The Guys in the Band..

[Adey]

This is my first in an occasional series of posts, that will look at the careers/styles of musicians who have played on recordings by our dear Kate. I apologise if some of the material is musically technical at times - I'm afraid that's down to the nature of the reading and research that I do As this first one deals with a person no longer with us, it reads a little like a celebrity passing update. This is by no means intentional, and is not an attempt to muscle in on a brilliant thread that Xan has made uniquely her own..

ALAN MURPHY

paraphrased from an article by Phil Hilborne, Guitar Techniques Nov 2004

During his all too brief career the late Alan Murphy worked with a variety of diverse musical artists. These included Long John Baldry, Chris Rea, Joan Armatrading, Go West, Mike & the Mechanics, Scritti Politti, Nick Heyward, Level 42, Aimi Stewart and Murphy's own fusion band SFX. At the time of his untimely death in 1989 he had become the UK's most sought after session player, in the pop/rock style. An English equivalent of the US player Steve (Toto) Lukather, his name was everywhere.

His playing style has often been compared to that of Alan Holdsworth (but perhaps without the jazz). Hilborne points to Murphy's use of legato (smooth free flowing lines) his use of the tremelo arm to bend notes up as well as down and his long linear solo note runs. His technique was flawless - his playing demonstrates long stretches on single strings, always an indication of a guitar players skill and dexterity. His sound was powerfull and usually quite clean despite his use of overdrive (light distortion). He favoured single coil pickup instruments rather than guitars equipped with humbuckers, giving him a more glassy, bell like tone. I have seen pictures of him with a custom Ibanez and a good old Fender Stratocaster, both guitars equipped with single wind pick ups as standard.

The next words are Muphy's own, and describe his introduction to Go West, the band that really made his name as an elite electric guitar player:

" I used to be in a band called Bandit. We, and another band called The Quick, used to go and see each other play and we got to know each other well. The Quick were into production and they had two guys called Richard Drummie and Peter Cox. After a show one night, they gave me this casette to listen to. They were noisy Portastudio (inexpensive all in one casette based 4 track domestic home studio machines) demos, but they were fantastic. I was really turned on by this stuff and two months later I met the guys and we did the tracks. They all came out very well but no record companies were interested. Then I went off to Japan in '85 playing with (bassist) John Giblin, (another Kate Bush regular) and I was just going to bed one night when I got a call from Peter Cox. He'd finally managed to get a record deal and wanted me to come over and play on the new album.

When I got back to London, I went into Rooster studios in Shepherds Bush, we did all my guitar parts in three days and that became the first Go West album. Again I didn't hear from them for months and then things started to bubble for the band. The first single was released and of course it was a hit, so I felt a commitment; I felt there was a little hole just ready for me in Go West, and now we're writing and preparing for the second album.. "

Phil Hilborne:

" That was 1986. After Go West, Alan joined Level 42 and contined to work with Kate Bush. Sadly he succumbed to AIDS in 1989 and with him went one of the most musical guitarists that Great Britain has ever produced. Thankfully, his legacy lives on in the many fantastic recordings he left us.. "

On 19/10/1989, Alan Murphy died of AIDS at Westminster City Hospital, London, UK.

www.forevernow.com/band/pix/alan.jpg [/img]

216.149.62.210/Merchant/graphics/00000001/Nacd004.jpg [/img]

For more information on Murphy, look at Alan Barnes excellent site at www.alanmurphy.info/

[Xanadu]

Adey said:

This is my first in an occasional series of posts, that will look at the careers/styles of musicians who have played on recordings by our dear Kate. I apologise if some of the material is musically technical at times - I'm afraid that's down to the nature of the reading and research that I do As this first one deals with a person no longer with us, it reads a little like a celebrity passing update. This is by no means intentional, and is not an attempt to muscle in on a brilliant thread that Xan has made uniquely her own..

I think this contribution is wonderful. By no means do I feel that this the same as the thread I started, and I always invite other thoughts and feelings about each passing. Actually I think it's a great idea. Personally, I am a little light in this musical area, as you can notice, I tend to lean more heavily on the history of actors and such. Your particular insight and knowledge can give tribute that I can't to such important musicians, and help to enlighten us all to their contributions, and not just to Kate's music.

So please, I'd love for you to contribute more here, living or departed. Their talent lives on...

