TALK 21: From Hull To Bowie

Although David Bowie performed only once in Hull, the story of his rise to international stardom is inextricably linked to the city and a web of local musicians.

From the Hullaballoos to the Spiders from Mars, Hull in the late 1960s and early 1970s played an improbable but crucial role in the career trajectory of London-based Bowie. This article talk how Hull born Mick Wayne, who played the lead solo on ‘Space Oddity’, led Hull musician John Cambridge to being Bowie’s drummer, and who in turn brought Mick Ronson and Bowie together in 1970, despite Ronson’s huge misgivings about leaving a secure job as a council gardener in Hull. Ronson subsequently brought in Hull musicians Woody Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder to form the Spiders from Mars. Linking them all is a free outdoor concert in Hull’s East Park back in 1968, organised as a profile raiser for the embryonic Hull Arts Centre.

At that gig playing variously together or in different bands, were all the musicians who had or would come to play a role in shaping Bowie’s subsequent career, leading to the iconic albums ‘Hunky Dory’, Ziggy Stardust’ and ‘Aladdin Sane’.

Timings & Tours

Friday 13 September:

1115

Location & directions

Wrecking Ball Music and Books, 15 Whitefriargate, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU1 2ER

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

Please note that there is a flight of stairs up to the lecture room.

Additional information

Est. tour duration:

1 hour(s)

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