Post-punk bassists

[SixtyCycleHum]

And a great salut to Michael Dempsey who was also an exceptional bassist. More in the punk spirit than Gallup. I especially like his aggressiveness in the track below: Plastic Passion.

I auditioned for a Cure tribute band some years ago. They were really spot on and I got the gig, but scheduling conflicts between them and my other band ended up killing it for me. Sometimes, I wish I'd quit the other band (which never went anywhere anyway).

Playing Simon Gallup's tracks is harder than it seems. Not that they are technically very intricate, but they are often hypnotic and it's hard to stay focused I find. And execution has to be absolutely perfect because everything builds up from the bass. Just being a hair off and the whole song loses its feel.

This I can agree with! A lot of his tracks can make the mind wander in that way. Yet, some of them, you'll be far too busy to do anything other than count and play, haha.

 

[SixtyCycleHum]

I'm glad Colin Moulding from XTC already got a nod, he's why I started playing bass!

Loooooove XTC. Colin is a gun.

 

[murphy]

I always have a problem with that “post punk” concept; it’s an after-the-fact tag that’s been slapped on, and having absorbed the era in real time, it was all a continuum for me. Where do you exactly draw the line? Siouxie and Severin, as a band, as people, were right there in the beginning, playing the 100 Club along with the Pistols(even having Sid on drums!). Joy Division, as “Warsaw”, issued the standard faster/louder stuff on their earliest recordings.
Then there was all the antecedents who layed out the framework, who defined the catagory in the first place…VU, MC5, Stooges, Dolls. They were, in their very essence, punk. In addition, there was activity out in the North American hinterlands, early/mid-70’s, that most never heard of…Rocket From The Tombs(morphing into Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys), Simply Saucer from Canada, Debris from Oklahoma for example, bands already rejecting the mainstream stuff that became known as ‘classic rock’(and they were incorporating unlikely influences from people like Zappa, Beefheart, and Hawkwind). The Modern Lovers had a higher profile, but their album was recorded in 1972 and released years later. Devo even dates back to ‘72.
There was far more diversity in the NYC class of ‘75-‘77 as well…Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, and the Ramones sounded nothing alike. In the UK, which I think is your focus, you had bands like the Stranglers, who although weren’t heard until ‘77, came together before the Pistols, and had an entirely unique sound. Do you place The Jam in punk? While obviously they had their Who(and Kinks and Small Faces)influences, they drew a lot from pub rock icons Dr. Feelgood. I’d say they were ‘post-punk’ right out of the chute in ‘77, yet got lumped in with the Pistols. In a similar fashion, Magazine, started in ‘77 after singer Howard Devoto was in the Buzzcocks for one hot minute, had almost a prog flavor to what they were doing, and, while I could be wrong, I think bassist Barry Adamson was on the forefront of using modulation effects on his instrument. As far back as ‘76, you had bands like Ultravox emerging, exhibiting the Bowie/Roxy/Eno/Kraftwerk influences that you certainly didn’t hear in the Ramones, Pistols, or any other bands of that ilk.
Sorry for the rant, but I just never saw the validity of an artificial dividing line like that.
I will throw out the names of Adamson, Foxton, Weymouth, Burnell, Jah Wobble, William Mysterious of The Rezillos, Dave Allen of Gang of Four, and Colin Moulding of XTC as the bassists of that overall time period that impressed me.

Nice and comprehensive information...
As in my very early teens...I identified as a Punk rocker...style in fashion...love of all the music....But 1978, 79 , it seemed to me that if John Peel played it...It was Punk to me and my crew...we interchanged New Wave with Punk...just words, but if they were cool and looked punk (to us)...it was punk...or New Wave
CRASS was doing its' own thing..."Do they owe us a living"
The Jam WERE Punk to me...First two albums , anyway...but veered off course quickly....as most of my favorite bands did post 79.
Hard Core started with bands like Discharge.....
Goth started...Siouxsies' band changed from punk
The Stranglers got weird...
Great time for experimentation....and I still marvel at some of the obscure and amazing music happening in the Punk era...Revolution

Anger and the politics in the 70s punk...changed to more introspection in the 80s and I think most "post punk" was just viewed as pop music at the time....and lighter fun approaches......of course The Clash was still political ...but a more world view

Reggae bands and reggae music...a rebel music...Equal rights and justice...always went had in hand with Punk...music...and Punk Rockers

 

[Michedelic]

I was aware of that. Never seen one in real life though. It looks more like a guitar than a bass... Anybody has experience playing it? (I see that Squier does a CV version.)

Yep, I’ve got a Squier. They’re fun, interesting, but a specialty instrument. Originally issued in 1960, a design trickled down from the Jazzmaster, it was intended(rather late in the day)to help guitarists transition to bass, but more to compete with the Danelectro 6-string bass and/or baritone, which had been in existence for a few years. It found favor in country recordings, where, starting in the late 50’s into the early 60’s, the VI or Dano was used along with an upright bass to create the ‘tic-tac’ sound, the articulation of the bright electric matched with the whomp of the acoustic…



As it was tuned like a guitar, but one octave lower(30” scale)it was also used in a lead capacity(here at 1:48…)





In spite of the twangy nature of the single coil pickups and thinner strings, it was used by a few, primarily in the UK, as an actual bass…

I had a Squier a few years ago. A truly horrible instrument. A miserable bridge that made proper intonation virtually impossible. Fender should be ashamed for selling that version of the Bass VI. It’s a great concept but the Squiers are a disaster.

