Old Man Riva

I think it’s fair to say not many teams would find a way to come back from Ole Ola...

Some days are like that, but tomorrow will be different...

“Everybody was Kung Fu fighting...”

Fancied a bit of Mott/Ian Hunter today so headed towards Hunter's first solo album for Once Bitten, Twice Shy, then remembered this... Ian Hunter, with the legend that is Mick Ronson on guitar...

Fabulous album. For me, her early career - probably up to Like a Prayer - is one great big brilliant pop record after another. I still think Holiday is one of finest pop records of the 80s or any other decade...

Open to any new sounds - always have been. When I was younger, when someone turned me on to something I hadn’t heard before (old or new), as much as I’d be excited I’d also have a moment where I’d genuinely feel perplexed, imagining a world of “what if I hadn’t heard this, my life would be so much less enriched”! It only took me to get to my 40s to get past that! That said, my most recent ‘new’ thing is from from 1973! Probably from a love of those late 60s/early 70s US TV cop themes I heard as a kid... https://open.spotify.com/album/0pFW8xs6GcqJqKKMIxCVcD?si=hwmn6eOpTaa9FjYXWCIaDQ

Can’t get enough of Alex and the gang at the moment...

I think Paul Raymond’s role in the development of the band is something that gets overlooked. They were at the stage where, to get the best out of the sound/songs, a full-time keyboard player just wasn’t required. Imagine the Lights Out and Obsession albums with a full-time keys player! Getting Paul Raymond in was a masterstroke and allowed them to effortlessly switch between having a highly accomplished rhythm guitar player and a top notch keys player all in one - and there haven’t been that many of those around over the years. It was also great that he finally got his writing credits recognised when they released the remastered albums in 2008...

When Bowie was going to do the Sound & Vision tour he was going to invite fans to submit requests for songs to form the set - essentially it was going to be his version of a greatest hits tour. This being 1990 he wasn’t viewed with much love from certain parts of the music press at the time so the NME decided it would attempt to rig the vote with endless requests for the Laughing Gnome, in an attempt to demean his back catalogue - “yeah, let’s forget his output from ‘71 to ‘80, but focus on one novelty song he had in 1967... that’ll show him!!”. Bowie being Bowie suggested that if this were to happen then no problem, he’d simply reimagine the song in the style of the Stooges or VU. I always thought that would have been a brilliant outcome! Mr Hackenbacker, do you incorporate any of Herbie Flowers lines from David Live into your set? His playing on that album is wonderful, and his bass interpretation on Width of a Circle is still one of my faves.

Yes, he did the farewell tour... then of course the following tour after the farewell tour that they did. He was a good fit - and in true UFO fashion (and as a homage to Pete!) used a Thunderbird (non reverse), rather than the Rickenbacker he used with Eddie & the Hot Rods, and the Damned...

Apparently there exists somewhere a studio session that Pete Way did with Paul Weller in the very early 80s. Both Way and Weller (along with Phil Mogg) were big fans of Steve Marriott so I assume it was of that ilk... UFO appeared to be one of those older rock bands that some of the punk/new wave musicians liked/hung around with. When Way left UFO Pete Farndon of the Pretenders was considered as a replacement. Pete Way also did some recordings with Topper Headon. And of course Paul Gray from the Danmed was Pete’s eventual replacement in 1983 (after Billy Sheehan stepped in to help out on a European tour).

There’s not a lot of live footage from the ‘78 tour but I found this on YouTube which, whilst the quality isn’t great, gives a flavour of how exciting they were as a live band during this period. It was on this leg of the US tour that SITN was recorded... https://youtu.be/RuOnBwAZbIU

Saw UFO for the first time in 1978 at Birmingham Town Hall as a 15 yr old. It was such an exciting experience, and a benchmark for live gig experiences for years to come. It was the ‘classic’ line up and they were a band right on top of their game. That they should have achieved more commercial success - and the reasons they didn’t - have been well documented over the years, but them and AC/DC (Bon era) were the only rock bands I knew that my punk mates also loved at the time. I think a lot of rock fans at the time were somehow suspicious of them - a bit “flash”, a bit “London”, not quite as down and heavy as, say, Sabbath or Purple. But that was part of the attraction for me. They were the first band I saw in the flesh that really looked like rock stars, in a way that Bowie, or the Stones or the Faces did on TV. And then there was the bass player...

What a fabulous bass - enjoy! I really like the synthy-ness of the ‘fuzz’ setting, if that makes sense..?

John Taylor’s let himself go... (There should be more of this type of thing these days!)

Kate Bush, with Youth on bass... loved this when it first came out - still do...

For some bizarre reason, in terms of playing/trying vintage basses, the 1966 dot and bound Fenders are the ones I think I’ve played the most of. Any one I’ve ever played/tried has been a fabulous instrument - really consistent in their build and overall quality. I also love the look of the dot and bound necks and lollipop tuners. So odd that they were only produced for such a short period of time - only serving to add to the Fender myth and legend!!

Ahh, brass nuts; another 1970s bass improvement favourite!

That’s great! I’ve been fortunate to meet some really nice people in life, especially in music. In the early days there were a few people who really took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity. In the first band I was in I was really out of my depth. They were fabulous musicians and I was a bit younger and nowhere near as good, really struggling to keep up. The easy thing would have been to have gotten someone better (locally they were a decent draw and could have had their pick of players) but they gave me a go, taking me under their wing and mentoring me. Sometimes all you need is someone to believe in you, isn’t it. The guy who sold me the bass was a fabulous player - he’d played in a semi-professional capacity, backing all kinds of acts from Frank Carson to Englebert Humperdink on the cabaret circuit! - and was really encouraging. Never turn down a gig, he’d say, and of course he was right! He could see I was really keen on music/bass (to say the least) and just decided to help me along the way. The bass is special to me, and I’ve an agreement with my wife that (in the hopefully significantly distant future!) when I shuffle off, as long as she doesn’t need the money, the bass should be sold and the money donated to a charity for mentoring underprivileged kids who want to play music but may need a bit of a leg up... As I say, hopefully that’s a long way off yet!!!

Thank you! Yes, it’s a fine instrument, and sounds and plays wonderfully. I think you’re right. As far as I understand it the A-width neck on a Precision was something that was a special order - in ‘71 the standard Precision neck was a B-width. I’m not sure whether they fetch more, in terms of monetary value, but I think they’re harder to come by.

A couple from the 70s... The Jazz is from ‘73. I bought it in the early 80s from the original owner. I was a factory apprentice and worked with the guy (he’d just bought himself a Music Man). I’d played the Jazz a few times and loved it but couldn’t afford it. The guy just said take it and give me what you can afford each Thursday (pay day). A wonderful gesture which took me years to pay off - he let me off with a fair bit of it in the end! And the first thing I did... took it to a local luthier and had EMGs fitted!! I’ve since sourced a set of ‘73 p/ups for the bass but I think the p/ups are Seymour Duncans in the pic. The bass has been everywhere with me, and will be the last to go... The Precision is from ‘71. Lovely sound, and sporting an A-width Jazz-width neck.

That’s really all that matters..!

My late 1962 Jazz (refin)... It’s the nicest bass I’ve ever had the good fortune to play. The plant is an essential accessory..!

Like Lozz says too many to mention, but these are some of my regular play-along tracks... Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow - Joni Mitchell Custard Pie - Led Zeppelin Moonage Daydream - Bowie