DURING HIS FIFTY YEARS IN MUSIC, MANY NOTABLE CHARACTERS HAVE ORBITED THE WORK OF DAVID BOWIE. AND THERE ARE A SELECT FEW WHO ARE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE STORY – CENTRAL FIGURES WHO HAVE HAD A DIRECT INFLUENCE ON HIS CREATIVITY; WHOSE NAMES, WHEN MENTIONED, EVOKE A PARTICULAR MAGIC…

Bass-player / producer Tony Visconti and drummer Woody Woodmansey enjoy a privileged perspective on Bowie’s ascent to global fame. Woodmansey was a member of white-hot back-up band The Spiders From Mars (alongside fellow Yorkshiremen Trevor Bolder on bass and peerless guitarist Mick Ronson), and was right there in the eye of the cosmic storm during the Ziggy Stardust years. Visconti was bass player in pre-Spiders outfit The Hype, but is perhaps most noted for his career in production – including T-Rex, The Moody Blues and Morrissey and, of course, David Bowie’s own YOUNG AMERICANS, LOW, “HEROES”, LODGER, SCARY MONSTERS, HEATHEN, REALITY and 2013 comeback THE NEXT DAY.

Woodmansey and Visconti are key members of HOLY HOLY – a touring collective made up of musicians with close working or personal connections to David Bowie, or whose own work has been influenced by him. A live album has been released recently, featuring a complete rendition of 1970’s often underrated album THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD alongside more familiar classics from Bowie’s early material. All of it is performed with great respect. Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory takes the lion’s share of the vocals and Mick Ronson’s daughter Lisa has her own moment in the spotlight with a stunning version of LADY STARDUST. During the afternoon of an emotional homecoming show in spiritual home Hull, Glenn and Lisa talked to The Mouth Magazine about Holy Holy and, of course, Bowie himself… Listen below.

To buy tickets for the remaining HOLY HOLY tour dates go here
To buy a copy of the HOLY HOLY album go here

To hear our amazing interview with Woody Woodmansey in a previous edition of The Mouthcast go here