I was thinking of the past...And Adrian Fisher (we called him Ady) came to mind...we were musical friends from school and beyond.
He played guitar and helped me to learn the ropes as a 15 year-old aspiring Clapton and we had many jams together...Later he became a bit of a Rock star...most famous for his guitar on the Sparks hit 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us' (a no.2 top ten single in 1974) and the album 'Kimono My House'...He had other success too...with Boxer ... see below.
He played guitar and helped me to learn the ropes as a 15 year-old aspiring Clapton and we had many jams together...Later he became a bit of a Rock star...most famous for his guitar on the Sparks hit 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us' (a no.2 top ten single in 1974) and the album 'Kimono My House'...He had other success too...with Boxer ... see below.
I didn't see him for many years...
He turned up at a local gig The O T Band were playing...very drunk...I let him play a number but he was terrible...At the end of the set he asked 'How did you learn all of those chords ?'...I took it as a compliment...I felt sad to see him so low and lost...It was the last time I saw him. Later he seemed to find some peace far from the UK (see the BBC clip)...Sadly he passed many years ago...A Forest Hill schoolboy who made the big time ! And I'm thankful for his friendship and the good times we shared . We were both Eric Clapton/Cream fanatics and this bonded us as pals...And he strummed a good version of The Beatles 'Blackbird' that was impressive. He was a good slide player too,,,with a love of the Blues that inspired both of us.
See here for some interesting info about Ady...
BBC extract about his later life : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ6WTMBa_gM&feature=youtu.be
And he gets his own Wiki entry : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Fisher_(musician)
Here is the Hit with Sparks : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ztSKDbDRXc
I'll be honest...Ady (and all of us mates) thought Sparks were shit...Posers ! Ady was more himself as a member of Boxer with fellow musicians Chris Stainton Tim Bogert & Mike Patto - Unfortunately Punk put an end to this kind of music at the time...for a very short while...(another mostly posers fad...but with many nostalgic fanatical supporters !)
Click on comment to d/l a copy of Boxer - Absolutely (1977) featuring Adrian
As an aside and extra info...One of my mate's bands 'Peer Gynt' were supporting the Brush Sheils band Skid Row (later 'Brush')....After the gig Brush and I got into a conversation and he mentioned that he wanted a good slide player to add to his line-up...Ady was a good slide guitarist and I recommended him ...mentioning he had played with Andy Fraser (from Free) ...As a result he got his first break...
Ady (left) with Toby
Ady (centre) with Boxer
Click on comment to d/l a copy of Boxer - Absolutely (1977) featuring Adrian
As an aside and extra info...One of my mate's bands 'Peer Gynt' were supporting the Brush Sheils band Skid Row (later 'Brush')....After the gig Brush and I got into a conversation and he mentioned that he wanted a good slide player to add to his line-up...Ady was a good slide guitarist and I recommended him ...mentioning he had played with Andy Fraser (from Free) ...As a result he got his first break...
