He was Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson’s go-to player in 1975.

 

A member of The Rats with Ronno in their Hull hometown in the 1960s, bassist Geoff Appleby anchored Ian Hunter’s superb debut solo slab (save for one track “Lounge Lizard” waxed by John Gustafson) and subsequent promo tour, and backed the platinum haired ex-Spider on a one-off BBC Old Grey Whistle Test TV appearance.

 

In addition to cutting two pop singles under his own name, Geoff toiled in various glam and punk bands before retiring from the music business.

 

Know Your Bass Player French Bureau Chief Laurent Moitrot reports: That’s Geoff, me and “The Blue Bass” in 2012. This is the bass he played on Hunter’s first solo LP. He once decided he’d paint it blue cuz he thought it’d look better on a video they were filming with his (then) band.  

 

 

Geoff Appleby Sound & Vision…

 

 

   

The Rats:

 

“Guitar Boogie” https://youtu.be/cgxcudnZQkM

 

 

Ian Hunter:

 

“Once Bitten Twice Shy” https://youtu.be/oz0EKpTn5gg

 

“I Get So Excited” https://youtu.be/w9CoUQH-S4c

 

Geoff solo

 

“Make Me Take Me” https://youtu.be/IjBctCQk3do

 

“Live Wire” https://youtu.be/VzFj6WORjTs

 

 

Courtesy Mott The Hoople Com

“They said I looked like a card carrier in drag!”

 

Renowned for his outrageous platforms, silver tinged locks, flashy haberdashery, and mighty Gibson Thunderbird which he painted a lustrous shade of white, the late Peter Overend Watts joyfully embodied the raucous, extravagant character of Mott the Hoople.

 

Akin to his sartorial splendor, Watts exuded a canny instinct for embellishing the Ian Hunter’s compositions with catchy, simple bass melodies as found in the Hoople’s rendition of Lou’s “Sweet Jane,” and such Ian Hunter – Mick Ralphs gems as “Drivin’ Sister,” “I’m a Cadillac,” “Whiskey Woman,” “Alice,” and “Sucker.”

 

Watts also excelled in-the-pocket as evidenced by his passages which underpin “Ballad of Mott the Hoople,” “I Wish I Was Your Mother,” and “Angel of Eighth Avenue.”

 

The Birmingham born bassist composed one of the Mott’s finest tracks “Born Late ’58,” and penned enjoyable rockers aplenty for the truncated Mott ensemble, most notably “By Tonight,” “Shouting and Pointing,” and “Stiff Upper Lip.”

 

Watts officially left the music business in 1980 following the British Lions endeavor with Mott Messrs. Buffin and Morgan Fisher.

 

And despite his not playing professionally for over thirty years – Pete’s skills were impressive on Mott’s reunion shows in 2009 and 2013. 

 

I interviewed Pete for Huffington Post Books upon the publication of his tome The Man Who Hated Walking https://bit.ly/2ScEdaX in 2014.

They don’t make rock stars like Overend Watts anymore…

 

 

Peter Overend Watts Sound & Vision…

 

“Born Late ‘58” https://youtu.be/FqkrkEMTXMA

 

“Sweet Jane” https://youtu.be/GPa8GZAZJFc

 

“Drivin’ Sister” https://youtu.be/7uTLEPkbl7M

 

“Angel of Eighth Avenue” https://youtu.be/yJMHCm9swU4

 

“Stiff Upper Lip” https://youtu.be/tTMw11n3dDE

 

“Golden Age of Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/YNmC-ZT-Eak

 

 

By Thomas Semioli

 

“I’m not a star. I’ll never be a Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley or a Ray Charles. I’m just an imitator, man. I’m doing a very bad imitation on the bass of Jerry Jemmott, Bernard Odum, Jim Fielder, Jimmy Blanton, Igor Stravinsky, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, James Brown, Charlie Parker… the cats, man. I’m just backing up the cats…” Jaco Pastorius

 

You can divide the history of the bass into two categories: Before Jaco. After Jaco. As a student at the University of Miami in the late 1970s – a time when the electric bass was not considered a legitimate instrument by the jazz establishment (aka “the jazz police”), in the many instances when we were confronted by such ignorance –  we simple responded to the misbegotten taunts with one word, one name: Jaco!  

 

Jaco’s influence is, in a word, incalculable. Drawing on his deep reference for Cuban music (especially percussionists), jazz, rhythm & blues, Frank Sinatra, big-band, funk, rock, pop, soul, and every permutation thereof, Jaco brought an exciting, fresh voice to the instrument akin to his artistic peers Jimi Hendrix and Charlie Parker, to reference two.

 

On the technical side, Jaco’s virtuoso application of harmonics, chords, advanced harmonies, and lyrical improvisations all coaxed from a battered fretless Fender Jazz – known as the “Bass of Doom,” shook the foundation of popular music. His unique tone shattered the long-held tenets of what a bass should sound like. The full possibilities of the electric bass which Jaco pioneered are still being explored today by players of all generations. On stage, he was a master showman.

 

Jaco’s work with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Ian Hunter, and as a solo artist and collaborator  remains watershed, and continues to inspire scores of players.   

 

Kudos to film makers Paul Marchand, Stephen Kijak and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo for telling Jaco’s story with the grace, dignity, and respect he so richly deserves: Jaco  – Passion Pictures / 2014.    

 

Jaco Pastorius Sound & Vision…

 

Jaco and Joni: “Shadows & Light”  https://youtu.be/bLKb9Ms68ME

 

Ian Hunter “All American Alien Boy” https://youtu.be/i9y7IIjS3Kk

 

From Rock ‘n’ Roll Sweepstakes: Ian Hunter – The Authorized Biography Volume Two by Campbell Devine (Omnibus Press). Tom Semioli, who runs the US website KNOW YOUR BASS PLAYER describes the record that introduced (Jaco) Pastorius to rock audiences as “…an overlooked masterpiece. Jaco’s bold motifs beautified Hunter’s intense, introspective, observational verses and melodies. Unlike his time with Joni, Jaco didn’t dare outmaneuver Hunter. An undeniably captivating marriage of jazz, rock and poetry, no album (All American Alien Boy / 1976 / Columbia Records) sounded like this before, and no album has sounded like it since….”

 

 

Weather Report:

 

“Teen Town” https://youtu.be/a3113eNj4IA

 

“Birdland”  https://youtu.be/SvhmaNlLgRM

 

Jaco:

 

“Donna Lee”  https://youtu.be/dGbCxcuNjBU

 

“Portrait of Tracy” https://youtu.be/IqndXUPBjIo