How Steve Jones Stole Ziggy and Spiders Gear From Their Stage

Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones recalled how he managed to steal musical equipment from David Bowie the night before the last-ever Ziggy Stardust concert in 1973.

Versions of the story have been passed around for decades. However, in a recent interview with The Guardian, Jones corrected some myths and explained what happened when he later owned up to Bowie and Spiders drummer Woody Woodmansey.

Confirming he hadn’t liberated items from trucks outside London’s Hammersmith Odeon, Jones said, “It was on the stage! They played two nights, and after the first night, they left all the gear up.

“I knew the Hammersmith Odeon like the back of my hand – I used to bunk in there all the time. I was like the Phantom of Hammersmith Odeon!

“It was about two in the morning … there was no one there other than a guy sitting on the fourth or fifth row, asleep; he was snoring. It was dead silent. I tiptoed across the stage and I nicked some cymbals, the bass player’s [amplifier] head … and some microphones. I got Bowie’s microphone with his lipstick on it!”

He got away in a stolen minivan, but Bowie soon discovered who had committed the crime. When asked if he ever admitted it, Jones said, “I kind of did, on a phone call … he thought it was funny.

How Steve Jones Made Up for Stealing Spiders Drummer’s Gear

“Actually, I don’t think I nicked anything off him; I don’t think the microphones were his. The only ones I felt bad for were Woody and [bassist] Trevor Bolder.”

Jones described the unusual circumstances in which he admitted to Woodmansey what he’d done. “He came on my radio show a few years back, and I thought I’d tell him live, when we were on the air. … I was like, ‘I’ve got to make amends to you, Woody, I nicked some of your cymbals. What can I do to make it right?’

“He goes, ‘I don’t know – give us a couple of hundred bucks.’ I think I gave him $300, so he was well happy!”