"
 * "I Feel Free" (Cream cover; early shows)
 * "You Got to Have a Job" / "Hot Pants" (James Brown covers; early shows)
 * "Ode to Joy" (used as the pre-show music)
 * "All the Young Dudes" (written by Bowie, released by Mott the Hoople; performed on 29 November 1972 only)
 * "Amsterdam" (Jacques Brel cover)
 * "My Death" (Jacques Brel cover)
 * "I Can't Explain" (The Who cover)
 * "John, I'm Only Dancing" (written by Bowie, 1972 non-album single; the sax version was released the following year)
 * "Love Me Do" (The Beatles cover; included as a part of "The Jean Genie")
 * "This Boy" (The Beatles cover)
 * "Round and Round" (Chuck Berry cover)
 * "Waiting for the Man" (The Velvet Underground cover)
 * "White Light/White Heat" (The Velvet Underground cover)
 * "Sweet Jane" (The Velvet Underground cover)
 * "Honky Tonk Women" (The Rolling Stones cover; performed on 29 November 1972 only)