Has anyone else heard of the British bass player Colin Hodgkinson? He was part of Back Door, a 70s jazz-rock trio, and is supposed to have taught Stanley Clarke how to slap when Back Door supported Return To Forever at a London gig in 1975.

He has a solo album out called the Bottom Line, a blues covers record, which is solo bass with vocals by himself.

Info on him is scarce to say the least.

Anybody have copies of the Back Door albums?

PicBass-I haven't heard that story before about who taught Stanley the slap bit...Stanley's 2nd album was released in '75 & it shows him already with some serious slap/pop chops happenin'(in fact, the "Wooten" special, the open-hammer pluck, is already evident on tunes like "Lopsy Lu").
Anyway, if CH instructed Clarke, then he's a heck of a teacher(&/or Clarke a fast learner).
I'll delve into this a little further...I've read some interviews with Clarke & I don't seem to recall him mentioning Colin. Later...

i've always loved colin's playing, i wish they would put the backdoor albums on cd.
i recently got a live brian auger album with
colin on it and he does some old back door stuff on it. but i was always under the impression that he played with a pick! but i could be wrong:-)

------------------
aloha, jerry

I thought I'd update this forum with some of the info I do have about Colin...

Colin appeared on the British music scene playing with Alexis Korner during the late sixties. Alexis used to introduce him onstage as "Frivolous Fancy Fingers"!

He formed a jazz-rock trio, Back Door, in 1972, with drummer Tony Hicks and Ron Aspery on saxes and flute. They released an album, Back Door, on a local label, but it was then reissued when the group were signed by Warner Bros. They released another three albums, but despite the rave reviews, the group fell apart in 1979 due to poor sales.

Colin went on to be one a top session player, as well as continuing to play with Alexis Korner during the early 80s as a duo.

He released a solo album, the Bottom Line, on a German record label. There are a couple of clips on their website (www.in-akustik.com - the site is in German).

These days, he mostly lives and works in Germany. He is also the bassist for the European version of the Spencer Davies Group.

Also, rumour has it that Warner Bros are planning to reissue the first Back Door album in Spring 2000.

[This message has been edited by Piccolo_Bass (edited April 02, 2000).]

I used to have the 2nd Back Door album on vinyl and played it to death. I would always play the track : 24-30 Blues (I think that was the title)to other bass players and watch their jaws drop when you told them it was just Colin on his own!

The albums weren't that great to listen to all the way through as there was rather too much sax on it for me and it was of the squeaky variety that can be quite unpleasant to listen to; so I'm not suprised that they didn't sell well.I always thought that I would much prefer a solo album by Colin.

I have also heard the story that Back Door supported Return to Forever when Stanley Clarke was still mosty playing upright and that he sought out Colin and asked for advice on playing electric the way he did. It sounds to me that Stanley Clarke was impressed by Colin's playing,(which is quite believable, honestly!) but I don't know if that means that he can be seen as "teaching" him at all.

I just remembered that the album I had was called "8th Street Nights" and had a picture of somewhere in the US on the front - an attempt at breaking the US by the Back Door?

[This message has been edited by Bruce Lindfield (edited March 10, 2000).]

Actually, I must admit that I have not heard anything by Back Door, due to the great difficulty of tracking down their albums on vinyl, so I'll have to wait a bit longer until they're reissued on CD.

The only Back Door song I do know is 'Roberta' from the '8th Street Nites' album, due to a transcription printed in Bassist last year. I've played the song at a few solo gigs, but I'd love to hear the original.

Bruce - Did Colin sing on Back Door songs? I imagine them to sound a bit like Weather Report/Return To Forever. Am I close?

Yes Colin did sing on a couple of songs - mostly the Blues standards. As far as what they sounded like - about as far away from Weather Report as anyone can get I think! Firstly - no keyboards or chordal instrument and Colin's tone is quite abrasive and dark - we're talking Fender Precision so any chords he does play sound quite murky.

As I mentioned, Ron Asperey's sax playing is what I would call an acquired taste and the overall sound was quite sparse in terms of anything to latch onto during the blowing. I can only compare it to some of the free Jazz wanderings of Soft Machine and the typical stuff wasn't what I would call commercial - so if you're expecting Birdland forget it - although it may be closer to stuff like that on "I Sing the Body Electric" (The middle of Unknown Soldier possibly) - if you've heard that, but even then Wayne Shorter's tone and melodic sense are a world away from Ron Asperey and there are no keyboards.

