In 1971, music legend David Bowie introduced the Ziggy Stardust character.

A year later, he released the album based on Ziggy Stardust,  ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’, which featured the classic songs ‘Five Years’, ‘Starman’, and ‘Suffragette City’.

Fun bit of info – Bowie was reading Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End when writing this album, and it’s very likely that songs like ‘Five Years’ and ‘Let the Children Boogie’ are based on it.

Read the novel and listen to the tracks – you’ll see what I mean.

Moving on to the Guardian for how Barbie fits into all of this.

Mattel has announced its latest Barbie doll: one dressed as David Bowie’s iconic alter ego Ziggy Stardust.

Complete with red boots to match a backcombed mane of hair and a striped jumpsuit, plus some cosmic accessories and face paint, Barbie replicates the look of Bowie’s bisexual messenger from the stars – though her usual pleasant smile doesn’t quite match the intense stare usually associated with the character.

Introducing the $50 (£40) doll, Mattel said: “In a definitive celebration of two pop culture icons, Barbie honours the ultimate pop chameleon, English singer, songwriter and actor David Bowie, whose dramatic musical transformations continue to influence and inspire.

It’s actually pretty cool.

As for the pun in the headline – David Bowie, Barbie, Bowbie.

You get it.

We’ll leave you with the OG Ziggy Stardust, in the original video for ‘Space Oddity’:

[source:guardian]