GENIUS! –
Nov. 23, 2025 – In the unusually expansive exchange, Bowie – then 55 – looked back on the creation of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, his cocaine-ravaged Diamond Dogs era and the dizzying identity shifts that defined his 1970s work.
Historians say the resurfacing has struck a nerve among fans. One noted: “People are rediscovering just how fearless David was in talking about the chaos behind the art, and about taboo subjects.”
Another added: “These comments show a man completely aware of his demons, even at the height of his legend.”
In the interview, Bowie recalled that before Ziggy: “I really wanted to write musicals more than anything else.”
He explained the earliest framework for the character was as a musical-theatrical piece before it became “something other than that.”
Bowie added he abandoned the idea of later producing a project to add a full narrative for Stardust, remarking: “There was a bit of a narrative, a slight arc, and my intention was to fill it in more later. And I never got round to it because before I knew where I was we’d recorded the d— thing. There was no time to wait. I couldn’t afford to sit around for six months and write up a proper stage piece, I was too impatient. I’m glad in the long run that I left it like that. Because I never drew a template for a storyline too clearly, it left so much room for audience interpretation.”
