10 Songs You Didn't Know Were Sequels

David Bowie has had a lot of characters running throughout his storied career. From Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, there was always some new face that Bowie would reveal to us through his music. However, all of these characters would be nothing without the invention of Bowie's first spaceman Major Tom.

After first appearing in his song "Space Oddity," Tom was left with a morbid ending as he ventures off into the deep depths of space, uncertain if he will ever see humanity again. While this ending suited most fans fine, Bowie had another trick up his sleeve when coming up with tunes for his album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps.) On the hit single "Ashes to Ashes," Major Tom returns not as a space age hero, but as a junkie figure who is "strung out on heaven's high."

While it may still seem ambiguous whether this character is the titular Tom in the flesh or just a spirit, the lyric feels like a reflection on Bowie's life at a time when his narcotic intake was at an all time high. Though illusions to Major Tom have shown up in later Bowie works like the video for "Blackstar," this is the first time the lonely spaceman returned to mere mortal music.