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Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat was an English rock band, formed in 1976.
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Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat was an English rock band, formed in 1976.
Phil Murray and Dave Black were two members of a local Tyneside band. In 1975, Black was asked to replace Mick Ronson as lead guitarist in The Spiders from Mars, as they reformed after their David Bowie era. In 1976 Black left The Spiders, and put Murray in contact with Woody Woodmansey; and together with Phil Plant, Frankie Marshall and eventually Martin Smith, U-Boat came into being.
Signed to Bronze Records, their first album, U1, was recorded at the Roundhouse Recording Studios, and produced by Gerry Bron. Bron placed U-Boat as support band on the extensive 1977 Uriah Heep UK and European tour. Bron suggested that prefixing Woody Woodmansey’s, to the name U-Boat, would for marketing purposes help sales, thus the name was edited just before release of the first album.
U-Boat broke attendance records at the Marquee Club during their five-week residency in the summer of 1977. The band were influential with many emerging punk outfits. Gary Numan was a fan, emerging with a remarkably similar group image during the "Are Friends Electric?" period. The Sex Pistols sent U-Boat a telegram to say that, regardless of not being invited, they would support U-Boat at the ill-fated 1976 Burstow Festival.
One of the last appearances U-Boat made was at the Reading Festival of 1977.
They had begun recording their second album, (to have been called U2), when friction between Woodmansey and their manager caused a damaging rift. Murray and Smith remained with the manager, whilst the other three formed another band. Murray signed to Private Stock Records, and then had three years signed to Mickie Most at RAK Records, before eventually embarking on a successful personal development book writing career.
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock. They are also regarded as an influential proto-punk band. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes.
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it simply "rock and roll".
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. Their current lineup consists of guitarist Mick Box, keyboardist Phil Lanzon, lead vocalist Bernie Shaw, drummer Russell Gilbrook, and bassist Dave Rimmer. They have experienced numerous lineup changes throughout their 53-year career, leaving Box as the only remaining original member. Notable former members of the band are vocalists David Byron, John Lawton, John Sloman, Peter Goalby, and Steff Fontaine, bassists Gary Thain, Trevor Bolder, John Wetton, Bob Daisley, Paul Newton, and John Jowitt, drummers Nigel Olsson, Iain Clark, Lee Kerslake and Chris Slade, and keyboardists Ken Hensley and John Sinclair.
Michael Ronson was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician who recorded five studio albums with Bowie followed by four with Ian Hunter, and also worked as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.
Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a strong regional following, noted for their outlandish costumes and makeup. After Tim Finn's brother Neil joined as co-lead vocalist and songwriter, the band came to embrace a more streamlined and pop-oriented approach and became pioneers of new wave. The band achieved worldwide indie stardom in the 1980s, with particular success in New Zealand, Canada and Australia.
The Sweet, are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker. The group were originally called The Sweetshop.
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Brand X were a jazz fusion band formed in London in 1974. They were active until 1980, followed by a reformation between 1992 and 1999, and were active following a 2016 reunion until 2021. Members have included John Goodsall (guitar), Percy Jones (bass), Robin Lumley (keyboards), and Phil Collins (drums). Jones was the sole constant member throughout the band's existence until October 2020 when he left the band. Founding member Goodsall died on 10 November 2021.
Private Stock Records was a record label that operated from 1974 to 1978.
On Parole is a studio recording released by British rock band Motörhead. It was intended as their first album and left unreleased at the time of its completion in 1976, and it was not released until over three years later, on 8 December 1979, after the commercial success of Overkill and Bomber that same year. It was released without the band's permission, and they consequently distanced themselves from it. As a result, it was not considered an official release by the band at the time and they did not want it released, as they had moved on, since then, first to Chiswick Records and then to Bronze Records.
Christina 'Licorice' McKechnie is a Scottish musician. She was a singer and songwriter in The Incredible String Band between 1968 and 1972. Her whereabouts have been publicly unknown since 1987, when she was last seen hitchhiking across the Arizona desert.
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Cybernauts were a David Bowie cover band, formed as a tribute to Mick Ronson, featuring Def Leppard members Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, former Spiders from Mars members Trevor Bolder and Mick "Woody" Woodmansey, and keyboardist/vocalist, Dick Decent.
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 became the last surviving member of the Ziggy Stardust studio band.
"The Width of a Circle" is a song written by English musician David Bowie in 1969 for the album The Man Who Sold the World, recorded in spring 1970 and released later that year in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. The opening track on the album, it is a hard rock song with heavy metal overtones. Bowie had performed a shorter version of the song in concerts for several months before recording it.
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The George Hatcher Band is an American Southern Rock band formed by vocalist/songwriter George Hatcher after moving to England in the summer of 1975. Between 1976 and 1985, the group released 5 studio albums and one live in-studio EP.
by Mike 'Woody' Woodmansey (2019) UK. Chapter Three, p164. ibid.
