Ziggy Stardust became David Bowie 's second personality ( alter ego ) . Although he released an album ( David Bowie ) and several singles earlier , Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969 , when the song `` Space Oddity '' reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart . After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with the flamboyant , androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust , spearheaded by the hit single `` Starman '' and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars .