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The Ziggy Stardust
Encyclopaedia

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Zanetta, (Zee) Anthony/Tony: Member of Andy Warhol's underground play Pork (he played Warhol) who joined the MainMan organisation and later became its President. He was Bowie's personal assistant in 1972 and 1973. He was nicknamed "Big Z" to distinguish himself from "Little Z" (Zowie Bowie).

Ziggy emblem: The stylised backward "Z" - similar to a lightning bolt - which was used reversed and projected as the flickering backdrop at Ziggy Stardust concerts. In its different forms the symbol could be interpreted as either a "Z" for Ziggy, an "S" for Stardust or alternately as a lightning-bolt.  Some saw the connotations as more sinister and similar to the Nazi SS symbol.

"The flash on the original Ziggy set was taken from the "high voltage" sign that was stuck on any box containing dangerous volts of electricity.  I was not a little peeved when Kiss purloined it.  Purloining, after all, was my job" - Bowie

Ziggy lightning flash: The lightning bolt which first appeared on Bowie's face for Aladdin Sane. 

Ziggy Stardust: Character and alter ego adopted by Bowie both on-stage and increasingly in real life until Bowie "killed" the character by retiring him on 3 July 1973. Ziggy Stardust - the character - was a fictional alien rock superstar who came to Earth five years before its predicted end. His story is the subject of THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1972).

"Ziggy Stardust" (Bowie): Song on THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1972).

ZIGGY STARDUST (one track video): 1994 promo-only video (TMV label) edited by Mark Coker that was included with the limited edition Santa Monica '72 Concert Box (Griffin - GCD 385-0). The 3 minute 17 second video, which was premiered on the ITV Chart Show on 16th April 1994, used previously unseen Ziggy footage from a silent film made at the Dunstable, England concert on 21 June 1972, combined with sound from the Santa Monica concert.

ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS "LIVE" (1995): A Belgian SBM Gold disc of the Ziggy Stardust concert on 20th October 1972 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles. Basically the same as SANTA MONICA '72 (1994) but with one extra track of radio patter at the end.

Ziggy Stardust Booklet: A Rykodisc 72-page commemorative booklet on THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1972) included in the Limited Edition CD package. The liner notes state that it is available for purchase for $5.00 from Rykodisc, 200 N, 3rd Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55401 Dept: Z.

Ziggy Stardust Cocktail, The: A bright green-coloured cocktail invented by management at the Top Rank Suite, Hanley to mark Bowie's appearance there on 7 September 1972. The ingredients were advocaat, pernod, creme-de-menthe and lime.

Ziggy Stardust Dolls: Bowie marketing merchandise idea envisaged by Tony DeFries but which never eventuated. The idea was to have mechanical Ziggy Stardust dolls with red hair that sang "Wham Bam Thank-You Ma'am." Other marketing ideas, which came to nothing, were Ziggy jump-suits and Ziggy red boots.

Ziggy Stardust Show, The: A musical which never eventuated. In 1971 Bowie first conceived of Ziggy Stardust as a vehicle for a West-End type show. The album would be his rock opera and score for a stage production. It is rumoured that Bowie had five extra songs written for this show, in addition to those already on THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1972). Two were "Rock n Roll with Me" and "Rebel Rebel" and the names and background to the other three are unknown. See an interview between Bowie and William Burroughs in which he outlines his plans for the stage show.

"I'm going to play a character called Ziggy Stardust. We're going to do it as a stage show. We may even do it in the West End. When I'm tired of playing Ziggy I can step out and someone else can take over for me." - Bowie (August 1971)

ZIGGY STARDUST - THE MOTION PICTURE (1983):

Live album of the Hammersmith Odeon "Retirement Gig" held on 3 July 1973.

ZIGGY STARDUST - THE MOTION PICTURE: 1983 Film/video of the Hammersmith Odeon "Retirement Gig" on 3 July 1973 by D.A. Pennebaker (Warner PES 38022). It was shown once in October 1974 on ABC TV and then premiered on 31 August 1979 at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The film was originally shot as a video-disc experiment for RCA, but the resulting images were considered too dark for the process and finally saw the light of day when blown up to 35mm for general release as a rather grainy film/video in 1983.

"Zion/Aladdin Vein/Tragic Moments" (Bowie): A 6 minute song that was recorded for possible inclusion on ALADDIN SANE (1973) but was not used. Possibly this song is also "Tragic Moments" as described in this article about Bowie recording PinUps in France in 1973:

"David asks engineer Andy to run up a quick mix of the next project. Now this is really the one - the next album of Bowie's own original material. "There are no vocals on it yet - just my la-la-la-ing. Its  going to be a musical in one act called 'Tragic Moments' probably running straight through two sides. We listen to perhaps seven minutes of music. I am confused. The contrast between 'Tragic Moments' and PINUPs could not be greater. The former is a highly arranged, subtly shifting music with just a touch of vaudeville: Mike Garson's piano flashes through like quicksilver. Perhaps the closest approximation to what has gone before would be the title track of Aladdin Sane." - from "Outside David Bowie... is the closest you're gonna get" by Martin Hayman - Rock Magazine (October 1973)

 

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---This page last modified: 12 Jan 2019---

Ziggy Stardust Scarf (1973)