# So, what was the deal with Ziggy Stardust? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637 "2003-04-18T21:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/1 "2003-04-18T21:16:33Z")
As a longtime rock geek I am of course familiar with Bowie’s _RIse and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_ album and have read a bit about it on some fansites, but I must admit to being rather puzzled by the whole thing. Everything I’ve ever heard about it refers to the Ziggy character as an alien rock ‘n’ roll messiah, but I can’t see that he has any particular message for the people of earth. Although the first song announces that the earth will end in “Five Years”, this is not mentioned again and Ziggy does not seem to have any heroic plan to save the world, or even an awareness of what is going on. As best as I can tell from the lyrics, he’s just another rock star who becomes very popular and then dies. I did come across one quote from Bowie suggesting that Ziggy was just a big liar who tricked people into thinking he had something special going so they’d follow him, but considering how popular this album was upon its release I can’t help but feel that those who bought it must have thought there was _some_ kind of deeper meaning behind it. I’m willing to believe that these people were just stupid (stupidity is always a good explanation), but I still don’t know where they got the idea that Ziggy Stardust was some kind of messianic figure. I just don’t seem to be anything in the text to support this reading. Can anyone explain this to me, or is it just one of those Seventies things you kind of had to be there for? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/2 "2003-04-19T18:04:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > **considering how popular this album was upon its release I can’t help but feel that those who bought it must have thought there was _some_ kind of deeper meaning behind it. I’m willing to believe that these people were just stupid (stupidity is always a good explanation), but I still don’t know where they got the idea that Ziggy Stardust was some kind of messianic figure.** To clarify, I don’t mean to suggest that anyone who liked the album is stupid – there are at least four great songs on it, maybe more depending on your personal tastes. Nor do I seriously think that anyone who saw some deep meaning in it is stupid, I just don’t understand it. I’m feeling like _I’m_ the stupid one for not getting it, but as I said, I missed the Seventies and maybe you just had to be there. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/3 "2003-04-19T18:10:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > **considering how popular this album was upon its release I can’t help but feel that those who bought it must have thought there was _some_ kind of deeper meaning behind it. I’m willing to believe that these people were just stupid (stupidity is always a good explanation), but I still don’t know where they got the idea that Ziggy Stardust was some kind of messianic figure.** To clarify, I don’t mean to suggest that anyone who liked the album is stupid – there are at least four great songs on it, maybe more depending on your personal tastes. Nor do I seriously think that anyone who saw some deep meaning in it is stupid, I just don’t understand it. I’m feeling like _I’m_ the stupid one for not getting it, but as I said, I missed the Seventies and maybe you just had to be there. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/4 "2003-04-19T18:25:41Z")
It’s very simple you see Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly, the spiders from Mars. He played it left hand but made it too far, became the special man, then we were Ziggy’s band. Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo like some cat from Japan. He could lick 'em by smiling, he could leave 'em to hang, came on so loaded man, well hung and snow white tan. So where were the spiders while the fly tried to break our balls? Just the beer light to guide us, so we bitched about his fans and should we crush his sweet hands? Ziggy played for time, jiving us that we were voodoo, the kids were just crass, he was the nazz with God given ass. He took it all too far but boy could he play guitar, making love with his ego Ziggy sucked up into his mind like a leper messiah. When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band. All clear now? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/5 "2003-04-19T18:39:10Z")
Yes, **astro** , I know the song. I know the Bauhaus cover too, and even the Nina Hagen one, which is possibly the single worst cover of any song by any artist in recording history. If that were enough to clear up my confusion, I wouldn’t have posted. ---
**Author:** ![aka\_10003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@aka\_10003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aka_10003)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/6 "2003-04-19T18:54:37Z")
As someone who was at awe with Bowie in the 70’s I can tell you that indeed, “you had to be there.” My fascination with DB had less to do with a coherent vision than with the excitement over his artistic choices. He was glitzy, showy, sexually ambiguous, musically inventive, talking of space, doom and suffragettes. Oh, the drama. In short, it was about stretching the imagination. And that has a lot to do with timing. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/7 "2003-04-19T23:24:20Z")
Lamia…hae you read astro’s post? i think that he has a good take on it. also, if you check out bauhaus’ version and the cover by nina hagen you will find it much more clear. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/8 "2003-04-19T23:36:33Z")
Thank you, **handsomeharry** , I’ll have to do that. I hear that Nina Hagen cover is great, too – better than the original. (Thanks to **aka\_10003** too for attempting a serious answer.) ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/9 "2003-04-21T04:41:36Z")
**Lamia** , this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=146808&highlight=Ziggy) died a quick death, but I puzzled it out to my own satisfaction, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/10 "2003-04-21T14:45:15Z")
“Ziggy played guitar” That’s pretty much the whole message. My take was Bowie realized enough style could conceal a lack of content. So he created a persona full of style and said the character had an important message. Fans were so caught up in the music they didn’t notice the lack of the actual message. Which was the message. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-deal-with-ziggy-stardust/169637/11 "2003-04-21T16:08:31Z")
Ah, so it’s postmodernism. I should have known!