Maybe I'm guilty of a kind of snobbery. The reason I don't own a P bass is that they're so popular and I want something different. I'm starting to realise that a P bass would probably sound great for what I'm doing right now so maybe I will get one.
Both his basses were stolen earlier this year so he's now just got the one Jazz bass. Sounded pretty good. The old dude can really play and looked like he was having a whale of a time .
Never judge a player for having a cheap bass.
Alice Coopers bassist uses an Epiphone Thunderbird
Alvin from UK Subs uses a Squier Jazz as well as his Fender and he is fecking brilliant.
Matt Freeman from Rancid has a Squier P bass as his backup and he's one of the best bassists in rock.
Mike Kerr from Royal Blood still uses his budget Gretsch Electromatic even now thar Fender give him their top kit.
Judge them by how they play, not what they play. Just because someone is skint doesn't mean they can't play and just because they've got the money for fancy kit doesn't mean they can shred.
But European bands touring the UK only have to pass through one border while British bands touring Europe have to pass through several (rarely all 28, more like 5 or 6). I guess it now makes more sense to tour the US instead of Europe.
I went to Peter Gabriel's studio last December and was chatting to an old bloke who had worked there for years. He told me it's quite common for all these old legends to meet up and jam or get little projects going that never release anything. He told me about a jam session a few weeks earlier with Jimmy Page, Nick Mason and Geoff Barrow (the bassist from Portishead). I wish I could have heard that session.