Page "David Bowie" Paragraph 18

With his next venture, Bowie, in the words of biographer David Buckley, " challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day " and " created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture ".

Dressed in a striking costume, his hair dyed red, Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the Spiders from Mars — Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey — at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth on 10 February 1972.

The show was hugely popular, catapulting him to stardom as he toured the UK over the course of the next six months and creating, as described by Buckley, a " cult of Bowie " that was " unique — its influence lasted longer and has been more creative than perhaps almost any other force within pop fandom.

" The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ( 1972 ), combining the hard rock elements of The Man Who Sold the World with the lighter experimental rock and pop of Hunky Dory, was released in June.

" Starman ", issued as an April single ahead of the album, was to cement Bowie's UK breakthrough: both single and album charted rapidly following his July Top of the Pops performance of the song.

The album, which would remain in the chart for two years, was soon joined there by the six-month-old Hunky Dory.

At the same time the non-album single " John, I ’ m Only Dancing ", and " All the Young Dudes ", a song he wrote and produced for Mott the Hoople, became UK hits.

The Ziggy Stardust Tour continued to the United States.