The 20th of February 1973
Official U.K. Albums Chart results from Sunday the 18th to Saturday the 24th of February 1973
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 17th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 18th,
announced on Tuesday the 20th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 25th of February 1973.
David Bowie
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
At No.22, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Albums Chart” on my 1st Birthday, is David Bowie with “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”.
This album, at this time,..
…was undoubtably the reason why David Bowie’s presence in the U.K. Charts was everywhere.
Just in this week’s album chart alone so far, we’ve witnessed the very beginnings of the change, and also the gear shift in songwriting and music, which, for the latter, was being produced at the same time as this monster.
And that’s exactly what this is, with Bowie himself starring as his own Doctor Frankenstein.
Bowie’s previous trip to America,..
a whole year before I was even born, saw him witness so many diversely inspirational moments, places and people, that the effects of them had no other choice but to profoundly seduce him.
By the time he was back in the U.K., he became a hive of writing activity, with “Hunky Dory” and this effort (initially called “Round and Round”), were the two albums to come out of this period.
Whereas the first act was more piano led, this second one is guitar led. Both Bowie’s acoustic and Mick Ronson’s electric guitars dominate most of the tracks on this album. This was also beneficial if this music was to be played live, which was in David’s planned orbit at this time.
Due to the show that this would become, a new image, even more so, a new character was needed.
Taking inspiration from, amongst others, Lou Reed from the Velvet Underground, Marc Bolan from T-Rex, and Legendary Stardust Cowboy, this new image started to form. There was also the likes of Jimi Hendrix and King Crimson to get ideas from.
The two main influences though seem to be the Stooges lead singer Iggy Pop and a singer from the 50’s and 60’s called Vince Taylor, who by the time of meeting with David while on his trip in the United States, believed himself to be a god and possibly even an alien.
With an ongoing fascination with the letter Z, after calling his new son Zowie, it seems he played with the idea of one of his inspirations from the States, Iggy Pop and placed the letter at the beginning to become Ziggy, which is partly true.
According to David himself who spoke about his 1970’s incarnation in the 1990’s, there was a tailors back then called Ziggy’s. Due to the clothes connection, it became a conscious decision to move away from the current denim and hippy trends of the time and become something no one had ever witnessed before.
The same team…
…who had designed the cover for “Hunky Dory” also produced the artwork for this album.
Again, the photo was taken in black and white and then artificially tinted to achieve the look.
In fact, when the photograph was taken outside, nearby to the Heddon Street photography studio where he was having his latest photo session, David’s hair was still its natural brown.
With the album complete,..
…and with a new character ready to take on this new alien world, David, as Ziggy, seemed ready to face the music public once again.
The album touched down into the U.K. Album Chart on the 25th of June, the previous summer of 1972 at No.15, and by it’s second week, had flown into the Top 10 at No.9, and apart from slipping to No.11 for a couple of weeks at the end of that season, wouldn’t leave the Top 10 until the last week in September.
From there it would creep slowly back down the chart before falling out after the 16th of December.
Giving itself a Christmas holiday from the chart, it was back for this new year of 1973 on the 7th of January, where it leapt back in at No.16, and then hitting the Top 10 again at No.10.
By the time it got to this February, it had struck its highest position of No.5 on the 4th before a fall back to this placing this week.
Next week will see it re-enter the Top 20 for a few weeks before slipping further places, averaging mid-chart during the spring and summer, before another surge back into Top 10 territory from the 12th of August until the end of September.
The rest of this run will see it stay just outside the Top 20 before it falls out once again after the 8th of December.
By this point, with a total of 73 weeks already under it’s belt, and still counting, the age of Ziggy Stardust was embellished into the music buying public’s psyche.
The alien had arrived and we will catch up with this album further into my future.
I’ve created my own separate playlists for both Sides 1 and 2 of this album with (I hope) the correct versions and the original track sequencing order for the U.K. release.
Side 1
Side 2
Many thanks go to the following YouTube Channels for providing the chance to hear this music once again.
Please show your appreciation by visiting their channel:
The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart Playlist for the week of my 1st Birthday:
The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart Playlist for the day I was born:
Grab Your Binoculars, Come Follow Me
What is it…?
Why am I…?
How do I…?
When am I…?
