Laying the foundation

Bowie began developing ideas for a concept album centred around a fictitious rock star as early as late 1970 or early 1971. In Mick Rock's book Moonage Daydream: The Life and Times of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie stated that during his US visit from 23 January to 18 February 1971, he had already sketched out the basics for three pivotal songs, "Moonage Daydream", "Ziggy Stardust" and "Hang On to Yourself", which would later become key tracks on the Ziggy Stardust album. Bowie discussed the Ziggy concept during this trip, explaining that Ziggy would not be a conventional rock star and that he would portray him, "I think they all thought I was talking in terms of a musical. It's possible that I was; it's now hard to remember what direction I had expected him to go".

The song that would become "Moonage Daydream" evolved from a sketch called "So Long 60s" at the time of the US trip, featuring almost entirely different lyrics and arrangement, as heard in the Ziggy Stardust box set, Rock 'N' Roll Star!. While it retained the same chord sequence and one lyric line ("keep your mouth shut") that would be incorporated into the final version on the Ziggy Stardust album, it also boasted a completely different chorus that bad farewell to the sixties that was eventually dropped.

The tape containing "So Long 60s", recorded on 11 or 12 February 1971 in a San Francisco hotel room, also included "Quicksand" and "Waiting For The Man", which were released on the 2023 Divine Symmetry box set based around Hunky Dory. In addition, the tape featured a brief try-out segment of "Oh! You Pretty Things" and an incomplete portion of "Hole In The Ground" (the recordings remain unreleased).

Upon his return from the US trip, Bowie quickly got to work rewriting the lyrics of "So Long 60s" and transforming it into "Moonage Daydream". He recorded it on 25 February 1971 for the Arnold Corns project at the Radio Luxembourg Studios. While removing the "So Long 60s" chorus, the Arnold Corns version retained several phrases of the San Francisco recording, such as the encouragements to "keep your mouth shut", "keep your head on" and "open up your eyes real wide" as "there isn't any room to hide". The later Ziggy Stardust version is a further reworking of these early takes, featuring many musical and lyrical differences.

While in the USA, Bowie also committed "Hang On To Yourself" to tape on 13 February 1971 whilst Bowie was staying with record producer Tom Ayers in Los Angeles. Back in London, he cut the song anew for the Arnold Corns project, taping it in the same session as "Moonage Daydream". Arnold Corns was essentially an outlet for Bowie to release some music without providing it to Mercury Records, the record company he was under contract with since May 1969 (it was terminated in May 1971). The two tracks were released as a single on 30 April 1971, financed by Chrysalis Music.

Both early renditions of "Hang On To Yourself" featured similar sketchy and seemingly unfinished lyrics. The LA version included references to a papa involved in "something good" and a mama who has "got a good thing on". The Arnold Corns version simplified this to just a mama with "a thing on", "a good thing going" and "a thing on the street". In both versions, the protagonist is depicted as being "on a radio show" with a girlfriend who "got up on Sunday" (LA) or "got out last Monday" (Arnold Corns), but the lyrics never elaborate further.

Before "Hang On To Yourself" found its place on Ziggy Stardust, it underwent significant lyrical expansion and refinement from its earlier LA and Arnold Corns versions. The revised lyric was written from the viewpoint of the Spiders From Mars and focused on a girl "coming to the show tonight". The song was recorded on the first day of the Ziggy sessions, 8 November 1971, but this version was scrapped and the song was re-recorded from scratch three days later. The discarded version has a more explicit groupie theme than the final take. It featured a female protagonist described as "a tongue-twist sweet" who is encouraged to "hang around". The lyrics also included lines such as "she's a virgin, we're the Spiders From Mars" and "you're safe, we're the Spiders From Mars". Ultimately, the lyrics were reworked and the song was re-recorded on 11 November 1971 for the final version included on the album.

It has been suggested that "Hang On To Yourself" may have existed as "Get It On" as early as late 1970, a lyrical phrase appearing in the February 1971 demo of "Hang On To Yourself" found in the Ziggy box (notably, the phrase is absent from the Arnold Corns version later the same month). However, "Get It On" was not more than a musical idea in the form of a riff, but with no similarities to "Hang On To Yourself". Interestingly, Marc Bolan began composing the T. Rex hit "Get It On" in March 1971, highlighting that the "get it on" phrase was commonplace at the time.

