It was released on 28 April 1972 by RCA Records as the lead single of his fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

The lyrics describe Ziggy Stardust bringing a message of hope to Earth's youth through the radio, salvation by an alien "Starman".

[7] The song begins on twelve-string acoustic guitar—a "subdominant" chord followed by "the major 7th of the root" according to author Peter Doggett—that is played across both channels.

[7] The song features a string arrangement from Ronson, which biographer Nicholas Pegg describes as being more similar to the style of Bowie's previous album Hunky Dory (1971) than the rest of Ziggy Stardust.

[7] Doggett states that whereas "Over the Rainbow" "used its cathartic rise to introduce a refrain that was emotionally, and melodically, expansive", the leap in "Starman" "was followed by a more uncertain melody, reflecting his character's innate lack of confidence.

The song has inspired interpretations ranging from an allusion to the Second Coming of Christ,[9] to an accurate prediction of the plot for the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

[10] Similar to fellow album track "Moonage Daydream", Bowie uses American slang, including "boogie", "Hey, that's far out", "Don't tell your papa", and "Some cat was layin' down some rock 'n' roll", which, according to Pegg, "vie with an intensely British sensibility to create a bizarre and beautiful hybrid.

[18] Pegg also commented: "It's extraordinary to consider that one of Bowie's definitive songs replaced a Chuck Berry cover almost as an afterthought.

NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray reported that "many thought it was his first record since 'Space Oddity'", and assumed that it was a sequel to the earlier single.

[19] Pegg states that due to this assumption, the title and acoustic intro might have given the suggestion that Bowie had "only one song in his playbook", but the first lyric changes that.

David Bowie is, with Kevin Ayers, the most important, under-acknowledged innovator in contemporary popular music in Britain and if this record is overlooked it will be nothing less than stark tragedy.

"[20] Chris Welch of Melody Maker predicted: "[Bowie] is taking longer than most to become a superstar, but he should catch up with Rod and Marc soon.

Joined by Nicky Graham on keyboards, according to Pegg, they performed against a "backdrop of coloured stars"; Woodmansey had at this point not "peroxided" his hair.

[23][24] On 5 July 1972, Bowie, the Spiders and Graham recorded a performance of "Starman" for Top of the Pops, which was broadcast on BBC One the next night.

[26][27] The group mimed to a pre-recorded backing track, four takes of which were recorded on 29 June, and sang live as per Musicians Union rules.

[28] Bowie appeared in a brightly-coloured rainbow jumpsuit, "shocking" red hair and astronaut boots while the Spiders wore blue, pink, scarlet and gold velvet attire.

[18][23][26] During the performance, Bowie was relaxed and confident and wrapped his arm around Ronson's shoulder, revealing his white-coloured fingernails and, in Cann's words, "driving home the ambiguous glamour of the Ziggy persona".

Like the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in '76, his performance lit the touchpaper for thousands of kids who up till then had struggled to find a catalyst in their lives.

[34] The performance was watched by a large audience, including many English musicians before they became famous, including Boy George, Adam Ant, Mick Jones of the Clash, Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet,[23] Morrissey and Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees,[35] John Taylor and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran,[36] Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

The English gothic rock band Bauhaus recalled that seeing Bowie's performance on Top of the Pops was "a significant and profound turning point in their lives".

[37] Reflecting on Bowie's impact on music in 2003, Robert Smith of the Cure said: "He was blatantly different, and everyone of my age remembers the time he played 'Starman' on Top of the Pops.

[42] In addition to the TV performances, Bowie played the song for radio listeners on the BBC's Johnny Walker Lunchtime Show on 22 May 1972.