David Bowie and The Spiders From Mars Songstories

Ziggy Stardust is a character Bowie created with the help of his wife, Angela. He performed as Ziggy for about a year.
Iggy Pop (note the name: zIGGY), Lou Reed, Marc Bolan and Jimi Hendrix ("He played it left hand, but made it too far"), were all likely influences on the character Ziggy Stardust, but the only musician Bowie admits was a direct influence is Vince Taylor, an English singer who took the Rock Star persona to the extreme, calling himself Mateus and declaring himself the son of God. Bowie met him in 1966, after his popularity had faded.
Bowie based the clothes, hair, and makeup of Ziggy Stardust on the Malcom McDowell character in A Clockwork Orange, and on William Burroughs book Wild Boys.
Bowie said that this song is "about the ultimate rock superstar destroyed by the fanaticism he creates."
"Weird and Gilly" were two of Bowie's band mates in The Spiders From Mars: bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Woody Woodmansey.
This song was a major influence on "Glam Rock" bands like T-Rex and Suede. "Glam Rock" was characterized by outrageous costumes, flamboyant stage antics, and sexual ambiguity.
For years Bowie would not look at tapes of himself performing as Ziggy Stardust. When he finally did, he thought they were hilarious.
The album showed Bowie on the cover as Ziggy Stardust with one foot in a dustbin outside a building. Fans used to send him pictures of themselves recreating the scene at the spot where it was photographed.
While doing an interview in character as Ziggy Stardust, Bowie admitted he was gay. This gave him a great deal of publicity, even though it was not entirely true. Bowie is married to model Iman.
On July 3, 1973, Bowie did his last show as Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The show was made into a movie directed by D.A. Pennebaker called Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. It was released on DVD in 2003.
Bauhaus recorded a version of this song in 1982 that hit #15 in the UK. The song has also been recorded by Def Leppard, Nina Hagen and Hootie And The Blowfish.
A live version was left off some copies of his 3-CD set Bowie At The Beeb due to a production error. Bowie made the track available for download to fans who did not get it on the album.
This never charted because it was not released as a single.
There is a plaque outside the pub in London where Bowie created the Ziggy Stardust character. Bowie performed there when it was The Three Tuns. It is now called The Rat And Parrot.
In a poll by Out.com The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars was voted the gayest album of all time. A panel of "gay experts" including Boy George, Rufus Wainwright and Cyndi Lauper selected the hundred most homosexual albums of all time, with Bowie's set coming out on top of their list.