All The Madmen

Fifty years after its release, DAVID BOWIE bassist TONY VISCONTI recounts the making of The Man Who Sold the World — and the rocking influence of guitarist MICK RONSON

- By Mark McStea

David Bowie’s third album, The Man Who Sold the World, was released in the U.S. in November 1970, before getting its release in Bowie’s homeland (the U.K., of course) in April 1971. It marked a notable change in Bowie’s songwriting and musical direction, featuring hard-rocking riffs and extended guitar heroics from legendary axeman Mick Ronson, and seemed to be the stepping stone between the “hippy folkie” Bowie and the glam-rock god.

Ronson became Bowie’s essential sonic and visual foil, and his influence extended beyond the first flush of glam rock into punk and metal, both American and British. Randy Rhoads saw Ronson playing live with Bowie in Santa Monica in 1972 and borrowed his choice of guitar and haircut from Ronno. Cult guitarist Billy Duffy has often cited Ronson as his primary influence. Ronson went on to a solo career after Bowie disbanded the Spiders from Mars in 1973, and also performed with Bob Dylan and Ian Hunter before his untimely death from cancer in 1993. (Ronson fans should check out the box set Only After Dark, released late last year).

TMWSTW was produced by Tony Visconti, who also played bass with Bowie at that time. To mark the 50th anniversary of its release, Visconti was happy to discuss the making of the album and the challenges of recreating it live in its entirety in his current band, Holy Holy, which, incidentally, features former Spider from Mars Woody Woodmansey on drums.