Brush with Greatness (or, "Hey, I once played a gig with him!")

[Mickeyboro]

3 hours ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

 

I've heard before that Sabbath (and so presumably H&H too) had a weird bee in their bonnet about keyboard players being visible onstage...didn't Rick Wakeman get stuffed behind a curtain when he toured with them?

Pretty sure Rick only played with them on one studio track and was paid in beer! 

 

Can you really see the man who ate a curry in stage with Yes staying behind a curtain? I can’t!
 

 

[bassist_lewis]

I played a support slot in Nice 'n' Sleazy's in Glasgow for some London band. Their gear was absolutely insane. Guitarist had a Suhr stack (never seen one before or since), keyboardist had 2 Nords, full in-ear rack system. The place was just about empty apart from our singer's 5 pals.

Anyway, the other band turned out to be Rag 'n' Bone Man.

 

I also supported Candi Statton at that boat venue in Glasgow.

[peteb]

I have gigged with not one, but three former members of Gerry & The Pacemakers at various times. However, I never with more than one ex-pacemaker at a time. I bet that you're all really impressed...! 🤩 

 

I also used to dep for a singer who once did a Spanish tour with various members of the original Whitesnake line-up, and I am currently playing with the original keys player from British AOR titans FM... 

 

Edited March 7 by peteb

[Kyndainverse]

In the early nineties, as part of a trio, we hired a rehearsal room under some railway arches in Cardiff. We managed somehow to lock ourselves out and the guy running the place wasn’t around. So we asked the band in the other room for his number, (our drummer knew their drummer). The band were Catatonia. It was a year or two before they made it, although they had a bit of a local following already. 
 

[Mykesbass]

I used to play in a band at school with drummer Gary Wallis who went on to play percussion live with Pink Floyd and has been the drummer for Mike & the Mechanics for about 30 years and Tom Jones' drummer/musical director for about the same time. Was really nice of him to introduce me to Mike Rutherford as his first ever band mate.

 

A couple  fun ones when I was working in the record business - surprising John Mayall by acting as his guitar tech and changing an e string for him at a gig in Malmo. Possibly one of the most surreal moments, taking Peter Green to see Fleetwood Mac at Earls Court. And last but not least, along with Harvey Goldsmith, being asked by the Gipsy Kings' roadie if we could iron the band's shirts. Guess which one of us ended up doing it...

[Steve Browning]

Just remembered that I once went to a Tom Petty gig in the company of Jim Lea.

[SimonK]

Not quite playing with, but Pete Devereaux, one half of Artful Dodger (who launched Craig David) now runs a coffee shop in my village called The Artful Roaster!

[Mykesbass]

24 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

Just remembered that I once went to a Tom Petty gig in the company of Jim Lea.

His brother Frank used to run the licensing business for Trojan Records. Licensed many a track for compilations off him.

[MacDaddy]

1 hour ago, peteb said:

 🤩

and I am currently playing with the original keys player from British AOR titans FM... 

 

 

Didge Digital? 

I bought Tough It Out at the time. I remember Tommy Vance playing Bad Luck and saying "this time they're gonna make it!".

Still a great album.

[steantval]

A couple of tales from me, I think I might have mentioned one in another thread.

 

We were forming a band in the mid eighties playing rock covers and auditioning for a drummer, a teenager came along with his dad, great little drummer, but we rejected him only because of the age difference, he was about fifteen years younger than the rest of us, his name was Mark Heaney.

Mark went on to play with The Seahorses, The Shining and Gang of Four, he is a world renowned session drummer who has toured and recorded with many big named artists/bands.

I played in a Free tribute band around 2008 and our original drummer quit due to a clash of commitments with his function band, our guitarist was the head guitar tutor for schools in Lincolnshire and had done several seminars with a well known drummer, this guy then became our new drummer in the Free tribute, his name was Jeff Rich ex Status Quo, Jeff was a real down to earth bloke and it was a great experience to share the stage with him on many gigs.

 

Edited March 7 by steantval

[Mickeyboro]

25 minutes ago, SimonK said:

Not quite playing with, but Pete Devereaux, one half of Artful Dodger (who launched Craig David) now runs a coffee shop in my village called The Artful Roaster!

Is it open seven days? 😂

[rmorris]

3 hours ago, NJE said:

I was playing a pub local to me and Cerys Mathews, singer with Welsh Indie rockers Catatonia, happened to be in celebrating. They were doing quite well at the time and had a couple of charted songs, and a manager/friend/record company chap came up and asked our guitarist if she could sing with us.

