Most Obscure Bass Claim to Fame?

[LeftyP]

I can't compete with any of the above posts but I do have the same birthday as Mark King- although I'm a few years his senior!

On a somewhat related matter; my wife and I were at the Montreux Jazz Festival some years ago and we were leaving a free concert when I bumped into a man carrying a guitar. I said sorry and moved aside. It turned out to be B.B. King!

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1506024295' post='3376017']
I was once in a band (playing bass of course!) where the lead singer was an ex girlfriend of the bass player in hot chocolate!

And, yes!, I *do* believe in miracles!
[/quote]

iirc he played a left handed John Birch Rick custom which must be about as obscure as you can get!

[spongebob]

Great band IMHO,so many great tracks.

Bit of a guilty pleasure for me....I'm always trying to get band to jam on 'You Sexy Thing'!

Errol Brown, what a legend.

[lurksalot]

I was reminded the other day that I have shot clays with Martin Blunt of the charlatans , well I shot a few but unfortunately he didn't , a touch disappointing for him , but he thought he might have more chance if he was shooting at the gold discs on his wall

[Count Bassy]

About 35 years ago my girlfriend, now wife, lived in a bedsit in Crouch End (London) and the bass player from Bad Manners was living in the same house. (I never met him and I wasn't even playing bass in those days).

[AntLockyer]

I've just remembered another really obscure one. I was on jury duty with the keyboard player from the ram jam band.

[Marc S]

A punk band I was in a few years back rented a rehearsal room (off trade street in Cardiff) - Motorhead used to rent that room (and left, owing several months rent)

As a beginner, I had a couple of free lessons with Paul Gray - I played the Blue Rick he recorded most of his early basslines with, it was used on Eddie & The Hotrods "Do Anything You Wanna Do" appearance on TOTP
- Also played his bright yellow (re-sprayed) Rick that he played on many Damned songs, including appearances on the OGWT

I once owned a bass that Nicky Wire had used - he recorded 2 songs with it, and used it as backup - there's footage of it in the background onstage somewhere on youtube....

Edited October 24, 2017 by Marc S

[Nicko]

My brothers best mate when he was a yoof ended up as a rodie for PIL, so I assume he would have had a few jars with, er, Jah.

[stingrayPete1977]

I've jammed with comedian Jimmy cricket.

[prowla]

I have Ritchie Blackmore's knob.

(Off a Strat he smashed up on the Rainbow Rising tour.)

I hear you say "that's not a bass claim!", so I'll just point out that there was a bass player in the band, which obviously means it qualifies.

[prowla]

On a more genuine bass thing, I recently found a tub of old bass strings, including some which Gordon Rowley (of Strife) gave me after a gig at Forest Town in Mansfield in the 70s.

[prowla]

Oh, and I played Greg Lake's 8-string bass a couple of times: once at Manchester uni and once in a bass shop in Romford.

[Geek99]

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1508866483' post='3395000']
On a more genuine bass thing, I recently found a tub of old bass strings, including some which Gordon Rowley (of Strife) gave me after a gig at Forest Town in Mansfield in the 70s.
[/quote]
So sweat and skin on them, matured in a tub for 40 years .., that must smell lovely

[el borracho]

Just remembered another nice obscure one.

About 35 years ago when the bass player in NWOBHM band Raven left his day job to turn pro, I was brought in as his replacement.

Apparently he used to practice every lunchtime in the stationery cupboard. Maybe that's how he turned pro and I didn't - I was never that dedicated!

[TheGreek]

I shook hands with TM Stevens at the LBGS in 2016.

The great man has subsequently become ill with Dementia so may not attend another.

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1506196342' post='3377048']
About 35 years ago my girlfriend, now wife, lived in a bedsit in Crouch End (London) and the bass player from Bad Manners was living in the same house. (I never met him and I wasn't even playing bass in those days).
[/quote]

Probably about 20 years ago I was drinking in a pub in Stoke Newington where there was a poster advertising Bad Manners as the headliners for the pubs' New Years Eve party. I didn't go.

[toneknob]

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1508866538' post='3395001']
Oh, and I played Greg Lake's 8-string bass a couple of times: once at Manchester uni and once in a bass shop in Romford.
[/quote]

I took my double-neck 4/8-string Shergold in to Chandlers in Kew for a service. While talking to one of the Chandlers, another interrupted, "sorry mate, we've got Greg Lake on the blower with an urgent question, mind if your man talks to him?" "Not at all. Ask him if he wants to buy a Shergold double-neck, yeah?"

(he didn't)

[Spike Vincent]

Adam Clayton gave me a badge

[toneknob]

I was responsible** for Colin Greenwood out of Radiohead buying Norman Watt-Roy's shoreline gold Fender Jazz

**one link in the chain

[Donnyboy]

About 12 years ago we rented a holiday flat in Spain, and the owners said that the bass player from The Cranberries also had a flat nearby.

[EliasMooseblaster]

I was alerted to a *really* tenuous one yesterday evening:

Unsurprisingly, Coca-Cola have muscled in on the forthcoming release of the new Star Wars film with a branding tie-in. Basically, if you buy a bottle of coke in the next couple of months, it is likely to have a mugshot of one of the actors printed on the bottle.

The guy they commissioned to do the graphic design for these labels is also a singer-songwriter in his spare time. 

A few years ago, his PA called me out of the blue because he had an upcoming gig that his regular bassist couldn't make, so I filled in for that one.

So in short: I once played bass for the guy who went on to design the labels for the upcoming Coca-Cola branding tie-in to the new Star Wars flick.

[bassjim]

Some years ago, (30ish) one of my friends was working as an engineer at The Gallery studio in Chertsey. This was at the time property of one Phil Manzerera of Roxy Music. In the office and on various parts of the building there were the gold and platinum discs for  record sales not just by Roxy Music but artists like Cliff Richard and the like. All had recorded those works here at the Gallery. Apart from the odd session I was given (its all about who you know) I was frequently hanging out there as we used a lot of the down time for free to construct our own masterpieces.

It dawned on us that at some time or other not only all of Roxy Music but also the Cliff had probably at one time or another used the bog for a dump. And now so had we. Does that count?

Edited November 24, 2017 by bassjim

[ead]

Quite obscure Rolling Stones factoid.

My best mate's Mum refused to lend Mick Jagger her car to get the band to a gig because they 'looked too scruffy'.  They lived in the same road as the Jaggers. 

[Pea Turgh]

A well known comedian from a popular news show once asked me to go score for him. I was not in the appropriate position to oblige.

Played bass in the school band with the son of a famous 60’s act.

Paul from Morcheeba made a stupid low offer on a valve mic I was selling on eBay.

[bazzbass]

On ‎8‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 00:30, Kevin Dean said:

When I was about 14 years old, Me " You sound just like the bass player from The Stranglers, He must have been a big influence on you ".....I said that to Chris Squire well I didn't know who they were, they were just my mates uncles band .

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