David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The fans waiting outside London’s Hammersmith Odeon to see their idol perform live do not yet know that they are about to become part of one of the most legendary concerts in rock history. It is July 3, 1973, and David Bowie is performing the final concert of his Ziggy Stardust tour. But what makes the next day’s newspapers is the words he speaks before the closing number, Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide: “This is the last show that we will ever do.”

D.A. Pennebaker was originally supposed to film a half-hour television special, but he became so fascinated with his subject that he decided on the spot to make a feature-length film. He captures the concert in a remarkably intimate way. Between songs, we see Bowie in his dressing room, where he squeezes in and out of costumes with the help of dressers, or shares a private moment with his then-wife Angie. On stage, backed by Mick Ronson’s stratospheric guitar solos, he transforms into Ziggy Stardust, the flamboyant, otherworldly persona he would bid farewell to in this concert. As it was Ziggy who declared that this would be his last show; Bowie himself was far from finished.

This film is part of Snapshots in Concert, this year’s summer program presenting five legendary artists captured at defining moments in their careers. Supported by the Brook Foundation.