[Al Truest]

I agree with Zan. We a quickly becoming better than the magazines and newspapers as a source for information and entertainment. Thanks!

[Adey]

Time to look at the guitarist IAN BAIRNSON, who played on Kate's Kick Inside, Lionheart and Dreaming albums, and who contributed the soaring melodic solo at the end of Wuthering Heights.

Ian (John) Bairnson was born Aug 3rd 1953, on the Shetland Island of Lerwick.

He began playing in earnest at the age of 14 and first really came to prominence with the mid 1970's pop band Pilot. Their single "Magic" made a big chart impression in 1974, and recorded the albums "second Flight" in '75, "Morin Heights" in '76 and "Two's a Crowd" in '77. His notable versatility took him to the session musician scene and he has recorded with the following artists at various times in his career: Kate Bush (of course), Chris DeBurgh, Michael McDonald, Mick Fleetwood, Sting, Tom Jones, Jon (Yes) Anderson, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Paul McCartney (hear Ian playing on "Mull of Kintyre" ).

His work soon bought him to the attention of Alan Parsons, and Ian subsequently became a key member of the Alan Parson's Project, playing on every one of their recordings. It is probably this particular body of work that has done most to raise Bairnson's profile as a top flight guitar player.

He has also done some Television work, writing the themes for the programmes " The World's Strongest Man" and " Driving Force" . Ian also acted in the film " Paper Mask" , playing the role of a guitarist in a band..

As a musician, Bairnson describes himself as having a sound knowledge of musical theory but claims not to be able to read musical notation - which sounds something of a contradiction. He took up the saxophone and has experimented with some success.

Ian Bairnson play some desireable instruments - favouring the Gibson twin humbucker model rather than the Fender style single coil pick-up approach. He is generally quite conservative with his equipment, favouring quality over quantity:

His early workhorse guitar (and almost certainly the instrument he played on the Wuthering heights solo) was a 1973 Gibson Les Paul. I have also seen him pictured with a Gibson Double Neck, which I suspect he was also using at this time. (He acquired a '59 Les Paul in January '97, a holy grail instrument for many Gibson players. )

More recently, and like many pro & semi pro players, he has been playing Paul Read Smith (PRS) guitars. These fine instruments are based on the Gibson twin humbucker model. Ian has two, a basic model he refers to as " Blue Boy " (because of the colour & intensity of it's finish) and a custom model built for him by, and after meeting, Paul Read Smith and impressing him with a single guitar rendition of " Birdland" by Weather Report (!) . This PRS model features an additional middle single coil pick up to increase the tonal options available on the instrument.

Ian played a mid '70s white Fender Stratocaster on some recordings by the Alan Parson's Project. Studio owned by Parsons, Bairnson described it as a horrible guitar to play. He also now owns a Yamaha Custom Alto Saxophone and acoustic guitars (one wound with nylon strings) by Yamaha and Taylor.

His amplification is also fairly modest. He started his career with a 50 watt Marshall head & 4x12 speaker cabinet, playing cleanly with little in the way of additional effects. Over the years, he has expanded this to a system based around a Mesa Boogie power amp and a Yamaha rack based effects unit routed through a Tascam digital mixer. He still owns the Marshall head and also a Fender Super Champ amplifier, both traditional valve built of course..

Ian Bairnson is still a working session recording player, though I suspect that he has lost ground to the later generation of wonder players whose style is so typified by Alan Murphy. This is of course Adey's entirely personal view, though Ian himself admits to losing his way somewhat in the mid 1980s.

Nevertheless, crank up your stereos, select The Kick Inside and enjoy once again Ian's melodic, stirring stream of conciousness, that is the brilliant guitar solo on Wuthering Heights..

For a complete discography of Bairnson's work, go to the source www.ianbairnson.com one of several sites to which I am indebted for material included in this assessment.



Ian Bairnson playing "Blue Boy" ..

[Adey]

With my look at Alan Murphy and now Ian Bairnson (posted yesterday), Kate's main guitar players have been covered in this mini series.

I welcome any suggestions as to who I should look at next!

[Adey]

Adey said:

With my look at Alan Murphy and now Ian Bairnson (posted yesterday), Kate's main guitar players have been covered in this mini series.

I welcome any suggestions as to who I should look at next!

