It is one of the most iconic performances in the history of modern music: the moment where David Bowie retired his Ziggy Stardust alter ego in front of an audience of 5000 fans at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. Bowie’s decision to retire Ziggy, the character that had made him a star, and split his band, The Spiders From Mars, secured his future, allowing him to become the restless, inquisitive and shapeshifting artist that we know him to be. That one moment also changed popular culture, unleashing a set of artistic and ideological freedoms that are still being enjoyed by musicians and the wider creative community today.