A Look Back At Ziggy Stardust’s Landing On Earth, 44 Years Later

It’s one of the most important moments in a career that was full of them. Yesterday marked the 44th anniversary of a turning point in David Bowie’s career. On February 10, 1972, Bowie performed as Ziggy Stardust for the first time.

In spite of the fame and glitz that would mark much of Bowie’s career, Ziggy’s first appearance came in a decidedly low-key venue. Stardust touched down in London’s Toby Jug Pub, but he didn’t let his humble surroundings stop him from putting on a show.

“Bowie had brought theater to a humble pub gig!” recalled a member of the audience that night.

And Bowie had no illusions about where he was heading. He told the British music weekly Melody Maker that he was “going to be huge” and proved himself right. A mere five months after his first appearance as Ziggy, Bowie was performing on the BBC’s long-running Top of the Pops.

He followed that up with the release of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, an album that catapulted him to fame in the UK and United States.

Though it may be hard to believe given the huge impact that Bowie’s first persona had on music thereafter, he only played as Stardust for a little more than a year. The character was retired at the end of the album’s tour in July 1973. However, the germ of making pop music entirely within a persona sticks with us in the present.

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