John Peel’s Record Collection
The Ziggy Stardust Session
As singer David Bowie releases a new single on his 66th birthday following a ten year absence from the music scene, The Space digs out this tribute to the 1972 John Peel session by Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, marking the 40th anniversary of the ethereal pop star’s incarnation.
The session, recorded at Studio 4 in the BBC’s Maida Vale complex, was the third in as many months and included Suffragette City, Moonage Daydream, Hang On To Yourself and Ziggy Stardust, all taken from the concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which was to be released a fortnight later.
Also performed at that session was White Light/White Heat, a cover of a song taken from the second album by The Velvet Underground.
In a specially commissioned film for The Space, The Spiders from Mars bassist Trevor Bolder and BBC engineer Nick Gomm remember that remarkable session, which was eventually released as an album in its own right.