Spiders From Mars Drummer, and last remaining band member Woody Woodmansey talks Bowie, Holy Holy, McCartney, Rita Ora and Sociology.
Following our interview, Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey is outside smoking a cigarette. We’re discussing how it is sad that artists can’t smoke on stage anymore. That is part of the rock and roll essence after all. Woody, the last remaining member of David Bowie’s iconic band ‘The Spiders From Mars’ played drums for Bowie from 1970-73. He went on to form ‘U-Boat’ and played alongside musicians such as Paul McCartney and Art Garfunkel. We discussed his career and his Holy Holy tour with Bowie producer Tony Visconti where they play early Bowie material.
Sounds: You’ll remember Sounds from the first time around. What was your opinion on the paper?
WW: It was always the best one for me, it was the best paper. It wasn’t catty. The others tended to be if they felt like it. I used to read reviewers and I knew they hadn’t been to the gig. I think how could you do that?
Sounds: What was your favorite out of the four Bowie albums you played on? and why?
WW: Tough question. That is… (long silence) God. I could only go for two, and for two completely different reasons. One is ‘The Man Who Sold The World’. It was the first time I had played in a big studio in London. I’d only played a little demo thing twice before going into this place called Advision. I was playing with Tony Visconti who had a name as a producer working with T. Rex, and he did stuff with The Move so it was a big deal. It was a musical album. Mick Ronson and I had been playing progressive rock which was a bit cleverer to play. So we got a chance to record in the style we were familiar with. My other favorite was ‘Hunky Dory’. Just Bowie as a songwriter finding his way. He found how to write in the way he wanted to write and he hadn’t really had that together before. So just for the songs, it was that album.
Sounds: That’s my favorite Bowie album from that period
WW: Is it? I think it is mine too. Tough question. I hope the others get easier. (Laughs)
Sounds: You mentioned The Man Who Sold The World being inspired by progressive rock. Which progressive bands did you take influence from?
WW: It was all the early stuff really. I’d come up through the Yardbirds, into The Jeff Beck Group. Mick was into the same thing. Then we went to Hendrix, Cream and Zeppelin. Those were the predominant ones.
Sounds: You knew you had a great album sonically and songwise with Ziggy Stardust, how much do you think the costumes and theatrics had an effect on the success? and how did they affect you personally?
WW: Did They? (laughs) There was a fight to start with I have to admit but luckily it wasn’t all done on one weekend. You know what I mean? You’d be like watching TV and he’d pass me a piece of paper and it would have drawings on it. Sketches done with pencil. Saying “this is what I’m thinking about. This is what we’re going to wear”. And we were already quite happy with what we were wearing.
Sounds: Casual, Jeans and a shirt?
WW: Yeah yeah. We ended up in like Liberties material department two days later picking this wild material and I honestly thought we were having new curtains for the flat. But they were a bit bright. And we hadn’t really seen makeup and that. We did a program called Lift Off. We played ‘Starman’ on there before Top Of The Pops and David pulled this box out and it was full of what is now recognized as women’s…well not women’s. Just makeup. He just started putting it on and our mouths dropped open basically. We were like ‘what the hecks he, what’s going on’. He just took it very cool. He said “you boys not wearing makeup?” and we gave a response that I can’t repeat (laughs). And then he said “It’s a shame because the stage light tends to pull all the features out of your face. Nobody will recognize you. You’ll look a bit ill actually”. We had no experience in that. And then we realized how much the girls liked it. You’d hear us in the dressing room at gigs “have you nicked my mascara?” , “No I haven’t!” “you had it yesterday” you know it was all like that but it was good.
Sounds: Do you think the costumes affected the album’s success?
WW: Definitely. It’s good music but when you’re not getting the attention you’re invisible. All that we got classed as was glam rock but we never considered ourselves glam rock. It was always more arty and theatrical.
Sounds: What is your favorite song to play in the Holy Holy live set?
WW: Ooh again, hard. I like playing ‘Moonage Daydream’. I just love that track.
Sounds: Who were your influences as a fledgling drummer?
WW: I started with the top ten stuff. Bands like The Small Faces and The Kinks. That kind of thing. And then it went to the blues. So you were following John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers. Learning the blues and how to play it helped give the song a ‘feel’. A lot of it is the same but you had to really learn to feel it. Otherwise you looked stupid. If somebody puts a song in front of you you’re grasping to find the feel of it.
