Earl Slick
In 2000, Slick played alongside David Bowie for the first time in seventeen years, and while clearly relishing classics like Stay and Fame, replete with their original guitar-rock power, Slick showed a more sophisticated, richly mature touch on newer material such as Seven, and with a sublimely melancholy solo for Wild Is The Wind.
This (2001) interview is conducted by Faye Upton, friend of and English correspondent for Earl Slick, with questions from Marcel de Groot.
Mark Plati
In 1997 Mark co-produced David Bowie’s ‘Earthling’ album, which marked the beginning of a period where he produced, recorded, mixed, or performed on most of Bowie’s musical output until 2003.
In 1999 Mark switched gears and began a three year stint as Musical Director and guitarist/bassist with Bowie, performing with him in Europe and the U.S. at such shows as the Glastonbury Festival, NetAid, the Montreux Jazz Festival, VH-1 Storytellers, The Concert for New York, and the Area 2 Tour with Moby. He supervised the live execution of two complete Bowie albums - ‘Heathen,’ and the classic ‘Low.’
Friday, July 18, 2003, at 8.30 am ‘The Voyeur’ had a social meeting with Mark Plati, leader of the Robbie Williams band and former Bowie bandleader, at the luxurious Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam.
Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey was recruited by David for his 1995 Outside Tour with Nine Inch Nails; a six week tour that turned into one of contemporary music's most enchanting unions. Dorsey has affixed her deep pocket, melodic bass and distinguished vocals to the 1997 Earthling CD, the 2002 Heathen CD, and Bowie's most recent release, Reality. She recorded "Planet of Dreams", a duet with Bowie on the 1997 EMI UK benefit CD release, Long Live Tibet, as well as several other live recordings, world tours, videos, and countless major media events. Gail performed with David Bowie at "The Concert For New York" at Madison Square Gardens, where he opened the historic event with his classic "Heroes".
Aside from her recent tours with David Bowie, Gail Ann Dorsey has just released her first solo album in over a decade called ‘I Used To be’. To promote her new album Gail visited the Amsterdam Melkweg. In our December 2004 magazine we published a review of Gail’s concert. Because of Gail’s busy agenda that day we did not had time for an interview and agreed to interview her by email. Below you will find the result of the email-conversation ‘The Voyeur’ had with the lovely Miss Gail Ann Dorsey.
George Underwood
In 1971 George Underwood formed the Main Artery studio, which produced record sleeves for David Bowie as well as T. Rex, Procol Harem & Gentle Giant and he played saxophone for John Martyn. In 1972 George undertook a commission to create a visual record of Bowie's first American “Ziggy Stardust” tour. Bowie invited both George and Birgit Underwood to tour the US with him. George Underwood was rhythm guitarist and harmonica player in the first band David Bowie recorded with, Davie Jones & The King Bees, their single, "Liza Jane"/"Louie Louie Go Home," issued in June 1964. Shortly after it flopped, The King Bees disbanded, with Bowie (at that time known as David Jones) moving on to other bands, and then a solo career. Underwood was the only one of The King Bees to play a role in Bowie's subsequent career, as he did the painting of Bowie that appeared on the back of the singer's 1969 David Bowie album, and worked for Bowie's management company, Mainman, as a designer and graphic artist.
In 2003 George had his first one man show as a painter, which was a great success. George has, over the years, refined his work to the point and put him among the top figurative painters coming out of the UK right now. May 2006 'The Voyeur' had an exclusive interview with George that turned out very interesting. Thanks to Ruud den Ouden for his assistance.
George Simms
On a warm pre-summer day on July 5th 2006, I drove 300 km to a little picturesque village near the Belgian coast, called 'De Haan' to visit George Simms, long-time backup singer for David Bowie on several albums such as: 'Let's Dance', 'Tonight' and 'Black Tie, White Noise'. George also did the backup singing on the 'Serious Moonlight Tour' and the 'Outside' tour. I've met George before in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1995. This time, an exclusive interview for 'The Voyeur' was planned.
While our friends went to the beach just a few meters behind us, we settled down in the garden of the apartment. George is very friendly and speaks many languages, including Dutch, even with slang, as if he was from The Hague! The sound of an accordion floated out of one of the windows and even sometimes a cock screamed to us! George wanted to start the interview immediately and talked on and on for more than two hours.
Woody Woodmansey
Early this year Gillian Glover (daughter of Roger Glover from Deep Purple) released her debut solo album “Red Handed”. Drummer on this album is Woody Woodmansey, legendary Spiders from Mars drummer on the Bowie albums The Man Who Sold The World, Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. With the help of Tom Wilcox, Gillian’s manager we got in touch with Woody’s lovely wife, June Woodmansey. June’s help resulted in the revealing interview below.
John Hutchinson
In 1966 Hutch met by chance a then unknown David Bowie, who asked Hutch to join 'David Bowie and the Buzz' in a residency at the legendary Marquee Club. The band made TV and live appearances across the UK. Following a spell in Canada in 1968 Hutch returned to join Bowie and his girlfriend Hermione in an acoustic group called Feathers. From this period, after Hermione had departed, came Bowie and Hutch's original recorded version of 'Space Oddity'. After losing touch for a year or two, in 1973 David called upon Hutch again to join his 'Spiders from Mars' as 12 string guitarist for his 'Aladdin Sane' tours in USA, Japan and the UK.
In 2006 Hutch lived and worked for a time in Baku Azerbijan, in the Caspian Sea oil region, and played every week with his own band of Azeri and Russian musicians in the Old Baku Jazz Club. Both an initial 2007 solo tour of The Netherlands, playing small acoustic venues in the north of the country (Noord Holland) and subsequent tours annually with a Dutch bass and drums rhythm section were a great success and more appearances in The Netherlands are being scheduled.
The Voyeur interviewed Hutch at one of his visits to the Netherlands.