Tony Visconti

Born in Brooklyn in 1944 into an Italian-American family, Tony Visconti received a thorough musical education early on—rock guitar, orchestral double bass and arranging—before moving to London in 1968. There he established himself as a producer, arranger and bassist across styles from rock and glam rock to orchestral pop, art rock and folk rock. His career is closely linked to Marc Bolan and T. Rex, for whom he produced Electric Warrior (1971) and The Slider (1972), and to David Bowie, with whom he worked from David Bowie (1969) through Blackstar (2016), including The Man Who Sold the World (1970), Low and “Heroes” (1977), Lodger (1979) and Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (1980). Visconti also played bass with The Hype and on The Man Who Sold the World, anchoring his work both on stage and in the studio. Over the decades he has also collaborated with Iggy Pop, Thin Lizzy, Sparks, Morrissey, Angélique Kidjo, The Damned and The Good, the Bad & the Queen. Under his own name he released Visconti’s Inventory in 1977, then It’s a Selfie in 2019 and Apollo 80 in 2024, continuing a practice centered on writing, arranging and production.