What happened to Keith Wilkinson? (Squeeze ex-bassist)

[mad_hungarian]

Hey guys,

I was just listening to the 1994 version of Tempted from Squeeze. The bass line and the sound were really great! A perfect foundation for the song, played with a great time and feel.

After a short research it turns out Keith Wilkinson was the bassist at the time. So I was starting to search this guy but not a lot of info is available on him. Anyone know what he's up to nowadays? I really liked that bassline...

 

[Baryonyx]

Never heard of the bloke, but I'll agree that Squeeze had a few good basslines!

 

[57pbass]

They where a great band who I saw many times when they came through NYC.
They frequently performed at The Ritz and had a wall of guitar and bass Fender amps...Keith Wilkison I believe is the second bassist to perform with Squeeze...I did see both bassist and they always did a great job..

 

[mad_hungarian]

Yeah, I did not know his name either, I had to check in Wikipedia... in the 1994 version of Tempted he has it really nailed! Also, the drums are amazing, too - a masterpiece of simplicity but great feel. I wish I could play pop music with such a drummer!

Anyway, I am just curious what the guy is up to nowadays...

 

[corinpills]

One of my favorite bands, so many great songs. Besides the bass, Glenn Tilbrook is a really serious guitarist. Listen to his solo on "Black Coffee In Bed"; all sorts of little chromatic twists and turns.

 

[jerry]

I dug his playing on the album Dillford/Tilbrook did on their break from Squeeze. Time to dig through my vinyl.

 

[markorbit]

Just revisiting this old thread and nowadays I can appreciate Keith Wilkinson's time with Squeeze a bit more. He used a fretless Fender Jazz and after having just watched the old Squeeze appearance from 1985 on The Tube recently, he has amazing feel and groove on Last Time Forever.

Makes we want a fretless Fender Jazz!

 

[Sonicfrog]

I'm a HUGE KW / Squeeze fan. I'm not sure what he's doing nowdays. I know he was a studio cat before he joined Squeeze. He plays an awful lot of frettless on these songs. Here is a list of my favorite KW Squeeze songs:

Form the album "Cossi Fan..." - "Last Time Forever"
Babylon and On - "Hourglass", "Footprints", "Trust Me To Open My Mouth".
Play -- The whole album -- Buy It!
Some Fantastic Place - "Third Rail", "It's Over", "True Colours" (KW wrote it).
Ridiculous - "Walk Away", "This Summer"

BTW, Play is one of my all time favorite albums (it battles it out with Genesis Duke, depending on my mood). The song "House Of Love" has one of my favorite lyrics ever:

♫ A very acidic tongue waggled in her head, naaa-aaa-aua-hua-anaaua..♬

PS. Glenn Tilbrook is a master guitarist. Listen to the solo on "Another Nail For My Heart", "I'll Never Go Drinking Again" (great song) and an old song called "Sex Master" from back in the days when they were flirting with the idea of being a punk band. Like the Police, they were too good by half to pull it off.

 

[markorbit]

Actually the song I really meant from the same TV performance was 'By Your Side'. Sublime.

 

[MarkJC8]

any idea what type of pedals or effects he used? he had a signature sound...

 

[Mechanical]

He is literally my second favorite bassist. Besides Jamerson.

 

[Grahams Groove]

BTW, Play is one of my all time favorite albums (it battles it out with Genesis Duke, depending on my mood). The song "House Of Love" has one of my favorite lyrics ever:

A very acidic tongue waggled in her head, naaa-aaa-aua-hua-anaaua..

Couldn't resist posting on this zombie thread since someone inexplicably brought it back. That song and entire album is seared into my mind from my Dad playing it throughout my childhood. Before I even had a grasp on the English language, I learned to mimic that vocal line. I still listen to Play regularly, and it absolutely makes my top ten. Great call...

 

[ombass]

In early 2019 he set up the Eats'n'Beats live music cafe/bar in Ramsgate with Meredith Cork. It's an amazing place with great atmosphere and really good quality live music, with Keith performing himself sometimes. Recently they re-opened in a new venue.

 

[The General 19]

Keith Wilkinson was actually the third bassist to play for Squeeze. Harry Kakoulli was first, John Bentley second and Keith was third. His unique sound (often fretless) gave Squeeze an evolution that kept them fresh (although sadly not extremely popular) and that's not to take away from John (who came back later to rejoin Squeeze - a common phenomenon as Jools Holland and Paul Carrack both left and returned !) who was Squeeze's bassist during their formative years (Pulling Mussels, Tempted, etc). It's so cliche to call Squeeze "under rated" but when you dive into their catalogue, they are truly amazing...

 

[The General 19]

As to what he is doing now, he is playing with The Jar Family. A UK-based indie rock band from Hartlepool, England. The current members of the band are Max Bianco, Dali, Al Devon, Richie Docherty, Chris Hooks, and Keith Wilkinson