Bowie created an acoustic guitar-based home demo of "Ziggy Stardust" in March 1971. The lyrics of the song, as noted in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! notebook, appeared to have been mostly solidified early on, with only a few minor modifications made later on. A part of an early lyric, as seen in the notebook (page 9), actually describes Ziggy as a "superstarman", with the word "star" crossed out to make Ziggy a "superman", rather than the "special man" portrayed in the final version.

"Lady Stardust" and "Stars"

Following the trio of "Moonage Daydream", "Ziggy Stardust" and "Hang On To Yourself", the next song for the Ziggy Stardust album was likely "Lady Stardust" which Bowie demoed at the Radio Luxembourg Studios on 9 March 1971. Additionally, "Star" in its earlier incarnation as "Stars", was captured on tape at the same studio around May 1971, as detailed in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set.

The original lyrics of "Lady Stardust" as shown in the Ziggy notebook (page 3) described the character as having blond hair, although this was crossed over, replaced with black hair. This suggests the song was not originally written with Marc Bolan in mind, as is often claimed. Furthermore, it is unlikely the song was ever titled "He's Alright" or "Song for Marc", contrary to claims made in various Bowie biographies. The notebook version only featured minor lyric differences compared to the final version. Lady Stardust singing songs of "rebels, kings and queens" was replaced with songs of "darkness and dismay" in the March 1971 demo take and "darkness and disgrace" (and "darkness and dismay") in the final Ziggy version.

"Stars"/"Star" was written from the perspective of someone aspiring to be a rock 'n' roll star, but many of the lyrics remained in flux as Bowie made numerous revisions to the song throughout 1971. The first verse of the original demo starts, "If someone had the sense to hear me, if someone had the time to see, I could tell them who they are, like rock 'n' roll stars" (indicating the title as "Stars" in plural form). Bowie shared his demo of the song with a group called Chameleon in connection with his performance at the Aylesbury Friars on 25 September 1971. The second verse of the original demo, starting, "Someone has to build the buildings and someone has to pull them down", became the first verse of the pre-Ziggy sessions Haddon Hall band rehearsal take included in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box. This rehearsal recording of the song featured a new second verse, which began, "Someone lit a cigarillo, someone's got to drive the cars". However, by early November, Bowie had rewritten some of the lyrics again. On the first day of recording for the Ziggy Stardust album on 8 November 1971, yet another iteration of "Star" was captured, beginning with the new lines, "Someone has to blow down Wall Street, someone has to kill the man". All three versions referred to making a "big-time noise as a rock 'n' roll star", a line which did not make the final cut. The 8 November version was ultimately discarded in favour of a partially different set of lyrics for the final album version, which was recorded just a few days later, 11 November 1971.

"Soul Love" and "Velvet Goldmine"

Throughout the summer of 1971, Bowie primarily concentrated on Hunky Dory, with recording sessions spanning from early July to early August. However, this period also saw the birth of "Soul Love" and "Velvet Goldmine", both of which were intended for the Ziggy project. "Soul Love" exists as a demo with Bowie accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, first released in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set. The early version contains few lyric differences from the final version on Ziggy Stardust. One difference, though, is that love is described as "selfish" in the demo whereas it is "careless" in the final version. The demo also features Bowie's ideas for the instrumental accompaniment and instructions to Mick Ronson regarding the arrangement of the song.

"Velvet Goldmine" was recorded during the Ziggy album sessions (a demo has not surfaced). The song was originally known as either "He's A Goldmine" or "She's A Goldmine", but it underwent lyrical adjustments as seen in the Ziggy Stardust notebook. Bowie initially revised the pronoun from "she" to "you" (page 4 of the notebook) but reverted to "he" (pages 9, 17 and 24), showcasing uncertainty regarding the gender.

"Velvet Goldmine" was originally slated for Ziggy Stardust, but it does not fit neatly within the album's broader narrative. Although the song is laden with innuendo, its focus is predominantly on the theme of love-making. The lyrics remained largely unchanged from the original draft, as seen in the Ziggy notebook, though some more explicit lines, like "you make it solid long", were toned down when the track was recorded during the Ziggy Stardust album sessions. Ultimately, the song was excluded from Ziggy, surfacing in 1975 on the reissue of the "Space Oddity" single. In a phone interview with Memphis radio station WMC-FM 100 in June 1972, Bowie called "Velvet Goldmine" a "lovely tune" but acknowledged that the lyrics were likely too provocative for the album.

