Chris Spedding

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A fortnight ago I only knew about Motor Biking. Then I noticed his name in the credits of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and was surprised. Tonight I've found out he also played on the wombles albums. And then I search ilm and find that he's allegedly a fake Sex Pistol too! I'm amazed!

He doesn't have a thread though, and I'm starting to suspect he deserves one. So here is where I'd like you to tell me about all the other great things he's done, please.

― JimD (JimD), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:20 (twenty years ago)

I mean jeez, War of the Worlds and The Wombles Christmas Party were probably my two favourite albums in the world, when I was five. And they turn out to have guitars by the same guy!? Wow!

― JimD (JimD), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:23 (twenty years ago)

Also played on some of John Cale's best solo work, as well as Bryan Ferry's...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:26 (twenty years ago)

He toured with Roxy Music during their 2001 reunion tour and played great guitar on a few of his late '70s solo records. He was especially vicious on "The Price of Love." Quite odd tunings too.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:27 (twenty years ago)

Played with the Vibrators, became very active during the punk rock years, has quite a few solo albums, and prior to p-rock was very adept at imitating other name guitarists in the studio.

He did "Pogo Dancing," which is sort of inane but people thought it was hot at the time. He has a laid back rockabilly style coupled to hard rock guitar on a number of albums from that period, records I like. Check "Hurt by Love" which has Chrissy Hynde just pre-Pretenders singing back up on it. An altogether excellent record followed by "Guitar Graffiti," which is just about as good. Half a side was live and good 'n' noisy. Ultimate hard rockabilly tune: "Hey Miss Betty."

He also was in Sharks, a post-Free vehicle for Andy Fraser and the Paul Rogers-like Snips. Two albums in the States, a third that never saw daylight. The first album is the best. By the second Fraser had wandered off to be replaced by Busta Jones, much to the general ruin of things. Andy Fraser kept the band thumping and contributed a great bit of melody to the writing. He was an excellent foil for Spedding who just about had nothing to do on the second, which was called "Jab It In Your Eye," by the way. It became a quick stuffer of cutout bins.

― George the Animal Steele, Monday, 15 August 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

funny, I've been listening to his stuff lately. his very Dylan/Band-esque '70 solo album, the one with "Session Man" (not the Ray Davies song) and "Hurt," which is better, more rocking, more like Cale. I always loved his guitar playing on those Cale Island albums.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

He stole the show at the Roxy reunion show I saw at the Theater at MSG.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

Just found this, which answers my own question pretty well, although it also begs a load more. He was on Here Come The Warm Jets too! All my favourites!

― JimD (JimD), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:43 (twenty years ago)

Chris ? Is that you ?

― blunt (blunt), Monday, 15 August 2005 23:46 (twenty years ago)

yeah, great with Cale, and Here Come is my fave Eno by far. Wasn't he also in a band called the Necessaries (the Professionals? Too?), with a couple of Pistols, and they had a big drunken car wreck (literally), and he couldn't play out for a while? Glad he tuored with Roxy (Saw a solo in bargain bins all the time, The Only Lick I Know; wish I'd bought it)(speaking of tours, George, a couple friends saw Busta Cherry added at the last minute to Gang Of Four, thought he fit in at least as well as their original bassist)

― don, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

coming out with a new album soon

― already disheveled hair projection (wetmink), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 00:38 (twenty years ago)

He replaced Link Wray as Robert Gordon's guitar foil for a while. And he worked with the Viletones, the only worthwhile punk band Toronto ever produced.

I like that second Sharks LP just fine (XXX-post), especially "Kung Fu", though it's true Spedding's role was diminished.

― Allen Baekeland (Allen Baekeland), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

forgot about the Robt. Gordon gig, and those at already's link are pretty intriguing too.

― don, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 03:47 (twenty years ago)

Wow, the Goodies! And Gilbert O'Sullivan too. So he was ALL over my childhood, it seems. My new ambition is to DJ at Poptimism and play a "Guitars by Chris Spedding" themed set.

― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:33 (twenty years ago)

He's on Roy Harper's HQ album too.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

er...my proposed '74 poptimism set contains quite a lot of spedding input...

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

I was going to say Marcello would be along any minute to mention Spedding's jazz/improv credits...

― When You Wore a Tulip (and I Had a Big Red Nose) (Dada), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:51 (twenty years ago)

my proposed '74 poptimism set contains quite a lot of spedding input

Even better! If I can hear all the same tunes but dance to them instead of having to fiddle with decks and things, that's fine by me. :)

― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:54 (twenty years ago)

Best Spedding solo ever - "Five For England" on Mike Gibbs' Tanglewood '63 (originally composed as Goodies incidental music). 12 minutes of sky-kissing; arse-kicking rhythm section of John Marshall, Roy Babbington and Gordon Beck pushing him all the way, easily on a par with anything on Jack Johnson. Also superb on Westbrook's Love Songs and Solid Gold Cadillac elpees.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

According to this he was also once approached by Mick Jagger with a view to him "joining the Stones to replace Mick Taylor as a rival candidate to Keith Richards' preferred choice, Ron Wood; Spedding turned him down."

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 10:58 (twenty years ago)

Also of note his appearance on Michael Mantler's, uhhhhhhhh, difficult Pinter album, "Silence" - the album with the unbeatable vocal trio of Robert Wyatt, Carla Bley and Kevin Coyne!

― When You Wore a Tulip (and I Had a Big Red Nose) (Dada), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

Actually rather an awful record that - Mr Coyne was a last-minute substitute for first choice Alex Harvey, who rather wisely declined the offer in favour of recording a audio documentary/concept album about the Loch Ness Monster for K-Tel. Heard better on Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports - Carla Bley's last "pop" record - with Robert Wyatt, Gary Windo and other good sorts.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 11:03 (twenty years ago)

RE: Spedding's new album. Bryan Ferry features on the album playing harmonica, a rare session-man outing for the Roxy Music frontman.

― Garfield Odie (garfield), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 11:04 (twenty years ago)

seventeen years pass...

Bump because of recent Roxy talk and especially because of RIP Robert Gordon as posted by unperson on the obit thread. Seems Chris and Robert had recently reunited to work on his last album which isn't out yet.

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 18:47 (three years ago)

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/robert-gordon-dead-rockabilly-singer-1235407247/

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 18:49 (three years ago)

Mentioned him over here New York Dolls and posted this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK4hDssJ9NA

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:16 (three years ago)

Thought about posting this one too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlUo2f8vbfA

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:17 (three years ago)

This one's good as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKNnAGy9e1s

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:19 (three years ago)

Looks like they did a reunion show of their classic quartet at one of the Bowery places. The Bowery Electric.

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:22 (three years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04dkKA9zTO8

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:22 (three years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfsQusJ6dMU
Rob Stoner identifies himself in the comments.

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:31 (three years ago)

The next night's performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChKf_bGgkhg

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:35 (three years ago)

Meh, sorry, I didn't hear much difference between the two performances, one youtubers comments to the contrary.

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 19:44 (three years ago)

even Dutch Wikipedia seems to have forgotten about it, but Gordon and Link Wray had a top 10 hit in the Netherlands (and Belgium) in 1978 with “Red Hot” from Gordon’s debut album (it all passed for “punk” or “new wave” on Dutch radio those days):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GHdEOYNpFI

(he looked damn sexy then)

― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 20:12 (three years ago)

I heard that song on the radio all the time in NYC, had no idea it became an actual hit somewhere.

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 20:21 (three years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Epzs8kdmzQ
"Mystery Train" and "20 Flight Rock"

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 19 October 2022 01:52 (three years ago)

I guess that summer Bowery Electric show never happened due to his health. Last show was in February, according to Rob Stoner.

― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 19 October 2022 01:55 (three years ago)

Marshall Crenshaw

― We Have Never Been In Precise Modern Lovers Order (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 20 October 2022 20:01 (three years ago)

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