Chris Treacy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I also recently came upon a very interesting
> compilation called "Cinemaphonic2", a collection of
>soul/funk/jazz instrumentals used in British
>television (I'm thinking mainly crime dramas) from
>'70-'76.
I believe this is a collection of UK library music but it
reminded me of the pretty funky bass line played by
a friend, Mo Foster, on the theme song for a British TV
series called 'Minder' ('I Could Be So Good For You'
by Dennis Waterman).
And very coincidentally, Mo rang me up last week
to ask if I knew about a great website he'd just
discovered - the jmdl guitar database -and we
had a laugh about my 'trainspottery' type voice
as I went off on one.
Having been a top UK session bass player for
many years, Mo (who has recorded and toured
with some amazing people including Jeff Beck,
Joan Armadrading, Van Morrison, Nanci Griffith
and many others) recently wrote a great book called
"17 Watts? - The Birth of British Rock Guitar".
Apparently the title of the book has been changed to
"Play Like Elvis - How British Musicians Bought the
American Dream" by his American publishers who
thought that Americans wouldn't easily grasp the
significance of "17 Watts". I found Mo's explanation
on his website at http://www.mofoster.com
> "Around 1960 my school band, The Tradewinds,
> upgraded its back line of little 5 watt amplifiers with
> the purchase of a wedge-shaped, blue and white,
> 17 watt, 4-input, Watkins Dominator amplifier which,
> at 38 pounds 10 shillings, we could just afford between
> us. But the band was divided by the prospect of such
> awesome power: did we really need 17 watts?".
> Twenty years later Mo toured the United States with
> Jeff Beck and a bass rig which, alone, was rated at
> 1,500 watts!
The book has loads of anecdotal material from people
Mo has recorded or toured with including Jeff Beck, Ritchie
Blackmore, Joe Brown, Clem Cattini, Eric Clapton, Lonnie
Donegan, Vic Flick, Herbie Flowers, Roger Clover, George
Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Hank Marvin, Brian May, Gary Moore,
Joe Moretti, Pino Palladino, Rick Parfitt, John Paul Jones,
Francis Rossi, Gerry Rafferty, Mike Rutherford, Big Jim Sullivan,
Andy Summers, Richard Thompson, Bert Weedon, Bruce Welch,
and Muff Winwood.
All the best
PaulC
PS. and here's an interview Mo did with George Harrison at
Abbey Road studios in 1995
http://www.primrosehillrecords.com/sightings/harrison.html