 

There were stories that her group had been partaking in a little Peruvian marching powder in the toilets, so the guitarist told him to do one, much to his shock.

 

I was a bit gutted, could have been a fun story to share on an Internet forum one day if he had said yes.

 

Not sure where the threshold here is but...played a gig with Catatonia in Cardiff and Cerys did BVs on the demo of a band I was on. Being a friend of our singer and working upstairs from the studio attached to Grassroots youth project. Cardiff 90s "scene" centred on Clwb Ifor Bach. Although gig was in the Stage Door venue near St Davids shopping centre.

[rmorris]

3 hours ago, NJE said:

I was playing a pub local to me and Cerys Mathews, singer with Welsh Indie rockers Catatonia, happened to be in celebrating. They were doing quite well at the time and had a couple of charted songs, and a manager/friend/record company chap came up and asked our guitarist if she could sing with us.

 

There were stories that her group had been partaking in a little Peruvian marching powder in the toilets, so the guitarist told him to do one, much to his shock.

 

I was a bit gutted, could have been a fun story to share on an Internet forum one day if he had said yes.

 

Not sure where the threshold here is but...played a gig with Catatonia in Cardiff and Cerys did BVs on the demo of a band I was on. Being a friend of our singer and working upstairs from the studio attached to Grassroots youth project. Cardiff 90s "scene" centred on Clwb Ifor Bach. Although gig was in the Stage Door venue near St Davids shopping centre.

[rmorris]

3 hours ago, NJE said:

I was playing a pub local to me and Cerys Mathews, singer with Welsh Indie rockers Catatonia, happened to be in celebrating. They were doing quite well at the time and had a couple of charted songs, and a manager/friend/record company chap came up and asked our guitarist if she could sing with us.

 

There were stories that her group had been partaking in a little Peruvian marching powder in the toilets, so the guitarist told him to do one, much to his shock.

 

I was a bit gutted, could have been a fun story to share on an Internet forum one day if he had said yes.

 

Not sure where the threshold here is but...played a gig with Catatonia in Cardiff and Cerys did BVs on the demo of a band I was on. Being a friend of our singer and working upstairs from the studio attached to Grassroots youth project. Cardiff 90s "scene" centred on Clwb Ifor Bach. Although gig was in the Stage Door venue near St Davids shopping centre.

[rmorris]

3 hours ago, NJE said:

I was playing a pub local to me and Cerys Mathews, singer with Welsh Indie rockers Catatonia, happened to be in celebrating. They were doing quite well at the time and had a couple of charted songs, and a manager/friend/record company chap came up and asked our guitarist if she could sing with us.

 

There were stories that her group had been partaking in a little Peruvian marching powder in the toilets, so the guitarist told him to do one, much to his shock.

 

I was a bit gutted, could have been a fun story to share on an Internet forum one day if he had said yes.

 

Apologies for double post. WiFi slow thing while out front with cat 🙄

fwiw just home post Nouvelle Vague gig.

 

Not sure where the threshold here is...

Edited March 7 by rmorris
Double posted and can't see how to delete.

[ahpook]

I played a gig with a twice Mercury Prize-nominated drummer a couple of years ago.

 

Not who we wanted, but the best dep we could get on the night.

 

[Kickass]

I set up a gig for my band in the local village hall 15 or more years ago. Gave a support slot to a band I had helped record a demo with and had djs playing after us, the main act. A friend asked if her son could play a few tunes so I squeezed him in first. This was Liam Fender's first gig. He was disappointed his younger brother was not at the gig and had just stayed in the house. His brother is Sam Fender. Earlier this year I was in the village pub and Sam was in with family and friends. He bought me a pint!

[Bassfinger]

Years ago I was in a certain music shop trying a few basses with a view to buying one when in walked Mick Abrahams, ex of Jethro Tull. He was friends with the owner and just used to tootle in and chat.

 

Having a couple of his solo albums I recognised him and said hello, shook his hand.  We had a chat and he ended up grabbing an acoustic and we played All Tore Down as a duo.  My closest brush with stardom, unless you count meeting Robert Plant at a party, or seeing Ozzy Osborne in the VIP lounge at Heathrow (to my eternal shame my Dad, who was with me, thought he was jn Iron Maiden.)