But I really loved the solo spots where Colin just sings with his bass accompanying him. I liked his playing throughout, but it meant nothing to non-bass players I knew at the time and they would always tell me to take it off.

hi bruce,
i think 8th street nights was produced by
felix pappalardi, if i remmeber correctly.
it recorded in new york.


------------------
aloha, jerry

Bruce - Thanks for describing Back Door for me - I was pretty far off the mark!

I've just ordered a copy of Colin's solo album from the Bass Centre here in Birmingham, but it won't arrive until Tuesday. I'll put another post on then to say if the full album is any good.

Have just found an excellent Back Door biography at www.allmusic.com. (http://www.allmusic.com.) The site also has reviews of the first two Back Door albums and Colin's solo album.

The link doesn't work for me - I just get :

The system cannot find the file specified.

Any ideas?

The link won't work for me either - I think you'll have to type in the address manually.

Got there eventually ...

"8th Street Nites
Artist Back Door
Album Title 8th Street Nites
Date of Release 1973 (approx.)
AMG Rating (Best-of-Artist)
Genre Jazz

More bass-driven brilliance, produced by the late Felix Pappalardi, former producer of Cream. Though the album is less cohesive than their debut, it soars to even greater heights with its standout covers of Leadbelly and Robert Johnson. These blues numbers are largely played as unaccompanied bass and vocal pieces. There's something to this unadorned combination -- the inherent grittiness of the bass matched against his voice hearkens back to the raw power of Delta blues, where it's just a guy and his crappy old guitar. On "32-20 Blues," Hodgkinson sings an old Robert Johnson number while throttling away at the bass; on the opening "Laying Track," the whole band takes on Leadbelly in a sort of restrained funkiness, with the constant thrashing of a tambourine underlining the rhythm section's punches on the downbeat. -- Paul Collins, All Music Guide

1973 Warner Brothers 2753

Felix Pappalardi - Producer"
____________________________

This sound about right to me - the only things I can remember are the unaccompanied Blues songs - I think they're probably being kind about the rest by not mentioning it! Stunning bass playing - but not that much appeal to non-bassist, might be a fairer assessment.

At last, my Colin Hodgkinson album finally arrived today!

I've listened to it about five or six times all the way through now, and I can honestly say that I have never heard anything like it. I'm not a big blues fan, but Colin's playing is nothing short of mindblowing. Chords, melodies, basslines, solos - they're all there, and usually played at the same time!

Clearly you can see how he has influenced players like Stanley Clarke - he has a very "hi-fi" tone, not unlike Stanley's fingerstyle playing, except he's managing it on a 38-year old Fender Precision instead of an Alembic!!! http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/smile.gif

Most of the 11 tracks are solo pieces, with vocals on three of them. The two remaining tracks are played as a bass/drums/keyboard trio.

Bruce - I don't know if you have a copy of the album, but if not, you have got to get it!

I have a feeling I saw Colin Hodgkinson playing 32-20 blues at the Reading festival at some time in the mid-late 70s...I was not in a legal state of mind at the time, so I may be mixing it up. But it was quite exceptional...

Andy

I got "The Bottom Line" today from the Bass Centre in London and it does remind me of the solo items on 8th St. Nites, although 32-30 Blues doesn't sounds as good to me - San Fransisco Bay reminds more of the sound and solos that Colin played on that album. A unique style of bass-playing - very bluesy, guitar influenced.

[This message has been edited by Bruce Lindfield (edited March 22, 2000).]

Andy - Your memory serves you correctly. Back Door played at the 1976 Reading Festival. They added a guitarist to their lineup for the appearance - a bass-led band might have been too much for the general public!

Bruce - In the liner notes of 'The Bottom Line', Colin mentions a book of transcriptions - this was at the end of 1998. The article on him in Bassist last year also mentioned some kind of biography/transcriptions book being released by a German publisher.

I have never seen or heard of this book. Any ideas?

Also - I'm playing at a music festival in a couple of months, and am interested in playing one of Colin's pieces during my usual solo spot (my friends are getting sick of 'Continuum' and 'Slang'!).

Any idea about how I might approach something like '32-20 Blues' or 'San Fransisco Bay'?

David Benyahia (Formerly "Piccolo_Bass")

[This message has been edited by David Benyahia (edited April 05, 2000).]

Hmmm... this is not a style that I play - I never had any aspirations to being a solo artist and one of the main reasons I play bass is that I like playing with other people.

It sounds to me that what is going on here, is a blues chord-progression and a bassline being played simultaneously on a 4-string bass. Now, the only other person I know who does this sort of thing apart from Colin is Michael Dimin, who hosts a section on this board under "Ask the Pros".

