When you hear the name Ziggy Stardust, you might remember David Bowie because it was his ultra-famous alter ego which fans loved dearly. However, the singer closed off an era of his music career in 1973, but his manager recently revealed that it was all a part of a big plan; what happened?
The late musician's manager, Tony Defries, recently spoke to Mojo, revealing that the initial plan was to retire Ziggy Stardust without anyone knowing. That's why during the final show in London in 1973, fans, as well as Trevor Bolder and Woody Woodmansey of Spiders from Mars, were shocked.
Ziggy Stardust Retirement Was All Part of a BIG Plan
David Bowie was not supposed to kill off his famous character because retiring was just the first move of a bigger plan.
Defries revealed in the conversation that the musician was supposed to make a dramatic comeback years later, which was partly inspired by what Frank Sinatra did as Bowie was a big fan of his.
The classical singer retired from the industry in 1971 only to return two years later and became bigger than ever.
However, to their disappointment, the Ziggy Stardust comeback didn't happen after failing to get promoters in America to book shows for a comeback tour.
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He also revealed that it was the main reason why Bowie retired from the iconic character.
"We tried and failed to get promoters in America to book 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," he added. (via Ultimate Classic Rock)
Elsewhere in the interview, the manager recalled why he kept the plan secret from some of the musicians who toured with Bowie. He noted that Mick Ronson knew the plan, but they kept it from Woody and Trevor because he didn't want "too many people to know."
Since the London concert was considered to be Ziggy Stardust's retirement show, Defries said, "if we're gonna retire, then we've got to retire in style and have a huge party and invite everybody."
Why Did David Bowie Retire Ziggy Stardust?
In his own words, David Bowie previously spoke to NME to reveal the reason why he decided to retire Ziggy Stardust despite its success.
He told the outlet that he didn't want to do more gigs and "American dates have been canceled." He also noted at the time that he would concentrate on "various activities" that were not associated with rock and pop.