Jeez, they’re not that bad, but they are Squiers after all. The first thing I did when I got one was to swap out the bridge with a Staytrem(Mastery as well)Jazzmaster upgrade, somthing I’d do anyway, with any JM, Jag, or Bass VI, regardless of the make or quality level. That original Fender design, the whole assembly, had plenty of flaws.

 

[Yonni]

Norman Watt-Roy from the blockheads.

 

[TDSmith]

Also Sara Lee, Gang of Four. She played bass after Dave Allen left.

 

[Huw Phillips]

At the time I remember “ New Wave “ being used to describe this style of music Ian Dury and the blockheads, being a fine example

 

[Spupilup]

Jeez, they’re not that bad, but they are Squiers after all. The first thing I did when I got one was to swap out the bridge with a Staytrem(Mastery as well)Jazzmaster upgrade, somthing I’d do anyway, with any JM, Jag, or Bass VI, regardless of the make or quality level. That original Fender design, the whole assembly, had plenty of flaws.

I bought mine just as Staytrem put a hold on all orders, ultimately stopping all export. Otherwise, that would have been the first thing I would have done to try to salvage that piece of attractive firewood. I shimmed the neck, filed the frets, replaced the nut and came close to replacing the tuners when I finally made the choice to cut and run. Sorry, “it’s a Squier” is a poor excuse for unleashing a floater like that in the general public.

I have a friend who owns a CS from about 15 years ago in Seafoam green. That bass works but at what cost? From what I heard, the Mexican Pawn Shop version wasn’t significantly better than the Indonesian Squier.

 

[blacktocomm]

Lots of great bassists already mentioned, but I want to throw Chris Gates’ name in there. These guys came up in the early hardcore scene, but I still think they fit the post punk mold. Chris’ basslines are right up there with Watt’s work in the Minutemen.

 

[pineweasel]

Lots of good names already. Jah Wobble, Dave Allen, Colin Moulding, Mike Watt all big influences for me. Honourable mention to Sara Lee, Allen’s replacement in Gang of Four.
I also loved A Certain Ratio, with Jeremy Kerr doing the angular chorused stuff, and drummer Donald Johnson stepping out to play some serious slap bass.

 

[brianrost]

I always have a problem with that “post punk” concept

"Post-rock" is even more ridiculous. Are "indie" bands that sign to major labels and have big hits no longer "indie"? Today's silliest genre name is "Americana" which seems to mean any music from the USA that isn't played on commercial radio stations.

I always liked Jah Wobble with PIL. I'm not sure if Bill Laswell can be considered post-punk
(maybe post post-punk)

Wobble and Laswell are sort of post-everything

 

[BassChap]

Maby. Definitely Maby!

 

[mdowns2001]

Can anyone give a simple explanation of what post punk is?

 

[TNCreature]

All of my favorites! From my formative time as a bass player. Saw a lot of great bands from the era as well. It was a magical time for me!
It all started with Joy Division.
Echo and the Bunnymen
Magazine
Siouxsie
The Cure
Bauhaus
Sisters of Mercy
Gang of Four
P.I.L.
Killing Joke
Wire (love)
Smiths
Nick Cave
Chameleons
Psychedelic Furs
Japan (Mick Karn!!!)

 

[Raman]

Can anyone give a simple explanation of what post punk is?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-punk

 

[Raman]

Yep, I’ve got a Squier. They’re fun, interesting, but a specialty instrument. Originally issued in 1960, a design trickled down from the Jazzmaster, it was intended(rather late in the day)to help guitarists transition to bass, but more to compete with the Danelectro 6-string bass and/or baritone, which had been in existence for a few years. It found favor in country recordings, where, starting in the late 50’s into the early 60’s, the VI or Dano was used along with an upright bass to create the ‘tic-tac’ sound, the articulation of the bright electric matched with the whomp of the acoustic…



As it was tuned like a guitar, but one octave lower(30” scale)it was also used in a lead capacity(here at 1:48…)





In spite of the twangy nature of the single coil pickups and thinner strings, it was used by a few, primarily in the UK, as an actual bass…



View attachment 4471336 View attachment 4471338


Jeez, they’re not that bad, but they are Squiers after all. The first thing I did when I got one was to swap out the bridge with a Staytrem(Mastery as well)Jazzmaster upgrade, somthing I’d do anyway, with any JM, Jag, or Bass VI, regardless of the make or quality level. That original Fender design, the whole assembly, had plenty of flaws.

Thanks for the super informative reply!

 

[Matt O]

Can anyone give a simple explanation of what post punk is?

It’s a term coined around 1978 by UK music journalists to describe / differentiate the new crop of mostly British avant-garde bands that didn’t play sped up rock-n-roll riffs like punk bands did. I remember first seeing the term applied to PIL. I also remember it being called “Art Rock”. Whatever you want to call it, 1978-1981 or so is a golden age of incredible rhythm sections in the UK especially, IMO.

 

[corndog]

Three pages in and no one has mentioned Mr. Jean Jacque Burnell.

did I miss a mention?

 

[Raman]

Three pages in and no one has mentioned Mr. Jean Jacque Burnell.

did I miss a mention?

The Stranglers were mentioned a couple of times.

 

[Outshined91]

@Raman Absolutely LOVE post-punk music and its bass playing. All of those bands you mentioned are standard listening for me. Peter Hook in particular is special for me – he completely changed the way I think about bass and is the reason I play the way I play now. I actually learned how to use a pick after hearing/seeing his work with Joy Division and New Order. His melody-writing ability is fantastic, and use of the bass as a lead instrument is genius. A particularly seminal song for me, with an amazing bassline is "Disorder" by Joy Division. That was my first a-ha moment as a bassist. I'm sure you know it, but don't need an excuse to check it out again!