You could ask him about this and he might recommend buying his book, which might be very helpful to you - part of this covers a chordal approach to playing a 12-bar blues.

I did get a copy of the book and read through all this, but haven't really put it into practice - I did try a few of the chords in solos for effect, but in the situations in which I play there is always a keyboard player or guitarist playing the chords and I would just get in their way, if I played chords very much.

I think if you followed Michael's book all the way through this might be a good start towards working out how to do what Colin Hodgkinson does.The only other sugestion I can think of, is to see if Colin gives lessons or to go along to one of his solo performances/workshops - I know he did one recently at the Bass Centre, which is why they have copies of his CD.

There is a detailed biography of Colin Hodgkinson at: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/9932/chodg_b.htm

The page covers Colin's whole career, but strangely, his work with Back Door is very poorly documented. There are a few interesting pictures (Back Door at the 1976 Reading Festival, Colin's solo concert at the Bass Centre).

It also contains a link to a similar page that lists some of Colin's many sessions.

David

According to Paul Scott ('Bassist' contributor), the rumour is that Warner Bros are planning to release a compilation of the first three Back Door albums.

Still no confirmed release date though.

David

Just e-mailed 'Bassist' magazine about the Back Door issues, but they had no new info.

Barry Moorhouse (owner of the Basscentre stores) has passed my e-mail address on to Colin personally, so I may soon get some info from the man himself! Yippee!!!

David

I use to watch back door play live regulalry during the 70's in my home town of Hull in the UK.

He used to play a white twin neck with a 6 string plus a 4. He was amazing and had a small cult following. At that time in the UK Soft Machine and Elton Dean type saxello was where it was at and Back Door followed the trend.

Sean Middleton

I've never heard of Colin playing a doubleneck bass before - I know he had a custom-built Carl Thompson 4-string built in 1978 (there is a picture at the Carl Thompson website and in 'The Bass Book'), but apart from that, he has consistently used a 1960 Fender Precision (He occasionally plays a Warwick Thumb 5-string fretless).

David

[This message has been edited by David Benyahia (edited April 07, 2000).]

While visiting Britain in '72, all my muso buds were telling me to see Back Door....the bassist was the Hendrix of the instrument, I was told. Shortly after, the band was playing in London and I was due to fly back to Australia two days afterwards. Yes were also on at the same time, and I opted for them. Bought the Back Door album on my way to the airport and played it upon my return....and I howled at the moon for days at my missing seeing this band live.

Wore out the record over the ensuing years, so I'm following this thread closely for availability of that album on cd, or any subsequent Hodg stuff.

fwiw, I figure a 3-piece of CH, drums and keys would be my preference. The sax was just a little too avant- garde for my liking.

Cheers

John

John - In 1972, Back Door played at Ronnie Scott's in London, supporting Return To Forever. If that was the gig that you missed, you would have got to see Stanley Clarke in action as well! The audience consisted of every name bass player in the UK at the time!

Paul Scott ('Bassist' contributor) e-mailed me yesterday to let me know that Colin just sent him a book of transcriptions from 'The Bottom Line'. It takes quite a lot of technique (and a plectrum) to play the pieces properly. The book will soon be available from The Bass Centre and other good bass stores.

Colin also says that the Back Door album is due out any day now. (More details when I get them.)
www.amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) used to sell Colin's solo CD, but they've been out of stock for ages. It might be worth checking the site every now and again though.

Colin's album is also available from the Bass Centre. Check their website at www.basscentre.com. (http://www.basscentre.com.)

David

David.....

Kick a guy while he's down, huh? <just kidding>

Thanks for that information, and I'll follow any updates to this thread assiduously.

fwiw, Yes were really "on".....I was a guitar player at that time, so went to see Howe especially. He ripped the place up, but a certain Mr Squire also messed with my head considerably.

Cheers

John

Info just in about Colin's new book:

The book contains seven tracks from 'The Bottom Line', including '32-30 Blues' and 'San Fransisco Bay Blues'. All songs are presented in tab and notation, with left and right handed guide photographs, and
plectrum directions - plus a spare copy of The Bottom Line CD.

Back Door are expected to do a reunion tour to support the reissued albums. Hooray!!!

David

For anyone that keeps back issues of 'Bassist', there are a couple of Back Door transcriptions in the September 1998 issue (Jah Wobble is on the cover).

The article transcribes sections from two tracks from the first Back Door album - the saxophone solo section of 'Lieutenant Loose' and what I presume is the main riff of 'Back Door'.

