Released in April 1972, David Bowie’s seminal hit Starman is now 50 years old.
David Bowie released Starman as a single in the UK, three years after the worldwide success of Space Oddity. With the benefit of hindsight it is easy to think success was guaranteed, but those three years without a hit might have caused him to wonder where his next hit was coming from.
In fact Starman was a late addition to the album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. It was included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single. The lyrics describe Ziggy Stardust bringing a message of hope to the Earth’s youth through the radio, thus salvation by an alien Starman.
There is no doubt that this single, and the performance by Bowie on TV’s Top of the Pops, propelled David to superstardom and influenced countless other musicians.
You can hear Starman along with all of Bowie’s subsequent hits on our dedicated radio station.
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