"Lady Stardust" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

that appeared on the album ''

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was ...

'' (1972). Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars – comprising

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, ...

and

Mick Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock music, rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjuncti ...

. The song is generally interpreted as alluding to fellow

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

icon

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

. Indeed, some accounts have suggested that the original demo version had "A Song for Marc" as a working title.

Composition and recording

Bowie recorded "Lady Stardust" on 12 November 1971 at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

in London for inclusion on ''

''. Co-produced by Ken Scott, the lineup consisted of Bowie's backing band known as the Spiders from Mars—comprising guitarist

, bassist

and drummer

. Also recorded on this day were " Soul Love", "

Moonage Daydream "Moonage Daydream" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally recorded in February 1971 at Radio Luxembourg's studios in London and released as a single by his short-lived band Arnold Corns in May 1971 on B&C R ...

" and a re-recording of '' The Man Who Sold the World'' track " The Supermen".

Live versions

*Bowie played the song at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show ''

Sounds of the 70s ''Sounds of the 70s'' is the name of a BBC radio programme, currently broadcast on Sundays on BBC Radio 2, with the ''Sounds of the Seventies'' name also having been used by BBC Television for a number of themed music compilations, now repeate ...

'' with Bob Harris on 23 May 1972. This was broadcast on 19 June 1972 and in 2000 was released on the album ''

Bowie at the Beeb ''Bowie at the Beeb'' is a compilation album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three-CD set, the third, bonus CD being a live recording made on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre, pa ...

''.

Personnel

Personnel per Kevin Cann. *

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

– piano, backing vocals *

– bass guitar *

– drums

Other releases

* The original demo version of the song, recorded on 4-track in March 1971, was released in edited, mono form as a bonus track on the

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

CD release of ''Ziggy Stardust'' in 1990. This version of the demo also appeared on the '' Ziggy Stardust – 30th Anniversary Reissue'' bonus disc in 2002. A stereo mix of the demo was sold as a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

single during the "David Bowie Is" exhibition in Japan in 2017 and was included in the 2024 box set ''Rock 'n' Roll Star!'' * The song appeared on the Russian compilation ''Starman'' in 1989. * A November 1996 recording of the song, which originally aired on a BBC radio broadcast in 1997, was released in 2020 on the album ''ChangesNowBowie''. * An early, alternative take of the song from the November 1971 recording session was released for the first time in 2024 in the box set ''Rock 'n' Roll Star!''

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Stardust David Bowie songs 1972 songs Rock ballads Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Song recordings produced by David Bowie 1970s ballads