Neither piece is very difficult - they just require you to use a slap-thumb style technique to strum double-stops.

If people want these, let me know, and I'll happily e-mail the notation and tab for them.

David

Bruce and David

Bruce, thanks for the plug. I just recently got into Colin's stuff myself, it is GREAT!!, unfortunately the only thing I can get a hold of is the real audio off of the german Amazon.de site. In the US it is impossible to get "The Bottom Line."

FYI, I have posted som on line lessons of Autumn Leaves and Shadow of Your Smile on www.bassically.net, (http://www.bassically.net,) with notation, performance notes and real audio.

Mike

Still no word on the Back Door CDs. WHERE ARE THEY? http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/frown.gif

I haven't heard any Back Door recordings yet, so I don't know quite what to expect - some people say avant-garde, some say funk, light-fusion, jazz-blues - there's a huge range of contrasting descriptions.

To put my mind at rest a bit, could people who've heard Back Door please name a track (a band piece please) and describe it for me in terms of style, feel, sound, length, bass-playing, etc?

Help me!!!

David

David...I feel your pain......

I haven't heard Back Door for 15-20 years, but the memories linger. I'd describe them as jazz-blues.....I wasn't a great fan of the sax in the songs (avant -garde is a way I'd describe it, somewhat atonal is another, but free form sax has never fell pleasantly to my ear, so don't read too much into that ). I can't really get into deep and meaningful descriptions without hearing the album again, but I've been on a quest to track it down since reading this thread. It appears a mate knows a bloke, etc who may still have a copy of the record around somewhere. Still awaiting those investigations.....and if it's fruitful, I'd send you a dub tape of course.

Meant to mention, when I reply my thanks to you for emailing Back Door info to me, my messages get returned for some reason. Don't think your efforts are unappreciated, please!

Cheers

John

David...I feel your pain......

I haven't heard Back Door for 15-20 years, but the memories linger. I'd describe them as jazz-blues.....I wasn't a great fan of the sax in the songs (avant -garde is a way I'd describe it, somewhat atonal is another, but free form sax has never fell pleasantly to my ear, so don't read too much into that ). I can't really get into deep and meaningful descriptions without hearing the album again, but I've been on a quest to track it down since reading this thread. It appears a mate knows a bloke, etc who may still have a copy of the record around somewhere. Still awaiting those investigations.....and if it's fruitful, I'd send you a dub tape of course.

Meant to mention, when I reply my thanks to you for emailing Back Door info to me, my messages get returned for some reason. Don't think your efforts are unappreciated, please!

Cheers

John

I've just found this review of the first Back Door album at 'Rolling Stone' magazine's website.

Back Door
'Back Door'
Warner Brothers, 1973

The inner gatefold of this one comes complete with the musings of no fewer than five English scribes, who between them manage to invoke the music and/or spirits of Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Colloseum, King Curtis, the Hulk, the Thing, Cream, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The comparisons are unfair to the band as well as the consumer. How could any individual be a cross between Eric Clapton and Bruce Banner? Back Door's claim to our attention is not that they have succeeded in doing things past men have done but that they have breathed new life into the concepts of the instrumental trio and, in particular, bass playing. They have achieved this in such a spectacular way that Back Door is not only an impressive debut but important by any standards.

Colin Hodgkinson gives the Fender bass a role it has not been accustomed to. Instead of repetitively supporting the other instruments, Hodgkinson's bass at times plays lead. His solo on "Catcote Rag" is remarkable. He is the only guitarist in the group, yet he performs all the expected guitar chores and more.

Drummer Tony Hicks shows imagination but no desire to outshine companions. Refraining from extended solos, he remains an integral part of a tight unit.

Saxophonist/flautist Ron Aspery's playing is one moment aggressive ("Vienna Breakdown") and the next soothing ("Plantagenet"). Comparisons with prominent jazz musicians would be hackneyed, boring and inaccurate. The important thing is that he is playing well. Varying the approach produces almost a sampler album, a sampler of the kinds of things Aspery and Back Door are capable of. There must be more.

And there will be. The group has already recorded its second album, this one under Felix Pappalardi's direction at Electric Ladyland. Pappalardi had heard Back Door in its original limited edition on the Blakey label, a name inspired by England's Blakey Ridge where the group played for two years in a pub run by a man named (honest) Brian Jones. They recorded an album in London on June 3rd and 4th, 1972, and sold it in Jones's bar. A few copies fell into the hands of the British music press. Most importantly, a copy came into the possession of Warner Brothers, which has repackaged and distributed the album without touching the music. There are still no overdubs, vocals or electronic studio effects, just the unlikely instrumental trio of bass, drums and saxophone. The only intruding noise on the LP is the motorbike revving of two friends of Aspery, a confessed speedway buff.