Hmm, it seems that no-one is particularly interested in Kate's musical troops. Nevertheless, I intend to persist with this thread for a while, if only because I enjoy doing the research and because it's close to my heart and major life interest.

.. and because someone's going to get educated dammit, even if they don't want to be..

[Al Truest]

Adey said:

Hmm, it seems that no-one is particularly interested in Kate's musical troops. Nevertheless, I intend to persist with this thread for a while, if only because I enjoy doing the research and because it's close to my heart and major life interest.

.. and because someone's going to get educated dammit, even if they don't want to be..

Sorry, Adey. To the contrary, I find these posts most informative (e.g. the Michael McDonald connection: yet another link between Kate and Steely Dan that I was unaware of ) I'll wager that Zan has read from here with equal interest. But to do a just response to such thorough and well-composed posts like these takes some thought and effort. I used to get frustrated with my playlist not getting feedback; but, after realizing how many 'views' it got (as is true with this thread which is at 94 at the time of this post ,) I was satisfied that people were reading it at least. It is somewhat intimidating to post a decent answer that does justice to the expert status of the author.

[Xanadu]

Al said:

Sorry, Adey. To the contrary, I find these posts most informative (e.g. the Michael McDonald connection: yet another link between Kate and Steely Dan that I was unaware of ) I'll wager that Zan has read from here with equal interest. But to do a just response to such thorough and well-composed posts like these takes some thought and effort. I used to get frustrated with my playlist not getting feedback; but, after realizing how many 'views' it got (as is true with this thread which is at 94 at the time of this post ,) I was satisfied that people were reading it at least. It is somewhat intimidating to post a decent answer that does justice to the expert status of the author.

I agree completely (see "Missing Members" for further explanation). I really enjoy your posts, and they see to be done with such care and love that I appreciate. Unfortunately, it is an education for me, and I feel I don't have anything to add except for thanks. I'll really try to make some important contribution soon.

[Adey]

Thanks you guys, it's nice to know that we don't labour in vain..

I think I was feeling a little sensitive about this because I've always wondered if the series is a little too specialist for general consumption and therefore self indulgent.

I shall now continue to post with an 'easier' mind.

...nice to see you Xan, hope you're soon out from under..

[Adey]

Let's look at some Drummers..

STUART ELLIOTT

But first, an admission - I am not a drummer and have never even dabbled, although I can construct reasonable patterns on a typical drum machine. That's the limit of my expertise in this area, so I'm entirely reliant on 3rd parties for opinion. In particular, I have to acknowledge M L Koenig and his excellent, though brief "Unofficial Stuart Elliott Page" , for info and evaluation. Biographical data on Elliott, seems to be entirely absent from my usual research sources, so I am limited to his career and equipment.



Stuart Elliott

In professional circles, Elliott is widely regarded as an underrated player who does not get the recognition he deserves for his thoughtful mastery of many different drum stylings. Koenig points to his concentration and his ability to merge completely with the mood of the song he is playing.

Stuart first came to attention when he joined the excellent Cockney Rebel in 1972. He played on all but one album and was the drummer on the following memorable hits: Come Up & See Me (Make Me Smile), Judy Teen and Mr Raffles (Man It Was Mean). He went on to join the Alan Parson's Project, following an invitation from Parsons, who was Cockney Rebel's Producer. Along with guitarist Ian Bairnson (discussed last time) , he was with the Project for the next 15 years, playing on every one of their greatest hits, all bar one. His next most notable contribution was as the drum stool occupant playing on Al Stewart's Year of the Cat, a hit on several occasions.

He came to work as a session player on The Kick Inside, through his connection with Andrew Powell, Producer of that album. His chemistry with Kate clearly worked out and he has gone on to play on every album released by her. Indeed, alongside fellow drummers Charlie Morgan & Preston Heyman, he may accurately be referred to as a key member of her rhythm team.

Through his session work, Elliott has recorded with a long list of luminaries including Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Sting, Kenny Rogers and Deacon Blue among many others. (Again, regular readers of this thread may have noticed the similar almost parallel nature of his and Bairnson's musical careers) .

Stuart has played the following drum kits:

His first kit was a Ludwig set, though he originally learned on his Father's equipment (Alexander Elliott, Jazz Drummer) . Next was a Sonor kit (much like Keith Moon's apparently) and then a Tama Superstar. His current set is a Remo kit, though he also plays Simmons electronic drums. Stuart is a long time endorsee of Zildjian Cymbals, and he has an extensive collection of Ks & As. As a percussionist he has been known to play (amongst many others) the following: bells, bodhran, bongos, castanets, guiro and tuned percussion including xylophone.

