Today is the anniversary of the passing of both Phil Lynott and Mick Karn. Lynott in 1986 and Karn in 2011. I think of both often. Always a sad day for me.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Remembering Lynott and Karn
- Thread starter Gluvhand
- Start date
If Jaco was from a different planet, Mick Karn was from a different universe.
I was certainly a Lizzy fan, but Karn’s early demise was a very sad time for me. Besides Japan, the expanse of his musical activities was a major portion of my listening menu for a long time. I was so fortunate to have caught a rare live performance of Polytown, a project that I wished could have gone on longer, but he never stayed in one place, musically, for long. A singular fretless stylist.
Very few people blew my mind the way Mick Karn did the first time I heard him. An outstanding musician in so many ways.
This is absolute peak Karn for me. From another universe indeed….
I’ve played both of these in(different)cover bands…
In the second situation, while I certainly was onboard for the song choice, it was the major incentive to do what I had been putting off…get into fretless. I wish I had a recording, I think I did it justice, but it was still a daunting task.
It’s interesting that Midge Ure, of Ultravox and various other projects, filled in on guitar for a Thin Lizzy tour, then went on to do a single with Karn. As well, being in an all-star back-up band together for this event…
Ure had been in a band, the Rich Kids, with original Sex Pistols bass player Glen Matlock, while Phil did this one-off line-up…
In the second situation, while I certainly was onboard for the song choice, it was the major incentive to do what I had been putting off…get into fretless. I wish I had a recording, I think I did it justice, but it was still a daunting task.
It’s interesting that Midge Ure, of Ultravox and various other projects, filled in on guitar for a Thin Lizzy tour, then went on to do a single with Karn. As well, being in an all-star back-up band together for this event…
Ure had been in a band, the Rich Kids, with original Sex Pistols bass player Glen Matlock, while Phil did this one-off line-up…
Last edited:
I was very fortunate to see Thin Lizzy at the Hammersmith Odeon in London..1980/81ish?
One of the best and most memorable concerts ever!
Phil was the ultimate front man/ Rock star ...Pure showmanship and artistry.....The Mirror pickguard shooting High beams around the audience!
His chat, his jokes...and his basslines....I don't think I had even started learning the bass back then!!
What an incredible band and night....Thanks to my great sister always taking me out!
BTW Snowy White was their new second guitarist joining Scott Gorham
One of the best and most memorable concerts ever!
Phil was the ultimate front man/ Rock star ...Pure showmanship and artistry.....The Mirror pickguard shooting High beams around the audience!
His chat, his jokes...and his basslines....I don't think I had even started learning the bass back then!!
What an incredible band and night....Thanks to my great sister always taking me out!
BTW Snowy White was their new second guitarist joining Scott Gorham
Last edited:
Another weird overlap for me(in relation to this thread)…I’ve picked up on SX and similar parts over the years for Frankenstein projects(which of course I’ll get to just any day now). Here’s the beginning stages of a quasi Phil tribute…
Then(and don’t be hating), in the mid-90’s, Musician Magazine(anyone rember that?)in conjunction with the CMP label, as a promotion for the Polytown album, ran a contest where not only did you have to enter, you had to write a little essay lauding the band. I might have been only a handful that bothered, who knows, but guess what? The only contest I ever won in my life. The prize? A Wal bass, with specs to be chosen by me, plus this weird little TE combo amp.
Of course I chose fretless. The bittersweet part is that Wals have this triangular neck profile going on in the back. I tried over a year to get used to it but just couldn’t, so with reluctance I let it go, the old Bass Exchange in Tarzana handled the sale.
Then(and don’t be hating), in the mid-90’s, Musician Magazine(anyone rember that?)in conjunction with the CMP label, as a promotion for the Polytown album, ran a contest where not only did you have to enter, you had to write a little essay lauding the band. I might have been only a handful that bothered, who knows, but guess what? The only contest I ever won in my life. The prize? A Wal bass, with specs to be chosen by me, plus this weird little TE combo amp.
Of course I chose fretless. The bittersweet part is that Wals have this triangular neck profile going on in the back. I tried over a year to get used to it but just couldn’t, so with reluctance I let it go, the old Bass Exchange in Tarzana handled the sale.
When I first learned to play, I was practicing with a fretless Univox bass that I borrowed from my big brother.
When he took it back to trade it in, I purchased my first bass of my own.
A fretted instrument that I won't name because a lot of folks like them, but my experience is that it was quite a piece of junk.
Even though I was a beginner, I missed the fretless, so I got a fretless Kramer with an aluminum neck.
Eventually, that was replaced by a fretless Ibanez Roadstar 2. It had the sort of bean shaped body, a 2x2 headstock, neck-thru, and a phenolic fingerboard.
Wish I still had that one, anyway I eventually settled on a Pedulla Buzz as my main instrument.
I loved then, and still really enjoy the expressiveness and additional sense of freedom that comes from developing a style around the fretless bass.
One day, my brother who had many times in the past given me bad advice, suggested that I listen to two bass players. Jaco Pastorius, and Mick Karn.
To this day, that is the best advice he has ever given.
I had finally found some inspiration from artists who walked stages outside of the realm of "popular" music.
R.I.P. Mr. Karn. and of course to Mr Lynott as well.
When he took it back to trade it in, I purchased my first bass of my own.
A fretted instrument that I won't name because a lot of folks like them, but my experience is that it was quite a piece of junk.
Even though I was a beginner, I missed the fretless, so I got a fretless Kramer with an aluminum neck.
Eventually, that was replaced by a fretless Ibanez Roadstar 2. It had the sort of bean shaped body, a 2x2 headstock, neck-thru, and a phenolic fingerboard.
Wish I still had that one, anyway I eventually settled on a Pedulla Buzz as my main instrument.
I loved then, and still really enjoy the expressiveness and additional sense of freedom that comes from developing a style around the fretless bass.
One day, my brother who had many times in the past given me bad advice, suggested that I listen to two bass players. Jaco Pastorius, and Mick Karn.
To this day, that is the best advice he has ever given.
I had finally found some inspiration from artists who walked stages outside of the realm of "popular" music.
R.I.P. Mr. Karn. and of course to Mr Lynott as well.
I hope in the years since you've also discovered Percy Jones? Because, to my ear, those three bassists form a pair of algebraic equations:
Jaco + Mick = Percy
Percy - Jaco = Mick
Or something like that
If Mick had any one major influence on his approach to bass, it would be Percy. Once they got the rudimentary NY Dolls style glam of the first two albums out of their system, Japan embarked on more of a Roxy Music flavored trajectory. But I hear an even more pronounced(and related)inspiration, Eno’s Another Green World. Certainly in Barbieri’s synth tones and pads, and as Percy is prominently featured on the album, that definitely left a mark on Karn. He had switched from an aluminum neck Travis Bean to a Wal just like Jones was playing. Combining that with what he took from his earlier background in woodwinds, plus exotic Mediterranean sounds of his Greek heritage, he forged a new style.I hope in the years since you've also discovered Percy Jones? Because, to my ear, those three bassists form a pair of algebraic equations:
Jaco + Mick = Percy
Percy - Jaco = Mick
Or something like that
He even stated that he avoided hearing
Jaco for the longest time…
“I made a point of never listening to Jaco until I was forced to in 1995!” Mick Karn: an interview with Japan’s fallen bass hero
"I tend to look at the bass guitar in much the same way as a vocalist might a lead vocal": Words of wisdom from the avant-garde fretless icon
Last edited:
