"Ziggy Stardust" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie in 1971 for the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The name Stardust was inspired by the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. The song is ranked No. 277 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The original demo version of the song, recorded in February 1971, was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc CD release of Ziggy Stardust in 1990.[1]The demo also appeared on the Ziggy Stardust - 30th Anniversary Reissue bonus disc in 2002.
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Live versions[edit][]
- Bowie recorded the song for the BBC radio programme "Sounds of the 70s: Bob Harris" on 18 January 1972. This was broadcast on 7 February 1972. On 16 May 1972 Bowie again played the song at "Sounds of the 70s: John Peel", and this was broadcast on 23 May 1972. Both of these versions were released on the Bowie at the Beeb album in 2000.
- A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72. This version also appeared on the Japanese release of RarestOneBowie.
- The version played at the famous concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London on 3 July 1973 was released on Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture.
- A spring 1978 performance from the "Heroes" tour was released on Stage and as the B-side of the live single "Breaking Glass" in 1978.
- A November 2003 live performance from the A Reality Tour was released on the A Reality Tour DVD in 2004, and is included on the A Reality Tour album, released in 2010.
In popular culture[edit][]
- Cover version with an added guitar solo is featured in Guitar Hero.
- It is featured in The Heartbreak Kid.
- It is featured in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
- His god daughter was named Ziggy-stardust in 1974
- It was made available to download on 25 January 2011 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which utilizes real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to vocals.
- It is featured in the 2012 movie Chronicle.
- The song "Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars" by the American rock band Bon Jovi from their album Crush is a homage to Ziggy Stardust.
Cover versions[edit][]
Bauhaus[edit][]
| "Ziggy Stardust" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [1] | ||||
| Single by Bauhaus | ||||
| Released | September 1982 | |||
| Genre | Gothic Rock, Post-punk, glam rock | |||
| Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
| Bauhaus singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The British gothic rock band Bauhaus recorded a version of "Ziggy Stardust" as their eighth single. The single was released in October 1982 through Beggars Banquet Records and reached number fifteen on the UK Singles Chart.[2] The B-side is a Brian Eno cover. It was released in 7" and 12" format on theBeggars Banquet label. The 12" additional live track "I'm Waiting for the Man" is a Velvet Underground cover.
Track listings[edit][]
7"
- "Ziggy Stardust"
- "Third Uncle"
12"
- "Ziggy Stardust"
- "Party of the First Part"
- "Third Uncle"
- "Waiting for the Man" (live)
Other covers[edit][]
- AFI - (Ziggy Stardust Acoustic) "AOL Sessions Under Cover" and a couple of live versions including a performance for Live Earth.
- Andrew Jackson Jihad - (Ziggy Stardust Acoustic) "Operation Stackola".
- Balzac - (Ziggy Stardust) Deep Blue: Chaos from Darkism II
- Bloodstone - Valley of the Machines
- Camp Freddy - Live acoustic on Camp Freddy Radio
- Daisyhead & The Mooncrickets - Daisyhead and the Mooncrickets (1997)
- Def Leppard – Single (1996)
- Ariana Delawari - We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie.
- Exploding Boy - New Generation
- Fox – Single
- Glabis - Live: At Luciano's
- Grade - Victory Style 5
- Guns N' Roses - Keyboardist Dizzy Reed plays an instrumental version of the song prior to "Street of Dreams" on the Chinese Democracy Tour.
- Hootie and the Blowfish - Live Recording and on the album Blow Fish Blow (1995).
- Seu Jorge recorded a Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. (2004)
- Max Lorentz & Friends - Live Recording
- Murdoc Niccals, bassist of Gorillaz, sung this song during a radio session. It is available on YouTube.
- The Moog Cookbook - Ye Olde Space Bande (1997)
- Nina Hagen - Live Recording
- Nuit d'Óctobre - The Dark Side of David Bowie: A Tribute To David Bowie (1997)
- Of Montreal - Have covered this throughout their live shows. Most noted in their 2009 Hollywood Bowl performance.
- The Pozers - Cover This (1998)
- Shamrock - Live Recording
- Techno Cowboy - The Ziggy Stardust Omnichord Album (2009)
- Thursday Night Collective - Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie (2007)
- Toad The Wet Sprocket - live recording, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 5 April 1995
- White Buffalo - Essential Interpretations (1997)
- Data Bank A – Single
- Redd Kross - Teen Babes From Monsanto (1984)
- Vice Squad - The BBC Sessions (1998)
- The Gourds - Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, CD premium from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine; this version also appears on BowieMania: Mania, une collection obsessionelle de Beatrice Ardisson (2007)
- The Spiders from Mars - The Mick Ronson Memorial Concert (2001); the Spiders here consisting of Joe Elliott (vocals, acoustic guitar), Bill Nelson (guitar), Trevor Bolder (bass), Woody Woodmansey, (drums), Billy Rankin (guitar), and Phil Lanzon (keyboards)