The theme-based concept

Several pages of the notebook in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box offer intriguing insights into Bowie's original vision for the album. The seven songs mentioned here ("Moonage Daydream", "Hang On To Yourself", "Ziggy Stardust", "Soul Love", "Velvet Goldmine", "Lady Stardust" and "Stars"/"Star") were incorporated into a story chronicling the rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and his band, the Spiders From Mars. All the songs and ideas for songs were linked to a specific theme, e.g. "Bum", "Talent" and "Young". It is important to note that not all the song titles in the notebook may not represent completed recordings or even unfinished instrumentals. Many of these titles likely served as placeholders for songs that were intended to capture or convey specific themes.

The notebook (page 18) lists 10 themes connected with nine songs and one blank spot. Theme #1 is called "Intro" which is linked to "Ziggy Stardust". Theme #2 is "Bum band", linked to "Hang On To Yourself". Elsewhere this song is explained as "how he was a bum and the boys with him and knowing he was against the system" (page 14). The term "bum" serves as a double entendre that Bowie would likely have been aware of. At the time, "bum" was English slang for gay sex, while in American English, it referred to a tramp or hobo. Interestingly, Iggy of The Stooges wrote a song titled "Big Time Bum" in late 1970 which he performed with The Stooges during that period and on their tour in April-May 1971 (it does not exist as a studio recording).

Two pages (page 6-7) in the notebook feature song lyrics which could possibly be from an early version of "Hang On To Yourself" (albeit from later than the February 1971 Los Angeles and Arnold Corns takes). Lyrics include lines such as, "We're not executive material, we just ball and play. And our money won't talk, it'll bark. We're counting on you people just to dig it, just to make us. You're the blessed, we're the Spiders From Mars". The lyrics also state that "it's an avalanche plan from the Spiders From Mars", which is described as "backtown band", which was changed to a "bop town band". Although they differ from the final lyrics of "Hang On To Yourself", the lyrics do feature snippets that ended up in the final album version. The lyrics are written from a band (i.e. "we") point of view, which is in line with the "bum band" theme.

Theme #3, titled "Talent", is associated with "On The Game", which likely serves as a placeholder symbolising the theme of excellence. The phrase "on the game" is often used metaphorically to convey proficiency, but it also implies working as a prostitute. Additionally, it is elaborated elsewhere in the notebook how Ziggy shined and garnered adulation, money and respect (page 14), which likely alludes to the "Talent" theme. It remains uncertain whether this was ever recorded or what state of completion it may have reached. Still, if it had existed as something more substantial, it would likely have been copyrighted.

Theme #4 is "Hit Record" linked to "Moonage Daydream", with "Soul Love" being crossed over, creating ambiguity in the song's identity. The term "hit record" suggests a song that might have been portrayed as a success in Ziggy's career. Theme #5 is "Parents" but this is not associated with any song title. Theme #6 is called "Hip At Zips" connected with "Velvet Goldmine". Zipps may have been intended as a venue where Ziggy performed. This theory gains some support from other pages in the notebook with phrases such as "Down at Zipp's" (page 15), "Out-hipping Them At Zipps" (page 13) and "Zipps View", with "Goldmine" in brackets after the word (page 13).

Theme #7 is "Fans" linked to "Young" (page 18). Elsewhere Bowie has jotted down "Fans View" (page 15) and "Fans view" with "Young" in brackets (page 13), suggesting that this song was meant to portray Ziggy from the perspective of his young admirers. Other pages of the notebook mention the title "Young Man" (page 16) and "Young Love" (page 17), which may be the same as "Young". The title "Young" (or "Young Man" or "Young Love") has not previously been documented and is likely just a song idea or a placeholder for a song Bowie intended to write from the fans' viewpoint (the title has not been copyrighted).

Theme #8 is "Stage show" which is linked with "Soul Love", with "Moonage Daydream" being crossed over (page 18). Another page lists "Stage" and in brackets "Daydream" (page 13). It seems highly plausible that "Moonage Daydream" was envisioned as a performance piece by Ziggy, aligning with Bowie's occasional introduction of the song in live performances as "a song written by Ziggy".

