casapete

My old band always used to open dance sets with Barry White's 'You're the first my last...' Always a floor filler - not too fast and for some reason everyone knows it and can manage some sort of dance moves to it too!

Someone ought to tell your guitarist with the white Strat to get one too, or that beer on his valve combo might be the end of him. Edit - just seen he uses a wireless? Still asking for bother though....

LOL. Thought it was a bit unlikely Paul! Haven't heard of the Brothers Osborne though, will have to check out some more of their stuff.

Saw them on that tour, and honestly have no recollection of the two basses song either! Anyone any ideas ?

They had good stocks of Trace stuff, and always had a lot of GK too. Bought my first GK head from there - remember Dave setting it up and telling me to try it with any bass I liked from their massive selection, then leaving me in the upstairs bass dept for an hour to make a racket to my hearts content. Loved the fact that they gave good advice without ever trying to give you the hard sell, which always appealed to me. Always a good crack with the staff, who were very funny and dry without coming over as tw*ts at all, very unusual for music shops at the time.

Nice one Paul, saw them in the late 70’s in Manchester. Who was playing bass though?

Great story! I had a not dissimilar experience some years ago with my band. We were an 8 piece function band doing pretty well, playing all over the UK and managed by a northern agency. One day we got a call from the office asking if we’d be interested in doing a small tour backing an American soul singer. The dates weren’t massive venues, and included some Butlins weekender type gigs as well as the usual theatres etc. When we enquired as to who the singer was, we were told it was Jimmy Ruffin. I was stunned at the chance to play for a Motown legend ( and THAT intro on ‘What becomes of the broken-hearted etc’ ), but had to explain who he was to some of the band who’d never heard of him!! Apparently we’d been shortlisted as we had a great 3 piece brass section (which wasn’t that common at the time) and of course because we were probably cheaper than putting together a band of top London session guys too. Needless to say, after a few days of waiting we discovered the tour wasn’t going ahead after all, and we carried on with our usual diet of weddings and corporate gigs. I often wondered how it would have panned out though. Our band went on to do some high end functions, including gigs for royalty and playing at the Albert Hall, but playing some classic Motown lines for a Motown legend would probably have been the high point for me.

Agreed, reckon the pic was probably mid 70’s. No idea about the two bass thing though, didn’t know about the Soul Searching thing either. Alan Gorrie moved back to Fenders in the mid or late 80’s I think, and has long been a user of a sunburst Jazz 5 string. Great player, saw AWB last year in Leeds and they were still excellent.

Such a shame. Electro was where I bought quite a lot of stuff, as did many of the bands in my neck of the woods. When my band was looking to buy a larger PA, one of their guys drove 90 miles return journey with two rigs in their van for us to demo side by side at our rehearsal rooms. They set both systems up and let us find which one suited us best, which we did. One of those shops that you felt good after buying something from, knowing that you’d got a fair deal and would have chance to return stuff if it didn’t work out right for you. Hope John and all his staff are okay , and thanks for being there all those years.

Whilst nothing like some of the horror stories of minus temperatures above, we used to play at a venue in Hull called Jazzbo Browns, every Thursday night. It was a big place, with a well stocked bar and some wacky decor. Towards the end of it’s life the place was starting to get very sad, and one of their cost cutting measures was to do away with heating. Being situated near the banks of the river Humber it used to blow a gale right into the pub, where the double doors didn’t close properly. This made playing there in winter really cold, so the band gradually started wearing more clothes each week. We got on to fingerless gloves, then coats, then woolly hats, and it culminated with me bringing a convector heater which I placed near my mic stand. Can’t understand why we lost the gig....

Shure SM58 Beta for me. Bought a couple some years ago and they still make my crap voice sound half decent. Got an Audix a while ago (can’t remember the model but it was around £50) on the recommendation of our sound tech, and it’s great for the money. Louder than my 58’s and better feedback rejection, I use it on gigs where things might get a bit lary! Also got a Peavey PVi which was bought dirt cheap as a spare, and it ain’t half bad. ( Should state that all of the above are for live use, I don’t do home recording etc. )

Think that’s a Ferrari, more EC’s motor of choice?

By the sound of it, the OP doesn't have the funds for a Phil Jones / Markbass / Barefaced etc set-up. Hence the more realistic mentions for Fender / Roland / Ashdown combos.

Agree with you Pete. I was in a well known function band for nearly 20 years, and the golden period for us was mid 90’s to around 2006. After that we started getting fewer gigs, and the bands in the same market around here ( Yorkshire and the North) suffered the same. Not only that, but fees either stayed the same or even dropped, causing the band to eventually call it a day ( after I left in 2010 ). I understand there is still work out there now, but not the same as before, with a DJ often being the only music provided instead of live bands.

You can get luminous adhesive side dots that may do the trick, such as these - https://www.glowtec.co.uk/fret-finders.htm

Fender Rumble combos are excellent, the V.3 range. Good tonal range, loud and very portable/light. The 40w version is great, and don't let the speaker diameter put you off - they have lots of low end. https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/fender-rumble-40-bass-guitar-combo-v3?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgIidopDi2gIVDLTtCh1QUwrCEAQYAyABEgKo7PD_BwE

Yeah, and the Corvette too.

Another no break player here. Can't say I know anyone else who has either TBH.

Just watched this - found it riveting. One of those players who you can pick out straight away, incredible. A lot of his output isn't the sort of music I'm usually drawn to, but still found it fascinating.

Cracking gig last night at The Mechanics in Burnley. Audience well up for it from the off, good sounding room and despite a few minor errors we actually played okay. Last but one gig of our current run, so hope tonight in Harrogate is as good!

Loving the 335 bass Blue, don't see many of those around. Is it full 34" scale?