It is hard to believe that a group like this could win over a pub audience. It is harder to believe that they did it for two years and nobody picked up on them. Whether they have strutted all the stuff they have to show or not we don't know. For now, Mr. Jones, it's more Guinness, please. And more Back Door. (RS 142)

PAUL GAMBACCINI


(Not a bad review, eh!)

David

Having spoken to Colin recently, I'm planning to do an interview with him. The results will hopefully be placed on TalkBass.

I'm hoping to speak to him again within the next fortnight. If anyone has any questions that they would like me to ask him, please let me know through this thread.

Thanks,

David

Something I didn't see mentioned about Colin here was the two recordings he did in the 80's with Neil Schon and Jan Hammer ("Schon & Hammer" and "Here To Stay"). Very "rock" oriented stuff, but also well done, Colin did some very tasty work on these records. Didn't show off the chordal stuff Colin seems to be famous here for, but some great ensemble playing.

I was wondering when someone would mention that. That was my first exposure to this great Bass Player.

http://www.blakeymusic.com/backdoor.htm

www.huxrecords.com has an album of some previously unreleased radio broadcasts.

Back Door was so Ron Aspery stylistically.

Immediately after the 72 gig at Ronnie's Stanley Clarke started double stopping.School Days etc.
The Return to Forever album shows a completely different approach prior to this 3 week stint.

Thank you Cloggy!

Actually, I must admit that I have not heard anything by Back Door, due to the great difficulty of tracking down their albums on vinyl, so I'll have to wait a bit longer until they're reissued on CD.

The only Back Door song I do know is 'Roberta' from the '8th Street Nites' album, due to a transcription printed in Bassist last year. I've played the song at a few solo gigs, but I'd love to hear the original.

Bruce - Did Colin sing on Back Door songs? I imagine them to sound a bit like Weather Report/Return To Forever. Am I close?

Colin did sing on some cuts on "8th Street Nites".

The band's sound was sort of like Ornette Coleman meets Robert Johnson with lots of funk. Didn't sound like Weather Report or RTF in the slightest, they had their own sound completely.

I think the first 2 albums ar available on CD as imports though, you might want to check Audiophile Imports (http://www.audiophileimports.com) or Abstract Logix (http://www.abstractlogix.com)

Yes Colin did sing on a couple of songs - mostly the Blues standards. As far as what they sounded like - about as far away from Weather Report as anyone can get I think! Firstly - no keyboards or chordal instrument and Colin's tone is quite abrasive and dark - we're talking Fender Precision so any chords he does play sound quite murky.

As I mentioned, Ron Asperey's sax playing is what I would call an acquired taste and the overall sound was quite sparse in terms of anything to latch onto during the blowing. I can only compare it to some of the free Jazz wanderings of Soft Machine and the typical stuff wasn't what I would call commercial - so if you're expecting Birdland forget it - although it may be closer to stuff like that on "I Sing the Body Electric" (The middle of Unknown Soldier possibly) - if you've heard that, but even then Wayne Shorter's tone and melodic sense are a world away from Ron Asperey and there are no keyboards.

But I really loved the solo spots where Colin just sings with his bass accompanying him. I liked his playing throughout, but it meant nothing to non-bass players I knew at the time and they would always tell me to take it off.

Wow - a blast from the past - a question I answered 6 years ago!! :eek:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ss_hs/104-2013447-4658332?search-alias=aps&keywords=back%20door
In America.
Also the last album "Askin' the Way"(arguably the best alongside the first) at http://www.cultfound.org/shop.htm#askin%20the%20way

Blimey, this really is a blast from the past! One of my first threads on Talkbass I think!

Since I started this thread (Piccolo_Bass was my first username) back in 2000, I've been one of Colin's biggest fans and have always tried to plug him here on TB. Here's a couple of other Colin Hodgkinson theads from over the years:

Colin Hodgkinson - started Feb 2006:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227479&highlight=%22colin+hodgkinson%22

Brand new Back Door/Colin Hodgkinson material released:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80145&highlight=%22colin+hodgkinson%22


Back Door are now playing live occasionally with Rod Mason replacing the late Ron Aspery. There's supposed to be a DVD out sometime this year.