Theme #9 is "Balled" which is connected with "Balled". This was Bowie's spelling variation of "Ballad", as seen in both the Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust notebooks. One interpretation could point to "Lady Stardust" as a possible candidate for this designation, considering it is a ballad that existed from early in the process of writing material for Ziggy Stardust.

Theme #10 is "New Band" which is linked to "Stars". Elsewhere this song is interconnected with the phrases "sensation" (page 13) and "the new sensation comes" (page 14). It appears that "Star/s" was intended to serve as the conclusion or climax of the Ziggy saga, possibly symbolising a fresh beginning for a character distinct from Ziggy or the Spiders From Mars.

In addition, a song (listed as number nine on page 13 in the notebook) concerns a "change of attitude". This seems connected with lines that elaborate on Ziggy's evolving stance towards the audience, "How his attitude to Joe Public changes and how fucked-up he comes on to the audience" (page 14). However, there is ambiguity regarding which song was meant to illustrate this transformation, even though it echoes aspects of the "Ziggy Stardust" song.

Moving away from the thematic approach

Sometime after completing Hunky Dory in August 1971, Bowie appears to have moved away from the original concept of a tightly woven narrative that linked themes like "Young", "Talent" and "Fans" with specific songs within the story of Ziggy Stardust. In the June 1972 phone interview with Memphis WMC-FM 100 radio, Bowie said, "It originally started as a concept album, but it kinda got broken up because I found other songs that I wanted to put in the album that wouldn't have fitted into the story of Ziggy. So it's a little fractured and a little fragmented".

"Five Years" and "Sweet Head" appear to have emerged after Bowie dropped the previous approach, where songs were crafted to represent or encapsulate specific themes. Both tracks likely took shape in the autumn of 1971, and while neither is explicitly referenced in the Ziggy Stardust notebook as aligning with any of the defined themes, they still make sense within the broader narrative of Ziggy Stardust.

The significance of "Five Years" was cleverly integrated into the Ziggy Stardust narrative. In the 1972 interview, Bowie explained, "So anyway what you have there on that album when it does finally come out is a story which doesn't really take place. It's just a few little scenes from the life of a band called Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars who could feasibly be the last band on Earth. It could be within the last five years of Earth; I'm not at all sure because I wrote it in such a way that I just dropped the numbers into the album in any order that they cropped up. It depends on which state you listen to it in".

"Sweet Head" could have seamlessly fitted into the Ziggy Stardust narrative, as it directly references Ziggy, calling him "Brother Ziggy", and is written from his first-person perspective, "I'm just about the best you can hear, gonna rock it in your head. Shazam and kapow, with my guitar and me soprano". Ziggy is portrayed as a "rubber peacock angelic whore", embodying both toughness and purity. He is "tough as glass and clean as night". Beyond the title track, which provides a third-person impression of Ziggy, no other song mentions Ziggy by name, although "Hang On To Yourself" does refer to the Spiders From Mars. The omission of "Sweet Head" has been commonly linked to its risqué lyrics, though there may have been additional considerations that Bowie has never discussed. For example, he might have considered the song's lyrics to be too detailed and specific, recognising that it would be better to let the audience use its imagination to create their own impression of Ziggy. Allegedly, Bowie hesitated to include the song on the 1990 Ryko box set, when it was ultimately unearthed for official release.

Album recording sessions

The recording sessions for Ziggy Stardust began at Trident Studios in London on Monday 8 November 1971 with the recordings of "Stars" and "Hang On To Yourself", both in their earlier incarnations featuring many lyric differences from the final versions. Bowie did not seem pleased with the results because both versions were scrapped. However, these versions of "Stars" and "Hang On To Yourself" were included on the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set in 2024.

Bowie was back with the Spiders later the same week, Thursday 11 November, to re-record "Stars" and "Hang On To Yourself" from scratch with partially new lyrics. The groupie theme of "Hang On To Yourself" was toned down and "Stars" became "Star" with a more distinct focus on the protagonist's desire to play the part of a rock star (the song momentarily became "Rock 'N' Roll Star", for example on the album configuration that was assembled on 3 December 1971, but it was "Star" on the final album).

The same day, 11 November, also saw the recording of the basic tracks of four further songs, "Velvet Goldmine", "Looking For A Friend", "Sweet Head" and "Ziggy Stardust", the latter being the only one that made Ziggy Stardust. The Ziggy take on "Looking For A Friend" had not been released before the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set in 2024.