Sounds: I think the drumming on ‘Five Years’ has that feel. The way the ¾ signature complements Bowie’s desolating lyrics.
WW: I kind of went through that when he said he wanted the drums to start the album.
Sounds: You played on the Spirit Of Play ‘Children In Need’ single.
WW: Yeah!
Sounds: What was your experience like working with Paul McCartney?
WW: In the 70s Paul was putting wings together. He invited me to audition but I didn’t turn up. We all have our bad moments in life. When reuniting it was really good. It brought back watching The Beatles going through their changes. They were the big thing that had happened in pop music. And now you’re playing with one of The Beatles. He said, “Come on let’s have a jam before we start”. So we were jamming. I was just trying to fit in every Ringo drum fill that I could think of (laughs) and I probably wasn’t impressing him. He then said, “let’s do some reggae”. Paul McCartney doing reggae? – ok. Did a bit of that. And it was good.
Sounds: Mike Garson introduced you to sociology? what is it about sociology that kept your interest all these years later?
WW: I’d have to explain it really as a personal thing. I was really shy. Really shy. I had a good front. Always. So people didn’t know. But inside in most situations, my heart was going thump thump thump. And the bigger we got the worse it got because you’re forced into those situations. It was not something I liked. I was talking to him (Mike Garson) about it one day and he just said there’s this course you can do and it can handle stuff like that. It was done by L. Ron Hubbard (A New Slang On Life). I decided to do it. In two weeks I’d handled 80 percent of the shyness, the nervousness. It just showed me stuff I’ve never experienced. So it was amazing for me. Imagine being like that and all of a sudden you’re not like that. I could talk to the president, I could stand in front of 10,000 people. I never dreamed that I could ever do that. So it was a major life changing thing.
Sounds: You collaborated on the most recent Rita Ora album, how did this collaboration come about?
WW: I was just sitting at home and I got this email from the producer and he said: I’m chancing it and you probably won’t want to do it but I’m doing Rita Ora’s album. Would you want to do any tracks? I got back to him and he said I didn’t think I’d hear from you. He said he was on an aeroplane to London, he’d just done Justin Bieber’s single and by the time he landed it was #1 in England. He said he most wanted to play with me. I thought I’d give it a shot.
Sounds: Where did you record it?
WW: At RAK studios in London. Really good place. I knew Rita Ora by name and fashion but I hadn’t really noticed her music at all. Wasn’t my thing. We did one track (for the album) and we did some others that will probably go on other albums. I didn’t even know she could sing you know? and then she played me a video. I was like ok you’ve got a voice. And it was good.
Sounds: Who do you have your eyes on musically in the age of modern music?
WW: I love a band called Rival Sons. They’re a rock band from L.A. I haven’t done this for years but I have five albums probably over the last maybe 7 years or something. And they’ve got that spirit of early rock and roll. Like rock. Doing it in a slightly (but not much) changed from your Zeppelin and other good rock bands. But great singer, great guitarist, fantastic drummer, the bass players a bass player (laughs). They’re just really good. And they record the way we used to record. It’s not like a precious plate to death until you get a perfect take (which we never did). They sometimes go into a studio with nothing written and just jam. As soon as they’ve got it they’ve got it. And you can hear it. And that’s one thing that’s missing from a lot of music nowadays. They polish it to perfection.
Sounds: In the age of Pro Tools we can edit so easily.
WW: Yeah, it kills it. It does.
Sounds: How did you come to an agreement for who to use as vocalist (for Holy Holy)?
WW: I’d just been using a guy who was around. He could sing some of the Ziggy ones okay. I tried a few L.A guys out as well. I thought we’re going to do ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ because we never did it live so I decided to give Tony a ring (to play bass). I didn’t really think he would be into it. I thought it might take me two hours to convince him. And the minute I told him he told me “wherever you’ll be playing Woody I’ll be there”. He asked if I’d got a vocalist. And I said I had but didn’t know if he can handle ‘The Man Who Sold The World’. He said I’ve just done a solo album with Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17). He’ll kill it. He came in and we went into rehearsals. He played ‘Width Of A Circle’ and he nailed it. It just clicked.
Cover Photo Credit: Press Association
