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Baker's Dozen

Jamming Good: Spiders Drummer Woody Woodmansey's Favourite Bowie Moments
Valerie Siebert , February 22nd, 2017 09:50

During the earthly sojourn of Ziggy Stardust, Woody Woodmansey laid down the rhythm for David Bowie's mercurial backing band The Spiders From Mars. Here he talks Valerie Siebert through his 13 favourite Bowie tracks, sharing personal memories of how they were made along the way.

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'Scary Monsters'
This one I didn't play on! It's one of those songs that just came over on the radio. I think I heard it on the radio before I even heard it on the album. It was Bowie at his best for me. There were a few that did that. I always loved the odd side of Bowie, the odd subjects he chose and his way of putting it across… an artful way of putting across something scary or apocalyptic. He had an arty way of expressing it so you could actually accept it. It was a bit creepy! It was like all the perverted things in the world are in that song, but he never sang about them. Yet it was in there! I always thought that was such a talent, to make people think something, without actually having to say it. Maybe that says a lot for my mind [laughs], I know! But it's just an amazing ability to do that, I think. That is what music is all about. It's larger than just words. I just feel like 'Scary Monsters' is a great example of that. I would have loved to have played on that one.