Michael "Woody" Woodmansey is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the release of Bowie's 1972 LP The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. With the death of Bowie in January 2016, Woodmansey is the last surviving member of the Ziggy Stardust studio band. In May 1978, he became drummer to the band Screen Idols, who had success with two albums in the UK.
Career
Woodmansey joined Bowie's backing groupThe Hype, which later became The Spiders from Mars. He played on Bowie's albums The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane. Woodmansey was replaced in The Spiders from Mars by Aynsley Dunbar, who played on Bowie's next album, the 1973 covers albumPin Ups. Woodmansey re-formed The Spiders from Mars for one album, along with bass playerTrevor Bolder. This necessitated a change of personnel, with Dave Black on lead guitar because Mick Ronson was unavailable and Pete McDonald supplying lead vocals. Guest keyboardist was Mike Garson, who had been a major part of Bowie's line-up from the Ziggy Stardust days. Bowie made no contribution to the album which was named The Spiders From Mars. 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. The album was subsequently re-released in 2006 as Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat. Woodmansey has also played with Art Garfunkel. He played in the band Cybernauts, and is currently the featured drummer with 3-D. He also co-leads, with Tony Visconti, the supergroup Holy Holy, performing David Bowie songs from the 1970s, including the full The Man Who Sold the World album. Woodmansey toured with Holy Holy in September 2014, and followed up with tours of the UK, USA and Japan during the following two years. The group has featured Erdal Kızılçay, Glenn Gregory, Steve Norman, Marc Almond and James Stevenson. Woodmansey published his autobiography Spider From Mars: My Life With David Bowie in 2016. It was co-written with author Joel McIver and includes a foreword by Bowie's producer and friend Tony Visconti.
