Song · David Bowie
“Rock-N-Roll Suicide” by David Bowie
From the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
“Rock-N-Roll Suicide” by David Bowie appears on 22 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1999 and 2023. It was first released in 1972 on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Its best result is #283 on the CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,269 alternative song of all time.
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"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" brings the curtain down on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and it's where Ziggy finally falls apart, a spent star at the end of his rope. Bowie cut it with the Spiders, Mick Ronson on acoustic and electric guitars and backing vocals, Trevor Bolder on bass and Mick Woodmansey on drums, co-producing with Ken Scott, and the arrangement is Bowie's and Ronson's together.
It starts as a tired strum and swells into pure theatre, and Bowie thought of it as a French chanson more than a rock song. It closed the Ziggy stage show too, and RCA finally put it out as a single in April 1974.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
Also listed as: Rock-n-roll Suicide; Rock N Roll Suicide; Rock 'n' Roll Suicide; Rock and Roll Suicide; Rock And Roll Suicide; Rock 'N' Roll Suicide.
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