When I first looked at this picture, I thought it was a strange flower, perhaps overlaid with, I don’t know, damaged, oily machine parts, everything apped to give it that jagged steel blue sheen, like a cross between Terminator and Game Of Thrones in a permanent midnight. And now I see that it seems to be someone in a costume. Lace-up bodice and labial wings.

I saw David Bowie perform this song on the Ziggy Stardust tour, October 30, 1972. Orange hair, white face, space suit, just him and a twelve-string guitar. That performance remains burned into my consciousness to this day. Here’s a modern day version I discovered tonight. I love his incredible vocal.

And the final words of the song

But whatever lies behind the door
There is nothing much to do
Angel or Devil I don’t care
For in front of that door
There is you