Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band, formed in 1976.

History

Phil Murray and Dave Black were two members of a local

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

band. In 1975, Black was asked to replace Mick Ronson as lead guitarist in

The Spiders from Mars The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...

, as they reformed after their

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

era. In 1976 Black left The Spiders, and put Murray in contact with

Woody Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) 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 relea ...

; and together with Phil Plant, Frankie Marshall and eventually Martin Smith, U-Boat came into being. Signed to

Bronze Records Bronze Records was an independent English record label founded in 1971 by record producer Gerry Bron on Oxford Street in London, eventually relocating to Chalk Farm. History Bron had been producing Uriah Heep for Vertigo Records, and he set up ...

, their first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''U1'', was recorded at the Roundhouse Recording Studios, and

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Gerry Bron Gerald Lincoln "Gerry" Bron (1 March 1933 – 18 June 2012) was an English record producer and band manager. Early life and education Bron was born in Hendon, Middlesex, into a Jewish family, the elder brother of actress Eleanor Bron. Their fath ...

. Bron placed U-Boat as support band on the extensive 1977 Uriah Heep UK and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an 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 The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

during their five-week residency in the summer of 1977. The band were influential with many emerging punk outfits.

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

was a fan, emerging with a remarkably similar group image during the "

Are Friends Electric? Are commonly refers to: * Are (unit), a unit of area equal to 100 m2 Are, ARE or Åre may also refer to: Places * Åre, a locality in Sweden * Åre Municipality, a municipality in Sweden **Åre ski resort in Sweden * Are Parish, a municipal ...

" period. The

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

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 Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

at RAK Records, before eventually embarking on a successful personal development book writing career.

References

''Spider From Mars: My Life With David Bowie (autobiography)''

by Mike 'Woody' Woodmansey (2019) UK. Chapter Three, p164. ibid. {{Authority control English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1977 Musical quintets Bronze Records artists