[Len_derby]

9 hours ago, steantval said:

 

I played in a Free tribute band around 2008 and our original drummer quit due to a clash of commitments with his function band, our guitarist was the head guitar tutor for schools in Lincolnshire and had done several seminars with a well known drummer, this guy then became our new drummer in the Free tribute, his name was Jeff Rich ex Status Quo, Jeff was a real down to earth bloke and it was a great experience to share the stage with him on many gigs.

 

I’d forgotten about meeting Jeff Rich. For the last few years of my working career I was a teaching assistant in a primary school. The headteacher had a social connection with Jeff and got him to come in and give a drumming demo to the kids. He also bought a ton of percussion items and generously let them bash around with them. As you say, a really nice bloke. Over a cuppa we chatted about music and he said ‘shame you didn’t bring your bass in, we could have had a good old jam for the kids.’ The nearest I got to playing with Status Quo. 😆

[Mickeyboro]

8 hours ago, rmorris said:

 

Apologies for double post. WiFi slow thing while out front with cat 🙄

fwiw just home post Nouvelle Vague gig.

 

Not sure where the threshold here is...

Triple post. Cerys clearly overdubbed😂

[Steve Browning]

16 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

I’d forgotten about meeting Jeff Rich. For the last few years of my working career I was a teaching assistant in a primary school. The headteacher had a social connection with Jeff and got him to come in and give a drumming demo to the kids. He also bought a ton of percussion items and generously let them bash around with them. As you say, a really nice bloke. Over a cuppa we chatted about music and he said ‘shame you didn’t bring your bass in, we could have had a good old jam for the kids.’ The nearest I got to playing with Status Quo. 😆

 

He was also awesome in Stretch.

[Pow_22]

14 hours ago, sprocketflup said:

 

How awesome! I also have a story about LP, possibly trumping yours, my father was in Lieutenant Pigeon

 

Cool!  When I played it was the original drummer (i think) everyone called Pat Poodle and the original frontman (Rob)

[Leonard Smalls]

I was in a band in the early 80s in Leeds called Dredd and the Badass Weeds... We were kind of ramshackle, and played extended funk-metal and occasionally reggae jams for up to 3 hours if we could get away with it... We broke up when most of us finished at university - some members went on to far greater things. Keith and Jez went on to form MDMA, and later, Utah Saints with lots of chart success. Chris moved back to the US, met up with his old mate Henry and they became the Rollins Band Chris even went on to play with Bowie! And he got me to meet one of my bass heroes, Melvin Gibbs, when I met the Rollinses for lunch in, of all places, the BBC canteen.

Our singer, Andy, went on to sing for probably the best of the Madchester bands - New Fast Automatic Daffodils. Our other guitarist - another Andy - still plays with Cassandra Complex who are huge in Germany. And our occasional keyboard player, Jay with the famous mum (Clare Rayner), went on to appear lots on telly eating fancy dinners.

The Weeds are still an occasional entity - our long-anticipated debut album is due sometime in the next decade.

[MacDaddy]

32 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I was in a band in the early 80s in Leeds called Dredd and the Badass Weeds... We were kind of ramshackle, and played extended funk-metal and occasionally reggae jams for up to 3 hours if we could get away with it... We broke up when most of us finished at university - some members went on to far greater things. Keith and Jez went on to form MDMA, and later, Utah Saints with lots of chart success. Chris moved back to the US, met up with his old mate Henry and they became the Rollins Band Chris even went on to play with Bowie! And he got me to meet one of my bass heroes, Melvin Gibbs, when I met the Rollinses for lunch in, of all places, the BBC canteen.

Our singer, Andy, went on to sing for probably the best of the Madchester bands - New Fast Automatic Daffodils. Our other guitarist - another Andy - still plays with Cassandra Complex who are huge in Germany. And our occasional keyboard player, Jay with the famous mum (Clare Rayner), went on to appear lots on telly eating fancy dinners.

The Weeds are still an occasional entity - our long-anticipated debut album is due sometime in the next decade.

 

That's an episode of Rock Family Trees right there! 😁

[peteb]

10 hours ago, steantval said:

I played in a Free tribute band around 2008 and our original drummer quit due to a clash of commitments with his function band, our guitarist was the head guitar tutor for schools in Lincolnshire and had done several seminars with a well known drummer, this guy then became our new drummer in the Free tribute, his name was Jeff Rich ex Status Quo, Jeff was a real down to earth bloke and it was a great experience to share the stage with him on many gigs.

 

 

Funnily enough, Rhino Edwards (the other half of the Quo rhythm section when Rich was in the band) currently plays in a Free / Paul Kossof tribute band with Terry Sless (Koss's singer in Back Street Crawler).