David Bowie cuddles up to Mick Ronson

In 1972, pop fans perhaps still dimly remembered David Bowie from his 1969 hit Space Oddity, but his star had since dimmed, and it took the creation of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust to reignite his career and, in particular, an appearance on Top of the Pops singing Starman. The song told the story of Ziggy bringing a message of hope to earth's youth through the radio: "Let all the children boogie!" (Speaking to William Burroughs a year later, Bowie clarified that Ziggy himself was not the Starman but merely his earthly messenger.) The song had been trundling along in the charts, and John Peel called it "a gem", but this performance accelerated its rise to No 10, and set Ziggy on his way. More than that, at the start of the year, Bowie had claimed to Melody Maker that he was gay, and now he was on the nation's TV screens dressed in a technicoloured jumpsuit, letting an equally resplendently costumed Mick Ronson lean in suspiciously close to the microphone with him. For a generation and more, here was a signal of a very particular kind. • This article was amended on 10 January 2012. The original photo caption said Bowie is pictured with Trevor Bolder and Mick Ronson. Bolder is not in the photograph, however drummer Mick Woodmansey is.