[8] David Bowie was launched to stardom through the release of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and his performance of "Starman" on the BBC television programme Top of the Pops in early July 1972.
[1][14][15] "Panic in Detroit" was recorded at London's Trident Studios in January 1973, following the conclusion of the American tour and a series of Christmas concerts in England and Scotland.
[1][14][18] A dispute arose between Bowie and Woodmansey during the recording, wherein the latter refused to play the former's desired Bo Diddley drum figure, reportedly arguing it was "too obvious".
[14] Musically "Panic in Detroit" has been described as a "Salsa variation on the Bo Diddley beat";[19] Pegg considers Ronson's guitar part very "bluesy".
[20] The lyrics are very dark, featuring images of urban decay, violence, drugs, emotional isolation and suicide,[14] adding to the album's overarching theme of alienation.
[21] Author Peter Doggett finds a thematic link between the song and Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower", which "used a similar three-chord riff to underpin its apocalypse".
[20] "Panic in Detroit" was released on Aladdin Sane on 20 April 1973,[3] sequenced as the fourth track on side one of the original LP, between "Drive-In Saturday" and "Cracked Actor".