Site Where David Bowie Debuted Ziggy Stardust Could Become Housing

The site where David Bowie debuted his iconic Ziggy Stardust persona is part of a new housing proposal in Tolworth, England.

According to the BBC, the housing proposal is located on a sizable piece of land where the Toby Jug Pub once stood until it was demolished in 2002. The proposal intends to build over 950 homes and apartment units in the area, as well as a new community center, play areas, gardens, and spaces for offices and retail shops.

This proposal will soon be formally heard by the Kingston Council, who will then make the decision on whether to approve the development.

Bowie first performed as Ziggy Stardust at the Toby Jug Pub on February 10, 1972. It was the first date of his tour in promotion of his then-upcoming new album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which was released that June.

Not many people were at this historic show, but Bowie knew his Ziggy Stardust persona was going to be a game-changer.  In an interview with Melody Maker magazine just three weeks before Ziggy’s debut, Bowie declared, “I’m going to be huge, and it’s quite frightening in a way, because I know that when I reach my peak, and it’s time for me to be brought down, it will be with a bump.”

A fan in attendance was quoted in a retrospective piece in The Kingston Guardian saying, “I had never seen or heard anything like it before.  I was completely blown away…Nothing would ever be the same again.” (They weren't wrong.)