Ziggy Stardust
1972 This marks the
location of the cover photograph for the iconic David Bowie album "The Rise and Fall of
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."
On the 27th March 2012, The
Crown Estate - the business owners of Heddon Street - unveiled a
commemorative plaque to Ziggy Stardust at #23 Heddon Street, London W1B
4BQ, marking both the
40th anniversary year of the album, THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND
THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, and celebrating the spot from where the photograph on
the front cover of the album was taken.
The Ziggy Stardust commemorative plaque unveiling occurred at 9:00am
and festivities were hosted by The Crown Estate at the Hub, 10 Heddon
Street opposite number 23 where the original Ziggy Stardust cover shot
was taken.
As the plaque was not installed by English
Heritage or Westminster Council, it is coloured black, rather than the
traditional blue or green used to commemorate famous
landmarks and people. As such, it is one of a few plaques in London
given to date to mark a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes at 221b
Baker Street being the notable other.
Following several years
consultation with David Bowie's management company, the Crown Estate
decided to pay tribute to Ziggy, with his very own plaque.
David Shaw, head of the Regent Street
Portfolio for the Crown Estate: “Regent Street is famous for many
cultural firsts. Not only was the first British cinema opened in Regent
Street but the seminal album that launched Ziggy Stardust’s arrival on
planet earth had its spiritual home in Heddon Street which is now the
food quarter to Regent Street. Regent Street is proud of the association
with David Bowie, a true British cultural icon."
Gary Kemp at the unveiling.
Attending the unveiling were the
remaining Spiders: Mick Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder; artist &
illustrator Terry Pastor, who created the iconic album cover
design; and
Ziggy's record producer Ken Scott who had flown in from Los
Angeles for the event.
Also
attending was superfan
Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet guitarist) who made the unveiling speech:
"Thank you David and all who
have worked to make this possible at the Crown Estate.
It’s strange that I used to be
chased out of the street with my felt-tip pen for scrawling ‘Ziggy Woz
Here’ and now I’m unveiling a plaque. I guess the Ziggy Stardust
generation has really come of age.
On 13th January 1972, Ziggy
Stardust was first spotted here and snapped by photographer Brian Ward.
He was caught standing against this wall where we are now, underneath a
sign for a furrier’s, holding what looked like a guitar but could easily
have been a ray gun.
Ziggy appeared from the
shadows of a much darker London than the one we know now, certainly no
pedestrian walkways and alfresco dining; a much poorer, less glamorous
London, still in the shadow of the Second World War. And that’s the
important context.
He was the ultimate messianic
rock star, and with him David Bowie successfully blurred the lines not
just between boys and girls, but himself and his creation. Bowie was
Ziggy come to save us–and I bought him hook, eyeliner and haircut.
Looking back to what we can
now call the Golden age of Rock, this was a cultural highpoint of some
significance. The album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the
Spiders from Mars not only changed Bowie’s life forever, it also changed
mine, allowing a generation of adolescents to find an escape from the
ennui of existence and the hard times of the early seventies.
As a teenager any visit to the
West End would have to involve a pilgrimage to here. We’d stare at the
phone box that Ziggy had obviously teleported himself into, and then try
to fathom the meaning behind the K. West sign. K West? Yes, Quest! It
all made sense back then.
I believe that Ziggy is now
one of London’s great fictional characters and stands alongside the
likes of Dorian Gray and the Artful Dodger, as well as antiheroes such
as Steerpike and of course Clockwork Orange’s Alex.
But it seems right that it
should be the job of a fanboy, to have this honour; after all, Ziggy is
no longer actually with us, killed off by his creator in 1973. And as
for that creator, well he is currently nurturing his well-earned enigma
in New York. In any case, as Ziggy once sang: ‘He’d like to come and
meet us, but he thinks he’ll blow our minds.’
Before I unveil this I’d like to say how thrilled we are to have two of
the Spiders here, Woody Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder, and also Terry
Pastor whose hand tinting of the photograph added to its theatricality, giving it
the look of a film-noir setting. And also choosing Ziggy’s blond hair,
which added to his otherworldliness.
Can we also think of absent
heroes–Ziggy’s faithful lieutenant and my favourite guitarist of all
time, who rode shotgun throughout the album–Mick Ronson. And a special
mention to the beautiful Freddie Burretti who created the clothes that
Ziggy wore.
And finally, this plaque will
make sure that no one forgets exactly where Ziggy first arrived."
Heddon Street today looking
north (#23 is at the far left)
The
Companion
