Woody Woodmansey didn’t know his late friend and collaborator David Bowie was “seriously” ill until he died.
Woody Woodmansey didn’t know David Bowie was “seriously” ill until he died.
The 75-year-old drummer, the last surviving original member of Bowie’s Spiders from Mars has recalled how his last contact with the Ziggy Stardust hitmaker was just a day before he passed away from liver cancer in January 2016.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz Managing Director Rick Sky at the inaugural ZIGGYFEST at Ziggy Green in London on Saturday (07.09.25), Woody said: “Tony Visconti knew he was ill, but he didn’t know he was that ill.
“I thought he was ill, but nothing serious, I just thought it was a simple problem.
“Tony [Visconti] thought he got through it. When we went to New York we heard ‘Oh David is coming down to sing with us’. But he hadn’t come.”
At the time, Woody was touring with Tony in the Bowie tribute band Holy Holy, performing Bowie’s early albums live.
And on January 8, 2016 – Bowie’s 69th birthday and the day his final album Blackstar was released – they played a show in New York City, where they decided to call him and have the audience sing Happy Birthday.
Woody recalled: Throughout the concert we thought, ‘Shall we give David a ring?’ we gave him a ring and he answered. And we wished him a Happy Birthday.
“It was pretty much the next day we heard he was dead.”
Woody also recalled the shock of finding out his friend had lost his hair due to chemotherapy.
He said: “He kept us back in the studio one time and said, ‘I’ve got a shock for you’. He was wearing a bowler hat at the time, and said ‘Are you ready for it?’. Then he took it off – and was completely bald. From the chemo.”
As well as Woody, Ziggyfest was also attended by Suzi Ronson, who was responsible for Bowie’s iconic look and guitarist Kevin Armstrong, who played with the Changes hitmaker for several years and joined a covers band for the night.
One of the highlights of the event was a competition to find the best Ziggy lookalike, which was won by a performer called Madame Crumpet, who sashayed away with a £500 prize.
The event was held at the Ziggy Green restaurant, which is dedicated to the Stardust period and features iconic photographs of Bowie by some of the world’s top photographers.
The restaurant – which is located in Heddon Street, where Bowie shot his iconic cover for his Ziggy album – is run by Prue Freeman and Tom Onions. The bash, which was attended by 160 people, lasted from noon to midnight, with never-ending champagne, drinks and food.
The event raised money for two important charities. Sarabande, fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s legacy project, which champions fearless artists and Magic Breakfast, which ensures that over 300,000 children across England and Scotland start their school day with a healthy breakfast, so no child is too hungry to learn.
Among the items auctioned were David Bowie’s golden microphone from the Ziggy Stardust Tour and a package of unopened artwork that a major Bowie photographer, Duffy, sent to Bowie. The package was never opened and has remained sealed ever since.
Woody Woodmansey didn’t realise how ill David Bowie was
