Stingray5 Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 (edited) For those who may not be aware, I just received this sad news from the US: "...It is with great sorrow that I inform you of the passing away of Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper. He died in the early hours of Sunday morning. He had leukemia..." A small reminder: Hugh Hopper - 'Kings & Queens' [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yo5F28gSag"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yo5F28gSag[/url] Edited June 9, 2009 by Stingray5 Quote
YouMa Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 Very bad news,soft machine were great as were caravan, gong and the like. Quote
Born 2B Mild Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 Very sad news indeed, though no surprise to the fan groups who have done an admiral job in supporting Hugh with benefit gigs and the like. Quote
Earbrass Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 RIP indeed. Very very sad. One of the quiet, retiring heroes of bass; he will be missed. Quote
molan Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 I saw Soft machine with HH on bass about a zillion years ago. From what i remember the sound at the gig was really rough apart from the bass which sounded really smoth & controlled Quote
Stingray5 Posted June 9, 2009 Author Posted June 9, 2009 Of all the bands I must've seen over the years, I never did make it to a Soft Machine gig. The world will be a lesser place without his 'fuzzy loops'! Quote
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 Did he ever make a bass book in the '80s ? Can't find it ,but I've got a fairly vague memory of this indstructional book which was mellow and laid back. Apart from that,don't know much about the guy. R.I.P. anyway Quote
Stingray5 Posted June 9, 2009 Author Posted June 9, 2009 [quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='509525' date='Jun 9 2009, 08:42 PM']Did he ever make a bass book in the '80s ? Can't find it ,but I've got a fairly vague memory of this indstructional book which was mellow and laid back. Apart from that,don't know much about the guy. R.I.P. anyway [/quote] This one...? [url="http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0397040/details.html?kbid=1079"]http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0397040/....html?kbid=1079[/url] Cheers, Steve Quote
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted June 9, 2009 Posted June 9, 2009 [quote name='Stingray5' post='509573' date='Jun 9 2009, 09:27 PM']This one...? [url="http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0397040/details.html?kbid=1079"]http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0397040/....html?kbid=1079[/url] Cheers, Steve[/quote] Oh my God! Yeah,that's it. When my friend started teaching me years ago he mislaid it. At that price,I'll have to get it . Thanks for that. Quote
NAS Posted June 10, 2009 Posted June 10, 2009 Yes, a fond farewell to Hugh. I still have my copy of "The Rock Bass Manual". Somewhat typically there are pictures of Sting, Roger Waters, John Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius, Paul McCartney and Bruce Thomas inside and only a small author thumbnail of Hugh on the back. Having spent my teens in Canterbury the first bass (a sky blue precision if my memory serves me) I ever laid my hands on was Richard Sinclairs' at a local party. I did get to see Soft Machine at their "Soft Machine at the Proms" concert in 1970. I was interviewed after by Richard Baker doing his "so what do the youth think about pop music in a classical festival" thing for BBC Television. The sound at the Albert Hall was pretty bathroomy (no flying mushrooms in those days!), but the bass sound was unmistakeably round and smooth. So many musicians of this calibre go unsung and unlistened to. Very pleased to see The Guardian made him their lead obituary today - well deserved. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.