Marc Almond featured his first new song since the motorbike accident, "Redeem me (Beauty Will Redeem the World)". "Stardom Road" was to be one of three albums for the Sanctuary label, the UK's largest independent record label up until 2007 when it got itself into financial difficulty and was sold off in June 2007 to Universal Music Group. In July 2007, Almond celebrated his 50th birthday on stage at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London and in September performed at a tribute show to Marc Bolan, his teenage hero. At the concert he dueted with Bolan's wife, Gloria Jones, on an impromptu
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars of the album, "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide," builds upon its minimalistic acoustic guitar textures as Ziggy's desperate message struggles to enlighten his earthling audience. The arc of the album reaches its climax as the starman belts out his final words of wisdom before perishing onstage. "Ziggy Stardust" concept and music were influenced by Bowie's earlier album, "The Man Who Sold The World", Iggy Pop, the lead singer of the proto-punk band the Stooges, Lou Reed, vocalist and songwriter of the Velvet Underground, Marc Bolan, lead singer of glam rock band T. Rex, guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix; and progressive rock