I generally don't do much recording now. I know I should, but I prefer a live performance, and it's done, however good or bad. I was asked by a pal to do a jazz rhythm track to compliment his Hammond B3.He's making a C.D., so when he sells it, shortly, he'll have a record of how great it sounded. All the instrumental work was done, even an original guide track I'd put on, but it was an ad lib track that was O.K., but could be better. So, I listened & wrote a chart, that I hope compliments th
Well,nice to be back where I started from.Hope you all had a great New Year's Eve. I was playing bass with a Rock a Billy band.It was one of those gigs where the young 'uns are telling me how the songs they are about to perform go,I was thinking 'No they don't ',but I was all ears,because I have to know how THEY do the songs I have been listening to for over 50 years. All went well.We were playing a venue that I've played on & off for over 50 years.It's about to close & become yet anothe
Well,guys...I don't believe it !I finally hit 70 years of age recently.The cards arrived.I thought they were for my dad ! I looked in the mirror...I am my dad !! How did I get here so quickly ?
I started playing guitar in 1957.I'd been shipped off to a private school by my dad.It was like 'Tom Brown's School Days' .( An English book about private schools ) What was I going to do ? The answer revealed itself when I went into a small common room,used by the boys at the school.There was a roaring
Sad to report another death.Jackie Lomax,who was singer & bass player with the Liverpool group 'The Undertakers',sadly passed away on 15th Sept,2013.I remember Jackie well,as my band,'Tony Martin & the Mods' supported the Undertakers in Hull,England,on November 19th,1963, at the Gondola club..They were a great band,played well,looked great,and had a superb stage presence.They should have risen higher up the fame ladder,but competition was fierce in those days...Beatles,Stones,Kinks,Who..
Sad to report the death ( 21st May,2013 ) of Bowie's bass man from the 'Spiders from Mars',Trevor Bolder.Trevor had been suffering with Pancreatic cancer for some time.His younger brother,Andy Bolder also died only a couple of months ago with a throat problem.I got to know Trevor when he played & produced some tracks with his brothers & friends at Fairview studio in Willerby,East Yorkshire,U.K.( the same studio that demo'd Heatwave's first album,Boogie Nights etc ),in the 1970's.His late
Did a gig this week at our local City Hall ( Kingston upon Hull,East Yorkshire England ) I decided to take my Heritage 140 (1986) as it looks great,plays great,and sounds mega ! It handled the mostly rythmn guitar gig excellently,adding a snap to the very limited soloing that was required for the gig. I had to laugh.The 10 piece band,(piano,bass,guitar drums + 2 trumpets,2 saxes & 1 trombone + singer ) were only required to play 6 tunes.We'd had a band rehearsal,as we needed to shorten the s
I have long been a fan of rocker Charlie Gracie.I recall going to my local record store around 1958 time,and buying his then current E.P. ( Extended Play, 7" vinyl disc,usually with 4 tracks for those newer members to the planet !) Not only did I constantly play the 4 tracks of the E.P.,but I oggled the Guild guitar on the cover,with It's 3 P-90 style Pick ups,and a row of tone switches to die for ! Charlie had many hits both here (U.K.) & in the U.S.A, and he was right up there with Elvis,B
Today ( 3rd March,2011),I heard from an old friend that a local bass player (Hull, East Yorkshire,U.K. ) had passed away at about 63 years old.When I hear news like this,I generally think over how our lives interacted.Stan Saye was the bass player in a local band called the Hammer.I made a couple of records with this outfit,before Stan was a member.When the original band split up,it reformed with Stan,singer John Parker,Another John on drums,and probably,most importantly,Rod Temperton on Keys.Th
Just realized I haven't added anything to this blog since last August ! Must be the fact that I joined Facebook ( As Peter Alton,with the same cartoon badge.There's a million 'Peter Greens' & they all play guitar ) I have a collection of old band photo's from the 50's 60's etc.of groups & entertainers in my area of the U.K.,and I wanted to get them into cyber space.If anything happens to me,they would be lost forever,now anyone can view them.They have been widely viewed by many people,me
I was visited by my old friend Ian Bolder,brother of Trevor recently.I'd shown him the entry I made on the Spiders From Mars,and the photo I took of his brother in ASDA ( Wall Mart ) Hull.He dropped by again,and left me this photo of his band playing a local pub in Hull called 'The Good Fellowship' Inn,towards the end of the '60's.
L to R, Mike Wright ,drums,Paul Sutton on a Gibson 330 guitar,Trevor Bolder on a Burns Trisonic bass,Singers name forgotten ( Sorry ),and Ian Bolder on a Vox Phantom
It's amazing who you bump into in supermarkets.I was in a Wall-Mart supermarket ( Asda U.K.) in Hull,East Yorkshire,recently,and I bumped into my old mate Trevor Bolder and his son.Trevor,all you Bowie fans know,was the bass player in the 'Spiders from Mars',with Hull born guitarist Mick Ronson. Mick,in his early days,occasionally used to come & watch me and my band play. I am a little older than he was,and by 1963/4,I'd already been playing about 6 years,so at that time was more advanced.Th
Hi,
Sometimes things happen that you're not aware of at the time,and you find out later,sometimes with pride,sometimes with shame,but seldom,both at the same time.My Gibson L5 was wearing on the frets.I live in the North of England,and in the early '70's ,there were very few luthiers up here,and none I knew personally.So,I had to look to London.Now,I'd been using Emile Grimshaw for many years,but for some unknown reason,I decidied to take my L5 to Ivor Mairants,in the West End of London,probab
Just been searching through some old photos,and I came up with on of a band I was with in 1968.We were called 'Quadrant',and we did jazzy latin stuff & pops of the day.If you take a look at the photo I posted in my album,I'm playing a Gibson L5 that I had recently purchased.I still have this guitar.I loaned it to Joe Pass for one night to do a seminar in London in th '70's .I was playing it through a 2 x 15" Fender Showman cab,& a 'Bandmaster' head.Instant 'Wes' ! The guy with long hair
You know when you get the impossible phone call,out of the blue,totally unexpected,and unbelievable. Well,a couple of years ago,I was home & the phone bell rang.'Hi,is that Pete?' 'Yeah,who's that?' 'It's Tommy Allsup' 'The guy who played with Buddy Holly ?' I asked. I went dumb,but fortunately Tommy said ' I'm playing over the river ( Humber) tonight & I'd like to meet you. We had a pleasant chat on the phone,& I rang a couple of pals. My good pal,Paul Downing was over from the S
Hi Guys ( and Gals,if there's any out there ! )
What I'm going to try to do in the blog is tell you what I'm doing (not much,these days ),and what I've done in the past. ( Plenty there )
I'll start with the revelation that on the 3rd May,1964,my then band (' Tony Martin & the Mods' )played the Palace Theatre,Manchester,U.K. Headlining the show were the Rolling Stones ( Honest ).The reason I start with this is not that it was our biggest gig,but I just found a poster from the show on line,a