Hello!
I'm a sax player who's teaching his son bass!
He started about 7 weeks ago and he's already doing Human Bed,half of Vienna Breakdown and The Bed Creaks Louder.
Having to work the tabs/dots out for him myself.
Quite revealing...


Any tips,anyone?

Ta!
Btw; I've been a Back Door fan since 1972 when I first saw them opposite Dizzy Gillespie,Sonny Stitt,Kai Winding,Thelonius Monk,Art Blakey (Blakey Ridge!!!) and Al McKibbon.

I'm amazed no-one has mentioned Colin's stint with Whitesnake in the 80's. A stranger meeting of musical minds is hard to imagine, but I've seen the live video, Colin looks as happy as Larry plodding out those 8th notes!

I'm amazed no-one has mentioned Colin's stint with Whitesnake in the 80's.

I'm not !! ;)

32596Rough start.
Needs tweaking!

Cloggy,

I got your email. I'll send you a few bits next week.

Thanks!:cool:

Hey people! I'm Cloggy's son, the bass player he's (trying) to teach. I've just read part of this thread and I have to say that Colin's solo album really isn't comparible to ANY of the Back Door stuff. It's almost like a different player. Not that 'The Bottom Line' is a bad album, by no means. Yet I feel that even the solo recording of 32-20 Blues is nowhere near the quality of the Back Door recording. Anyway, I have to leave now for I'm going to ring Tony Hicks (Back Door's drummer!). See ya guys

Cloggy & Cushion,

Do you have the transcriptions book of 'The Bottom Line'? It's available through The Bass Centre in London. That ought to keep any player practising for a while!

Unfortunately we haven't. I'm hoping to be able to order to relatively soon from a transcription book shop here in Rotterdam soon.

That'll be soon soon then.:hmm:

Cloggy and Cushion,

I got my copy of the transcriptions book from amazon.de a few years back.

Colin appears on a 2002 DVD by the Spencer Davis Group:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00007DWPH.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg He gets his regular solo spot and plays 'San Fransisco Bay Blues', which is a marvel to watch!

There is a very detailed interview with Colin here:
http://www.cultfound.org/back%20door%20int%20ch.htm

Another interview and some gig photos here:
http://www.leftybass.com/colin_h_meeting_e.htm

This website details some of Colin's activities over the years:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/9932/chodg_b.htm

All my music books and magazines are currently at my parents' house. Next time I'm there, I will dig out some things on Colin - a transcription of 'Roberta' from '8th Street Nites' and a few bars of 'Lieutenant Loose' and 'Vienna Breakdown'.

I got to speak with Colin a few years ago (he called my home!) and he was very polite and super-humble about his own talents.

there's a live set by Back door from 1973 coming up on BBC 6music live at midnight feature this sunday night/monday morning 9th july-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/liveatmidnight/

Thanks for telling me about this. Would have never have known about it otherwise!

Really enjoyed that broadcast. Mostly tunes from '8th Street Nites'. The show is available on the website until Sunday night.

Bugger!!!

Video of Colin playing 'The Sliding Delta' solo in 1981:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mavu1RvKJAM

Playing 'Guilty of Love' with Whitesnake!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvhdOuxF3xg

'Dirty TB Blues' as part of the Electric Blues Duo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJSLO-9HgMc

Didn't realise until a couple of weeks ago that Back Door drummer Tony Hicks died last August, leaving Colin as the only member of the original line-up.

As always, thanks for that David! I didn't hear about Hicks dying either.

Weird...I was talking with FT Baker about him today in my lesson. I love the first album. Fred refers to colin as 'Bomber' no idea why though. Think they did a few duet gigs together in the past, man would loved to have seen that.

On talking about techniques and things...supposedly Stanley saw him in a club when they played in england (Maybe the ronnies gig!?) and the next thing you know School days was about. Now I'm not saying stanley couldn't slap already, but I guess he picked a few things up for Colin.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_gutdzlHK6E
2005 at the Lion Inn!

Saw Colin Hodgkinson this weekend at the Marsden Jazz Festival with his new band Back Door Too. Alongside Colin were drummer Paul Robinson (ex drummer for Nina Simone, Van Morrison etc) and superb sax player Rod Mason (who, remarkably, is Head of Music at a Huddersfield comprehensive school).
The gig was wonderful, Colin's playing outstanding, and he included a number of great vocals on blues standards playing alone.
They were selling advanced copies of an excellent new cd billed as: The Colin Hodgkinson Group - Back Door Too which is released generally on 28 October 2008.