On the origins of Ziggy Stardust


Bowie's 30 year career has spanned a bewildering variety of incarnations. Each one signalling a change in personal musical direction. The tormented Aladdin Sane. The elegant, but icy, Thin White Duke. The artist of the avant garde. And the first, and most spectacular--alien superstar Ziggy Stardust.


Yentob: I mean, where did Ziggy come from? In terms of...you know...I know we've heard that people know alot about Ziggy, but where was...Was there an actual character or anything at all that actually drew that portrayal out of you?

Bowie: Oddly enough, it's actually based on a real person. There was an American rock singer. I guess he would have come out of the late 50's...late 50's early 60's, called Vince Taylor. Who possibley...well, I met him a few times in the mid 60's. In fact, went to quite a few parties with him. Vince Taylor was trying to make his way in Britain. He couldn't crack the states. He was a sort of real seedless character. So he decided to try and do it in England. And he was out of his gourd. Totally flipped. I mean, the guy was not playing at a full deck, at all. And he used to carry maps of Europe around with him. And I remember very distinctly, him opening a map out on Cherry Cross Rd. outside the tube station, and putting it down on the pavement, and kneeling down with a magnifying glass-and I got down there with him-and he was pointing out all the places where UFO's were going to be landing over the next few months. And he had a firm conviction that there was a very strong connection between himself, aliens, and Jesus Christ. Those are the 3 elements that went into his make up and drove him. He basically went to France and became a huge rock star. And one night he decided he'd had enough. So he came out on stage in white robes, and said that the whole thing about rock had been a lie, and that, in fact, he was Jesus Christ. And it was the end of Vince, his career, and everything else. And it was that and his story which really became one of the essential ingredients of Ziggy and his world view.

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