On Ziggy Stardust we find Bowie now totally the actor, transforming himself this time into the rock n roll star with a mere flick of the limp wrist. Of course sweetheart, isn't everyone, but Bowie testified to it while all the other blades were still in the closet showing home-movies of their self obsessions to a small clique of admirers. Of course the whole Ziggy Stardust venture was full of self-wrought paradoxes. But there's no real mystery to David Bowie. He's no phenomenon, simply because by definition a phenomenon is something that one is instinctively drawn to or repulsed by.
Logic lays no part in the process.
The real victory here has been achieved by Bowie and manager Tony DeFries remarkable qualities as visionary show-biz strategians. All notions of artistry take a firm second place to that. No-one is prepared to state in what ratio Bowie and DeFries function as a team. A prominent Mainman employee in England told me that Bowie is in fact the brain power behind it all, with DeFries very much subservient to his whims. Another strong body of opinion states that DeFries is definitely in charge, with poor David becoming more and more a puppet to his manager's fairly grueling tour schedules and demands for new product.