stewblack Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 This thought was provoked by @binky_bass 's Show us yer age thread. Back when I ran a bar a customer once told me that the history of British popular music could be summed up in three bands. The Beatles The Sex Pistols The Smiths I kind of got what he was trying to say (understanding drunks is a learnable skill) and I thought, we all have our own musical journey which three bands might sum yours up? Three milestones on the road that got you to where you are now. I'll start: T Rex - first love The Specials - introduced me to ska Elvis Costello - lyric writing & Bruce Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 The Sweet. Although it was Get It On by T.Rex that introduced to the world of music, The Sweet with their catchy hits and interesting B-sides who transitioned me from Pop to Rock. The Pretty Things. A band who continually re-invented themselves whist staying interesting. Freur/Underworld/Underworld. Another band who re-invented themselves and continue to do so even today. For me Doot-Doot is the sound of the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Not really as clear cut for me. I could argue The Beatles, ABBA and Floyd. I loved the Beatles from the ages of about 8-10, knew all the words to pretty much everything they’d done, so I guess they were my first love. Then fell in love with ABBA when they won Eurovision; first record I bought was ABBA’s Greatest Hits. And then hearing Floyd's Wish You Were Here changed my life. However it was seeing Thin Lizzy on the OGWT made me want to be in a band, and seeing Hawkwind live really consolidated that. It was Hawkwind Space Ritual that taught me how to play. And then there’s the influence Fleetwood Mac had on my songwriting...... The 3 bands that I still listen to most are Genesis, Yes and Floyd. I guess I’ll stick with the first 3 as the major milestones, as Floyd introduced to me to rock and particularly Prog. Edited February 17, 2020 by 4000 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Milestones on my musical journey; The Beatles, John Mayall and discovering Chess and Stax records. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Fairport Convention Jefferson Airplane Grateful Dead (Although there are far more than just these three, of course...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Metallica The Who The Beatles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 25 minutes ago, BigRedX said: The Sweet. Although it was Get It On by T.Rex that introduced to the world of music, The Sweet with their catchy hits and interesting B-sides who transitioned me from Pop to Rock. The Pretty Things. A band who continually re-invented themselves whist staying interesting. Freur/Underworld/Underworld. Another band who re-invented themselves and continue to do so even today. For me Doot-Doot is the sound of the 80s. like you Sweet bridged pop and rock for me. Their b-sides especially Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Led Zeppelin Pink Floyd Fleetwood Mac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Having 2 older brothers (by 9 & 10 years) my musical education that caught my attention, was Bach and Manhattan Transfer from the oldest and The Who, Hendrix and very early Elton John from the other. Melody, harmony, production, songwriting, excitement, balls and great bass playing was my staple diet growing up as a young kid. When I started buying my own records Hot Love Rock n Roll pt 1&2 Slade in Flame sound track. were the first 3 vinyl purchases. Edited February 17, 2020 by oldslapper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Bob Marley & the wailers- one of my first concerts Black uhuru- watching Robbie Shakespeare play was inspiring UB40- signing off , was something really different at the time 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 If we're talking early influences: King Crimson Gong Henry Cow In my 50's I had something of a musical renaissance, thanks in no small part to Mari Boine Värttinä Esko Järvellä 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treeb Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Mike Oldfield - got me properly listening to music when I was 14 Rush - saw them on the Permanent Waves tour and they blew my 16 year old mind Godspeed You! Black Emperor - a much later influence (in my mid-30s), introduced me to post rock and further musical possibilities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Tamla Motown - got me introduced to how important bass was/is as well as great vocal performances and music that makes you want to dance. The Beatles - Blueprint for bands who write and play their own songs, along with choosing great covers early on in their career. The Stones - As above, but also led me into a lifelong appreciation of rhythm and blues and guitar based rock music. Made some of my favourite records ever. Edited February 17, 2020 by casapete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickJ Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 My teenage years were the 90s and it was the mid nineties when I was really getting into music. Therefore I'd say the bands that had the most influence on me would have been: - Guns 'n' Roses - Rage Against the Machine - Foo Fighters or the Chili Peppers However, since playing bass for the past 4 or 5 years my tastes are dramatically changing (on a n almost daily basis) and so what's having a bigger influence on me as a bass player today is more like: - Weather Report - Jamiroquai - Snarky Puppy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Fortunately @PJ-Bassist and @Reggaebass have covered some of my big big influences in RATM and Bob, so I am going for. Kings X - so much Rock and grunge etc has comes from