Koenig quotes the following tracks as particularly indicative of Elliott's talents:

Kate Bush's And So Is Love - for the ride pattern. The funk of Cockney Rebel's 49th Parallel. Al Stewart's End of the Day for great jazz style brush work and the irish drum duet with Charlie Morgan on Kate's Jig of Life. Koenig also refers to Elliott's excellent sense of timing on his Tom Tom fills.

Stuart Elliot has a number of joint song writing credits for album tracks recorded through out his career.

On the subject of Kate Bush, Stuart speaks eloquently and with great admiration & affection (See Gaffaweb for his comments) .

(My personal apologies for the brevity and lack of insight in this piece. I lack the drumming expertise to do this essential KB regular greater justice.. )






..next article will be on Charlie Morgan, Kates 'other' drummer..

[Al Truest]

Why would yoy apologize? That's probably the most comprehensive piece ever aassembled for him. ;D Thanks once again. I beleive, from what I've read that his ability to fit in with electonic's such as drum machines and fairlights etc., make him a seamless addition to Kate's music. He started out with the same equipment as me. Albeit, not all of it matching. ;D My first kit had a Ludwig Snare and Sonor pedals.

[Adey]

Adey said:

..next article will be on Charlie Morgan, Kates 'other' drummer..

Apologies for the delay if you're following this mini series..

[Adey]

And so we come to CHARLIE MORGAN, arguably Kate's no 2 drummer and a man who has risen to the very top of his profession. Again, as a non drummer I have been reliant on the insights of others into his style and abilities, and I am obliged to certain individuals (suitably credited) and to Angelfire.com.



Planet 9, featuring Mr Morgan..

Charlie's Manicdrums Company website reveals him to be a man of some humour with a nice line in drummer jokes:

"OK, so this drummer is fed up with being the brunt of all the jokes and decides to take up another instrument. So he pays a visit to his local music store, where he is approached by the sales assistant with the usual 'can I help you' routine. Immediately flustered, drummer says 'I want that trumpet on the wall and that accordion over there by the window'. The shop assistant hesitates for a second, then says 'well you can have the fire extinguisher if you really want it, but the radiator has to stay there I'm afraid'... "

After some extensive research, I was able to trace Charlie's career back to it's earliest moments and these were actually with the pre-famous Kate Bush.. A friend of Paddy Bush, he was a member of the scratch KT Bush Band mkII, (replacing Vic Smith) formed to give Kate some experience of early live playing, alongside Del Palmer, Paddy, Brian Bath & Kate herself..

Generally speaking, Charlie is now best known as Elton John's 2nd longest serving drummer (top honour belonging to Nigel Olsson of course). Prior to that most desireable of gigs, he had spent the decade between 1976 & 1985 establishing himself as perhaps Britain's leading session drummer, with a huge number of recording credits for many 1980s icons. Be it pop, rock, reggae or even instrumental, he became a technician of many different rhythmic styles.

He was one of the first drummers "to master the art of playing alongside drum machines with pinpoint accuracy, whilst still creating a dynamic live feel" (Angelfire.com). Charlie Morgan came to the attention of Elton John in 1985, who found in him the ability to hold down the rhythm end during his famous wild stage shows. There followed 6 albums and 14 years of concerts. This came to an end in 1998, when Charlie was forced to quit mid-tour following a traumatic split with his Italian wife. Soon after, he made a complete break and relocated to Orlando, Florida. Early in 2000, he toured the US with country star Trisha Yearwood whilst gradually infiltrating the expanding Florida music scene and developing his Manicdrums Company, developing internet downloadable drum tracks from his new home.

Charlie was last seen in the UK, backing the extraordinary guitarist John Jorgenson (another Elton John regular at one stage, supplementing Davey Johnstone's usual gtr work). With Charlie doing the driving, he (and Jorgenson+band) returned to their roots travelling the Country in a jam packed hire van, playing every gig with the enthusiasm of teenagers in their first band.. His most recent work is with Planet 9 a troupe of respected side men from all over the US, described as "Mannheim Steamroller meets Tower of Power".

