Star - Music

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Star

David-Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

One Of The Oldest Songs On David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Album “Star“ Was A Tale Of Rock And Roll Ambition Projection And Desire. The Song Comes At A Crucial Juncture In The Ziggy Album. Having Observed His Sometime Rival Marc Bolan In “Lady Stardust“ In “Star“ Bowie Puts Himself Forward As A Rock Icon To Be Followed By His Fully-Realised Vision In “Hang On To Yourself“ And “Ziggy Stardust“. Bowie Had Toyed With The Idea Of Stardom And Artifice Since “Maid Of Bond Street“ On His 1967 Debut Album. In His 1971 Song “Changes“ He Sang Of The “million Dead-End Streets” That He Travelled In His Search For Stardom Which Was Made Real With Ziggy. “I Believe In Fantasy And Star Images. I Am Very Aware Of These Kinds Of People And Feel They Are Very Important Figures In Our Society. People Like To Focus On Somebody Who They Might Consider Not Quite The Same As Them. Whether It’s True Or Not Is Immaterial.“ - David Bowie Cheltenham Chronicle 1971 The Word ‘star’ Occurs In Nine Song Titles Released By Bowie Four On The Ziggy Stardust Album Alone. “The Prettiest Star“ Was The Earliest And Was Followed By “Starman“ “Lady Stardust“ “Star“ “Ziggy Stardust“ “Shining Star Makin’ My Love “ “New Killer Star“ “The Stars Are Out Tonight “ And “Blackstar“. “It’s Been One Of The Banes Of My Life Not Being Able To Develop Proper Relationships With People. I Thought That I Would Always Be A Loner. Maybe That’s Why I Wanted So Much To Be A Rock Star. I Unconsciously Thought That If I Was In That Position People Wouldn’t Be Able To Touch Me. I Often Wonder If I Wanted To Outprice Myself Emotionally Put Myself In A Place Where I Didn’t Have To Relate To People Because I Found It Such A Burden.“ - David Bowie Interview Magazine February 1993 Bowie Recorded A Demo Of “Star“ In May 1971 At Radio Luxembourg’s London Eight-Track Studio Prior To The Hunky Dory Sessions. It Had Bowie On Vocals Handclaps Slide Guitar And Piano. Later That Month Bowie Was Introduced To Chameleon Who Was Signed To The Chrysalis Subsidiary Butterfly Productions By Bowie’s Publisher Bob Grace. Bowie Gave Chameleon A Demo Of ‘Star’ Which He Hoped To Produce For Them The Band Eventually Recorded It With John Schroder But It Was Unreleased. Bowie’s “Star“ Demo Was Auctioned At Christie’s In 2000 By Chameleon Singer Les Payne For £1 527. The Recording And Chameleon’s Own Version Have A Number Of Lyrical Differences From The Final Studio Version. Bowie First Recorded “Star“ At Trident Studios On Monday 8 November 1971 Along With ‘Hang On To Yourself’. At This Early Stage It Had The Working Title “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star“ But Was Presumably Changed Due To Its Similarity To “Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide“. “Star“ And “Hang On To Yourself“ Were Both Re-Recorded On 11 November Along With Unused Versions Of “Ziggy Stardust“ “Looking For A Friend“ “Velvet Goldmine“ And “Sweet Head“.