Spider from Mars: My Life With Bowie

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The title of the book "Spider from Mars: My Life with Bowie" by Woody Woodmansey for me was a bit misleading. Yes Mr. Woodmansey was a "Spider from Mars" (the bands amazing drummer) and according to this book he did live in the same house as Me. Bowie there are little and few mentions of interactions with the MAN. As someone who was close to David Bowie at that time, Woodmansey decided to tell the story from his own perspective; and this is exactly what you get from reading this book – Woodmansey’s unique perspective. Don’t expect big revelations or sensational descriptions about David Bowie’s lifestyle in the ‘70s. This book is merely Woody Woodmansey’s point of view and his sporadic life memoir. Those who claim that the 1970’s were the decade that style forgot weren’t actually there. It was a time of experimentation and a contrast to the hippie dream of the late ‘60’s. How can you shop at Primark after having shopped at Biba?

After the final disbandment of the Spiders, he formed his own band, Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat, with Phil Murray, Frankie Marshall, Phil Plant and eventually Martin Smith, releasing a debut album U Boat in 1977. [13] The album was subsequently re-released in 2006 as Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat ( Castle Music ESMCD895). [14] After finishing the book I immediately had to listen to the albums from this period out of the Five Years vinyl boxset to really immerse myself, yet again, in the amazing music of David Bowie and the Spiders from MarsWoody comes across as a lovely man. He was treated shabbily by Bowie and his manager, being unceremoniously booted out of the band, but the two were reconciled in later life and Woody is simply too nice to bear a grudge. I enjoyed this book. As a big fan of the Spiders-era Bowie music it was nice to read some of the stories about Ronno and Trevor Bolder and how things went down in those early days. Wolk, Douglas (4 November 2016). "How David Bowie Realized Theatrical Dreams on 'The Man Who Sold the World' ". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 . Retrieved 28 March 2023. David Bowie tribute band remove unvaccinated drummer Woody Woodmansey". NME. 31 January 2022 . Retrieved 3 May 2022.

And his times with others bands, his frienship with great musicians, playing for Art Garfunkel. Family. Creation of other bands. And , finally, Tony Visconti joining him for touring The Man Who Sold the World album with Holy Holy. A kid says to his mother, ‘When I grow up I want to be a drummer,’ and she says ‘You can’t do both , son.’ A phone call from David Bowie changed Woody Woodmansey’s life. Turning down a well-paid factory job, the twenty-year-old drummer from Driffield took a huge leap of faith and joined Bowie’s band, embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. Woody did not even like Bowie's music, but he decided to go to London thinking he might regret it after he did not. There are a lot of funny stories in this memoir too – the way the band felt when Bowie first suggested some of the more outrageous stage outfits is amusing. The ways they would wind each other up in the early days just shows how for a time they were just normal young men in a band trying to make it big. There is a real warmth in the way Woodmansey tells his story.

And then comes the choice – travel to London to be in Bowie’s band or stay in Driffield and have a normal life. We all know the answer to that one. A vivid and unique evocation of a transformative musical era and the enigmatic, visionary musician at the center of it, with a foreword by legendary music producer Tony Visconti and an afterword from Def Leppard's Joe Elliot, Spider from Mars is for everyone who values David Bowie, by one of the people who knew him best. So here we are, blood, toil, tears and sweat - and not a lot of cash... but then great things are seldom accomplished without casualties.

A poignant memoir by the last surviving member of David Bowie’s The Spiders from Mars, drummer Woody Woodmansey. This book is recommended to all Ziggy Stardust fans and it is a good reminder that behind every great man (and David Bowie was one of the greatest), there are many others who have contributed to his success. It is nice to get to know them as well. If anything, in this day and age, Woodmansey’s life story is a good reminder that it’s worth pursuing our dreams for no other reason that we won’t regret later that we haven't tried.Cann, Kevin (2010). Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974. Croydon, Surrey: Adelita. ISBN 978-0-9552017-7-6. As someone who became a teenager in that decade I remember waiting for our culture to happen, for a new idol to worship. Too young for the Beatles and punk was too far away in the future. But a supposed ‘one-hit wonder’ who had had a huge hit around the time of the Moon landings and then nothing. A man had had a lot of false starts in the music business but had kept going until the stars finally aligned and it was his time at last. I couldn’t resist requesting this book when it was available on NetGalley. I’m a huge David Bowie fan and love every era of his including Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Woody Woodmansey is from a place near where I’m originally from so I feel like I was aware of the Spiders from Mars from a really young age. Drummer Woody Woodmansey is the last surviving member of Bowie’s band The Spiders from Mars which helped launch his Ziggy Stardust persona and made David Bowie a sensation. David Bowie aka Ziggy Stardust was that man and this is the biography of one of his band members. The last Spider from Mars still standing. Woody Woodmansey.