The next day, Friday 12 November, was just as busy, with Bowie and the Spiders starting work on three tracks that were released on Ziggy Stardust, "Lady Stardust", "Moonage Daydream" and "Soul Love". In addition, they re-recorded "The Supermen" from The Man Who Sold The World. "The Supermen" was later released on the 1972 triple album The Glastonbury Fayre. Although "The Supermen" did not make it onto Ziggy Stardust, it was frequently performed live during concerts in 1972.

A week into the recording sessions, Bowie and the Spiders returned to Trident Studios on Monday 15 November to record the old Chuck Berry song "Round and Round" (originally titled "Around And Around") and "Holy Holy". Neither track made the final cut for Ziggy Stardust, but both were later released as B-sides. "Round And Round" appeared on the flip side of "Drive-In Saturday" in 1973, while the Ziggy version of "Holy Holy" was paired with "Diamond Dogs" in 1974.

The final basic track recording session for the album took place on Thursday 25 November, when "Five Years", "Shadow Man", and "It's Gonna Rain Again" were committed to tape. While "Five Years" became the opening track of Ziggy Stardust, the other two tracks recorded that day were left off the album, only to be unearthed in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set in 2024. Overdubbing continued for a few more days, but this batch of recording sessions for Ziggy Stardust was wrapped up within three weeks.

Ziggy configurations

The Ziggy Stardust album track listing underwent several changes as songs were replaced or switched places although the bulk of the album remained the same throughout this process. The Ziggy Stardust student notebook provides some information about the process of selecting the tracks to be included on the Ziggy Stardust album. As seen in the notebook (page 31), Bowie had initially designated 10 songs for the album: "Five Years"; "Round And Round"; "Moonage Daydream"; "Stars"; "Ziggy Stardust"; "Lady Stardust"; "Hang On To Yourself"; "Velvet Goldmine"; "Soul Love"; "Holy Holy".

Of the 10 songs Bowie initially shortlisted for Ziggy Stardust, "Round And Round", "Velvet Goldmine" and "Holy Holy" did not make the final cut. In the June 1972 interview with WMC-FM 100, Bowie explained that while "Round And Round" would have been "the perfect kind of number that Ziggy would have done onstage", he ultimately dropped it. He felt it was more of a nostalgic studio jam, saying, "the enthusiasm of the jam probably waned after we'd heard the track a few times". However, the song became a staple of the Ziggy live shows, often played as part of the encores. Bowie has not elaborated on why "Holy Holy" was left off, though it is likely because an earlier version of the track had already been released as a single in 1971.

Next to Bowie's list of 10 songs intended for the Ziggy album is (most likely) Ken Scott's selection, featuring 11 tracks he shortlisted for the album (page 31). Scott's list includes the same 10 songs as Bowie's, though in a slightly different order, and adds the Jacques Brel song "Amsterdam", a track that ultimately did not make the final cut. The song had been recorded during the Hunky Dory sessions earlier in 1971. It is noteworthy that "Star"/"Rock 'n' Roll Star" was still referred to as "Stars" in the set lists by Bowie and Scott, showing that their lists preceded the November 1971 album recording sessions.

The 11 songs proposed by Scott were the same as the 11-track configuration of the Ziggy Stardust album that was assembled on a tape reel on 3 December 1971. This tape included on side one of an LP: "Five Years"; "Rock 'N' Roll Star"; "Moonage Daydream"; "Round And Round"; "Amsterdam". On side two: "Hang On To Yourself"; "Ziggy Stardust"; "Velvet Goldmine"; "Holy Holy"; "Soul Love"; "Lady Stardust". It is noteworthy that "Stars" now was re-titled "Rock 'N' Roll Star" as the song had been re-recorded after the "Stars" version was scrapped.

On 15 December 1971 a master tape of the album was compiled, containing the same 11 tracks but with "Soul Love" and "Rock 'N' Roll Star" switching places and the latter now having its title shortened to "Star". Side one of an LP thus included: "Five Years"; "Soul Love"; "Moonage Daydream"; "Round And Round"; "Amsterdam". Side two: "Hang On To Yourself"; "Ziggy Stardust"; "Velvet Goldmine"; "Holy Holy"; "Star"; "Lady Stardust". It has been speculated that this configuration was intended to be titled Round And Round, but such claims are purely conjectural. This theory is contradicted by the evidence in the Ziggy notebook, which contains Bowie's cover draft and the proposed title Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. The 15 December 1971 configuration of the album was released in 2024 as Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth).

