David Bowie’s manager claims a Ziggy Stardust comeback tour was planned
David Bowie‘s former manager, Tony Defries, has claimed that the late musician planned to bring back Ziggy Stardust for a comeback tour after killing off the persona.
When Bowie retired the character at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, it was even a shock to his bandmates in the Spiders of Mars, who were unaware of his decision. Now, in a new interview, Defries has explained the reason why Bowie decided to leave Ziggy Stardust in the past and also claimed it wasn’t intended to be a permanent end.
“Basically, I think success wasn’t the ideal situation for David,” Defries told MOJO. “When Aladdin Sane was selling enormous quantities and crowds were shutting down railway stations, just to get a glance of him, I think that’s when it all began to sink in, that he was no longer an ordinary person. The Ziggy effect was taking hold and he couldn’t cope with it, really,” he continued.
Defries also said Bowie’s reasoning was influenced by Frank Sinatra, who quit the music industry in 1971 before returning two years later. He explained: “David was a big Sinatra fan. Making the comeback is the key thing.”
The former manager added: “We tried and failed to get promoters in America to book [a Bowie / Ziggy Stardust comeback tour] into large arenas as a headliner. So, that was a real reason for retiring Ziggy, to be honest with you… nothing to do with music or style or anything else.”
Watch footage from the final Ziggy Stardust concert below.
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