Woody Woodmansey interview - David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars 

What a genuinely interesting, down to earth guy Woody comes across as. David & the Spiders were the first band I was ever into. Saw them live at the Empire Theatre here in Edinburgh back in 1973. A night I'll never forget. God bless you Woody and R. I. P. David, Mick and Trevor

The drum intro on Five Years still raises the hairs on my arms.

Its lovely the way Woody is allowed to just reminisce in his own inimitable way how some of the greatest music was made . Top guy and great drummer. Bless you man. RIP David, Mick and Trevor

What a lovely man.Interesting,honest,articulate and straight forward.Despite being a 'rock star',a real down to earth and ordinary guy and I mean that in a nice way.I wish all interviews were like this.Thanks Woody.

What a lovely, lovely man. I lived, breathed, ate and slept "David Bowie" from the age of 16 on. Didn't get to see David until 1976 and never got to see The Spiders. A lifelong regret. It wasn't until later in life that I learned The Spiders - and especially Mick Ronson - did not get the public recognition or accolades that they deserved from David, around just how much they contributed to his rise to stardom. Woody is MORE than a true gentleman. He says, "Bowie had integrity." This was true artistically, but it's my opinion he treated Trevor Bolder and Woody poorly. They themselves had no idea David was retiring Ziggy at the final concert at the Hammersmith Odeon until David actually announced it to the audience, just prior to launching into "Rock 'N Roll Suicide." Here, Woody hasn't an unkind word. What a diplomat. What an amazing musician. What a wonderful man. Thank you so much for bringing this wonderful interview to us. Best wishes.

Dont know if you will see this Woody...but Guildford,the spring of 73,i was 17,it was the Ziggy tour i went to the 2nd of two shows that day.The fascinating thing about it all,before the 2nd show,the four of you showed up through the side door of this pub,full stage outfits,me and a mate were made up also,but we didnt approach you guys,you left with several bottles of booze,and considering the bar was full of ex service men,i was surprised any of us got out of there alive.....and the show....wow,best show i ever saw,raw and visceral,it was amazing.saw David 2 other times through his career,and he never gave a bad performance.But 73,remains a highlight of my life,it showed me "hey you can be anything you want,you can be as different as you want be",It is to this day one of my very fondest memories.

Woody is like one of the lads talking about his life experience ,it’s as though he doesn’t know he’s a legend.....just wonderful

Brilliant interview. What a down to earth nice guy he is. Played incredible drums on some of the greatest songs ever written.

What a brilliant interview. Bowie was & always will, be a legend & a rock God to billions of people around the world. However, the foundations for his global stardom started when he assembled the Spiders from Mars. Woody, Trevor and Mick were absolutely integral to his early success and they are all legends. Woody is a fantastic drummer & clearly a wonderful, down to earth STAR MAN.

Fabulous interview! Thank God ,there is at least one of 'The Spiders From Mars' still living who can give an insight into the period, and the work of Bowie and 'one of the greatest and most unsung Rock 'n' Roll bands' of all time! God Bless Woody! dx

"we only heard the song twice then recorded" HELL what a band.

Great made Interview! No glitter, just words. And Mick is a very good storyteller, so honest.

What a humble guy ... good natural interview.

part of the best of my past was bowie and the spiders,forever grateful thanks

Lovely. 'Life On Mars?' is among the most brilliant pieces of music recorded in the last century. Nice to hear the background story.

Saw them Greyhound Croydon 1972 just after Ziggy came out. Pay at the door, at the bar actually, £1.25. Best gig I ever saw.

What a Great Guy Woody is ❤😊

Great, great interview.

The last living spider from Mars 🥺

It's incredible to think that the Ziggy and Spiders tour only lasted 18 months from start to finish.

Very honest likable man.

Just read interview with Woody in today's Sunday Mirror!! Really glad he was able to make up with David Bowie, after the way that infamous last Ziggy gig ended. Very interesting interview, and worth a look! I'm intrigued to find out he's working with Joe Elliot...Def Leppard one of my fave bands!!!

Great interview. Very interesting.

Dave and I went to different schools together, great times, what a lad.

This was great, thanks for posting.

An exceptional and enlightening interview.

Saw U Boat several times, back in the 70s, at the Marquee Club in Wardour St, London. They always put on a great show. Ah! The memories 😃

There’s only one Ronno 👏👏👏great interview 🥂

thanx for your life, sharing music and these insights are heartfelt. Peace

BWoody Was straight shooter , you get what you got , a kind and generous guy , love the guy ..

"LIfe on Mars" is incredible Woody. Millions agree. xx

Wonderful descriptions by Woody.

Great drummer!

Excellent interview! Thanks for sharing this! Cheers, Doug

Absolute GOLD. Thank you so much.

So inviting - so exciting to play the part I could play the wild mutation as a rock & roll star

hunky dory, tmwstw.the spiders, all classics!

hello, i believe you do dianetics and scientology..great stuff .me too but living in france now so a bit difficult.. you guys were my heroes.that album got played so much..👍

Tony Defries was the brains that managed Bowie, he was the one who got the advances and tour support from RCA, you can say what you want but without Defries there would not have been a Bowie.

It seems from Woody's stories here that the Spiders from Mars were very good studio musicians for Bowie. They recorded exactly what he wanted quickly. How selfish of Bowie to discard them so soon after they helped him gain international stardom. Rick Wakeman made the correct choice.

17:00 2 takes. Boom.

ah nice story at the end.

is it perhaps the lighting or does Woody have a butterfly shaped redness around his eyes, bridge of his nose?

Did He used to do Bullseye?

What was the tour when DB died?

Takin the Mickey. Does that mean mocking or teasing someone?

Woody Should Try To Conjur Up Some Spider Magic

I'll swap 'ye a ticket for a time-machine.

no WW...no TMWSTW,no ZS & SFM...

Brain fart, but who played bass?

𝙍𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙍𝙞𝙙𝙚...𝙘𝙪𝙯 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣!!