Considering Bowie's astonishing songwriting creativity during this period, the plan to include two covers, "Amsterdam" and "Round And Round", and use a re-recorded version of the already released "Holy Holy" is somewhat surprising. While Bowie envisioned "Round And Round" as a fitting number for Ziggy to perform on stage, "Amsterdam" may seem less aligned with the Ziggy concept. It is possible that "Amsterdam" could have been designated as a solo performance piece for Ziggy. Connecting "Holy Holy" to the Ziggy saga may have posed similar challenges, although it might be possible to interpret certain lyrics as relating to an insistent groupie ("hold on to anyone, hold on to anyone, but let go of me"), creating a tenuous association with "Suffragette City" and "Hang On To Yourself".

The Ziggy Stardust project paused after the 15 December 1971 master tape was assembled, before resuming sessions in February 1972 when Bowie and the Spiders went into Trident Studios to lay down two additional tracks for the album, "Suffragette City" and "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide". They were placed on a new configuration of the album and the Hunky Dory leftover "It Ain't Easy" took the place of "Amsterdam". The album was now, early February 1972, beginning to resemble the final version although "Round And Round" was still included. Side one included: "Five Years"; "Soul Love"; "Moonage Daydream"; "Round And Round"; "It Ain't Easy". Side two: "Lady Stardust"; "Star"; "Hang On To Yourself"; "Ziggy Stardust"; "Suffragette City"; "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide".

However, the album was still not considered final, as RCA's Dennis Katz requested a track that could serve as a potential single. In response, Bowie delivered "Starman", which ultimately replaced "Round And Round". A final master tape was created on 9 February 1972, marking the completion of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

Leftovers

The result of this fertile period of intense dedication to songwriting and recording was not only Ziggy Stardust and its predecessor Hunky Dory, but also a trove of unreleased material that could have spawned several additional records, along with a wealth of music and lyric ideas that would be incorporated into his future work. The Ziggy Stardust recording sessions yielded eight songs that were left off the album (not counting the discarded versions of "Stars" and "Hang On To Yourself"): "Sweet Head"; "Velvet Goldmine"; "Round And Round"; "Holy Holy"; "The Supermen"; "It's Gonna Rain Again"; "Shadow Man"; "Looking For A Friend". The Ziggy notebook features a list of leftover songs recorded during this period (page 31) that also includes "Bombers" and "Amsterdam", both from the Hunky Dory sessions. It is noteworthy that this notebook list also mentions "Young" and "Breakdown", implying the possibility of the existence of recordings of these two previously unknown Ziggy-era songs, although they are likely not fully developed or completed songs since they have not been copyrighted.

In addition to these Ziggy leftovers, a song titled "Only One Paper Left" is believed to have been started but not finished during the November 1971 Ziggy Stardust sessions. However, there is no mention of the title or lyrics in the notebook in the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set. The book that was part of the set states that the song was left unfinished as an instrumental piece. The song was copyrighted in 2023, attributed to "BRBW Arachnid Band", which likely is an acronym for Bowie Ronson Bolder Woodmansey, with Arachnid being the Spiders. The song was attempted (without vocals) by Hype in August 1970, with Tony Visconti producing, after Bowie had left the group.

The tantalisingly titled "Blackhole Kids" has also been mentioned as an unfinished track from the Ziggy Stardust period. However, the title is curiously absent from the Rock 'N' Roll Star! box set notebook and accompanying book. Bowie revealed the title in 1999 as a potential song for the project he was immersed in at the time, sparking intrigue surrounding its whereabouts, "I'm going to include an old song called 'Blackhole Kids', which is fabulous. I have no idea why it wasn't on the original album. Maybe I forgot". In 2000, he further elaborated, "I've pulled out a good deal of scraps that were never used at the time. Some of them are only 30 seconds long, but I'm extending those. I thought, 'OK, is this crap and is that the reason why it never appeared on the first one or is it OK and should I try and do things with it?' So I've taken those six tracks and thrashed them out and made them into songs that will support the original. One's called the 'Blackhole Kids' which is fascinating".