their influence without them hitting the heights, as well as bass and guitar tone for days Boney M - Guilty pleasure (just like @51m0n) but Night Flight to Venus is a stand out album, they are pop and disco and showmanship in a nutshell - love them. Muddy Waters/Mississippi John Hurt - you cant argue with those boys DJ Premier - this is a wildcard as he is one of the foremost producers out there and not just hip hop, but his beats were always on point. Only 3 is very very hard 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Iron Maiden - inspired me to start playing as a teenager after listening/watching Live After Death. Could probably still play along to that album note for note! Aerosmith - the next phase of bands that I really got into (along with GnR) showed me how a dirty swaggering band should sound, with brass and funky rhythms etc. DJ Sasha / BT / DJ Hollis - exposed to a lot of dance music in my late teens/early 20s and loved the power of pumping low bass notes, which still turn up frequently in my playing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 1 hour ago, chris_b said: The Beatles, John Mayall Ditto here...followed closely by Jethro Tull and Chicago (the early albums in both cases). The very first album I ever bought was Mayall's "Beano" album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 The Beatles. Do I need to tell anyone why. Pink Floyd. For constantly surprising me. The Police. Re ignited my love of music and drumming in particular. So exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Double post. Doh. Edited February 17, 2020 by mikel Adition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 @mikel I dunno, I reckon you may need to tell us, you only mentioned it twice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseus Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Iron Maiden - taught me how to play fast, aggressive baselines, much in the same manner as bassbiscuits above -Live After Death was the album I spent my early days of bass on. Rush - developed my more melodic playing, and introduced me to the more proggy and musically interesting side of things. Dream Theater - I spent a massive amount of time in the 90's and 2000's listening to these guys. Those are probably the most defining bands of my life and playing so far... I've been listening to a lot of Animals As Leaders ( yeah... I know... no bass) and Tatran recently... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollin Thunder Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 For me started around 9-10 years old Iron Maiden as they where my first real band obsession and everything that rolled for me musically started there. slightly about AC?Dc and as much as AC/DC are truly great Maiden always had so much more about them. this Led to Judas priest Kiss Def Leppard all the way through to thrash death grind core out n out hard rock and metal that's 80% of my music still nowadays. Before that it was shaken Stevens and Adam & the Ants (no bad thing specially Adam Ant) Next The Manic Street preachers, around 19 years old first real none metal band totally changed and opened my mind to other forms of music and what else was out there. Led be backwards onto The Clash (which i am blasting out as i am typing) The manics biggest inspiration, then backwards to the Who, west Londons predecessors to The Clash and the Who off course need no introduction the most important and inspirational band of all time for me more so than the Beatles. Then Thin Lizzy the band i discovered later in life in my mid to late 20's circa 2000 Ish i was always aware of them and had passing liking to (how could you not with such an impressive list of banging anthems) but started to really get into their albums, pre 2000 had a best of and live n dangerous. really Indulged them over the last 20 years and they are second to not many, arguably the greatest Hard rock band of all time, ahead of some pretty stiff competition. It just shows the bands that have the biggest effect are not always the ones you start listening to when your mid teens. I don't like the Beatles much overrated but i was brought up on my dads Beatles records and these where the first music of any kind i was introduced to at a very young age when the Beatles had only been split 5-6 years earlier, there influence is on everything to just about everybody, but too music hall and lacking any sort of edge at all for me, the Beatles simply don't rock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollin Thunder Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 21 minutes ago, odysseus said: Iron Maiden - taught me how to play fast, aggressive baselines, much in the same manner as bassbiscuits above -Live After Death was the album I spent my early days of bass on. Rush - developed my more melodic playing, and introduced me to the more proggy and musically interesting side of things. Dream Theater - I spent a massive amount of time in the 90's and 2000's listening to these guys. Those are probably the most defining bands of my life and playing so far... I've been listening to a lot of Animals As Leaders ( yeah... I know... no bass) and Tatran recently... I don't think people really appreciate just how important, popular, inspirational and what a real British institution Maiden really are. they should be mentioned in the same breath as The Beatles, Stones ,The who, Zeppelin as one of the greatest British bands of all time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 The Specials Level 42 Mike Stern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 4 hours ago, BigRedX said: For me Doot-Doot is the sound of the 80s. With Pino. Fabulous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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