Sky Arts ,Worlds greatest Basslines .28/11/25

[Sparky Mark]

[Linus27]

2 hours ago, Misdee said:

I very strongly disagree with this version of history.

 

If you or anybody else enjoys Hooky's playing and find it inspiring for whatever reason then good luck to you, nothing wrong with that. If you like and enjoy his style that's good enough reason. But that doesn't mean that objectively he is an accomplished musician or indeed qualified in any way to judge other exponents of the bass. He's just someone who people who don't play the bass think must be important because they've heard of him .Whenever I hear him interviewed about playing the bass he seems to be full of self-regard, mainly for his own lack of ability, something which he mistakenly sees as a great asset. That's why I think he is a conspicuously bad choice to present this series. 

 

I was passionately interested in music in 1979, just like you were, and in playing the bass. I thought Peter Hook was a crap bass player then, and I've heard nothing to change my mind in the interim period. Listening to him thrashing away was depressing back then, and it takes me right back whenever I hear it now. Lots of kids played like that in those days, I think that Hooky was just the one who ended up being famous.

 

 In the early ,1980's most bass players not playing slap or fretless were not influenced by his style. He still wasn't that well-known by then, and there were plenty of other role models. For post-punk bass players in the early '80's (and I know because I was one of them) bassists like Sting, Bruce Foxton  Horace Panter and JJ Burnel were far more influential than Peter Hook.

 

The idea that Joy Division were such an important band at that time is a classic example of a tale told in the telling. They had a cult following and a certain profile in the music press, but their "legend" is something which has been created  subsequently by people with an agenda which necessitates rewriting history to their own ends. When they were together they were a moderately well-known post-punk band from Manchester. Nothing more than that.

 

 And regarding any equivalence between Mick Karn and Peter Hook, there isn't any.   The crucial difference between the two is that Mick Karn's style is defined by his imagination, not by his limitations. It's also wrong to claim that Mick Karn wasn't a trained musician when he had a background in playing the oboe in orchestras ect. I know he claimed to have no knowledge of scales and chords ect, but in practise he clearly did. His facility on the instrument is in a different stratosphere to Peter Hook (and most other bass players, for that matter). That should be obvious to anyone who listens.

 

 

I pretty much agree with most of what you've said, the only thing I kind of dont agree with is being moderately well known. Despite being together for only 4 years, they still achieved success with Love Will Tear Us Apart which charted at No.13 in 1980 in the main UK chart and No.1 in the UK independent chart. Their album, Closer also topped the UK independent album chart. New Order however have the biggest selling 12" record in history, 2 No.1 albums and a no.1 single so quite a bit more success. If you replace Joy Division with The Smith's, then what you wrote fits both bands, short lifespan, moderate success and cult following, a no.1 in the independent chart but minor success in the main charts. I'm not a fan of either bands really but I do love New Order.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 16/11/2025 at 16:37, Misdee said:

It's not on for nearly two weeks yet and I'm already getting annoyed at who the inevitable candidates will be.😄

 

Let me put it to you this way, I can already see three bass players who definitely shouldn't be included.  🫢

 

Michael Rosen?

[Stub Mandrel]

On 16/11/2025 at 17:28, Baloney Balderdash said:

I can't speak of the bass in Foo Fighters, haven't really listened to any of their songs, other than what I haven't been able to avoid, it seems like pretty plain boring rock to me.

 

 

Try Monkey Wrench.

 

Foo Fighters basslines songs are deceptive, full of syncopation, space, unintuitive structure.

 

Even their simplest songs will add a beat, drop a bar or stick in an unexpected rhythm change.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 16/11/2025 at 21:01, Linus27 said:

If it was my choice then it would be Pino Palladino

 

Chatting to a friend the other day, back in the 70s his band needed a stand in bassist for a European tour. They auditioned Pino and turned him down. 🙄

[Stub Mandrel]

Not the greatest, perhaps, but the three bass players I would most enjoy seeing interviewed:

 

Leo Lyons - stepped up the virtuosity in blues rock bass from his jazz roots.

 

Dave Pegg - transformed folk-rock bass from a gentle accompaniment to the equal of any other instrument. 

 

Jim Lea. Becoz.

[Sparky Mark]

10 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Chatting to a friend the other day, back in the 70s his band needed a stand in bassist for a European tour. They auditioned Pino and turned him down. 🙄

Perhaps Pino was crap back then and your friend's rejection spurred him on to become the player we all revere today. He should feel proud.

Edited 1 hour ago by Sparky Mark

[Geek99]

On 16/11/2025 at 18:09, tauzero said:

 

It works well within the context of U2, but would you describe him as a virtuoso?

No, but he is capable of more than he does on most “standard” u2 records 

The three sunrises, for example