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. I’d been listening to bands such as Led Zeppelin and Cream over the previous couple of years; Bowie’s influences were obviously completely different. My friends wouldn’t even know who Bowie was if I asked them about him. 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.

The anecdotes that are related in the book are mainly not ones that a person would expect to be told by a man in his early twenties (at the time) regarding the massive impact that this group of musicians had on the world in general who toured the entire planet. But that time period is now 40 or fifty years gone. First wave U.S. David Bowie fans will immediately recognize the name Woody Woodmansey as the drummer for The Spiders From Mars. For others that didn’t catch on until The Thin White Duke phase or later, this book is an insider account of Bowie’s earliest success and transformation from an English folk singer into Ziggy Stardust – from conception to fame to final bows. 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.

Martian Drummer unravels web of intrigue

So here we are, blood, toil, tears and sweat - and not a lot of cash... but then great things are seldom accomplished without casualties. Woodmansey converted to Scientology after being introduced to it by Mike Garson [11] and had his wedding service at a Scientology church in Sussex. [12] Woody did not even like Bowie's music, but he decided to go to London thinking he might regret it after he did not.

In hindsight, it was an audacious move. Bowie could have been Ziggy for the rest of his life but he wouldn’t and couldn’t. He was always moving forward, always changing, never predictable. But not so much fun for the Spiders who had to go and find other work. A poignant memoir by the last surviving member of David Bowie’s The Spiders from Mars, drummer Woody Woodmansey. It might be difficult to imagine now, but in early 1970 Bowie seemed like a one-hit wonder. His single ‘Space Oddity’, which got to Number 5 in the charts, had come and gone, and the follow-up, ‘The Prettiest Star’, had flopped. Woody Woodmansey is the last living member of the legendary Spiders from Mars who accompanied Ziggy Stardust in his adventures on the planet Earth.

Woody 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. 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.

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. The book is well written, and reads like a documentary concerning the arc of the bands existence and a complete index to the songs performed and concert locations the book revolves for the most part on Mr. Woodmansey's life as a musician, and the history of events from youth through his musical legacy. Cann, Kevin (2010). Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974. Croydon, Surrey: Adelita. ISBN 978-0-9552017-7-6.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 Mars But Spider from Mars is a record of a man who’s still in love with music and drumming having worked with the greats and one of the most influential artists of all time. 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.’