It is questionable whether "Blackhole Kids" originated during the 1971-72 Ziggy project era. Instead, it seems more likely that the song was created in autumn 1973, coinciding with Bowie's additional work for a theatrical adaptation of the Ziggy story (for which both "Rebel Rebel" and "Rock 'N' Roll With Me" supposedly were intended). He provided a comprehensive and detailed "blackhole" narrative in the 17 November 1973 conversation with William Burroughs, published in Rolling Stone in February 1974.

In the discussion with Burroughs, Bowie explained that the end of Ziggy would be with the arrival of "The Infinites". He elaborated, "They really are a black hole, but I've made them people because it would be very hard to explain a black hole onstage. 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. 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. Now Ziggy starts to believe in all this himself and thinks himself a prophet of the future starman. He takes himself up to incredible spiritual heights and is kept alive by his disciples. When the infinites arrive, they take bits of Ziggy to make themselves real because in their original state they are anti-matter and cannot exist on our world. And they tear him to pieces onstage during the song 'Rock and Roll Suicide.'"

The interpretation of the Ziggy story involving a science fiction-inspired narrative appears to have been concocted retroactively, as there are no mentions of such themes in the Ziggy notebook. Additionally, Bowie did not allude to any of these concepts during the 1972 WMC FM100 radio interview where he discussed the album. Rather, Bowie's enthusiasm for the "black hole" narrative in the Rolling Stone interview implies that it was a project he was immersed in at the time. He enhanced the Ziggy story by adding depth and detail to the initially quite vague story. Like many creative artists, Bowie was particularly passionate about his then-current work as it represented his latest expression of interests and ideas. Therefore, it is likely that "Blackhole Kids" was part of his late 1973 work, rather than stemming from the original Ziggy sessions. It could have been one of the six remaining "scraps" he mentioned in 2000.

Ziggy and Hunky

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars was conceived, written and recorded largely in parallel with Hunky Dory. While there was some overlap between the two albums, it remained limited. Notably, the Hunky Dory outtake "It Ain't Easy" found its way onto Ziggy Stardust, replacing another leftover track from Hunky Dory, "Amsterdam". Despite these overlaps, Bowie appeared to have a clear sense of which songs belonged on each album. For instance, a piano-led ballad like "Lady Stardust" could have fitted on Hunky Dory, but its lyrics unmistakably anchor it within the Ziggy Stardust narrative. Conversely, the guitar-driven "Queen Bitch" would not have felt out of place on Ziggy Stardust, though its lyrics might not have fully aligned with the Ziggy storyline.

Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust share certain similarities but also reveal notable differences. While the former presents a collection of diverse, standalone songs without an overarching theme, its eclecticism is one of its greatest strengths. Hunky Dory is more personal and introspective than Ziggy, highlighting a softer, reflective side of Bowie. Ziggy Stardust, on the other hand, is conceptually focused on the rise and fall of the fictional rock star Ziggy, creating a more theatrical and dramatic experience. Where Hunky Dory shines in its variety and introspection, Ziggy Stardust is defined by its cohesion and sense of storytelling, making the two albums distinct yet complementary facets of Bowie's artistic range.

Musically, Hunky Dory is more acoustic-driven, featuring piano-centric tracks like "Changes", "Oh! You Pretty Things" and "Life On Mars?", along with acoustic guitar-led songs such as "Kooks", "Andy Warhol", "The Bewlay Brothers" and "Quicksand". In contrast, Ziggy Stardust seemed tailor-made for live performance, offering a collection of tighter, more energetic tracks, many driven by electric guitars and highlighted by Bowie's impassioned vocals which infuse a great sense of drama into songs like "Five Years", "Soul Love" and "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide".

Although Hunky Dory initially garnered widespread critical acclaim, its commercial impact was modest at first. Over time, however, its reputation has significantly grown. In contrast, Ziggy Stardust, amplified by Bowie's electrifying live performances and his embodiment of the Ziggy character, transformed him into an overnight cultural phenomenon. The album swiftly catapulted him to superstardom after nearly a decade of refining his craft as both a songwriter and performer. With Ziggy Stardust, both the character and the music captured the imagination of a far broader audience than Bowie had ever reached before. At last, his moment in the spotlight had truly arrived.