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Herbie Flowers
Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician.
Flowers contributed to recordings by Elton John, Camel, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roy Harper, David Essex, Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, Harry Nilsson, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He also played bass on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.
He created his most famous bassline for Lou Reed's 1972 hit single "Walk on the Wild Side" from the album Transformer. By the end of the 1970s, Flowers had played bass on an estimated 500 hit recordings.
Flowers was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, on 19 May 1938. He began his musical training in 1956 when conscripted into the Royal Air Force, electing at first to serve for nine years as a bandsman playing tuba. He took up double bass as a second instrument to secure his "Junior Technician" stripe and later moved to bass guitar. After completing his military service he passed through the line-ups of several Dixieland jazz bands in the early 1960s, then discovered modern jazz. In 1965 he was engaged as a bandsman on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth. After hearing an electric bass at a New York nightclub, he acquired his own solid-body electric instrument, a Lake Placid Blue 1960 Fender Jazz Bass that he purchased from Manny's Music in New York City for $79.
Later in the 1960s, Flowers began to acquire his reputation as a session player, working for record producers such as Shel Talmy, Mickie Most, Steve Rowland, Richard Perry, Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti.
In 1969 Flowers was a founding member of the group Blue Mink, playing on their song "Melting Pot" which reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart, and early heavy rock band Rumplestiltskin. He was also a member of CCS and the final line-up of T. Rex, along with Dino Dines.
In 1979, shortly after taking part in the annual A Song For Europe contest, performing "Mr Moonlight" with his group, the Daisies, he became a co-founder of the band Sky which had success in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Flowers is also known for having composed the novelty hit "Grandad" for Clive Dunn in 1970. According to Flowers, he came up with it after following an easy primer book on composing. All he needed was a hook, and he was struggling to come up with anything. He telephoned a friend, Ken Pickett, who came round, ringing the doorbell, and the sound of the doorbell provided the hook he needed.
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Herbie Flowers
Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician.
Flowers contributed to recordings by Elton John, Camel, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roy Harper, David Essex, Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, Harry Nilsson, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He also played bass on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.
He created his most famous bassline for Lou Reed's 1972 hit single "Walk on the Wild Side" from the album Transformer. By the end of the 1970s, Flowers had played bass on an estimated 500 hit recordings.
Flowers was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, on 19 May 1938. He began his musical training in 1956 when conscripted into the Royal Air Force, electing at first to serve for nine years as a bandsman playing tuba. He took up double bass as a second instrument to secure his "Junior Technician" stripe and later moved to bass guitar. After completing his military service he passed through the line-ups of several Dixieland jazz bands in the early 1960s, then discovered modern jazz. In 1965 he was engaged as a bandsman on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth. After hearing an electric bass at a New York nightclub, he acquired his own solid-body electric instrument, a Lake Placid Blue 1960 Fender Jazz Bass that he purchased from Manny's Music in New York City for $79.
Later in the 1960s, Flowers began to acquire his reputation as a session player, working for record producers such as Shel Talmy, Mickie Most, Steve Rowland, Richard Perry, Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti.
In 1969 Flowers was a founding member of the group Blue Mink, playing on their song "Melting Pot" which reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart, and early heavy rock band Rumplestiltskin. He was also a member of CCS and the final line-up of T. Rex, along with Dino Dines.
In 1979, shortly after taking part in the annual A Song For Europe contest, performing "Mr Moonlight" with his group, the Daisies, he became a co-founder of the band Sky which had success in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Flowers is also known for having composed the novelty hit "Grandad" for Clive Dunn in 1970. According to Flowers, he came up with it after following an easy primer book on composing. All he needed was a hook, and he was struggling to come up with anything. He telephoned a friend, Ken Pickett, who came round, ringing the doorbell, and the sound of the doorbell provided the hook he needed.