The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars is a 1972 concept album by David Bowie, praised as the definitive album of the 1970s by Melody Maker magazine. It peaked at #5 in the United Kingdom and #75 in the United States on the Billboard Music Charts.

The influence of Ziggy Stardust within the history of music

Ziggy Stardust was a monumental album in music history. Its sound has changed the way heavy metal, punk music, hard rock, glam rock, and prog rock sound. The direct descendants were later glam musicians like the glam-metal of Alice Cooper (Billion Dollar Babies - 1973), the glam-disco of Labelle (Nightbirds - 1974), and the glam-pop of Gary Glitter (Touch Me - 1973).

Related Topics:
Heavy metal - Punk music - Hard rock - Glam rock - Prog rock - Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies - 1973 - Labelle - Nightbirds - 1974 - Gary Glitter - Touch Me

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Heavy metal began with bands like Blue Cheer (Vincebus Eruptum - 1968) and the Yardbirds (Five Live Yardbirds - 1964); in the post Ziggy Stardust world, heavy metal evolved towards glam metal bands like Mötley Crüe (Too Fast For Love - 1981) and Van Halen (Van Halen - 1978) through the occult bands of the mid to late 1970s, like Blue Öyster Cult (Tyranny and Mutation - 1973) and Black Sabbath (Sabotage - 1975), and metallic prog rock like Yes (Tales From Topographic Oceans - 1974).

Related Topics:
Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum - 1968 - The Yardbirds - Five Live Yardbirds - 1964 - Glam metal - Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love - 1981 - Van Halen - Van Halen - 1978 - 1970s - Blue Öyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation - 1973 - Black Sabbath - Sabotage - 1975 - Prog rock - Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans - 1974

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Ziggy Stardust (along with other notable albums, such as The New York Dolls - 1973) also combined the two types of proto-punk, the energetic power of the Stooges and the avante-garde lyrical and musical aspects of the Velvet Underground, resulting in early punk musicians like Elvis Costello & the Attractions (My Aim Is True - 1977), Adam & the Ants (Kings of the Wild Frontier - 1980), and Graham Parker (Howlin' Wind - 1976) before the first wave of true hardcore punk music, with the Jam (In the City - 1977), the Clash (The Clash - 1977), and the Ramones (The Ramones - 1976), as well as the more artistic punk of Patti Smith (Horses - 1975) and Television (Marquee Moon - 1977).

Related Topics:
The New York Dolls - 1973 - The Stooges - The Velvet Underground - Elvis Costello & the Attractions - My Aim Is True - 1977 - Adam & the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier - 1980 - Graham Parker - Howlin' Wind - 1976 - Punk music - The Jam - In the City - The Clash - The Clash - The Ramones - The Ramones - Patti Smith - Horses - 1975 - Television - Marquee Moon

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In the 1990s, shoegazing and Britpop bands like Suede (Dog Man Star - 1994), Morrissey (Viva Hate - 1988), and My Bloody Valentine (Isn't Anything - 1988) showed a strong Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie influence.

Related Topics:
1990s - Shoegazing - Britpop - Suede - Dog Man Star - 1994 - Morrissey - Viva Hate - 1988 - My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything

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Bauhaus, one of the first English gothic rock bands, incorporated much Ziggy-era style & nuance into their own music. It is easy to see a very direct evolution in the musical sound & spirit of the English glam rock movement in all of the early English Goth bands. It is of interesting note that the Bauhaus cover version of 'Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' is still played very regularly in Gothic nightclubs. But the influence stretchs much further throughout the entire Bauhaus discography, and the solo recordings of Daniel Ash, the guitarist of Bauhaus. Anyone who appreciates English glam will find a goldmine in the recordings of Bauhaus.

Related Topics:
Bauhaus - Gothic rock - English glam rock - Goth - Daniel Ash

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On a more recent note, notorious shock rocker Marilyn Manson openly admits to be heavily inspired by Ziggy Stardust. This is most apparent in the Glitter-Rock opus Mechanical Animals, as the album is, aesthetically, very similar to Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane looks. However, the earlier album, Antichrist Superstar, has a plotline that follows the same pattern as Ziggy (both are 'rise and fall' stories), and the songs "Minute of Decay" and "Man That you Fear" both have musical elements similar to Bowie's works.

Related Topics:
Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals - Antichrist Superstar

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On Moby's latest album, there is song called Spiders, which was influenced by Moby's deep love for David Bowie. It is thought the title is a reference to this album, and Ziggy's backing band, the Spiders From Mars.

Related Topics:
Moby - Spiders

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The anarchist punk rock band Crass were so named as a reference to the song "Ziggy Stardust", specifically the line "The kids was (sic) just crass". (Reference; Shibboleth by Penny Rimbaud, AK Press, 1999).

Related Topics:
Anarchist - Punk rock - Crass - Penny Rimbaud - AK Press - 1999

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In the song "Ziggy Stardust", reference is made to Ziggy's backup band, the Spiders From Mars. As a result of that reference, Bowie's backup band also became known as the Spiders From Mars.

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