Woody Woodmansey to release Bowie book

Spiders From Mars: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, David Bowie and Woody Woodmansey in 1972
Spiders From Mars: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, David Bowie and Woody Woodmansey in 1972 (Image credit: Getty)

Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey is to release a book next month which details his time with late singer David Bowie.

The drummer is the last surviving member of Bowie’s The Spiders From Mars and started work on the publication in 2014.

A statement reads: “With the confidence of youth, Woody always thought he’d be in a famous band but the 19-year-old rocker from Hull never expected to be thrust into London’s burgeoning glam rock scene, and also into a bottle-green velvet suit and girl’s shoes.

“Playing with Bowie took him on an eye-opening and transformative journey. In Spider From Mars he writes candidly about the characters who surrounded Bowie, recalling the album sessions as well as behind-the-scenes moments with one of the world’s most iconic singers.

“The result is an insightful, funny, poignant memoir that lovingly evokes a seminal moment in music history and pays tribute to one of the most outstanding and innovative talents of our time.”

Woodmansey played on Bowie studio albums The Man Who Sold The World in 1970, 1971’s Hunky Dory, 1972’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and 1973’s Aladdin Sane.

Spider from Mars: My Life With Bowie will be released on November 3 and is available for pre-order via Amazon. It features a foreword by Bowie’s longtime producer Tony Visconti.

Bowie died in January this year aged 69 after battling cancer for 18 months. His death came just days after he released his Blackstar album.

Tony Visconti & Woody Woodmansey: The Man Who Sold The World

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.