Bowie&#x27;s first albums didn&#x27;t catch on at all. It wasn&#x27;t until he decided to change his presentation and style that he became successful. I recommend seeing &quot;David Bowie &amp; The Story of Ziggy Stardust&quot; which talks about it. It wasn&#x27;t until Hunky Dory in 1971 that he really got traction. He was dropped by his label (Mercury) after his third album. He signed with RCA for his 4th, Hunky Dory (Ziggy was his 5th). After that, he basically hit single digits for his peak chart position in the UK for in to the 90s for his studio albums.<p>So, you can look at it as Mercury took a chance, didn&#x27;t succeed and dropped him. RCA tried again and succeeded. But, he changed his approach and style around this time in an attempt to market himself better. Then, EMI would reap the rewards again in the 80s for Let&#x27;s Dance which hit number 1 in a half-dozen countries and close to it in a few others.