Testimonials to Charlie are many and easily found:

Billy Joel, calls him an intensely creative musician with a rare rhythmic precision and recounts a tale of his tour with Elton. Moments before going onto a stage in Philadelphia before an audience of 55,000, Joel's regular drummer, Liberty De Vitto, was taken seriously ill and was rushed to Hospital. Charlie, took the drum stool for Joel's show and incredibly, without any preparation improvised his way through a near 2 hour set, armed only with his previous observations of Joel's show, from the tour. "A staggering achievement" said Joel, apparently shaking his head in wonder..

Top Producer Guy Fletcher, states:
"I've known Charlie for 15 years and used his services many times. It is beyond doubt that his ability & application have taken him to the very top of his profession. His is rightly considered one of the World's finest allrounders and is always in heavy demand with Producers. Technically excellent, unique stylist, no other drummer plays quite like him. He is always a pleasure to deal with and is a credit to the global popular music fraternity. His attitude, integrity and professionalism are second to none.."

Charlie plays a large Premier kit with Sabian Cymbals, but has used Yamaha equpiment in the past.

His discography is immense and couldn't be repeated here, but includes work with the following artists:

Elton John & Kate Bush of course,
Nik Kershaw, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Pete Townshend, Matt Bianco, LIghtnin' Hopkins, Duane Eddy, Clannad, Gary Moore, Kini Te Kanawar, Delaney & Bonnie, Thin Lizzy, Judy Tzuke, Tom Robinson, Sally Oldfield and The Hellecasters. There is also an extensive canon of work with various Italian Artists, that we assume came about through his one-time matrimonial connection.

He has worked on many soundtrack albums, including Thelma & Louise and Mad Max (Beyond Thunderdome) with Maurice Jarre.

Further info on this major artist may be found on his excellent Company Website:

www.manicdrums.com

This fun site includes a novel cyber drum kit for users to play with and details of his "You've Got Drums" downloadable drumtracks side line, for use by musicians and songwriters.

Charlie has spoken of his musical relationship with Kate Bush, and whilst I haven't been able to run down any quotes for this article, the interview itself may be found in the Homeground fanzine/info periodical, issue #70, from Summer 2002..



A rare early photograph of Kate & Charlie in the #2 version of the KT Bush Band..

[Al Truest]

Again, this research and thoughtful contribution by Adey are in part what seperates this forum from the rest. As a drummer myself, I appreciated the commentary and linked resources.

The self depricating comments about the accordian-radiator that Mr Morgan makes, may sum up our lot as muscians. Drummers may be the least appreciated in terms of creativety. Yet they are so much the backbone of the music.

Well done indeed. Thank you!

[Adey]

Al said:

The self depricating comments about the accordian-radiator that Mr Morgan makes, may sum up our lot as muscians. Drummers may be the least appreciated in terms of creativety. Yet they are so much the backbone of the music.

I recall playing a gig with my then band some 15 years ago.. I was doing my own techno-flash rendition of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man (based on Emerson's version of course). I had a MiniMoog under my right hand and an ARP Odyssey under my left. My right foot was controlling a Roland Pedal Board triggering an EMU Vintage Keys Polysynth. I was playing well, King of the amateur pub circuit!(in my mind at least) and generally feeling pretty smug. Then I glanced around and saw, really saw, for the first time probably, what the drummer was doing.. Suddenly I didn't feel so smug after all..

After the show, the drummer (actually one of my closest friends) complimented me on my playing that night. I felt obliged to respond with "I was using 3 limbs independently and struggling.. You are routinely doing 4 different things with 4 limbs all the time and even I rarely notice it."

I know the value and worth of even an indifferent drummer and admire those unique skills.. There's a pecking order isn't there? An audience usually looks first to the Vocalist and then the Guitar player. Occasionally they then might look to the Keyboardist and if they've any attention span left after that, they'll glance over the bassist. 90% of the time, the drummer is invisible to them, but they wouldn't have even considered dancing without him..

Reverse that priority order, and you get the Joke factor - hardly anyone cracks a gag about the guitarist or the singer. They don't hit things do they, so they can't possibly be stupid..

Well done indeed. Thank you!

Absolutely my pleasure as always. Consider the last 2 episodes of this humble series my acknowledgement of invisible drummers everywhere and a nod of respect to them all..





Anyway, how can you tell when the drum riser is level?.... ;D