David Bowie fans...?

Ziggy IS Bowie, or a good part of him, symbolically. He's an alter ego, more than just a character. That's about it! At least, that's my interpretation.

And Jean Genet? Isn't he a French writer?

Ziggy Stardust is a) Jean Genet ... no that was Gene Genie.

or b) Iggy Pop, again re: "Jean Genie" - his kept slipping off. Which may explain the "Slip Away" and "boogie (on down)" reference.*

No: I guess ZS was DB, in his "explore every mounting, crumb every free drumstick" period. Heard a good doco other day, and his KeyWord is/was "Progress", by way of Experimentation. Also, he was into Method Acting in those days, so he lived the part. A bit too much he said.

*or maybe not. But what is said to be true is that Iggy had a Biggy - word up from Debbie "the Blondie" Harry.

Ziggy Stardust is a persona that Bowie portrayed on stage...you know, like Alice Cooper was supposed to be merely a stage character but it became the person...kind of like that...(Although David Bowie is known for being David Bowie, but would anybody recognize the name Vince Furnier if they heard it??)

Ziggy was a character he invented for the album Ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars.....it was a concept album telling a story about Ziggy stardust who took rock to the extreme and it destroyed him