Album
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Released on 16 June 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is David Bowie's fifth studio album. He co-produced it with Ken Scott at Trident Studios in London, with his band the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass and Mick Woodmansey on drums. It followed Hunky Dory and came ahead of Aladdin Sane, which Bowie called "Ziggy goes to America".
The record loosely tells of Ziggy, an androgynous, bisexual rock star sent to Earth as a saviour before disaster strikes, who is won over by fans and then undone by his own ego. Most of the concept took shape after the songs were recorded. The glam and proto-punk sound owes something to Marc Bolan, Iggy Pop and the Velvet Underground, while the lyrics pick at stardom, sexuality, politics and rock's artifice. Bowie's Top of the Pops performance of "Starman" that July sent him towards stardom, and the album is now a fixture on greatest-albums lists.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 38:29Tracklist
- 1Five YearsDavid Bowie4:42
- 2Soul LoveDavid Bowie3:34
- 3Moonage DaydreamDavid Bowie4:40
- 4StarmanDavid Bowie4:10
- 5It Ain’t EasyRon Davies2:58
- 6Lady StardustDavid Bowie3:22
- 7StarDavid Bowie2:47
- 8Hang On to YourselfDavid Bowie2:40
- 9Ziggy StardustDavid Bowie3:13
- 10Suffragette CityDavid Bowie3:25
- 11Rock ’n’ Roll SuicideDavid Bowie2:58
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Ken Scott
- Recorded at
- Trident Studios (London)
- Recorded
- *9July 1971 ("It Ain't Easy") *8November 19714February 1972
- Mixed at
- Trident Studios
- Engineered by
- Dennis MacKay, Ken Scott
- Label
- RCA Victor
- Length
- 38:29
Line-up
- Trevor Bolder · bass guitar
- David Bowie · 12 string guitar, lead vocals, saxophone, handclaps, background vocals, recorder
- Mick Ronson · piano, electric guitar, autoharp, background vocals, handclaps, synthesizer, acoustic guitar
- Mick Woodmansey · drums (drum set), percussion, tambourine, shakers
- Rick Wakeman · harpsichord · guest
- Dana Gillespie · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “Starman" / "Suffragette City” · 28 April 1972
- “Rock 'n' Roll Suicide” · 11 April 1974
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 5 |
| US Billboard 200 | 21 |
| US Billboard Vinyl Albums | 1 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · Week: 5/2019 | 2 |
| Spanish Albums (Promusicae) | 2 |
| UK Vinyl Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| US Catalog Albums | 3 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) · Week: 5/2019 | 5 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 6 |
| Portuguese Albums · Week: 5/2019 | 7 |
All 32 charts
| Hungarian Albums · Week: 5/2019 | 9 |
| Australia (Go-Set) | 10 |
| German Albums · Week: 5/2019 | 12 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 17 |
| Swedish Albums | 19 |
| Ireland 2 | 20 |
| New Zealand Albums | 20 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 21 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) | 21 |
| Swiss Albums | 21 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · Week: 5/2019 | 28 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI) | 32 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) | 32 |
| scope='row'|Hungarian Albums(MAHASZ) | 33 |
| Austrian Albums | 34 |
| Danish Albums | 40 |
| French Albums | 45 |
| Finnish Albums | 46 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) | 59 |
| Dutch Albums | 61 |
| US Billboard Top LPs & Tape | 75 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Denmark · 2023 | Gold |
| Italy · 2022 | Platinum |
| New Zealand · 2026 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1982 | 2× Platinum |
| United States · 1974 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
97.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
16k
ListenBrainz listeners
389k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
106k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 16 June
Every year →
More from David Bowie
Full discography →
David Bowie
1967
David Bowie
1969
The World of David Bowie
1970
The Man Who Sold the World
1970
Hunky Dory
1971
Do Anything You Say
1972
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
1973
Images 1966–1967
1973
Aladdin Sane
1973
Pin Ups
1973
Diamond Dogs
1974
David Live
1974
Young Americans
1975
Station to Station
1976
ChangesOneBowie
1976
Low
1977
“Heroes”
1977
David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
1978
Stage
1978
Lodger
1979
David Bowie
1980
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
1980
The Best of Bowie
1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1981
ChangesTwoBowie
1981
In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal
1982
Rare
1982
Supergroups
1983
Serious Moonlight
1983
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1983
Let’s Dance
1983
Golden Years
1983
Fame and Fashion (David Bowie’s All Time Greatest Hits)
1984
Love You Till Tuesday
1984
Tonight
1984
Labyrinth: From the Original Soundtrack of the Jim Henson Film
1986
Never Let Me Down
1987
Glass Spider
1988
Sound + Vision
1989
Changesbowie
1990
Early On (1964–1966)
1991
Black Tie White Noise
1993
The Singles Collection
1993
The Buddha of Suburbia
1993
Live Santa Monica ’72
1994
RarestOneBowie
1995
1.Outside: The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle
1995
Earthling
1997
The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979
1998
‘hours…’
1999
Liveandwell.com
2000
Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68–72
2000
All Saints (Collected Instrumentals 1977–1999)
2001
Heathen
2002
Best of Bowie
2002
Reality
2003
Club Bowie: Rare and Unreleased 12″ Mixes
2003
Live EP (live at Fashion Rocks)
2005
The Collection
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Bowie 1965!
2006
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
2007
Outside / Earthling / Hours / Heathen / Reality
2007
iSELECT
2008
VH1 Storytellers
2009
Space Oddity
2009
A Reality Tour
2010
The Next Day
2013
Pin-Ups Radio Show
2013
The Next Day Extra EP
2013
Nothing has changed.
