On the song "Life on Mars"

From the beginning Bowie was attracted to outsiders. To the displaced. Whether lost in space, or sexually ambiguous, or just lonely. Like the girl in his classic "Life on Mars"

Yentob: She may be an ordinary girl sitting in the cinema, but isn't she as alienated as any of your other characters?

Bowie: I think she finds herself let down. I think she finds herself disappointed by reality. I think she sees that ...although she's living in the doldrums of reality, she's being told that there's a far greater life--somewhere, and she's bitterly diappointed that she doesn't have access to it. It's, you know, very hard to think back to one's state of mind...what is it?...30...25 years ago. I understand it...Now I feel...I guess I would feel sorry for her now. I think I had empathy with her at the time. That's probably the difference.

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