Living Nostalgia: Holy Holy in Holland
Review: Holy Holy in Haarlem, 23 September 2026
David Bowie’s passing in 2016 has created a splash of bands in all forms and shapes that commemorate his body of work. Some are downright cover bands, others have a stronger link to the artist. Holy Holy is such a group, formed around Bowie’s producer-extraordinair Tony Visconti and Spiders from Mars-drummer Woody Woodmansey. We went to see them in the PHIL in the Dutch Holland city of Haarlem.
Holy Holy actually was created on a dare even before David Bowie passed away. Since the legendary album The Man Who Sold the World (1970) was never played in its entirety, Woody Woodmansey asked producer and bass player Tony Visconti if he was up for it. They took to the road and indeed the album was performed from beginning to end. The band saw several itterations after that, and in 2026 they play a rather nostalgic collection of songs on the tagline that it is the Final Tour. For the first time they came to The Netherlands, visiting the Holland city of Haarlem. We saw a show delivered with lots of passion, rock ’n roll and the more than occasional emotional chord.
The hall filled up with Bowie fans of all ages, but mostly those who experienced the man first-hand. For us, Bowie arrivals from the 1990s, some songs have an almost mythical status. Take The Width of a Circle, or Moonage Daydream, both edged into the collective mind because of iconic performances. Ziggy Stardust mimicking fellatio on Mick Ronson’s guitar, immortalized by that photograph by Mick Rock. It accompanies the song forever. That is Moonage Daydream. But the frantic Width, almost the birth of punk rock on stage, runs a close second. Holy Holy performed these and other classics with gusto. It helps that guitarist James Stevenson is a total Mick Ronson adept, which he proved on numerous occasions. He also took the spotlight with a sensitive rendition of Eight Line Poem, a Bowie song in name, but according to James Stevenson a true Ronno-composition. Whatever the case, the audience got a chance to refresh those goosebumps.
Holy Holy played songs created between 1969 and 1974. Only on two moments did they straddle from the course, by playing an uninspired Ashes to Ashes (1980) and a version of Where Are We Now? (2013). The latter was accompanied by a heartfelt story by singer Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 fame. He commemorated the evening after Bowie’s passing in January 2016. Even though the option of cancelling that gig would have been very understandable, Holy Holy decided to play. It became a dear memory to the band. However strong the sentiment, this band best keeps to the (glam)rock ’n roll of Bowie’s early years. It just sounds, looks and feels like that these songs fit like a glove. And this is why classics like Five Years, Time, Life on Mars? and Changes sounds amazing.
It is worth a compliment that Holy Holy tried to tackle the impossible by playing Lady Grinning Soul. It did not work. The revenge came in the form of Panic in Detroit, including a Woody drum solo, and a true to form The Man Who Sold the World. Nostalgia dripping from the stage. Fans can rejoice that these songs will live forever, performed by immortal musicians.
TOM VAN ENGELEN, © Concertology, SEPTEMBER 2026