Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey to perform David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World album live

David Bowie’s long-term producer Tony Visconti and Mick “Woody” Woodmansey – the only surviving member of The Spider’s From Mars – will perform Bowie’s third album The Man Who Sold The World, from 1970, in full. They will be joined by an ensemble of ten musicians including Spandau Ballet saxophone player Steve Norman and Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory, The Guardian reports. The event will take place at The Garage on September 17.

“The Man Who Sold the World was the first album Mick Ronson and I played on, our first even in a proper London studio, yet it never got played live,” Woodmansey told The Guardian. “It was the forerunner of what we could do sound-wise, and we just let rip. We spent three weeks recording [it] because we were creating the songs as we went.”

“This was the album that showed Bowie trying out things and finding his direction. The Man Who Sold The World was his first step into rock’n’roll. It got critical acclaim, but we never toured it, and in the live shows the album tracks never got touched on. So the idea of being able to go out and finally play some of those great tracks live was just so exciting.”

Visconti added that the album is key in Bowie’s career: “The Man Who Sold The World became the blueprint for the rest of David’s career. Virtually everything he’s done since, you can trace back to something on that album.”

Bowie has reportedly given his blessing to the project.