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    RockChat Rewind with Joe MillikenOn this day in 1972, David Bowie released his fifth studio album titled “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.” Recorded for the RCA label at Trident Studios in London, and produced by David Bowie and Ken Scott, most of the album was recorded from November 1971 through February 1972. Other members in the band included guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Woddy Woodmansey.
    A loose concept album, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars” tells the tale of Bowie’s alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous bisexual rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. The character was influenced and explored themes of glam rock, and sexual and social taboos.
    Bowie played the character onstage throughout his Ziggy Stardust tour through North America, Japan and the United Kingdom, and a concert film buy the same name, directed by D. A. Pennebaker, was filmed in 1973 but not released until 10 years later.
    Although the album received critical acclaim, it only reached #75 on the Billboard album chart. However, it climbed to #5 on the UK album chart and has since been recognized by the National Recording Registry as “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.”
    Two singles were released, with “Starman/Suffragette City” reaching #65 on the Hot 100 singles chart and #10 in the UK, and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” failing to chart in America and reaching #22 in America. A remastered version was released in 1990 with 5 bonus tracks, a 30th anniversary edition was released in 2002 with 12 more unreleased versions, and a 40th anniversary edition was released in 2012 featuring limited edition vinyl and DVD formats.
    Despite the relatively low charting numbers for the album and singles as a whole, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars” has gone on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide and is the top selling album of Bowie’s career.

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