2014
Five Years 1969–1973
2015
★
2016
Who Can I Be Now? 1974–1976
2016
Lazarus
2016
Legacy
2016
No Plan
2017
Live Nassau Coliseum ’76
2017
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74)
2017
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
2017
Welcome to the Blackout (live London ’78)
2018
Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
2018
Glastonbury 2000
2018
Conversation Piece
2019
Is It Any Wonder?
2020
ChangesNowBowie
2020
I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
2020
The Width of a Circle
2021
Toy
2021
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
2021
Brilliant Adventure EP
2022
Toy E.P.
2022
Fun Mix
2022
Moonage Daydream: A Film by Brett Morgen
2022
Divine Symmetry
2022
Rock ’n’ Roll Star!
2024
Ready, Set, Go! (live, Riverside Studios ’03)
2025
I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002–2016)
2025
The Shel Talmy Recordings
2026
The best of 1972
All of 1972 →
The Rolling Stones / Curved Air / Fanny
The Rolling Stones · 1972
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Congratulations
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Acoustically
Led Zeppelin · 1972
Exile on Main Street
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Do Anything You Say
David Bowie · 1972
Machine Head
Deep Purple · 1972
Exile on Main St.
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Obscured by Clouds
Pink Floyd · 1972
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Vol 4
Black Sabbath · 1972
Never Before
Deep Purple · 1972
More on RCA Victor
The label →Aladdin Sane
David Bowie · 1973
Station to Station
David Bowie · 1976
Taken by Force
Scorpions · 1977
In Trance
Scorpions · 1975
Fly to the Rainbow
Scorpions · 1974
Stage
David Bowie · 1978
ChangesOneBowie
David Bowie · 1976
David Bowie
David Bowie · 1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
David Bowie · 1981
All Bright Electric
Feeder · 2016
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1972-06-16; musicbrainz + wikidata 1972-06-06 (10 days apart, likely another territory)
Wikipedia's note: Several sources indicate a release date of 6 June 1972. In 2015, Bowie's official website discovered a contemporaneous letter from an RCA manager indicating the release date was 16June.
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 6 June 1972 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 16 June 1972 | see Wikipedia note |
| Wikidata | 6 June 1972 | |
| US release | 6 June 1972 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 16 June 1972 | earliest UK or European date |
60 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | EMI | other | |
| — | CA | Rykodisc | other | |
| 1972 | GB | RCA Victor | other | |
| 1972 | DE | RCA Victor | other | |
| 1972 | US | RCA Victor | other | |
| June 1972 | CA | RCA Victor | other | |
| 6 June 1972 | US | RCA Victor | original | |
| 16 June 1972 | GB | RCA | other | |
| 1977 | US | RCA Victor | other | |
| 1980 | US | RCA Victor | other | |
| 1981 | IT | RCA | other | |
| June 1981 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | other | |
| 1983 | XE | RCA International | 0035628384317 | other |
| October 1984 | US | RCA | 078635470222 | other |
| October 1984 | XE | RCA | 0035628470225 | other |
| 15 May 1986 | JP | RCA | 498801700731 | other |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | 014431013416 | remaster |
| 1990 | GB | — | 0077779440023 | other |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | other | |
| 1990 | GB | EMI | 0077779440023 | other |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | remaster | |
| 1990 | XE | EMI | 0077779440009 | deluxe |
| 1990 | XE | EMI | 0077779440023 | other |
| 1990 | XE | EMI | 0077779440009 | other |
| 6 June 1990 | US | Rykodisc | remaster | |
| 24 April 1996 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006717770 | other |
| 2 July 1996 | CA | Rykodisc | 014431813429 | other |
| 1999 | AU | EMI | 724352190003 | other |
| 6 September 1999 | GB | EMI | 0724352190003 | other |
| 28 September 1999 | US | Virgin | 724352190003 | other |
| 29 September 1999 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006775091 | other |
| 8 July 2002 | GB | EMI | 724353982621 | deluxe |
| 10 July 2002 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006802834 | deluxe |
| 16 July 2002 | US | Virgin Records America, Inc. | 724353982621 | deluxe |
| 30 August 2002 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006802834 | deluxe |
| 23 September 2003 | XE | EMI | 724352190027 | other |
| 6 July 2005 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006831742 | other |
| 10 January 2007 | JP | EMI | 4988006849808 | other |
| 28 October 2009 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006875999 | other |
| 2012 | XW | Parlophone | 0825646284030 | other |
| June 2012 | XE | EMI | 5099946361417 | deluxe |
| June 2012 | AU | EMI | 5099946361325 | other |
| 4 June 2012 | XW | Parlophone | 825646288250 | other |
| 4 June 2012 | XE | EMI | 5099946361325 | remaster |
| 6 June 2012 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006895171 | remaster |
| 2015 | XE | Parlophone | 0825646283415 | remaster |
| 2015 | US | Parlophone | 825646283415 | remaster |
| 2015 | ZA | Parlophone | 6009705521647 | other |
| 27 November 2015 | XW | Parlophone | 825646284030 | other |
| 27 November 2015 | XW | Parlophone | 825646284054 | other |
| 27 November 2015 | XW | Parlophone | 825646124206 | remaster |
| 26 February 2016 | XE | Parlophone | 0825646287376 | other |
| 16 June 2017 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295833930 | remaster |
| 17 June 2022 | XW | Parlophone | 0190296459573 | other |
| 17 June 2022 | — | — | 0190296314353 | deluxe |
| 2023 | GB | Parlophone | 5054197591839 | other |
| 2024 | XE | Parlophone | 0825646287376 | other |
| 20 April 2024 | — | Parlophone | 5054197604454 | other |
| 6 September 2024 | XW | Parlophone | 5021732238757 | other |
| — | — | Rykodisc | 014431013423 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 1408×1399 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |