‘And Ziggy played guitar’: Bowie, the market, and the emancipation and resurrection of Ziggy Stardust

Abstract

Using David Bowie as a human brand and his various characters, particularly Ziggy Stardust, we address two research themes: who constructs celebrity – the individual or the market, and to what extent can a celebrity emancipate their human brand from the characters they portray? Market-generated materials covering Bowie’s fifty year career were analysed using structuration theory. Our findings indicate that Bowie’s control of his human brand was increasingly determined by differing agents within the market. We conclude that a celebrity’s human brand is as much a creation of the market, as it is the celebrity’s. Yet unlike the celebrity, their character’s ongoing popularity reflects not only a moment in time but also an ability to adapt to differing times.

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